3.2.2.6 Civil rights: UK and US comparison Quiz: AQA Politics, Unit 2

The 20 questions

1. How are civil rights largely protected in the UK?

   • Through the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Convention, within the limits of parliamentary sovereignty
   • Through the Electoral College, which vets all legislation for compliance with civil rights before enactment by each state legislature
   • Only through the Monarch's prerogative powers, which are written into statute by the House of Commons
   • Through a written Bill of Rights in the constitution, enforced by the Supreme Court against Parliament

2. Which best describes how US civil rights are protected?

   • Through the Human Rights Act 1998, which applies only to federal courts across the United States
   • Through parliamentary statute alone, which can be changed by a simple majority vote in Congress
   • Through the royal prerogative, which allows the President to define rights by executive order
   • Through a written Bill of Rights and amendments, enforced by courts through judicial review

3. What did the Human Rights Act 1998 do?

   • It incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law, allowing courts to issue declarations of incompatibility
   • It abolished civil liberties in the UK, replacing them with a statutory list of citizen duties
   • It created the UK Supreme Court and gave it power to strike down Acts of Parliament outright
   • It established a US-style Bill of Rights, enforceable against the Monarch in every court in the land

4. What is the effect of a declaration of incompatibility in the UK?

   • It does not invalidate the law, leaving Parliament to decide whether to change it
   • It automatically repeals the offending Act of Parliament with immediate effect across the whole of the UK
   • It requires the Monarch to veto the Act within thirty days of the court's ruling on the matter
   • It is available only in US federal courts, and not in any UK court or tribunal at any level

5. Which pressure group campaigns for civil liberties in the UK through litigation and lobbying?

   • A government department responsible for enforcing the Bill of Rights in each court
   • Liberty, a UK civil liberties organisation
   • A political party that has won seats in every UK general election since 1945
   • A campaign group funded by the US Congress to promote rights in the United Kingdom

6. A UK court finds that an Act of Parliament is incompatible with Convention rights. What happens next?

   • The law is automatically struck down and becomes void with immediate effect across the whole UK
   • The Supreme Court must refer the law to the US Supreme Court for a final review of its validity
   • The Monarch must sign a repeal of the law by prerogative powers within the following month
   • Parliament may choose whether to amend the law, because the court cannot strike it down

7. A US state law is challenged under the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. What is the likely outcome if the law is found to discriminate?

   • The state legislature alone decides the matter, because the 14th Amendment applies only to federal law
   • The federal government must pass a new law to overturn any state decision made under the 14th Amendment
   • The state law stays in place until the next presidential election, which settles the dispute
   • Federal courts can strike the state law down because it violates equal protection

8. What is a key similarity between civil rights protection in the UK and US?

   • Both countries use courts and pressure groups to debate and promote rights, though the legal basis differs
   • Both countries have an entrenched bill of rights that can be amended by a simple majority vote
   • Both countries have no legal basis for civil rights, relying wholly on custom and tradition
   • Both countries have identical rights enforced by the same European court in every case

9. Which best describes the methods of civil rights campaigns in the US and UK?

   • UK campaigns are barred from using litigation, so they rely on the Electoral College to secure change
   • UK and US campaigns use identical methods, relying only on petitions submitted to the Supreme Court
   • US campaigns have no legal avenues and must rely solely on public protest to win any change
   • US campaigns have used federal litigation extensively, while UK campaigns often combine litigation with lobbying of Parliament

10. What is a central debate about civil rights protection in the UK and US?

    • Whether rights should be protected by a codified, entrenched document or by parliamentary sovereignty
    • Whether rights should be restricted to members of the Monarch's household and their attendants, as in the old royal courts
    • Whether the Bill of Rights should be printed at the expense of each state legislature every year
    • Whether rights should apply only in wartime and not during periods of peace and stability

11. Which is the most significant difference in how civil rights are protected in the UK and US?

    • UK courts can strike down any law, but US courts cannot review federal statutes against the Constitution
    • Neither system gives courts any power over rights, which are protected by the executive alone in both
    • US courts can strike down only laws derived from the European Convention on Human Rights in each case
    • US courts can strike down laws conflicting with the Bill of Rights, while UK courts cannot strike down Acts of Parliament

12. Which is the best evaluation of the claim that UK civil rights are less secure than US rights?

    • The claim is contestable: US rights are entrenched and judicially enforced, while UK rights rely on Parliament and the HRA
    • The claim is clearly false, because UK rights are entrenched in a written constitution that Parliament cannot amend
    • The claim cannot be assessed, because the security of rights cannot be measured in any legal system at all
    • The claim is clearly true, because UK rights are protected by Parliament alone and can never be reviewed by a court

13. Which best evaluates how effective civil rights campaigns have been in the UK and US?

    • Campaigns are always ineffective in both countries, because rights are fixed permanently by the constitution
    • Effectiveness depends on access to courts and political support, and both countries show reforms won through persistent campaigns
    • Campaigns are irrelevant, because rights are determined entirely by market forces and consumer choice
    • Campaigns succeed in both countries only through violence against state institutions and officials

14. What does it mean for a right to be entrenched?

    • It is easily removed by a simple vote, which applies to every right in the UK constitution at present
    • It is limited to a fixed number of citizens who may claim it in a given year under the statute
    • It is harder to remove than an ordinary law, as with the US Bill of Rights, which requires a formal amendment process
    • It is approved in advance by the Monarch before it can take effect in any court in the country

15. Why does parliamentary sovereignty matter for civil rights in the UK?

    • Because Parliament is sovereign, UK courts can strike down any Act that restricts individual liberty they dislike, at any time
    • Because Parliament is sovereign, rights can be protected only by the Monarch's prerogative powers in each case
    • Because Parliament is sovereign, rights are guaranteed beyond amendment by the House of Commons in every case
    • Because Parliament is sovereign, UK courts cannot override primary legislation, so rights depend on Parliament's will

16. Which is a limitation of relying on US courts to protect civil rights?

    • Rulings can be reversed by later courts or by amendment, and enforcement depends on political support
    • US rights cannot be reversed by any court, since the Constitution is unamendable in every respect
    • US courts have no power to reverse rulings, so precedents are permanent and cannot be overturned at all
    • US rights apply only to citizens in federal cases, which creates no real limits on government power

17. Which factor helps explain why UK civil rights can change more quickly than US rights?

    • Rights can be changed by an ordinary Act of Parliament, whereas US amendments require a supermajority and state ratification
    • UK rights can be changed only by a national referendum held every ten years under the constitution
    • UK rights cannot be changed at all, because they are set out in the Magna Carta of 1215
    • US rights can be changed by a single vote of the Supreme Court in any given term, without any need for state ratification or Congress

18. Which is an example of a civil rights campaign influencing UK law through Parliament?

    • Campaigns that won seats in the House of Lords by direct election in every constituency in turn
    • Campaigns that lobbied MPs for equality reforms, contributing to legislation such as the Equality Act 2010
    • Campaigns that persuaded the Monarch to abolish all discrimination by royal decree in one stroke
    • Campaigns that sought a US-style ban on all public protests in London and other large cities

19. Which best describes the role of the European Court of Human Rights for UK citizens?

    • UK citizens can take cases to it after exhausting domestic remedies, if they claim a Convention right has been breached
    • UK citizens cannot challenge any decision of the UK government in any European court at all
    • UK citizens can appeal directly to the Monarch against any ruling of the House of Lords at any time
    • UK citizens can challenge Acts of Parliament in the US Supreme Court, which hears European cases

20. Which factor most strongly supports the effectiveness of US civil rights protection?

    • The Supreme Court's authority to enforce its rulings through lower federal courts and federal authority
    • The Electoral College's ability to void state laws that conflict with the rights recognised by the Court
    • The Monarch's power to suspend discrimination laws by royal decree whenever the President requests it
    • The House of Commons' power to approve every ruling of the US Supreme Court before it takes effect

Related quizzes

• The constitutional framework of US government Quiz · 3.2.1.1 · 20 questions
• The legislative branch: Congress Quiz · 3.2.1.2 · 20 questions
• The executive branch: sources and constraints of presidential power Quiz · 3.2.1.3.1 · 20 questions
• The executive branch: Imperial versus Imperilled Presidency Quiz · 3.2.1.3.2 · 20 questions
• The judicial branch: selection and role of the Supreme Court Quiz · 3.2.1.4.1 · 20 questions
• The judicial branch: judicial review and landmark rulings Quiz · 3.2.1.4.2 · 20 questions
• The electoral process: candidate selection and electoral outcomes Quiz · 3.2.1.5.1 · 20 questions
• Direct democracy and voting behaviour in the USA Quiz · 3.2.1.5.2 · 20 questions
• Political parties Quiz · 3.2.1.6 · 20 questions
• Pressure groups Quiz · 3.2.1.7 · 20 questions