British constitution
Parliament's accumulated precedents
The British constitution is the body of laws, conventions, and practices that govern the United Kingdom—unusual among major democracies for being uncodified, meaning it exists in no single written document.
It draws from statutes like Magna Carta, court decisions, parliamentary traditions, and unwritten conventions.
This flexibility allows evolution without formal amendment but relies heavily on precedent and political restraint.
- statute lawLaws created by legislatures
- common lawJurisprudence from judicial decisions
- crownSovereign's ornamental headpiece
- Glorious RevolutionEngland's 1688 regime change
- Norman ConquestFrench duke's English takeover
Magna Carta · monarchy · judiciary · rule of law · Prime Minister · loyal opposition · hung parliament · first past the post · checks and balances · judicial independence · supreme court · English Civil War · separation of powers · treaties · chamber · throne · House of Commons · Brexit
- lawlaw, lawyer, lawyers, attorney, attorneys
- political philosophypolitical philosophy, political theory, political thought, social contract, natural rights
British constitutionwritten constitution
Codified supreme law document
United States Constitution · US Constitution · absolute monarchy
British, Britain, Briton, Britons, Britishness, constitution, constitutional, constitutionally, constitutionalism