British unwritten constitution
The United Kingdom is often said to have an unwritten constitution because there is no single constitutional document which defines the working of Britain's constitutional system. A collection of:
- Acts of parliament
- decrees
- conventions
- traditions
- royal prerogatives
together form the written and unwritten parts of its constitution. Many comentators prefer the term uncodified constitution, since much of the material is in fact in written form (see British constitutional law.)
Among the many key documents or conventions are the
- Magna Carta;
- Habeas Corpus Act, 1679;
- Bill of Rights, 1689;
- Act of Settlement, 1701;
- Act of Union, 1707 (joining England & Scotland to form Great Britain);
- Act of Union 1800, joining Great Britain & Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Statute of Westminster, 1931;
- Parliament Act, 1911 (revised 1949);
- Peerage Act, 1963;
- European Communities Act, 1972;
- Convention since the reign of Queen Anne that the monarch will not refuse to grant the Royal Assent to Bills passed by parliament;
- Convention that the monarch will not dissolve Parliament without the advice of the Prime Minister;
- Convention that the monarch will ask the leader of the dominant party in the House of Commons to form a government;
- Convention that the monarch will ask a member of the House of Commons (rather than the House of Lords or someone outside parliament) to form a government;
- Convention that all ministers be drawn from the House of Commons or the Lords;
- Convention that the House of Lords will accept any legislation that was in the government's manifesto (the 'Salisbury Convention')
Not all political scientists accept that Britain has an unwritten constitution. Some go as far as to insist that Britain, in the absence of a written / codified constitution, has no constitution.
Britain did have a written constitution from 1653 to 1660.
