A document setting out a state's legal framework and, perhaps, defining and limiting the powers of the government. The United Kingdom does not have such a document, for better or worse. It does, however, have a number of `ordinary' legal instruments which are treated by the courts as having some constitutional status. For example, the European Communities Act (1972) imports into English law vast swathes of EU legislation. In principle, an ActOfParliament passed later than 1972 should take precedence over it, in accordance with the usual conventions of StatutoryInterpretation. However, the courts have frequently upheld the 1972 Act, despite later contradictory enactments. If they did not do this, the UK would be in breach of its obligations under the ECTreaty. All the same, this practice is unusual, to say the least, in UK courts. In short, the 1972 Act has achieved a constitutional status beyond that of other enactments made in the same way. There are a number of other enactments which are, or probably would be, treated by the courts in the same way.
Rules which can generously be classed as constitutional may be found in other written sources as well. A good example is Erskine May's Parliamentary Practice (pedants please note: `practice' is spelled with a `c' and not an `s' here. There are many spelling mistakes on this site, but this is not one of them!)
Law glossary index
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