The Constitution: Key terminology

Constitution

A set of rules determining where sovereignty lies in a political system, and establishing the relationship between the government and the governed.

Unentrenched

A constitution with no special procedure for amendment.

Entrenched

A constitution with a special procedure for an amendment and is protected by a ‘higher court’.

Uncodified

A constitution not contained in a single written document.

Codified

A constitution in a single written document

Unitary

A political system where all legal sovereignty is contained in a single place.

Federal

A political system where power is shared between institutions.

Parliamentary sovereignty

The principle that Parliament can make, amend or unmake any law, and cannot bind its successors or be bound by its predecessors.

The rule of law

The principle that all people and bodies, including government, must follow the law and can be held to account if they do not.

Statue law

Laws passed by Parliament.

Common law

Laws made by judges where the law does not cover the issue or is unclear.

Conventions

Traditions not contained in law but influential in the operation of a political system.

Authoritative works

Works written by experts describing how a political system is run, they are not legally binding but are taken as significant guides.

Treaties

Formal agreements with other countries, usually ratified by Parliament.

Devolution

The dispersal of power, but not sovereignty, within a political system.