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Entrenched
a provision that makes certain amendments more difficult or impossible to pass
Unentrenched
constitution can be ammended with an act of parliament
Codified constitution
constitution written in one single document
Uncodified constitution
constitution not written in one single document
Parliamentary sovereignty
parliament is the supreme legal authority so can create or end any law
Rule of law
laws apply equally to every citizen including govt
Unitary state
centralised power and central govt has ultimate authority
Federal state
power shared and dispersed, power of central govt limited by sovereign power of lower levels of authority which it has no authority over
Devolution
transfer of powers to subnational assemblies from central govt, central govt retains sovereign so could reclaim them
Two pillars of the UK constitution
Rule of law, parliamentary sovereignty
Statute law
Parliamentary bill approved by both houses + given royal assent, no greater authority
Example of a statute law
Marriage act 2013
Conventions
accustomed way that political activity carried out, not legally binding, constitutional significance derives from tradition
Example of a convention
2003 - Blair allowed HOC to vote on supporting military action in Iraq, now parl consulted over commitment of British forces to military operations
Landmark decisions
historical events that contribute towards the constitution
Example of a landmark decision
Bill of rights 1689
Common law
Judgments made by judges in important legal cases, sets precedent for future cases
Example of common law
1991 R v R - husband could be guilty of raping his wife
Authoritative works
Texts written by experts that explain how the UK constitution works, not legally binding
Example of an authoritative work
A V Dicey’s Introduction to the law of the constitution 1885
Treaties
A written international agreement made between two or more political entities
Example of a treaty
Treaty of accession to the European economic community 1972
Note 
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