What Is The Nature Of The British Constitution?

A bulk of the British constitution comprises the political usages that deal with the basic norm of governmental machinery. These conventions can not be traced in the statue books. Yet can be found in the writings of jurists and publicists, in text books and treaty documents. These constitute unwritten source of the constitution. The conventions have enabled the English political system, to adjust itself according to the needs of changing circumstances of a democratic age. Conventions, in fact, bring in lime-light those norms of political behavior that are not the product of statues or judicial decisions but were developed gradually outside the scope of legal action. The objective which were difficult to be attained through written laws got realized through conventions.

Constitutional conventions brought constitutional theory in line with political reality. Political usages grew in importance when a certain mode of political behavior is repeatedly acted upon. Reverence to such political usages for a longer time maximize their importance to the level of written laws, hence they assume the form of constitutional conventions. In order to analyze the working of British political system, an appraisal and understanding of the relevant conventions is indispensable. Most of the norms, rules and practices, regulating democratic institutions, especially those relating to parliamentary set-up, are based on conventions.