There are a number of sources of the unwritten British constitution. Firstly, statute law (an Act of Parliament) have come to be regarded as having special significance because they contain rules relating to certain rights or duties of the citizen or to how the government of the country should be organised.
Conventions are practices considered to be the appropriate behaviour or procedure to follow in given circumstances. Constitutional conventions are rules related to the exercise of governmental powers which are considered binding by and on those concerned, even though they are not enforced by the law courts. Some examples include the doctrines of individual and collective ministerial responsibility and the rule that the assent of the monarch is required before Bills passed by the Commons and the Lords can become law.
Works of authority in books written by constitutional theorists have also established appropriate procedures, such as Parliamentary Practice by Erskine May and An Introduction to the study of the Law of the Constitution by A.V Dicey. In addition, treaties and laws of the European Union contribute to the British, uncodefied constitution.
Conventions are practices considered to be the appropriate behaviour or procedure to follow in given circumstances. Constitutional conventions are rules related to the exercise of governmental powers which are considered binding by and on those concerned, even though they are not enforced by the law courts. Some examples include the doctrines of individual and collective ministerial responsibility and the rule that the assent of the monarch is required before Bills passed by the Commons and the Lords can become law.
Works of authority in books written by constitutional theorists have also established appropriate procedures, such as Parliamentary Practice by Erskine May and An Introduction to the study of the Law of the Constitution by A.V Dicey. In addition, treaties and laws of the European Union contribute to the British, uncodefied constitution.
