Constitution Keywords. Flashcards
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.
Uncodified.
A constitution not contained in a single written document.
Unitary.
A political system where all legal sovereignty is contained in a single place.
Parliamentary sovereignty
The principle that Parliament can make, amend or unmake any law and cannot bind to 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.
Statute 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.
Treaties.
Formal agreements with other countries, usually ratified by Parliament.
Devolution.
The dispersal of power but not sovereignty within a political system.
