‘It is sometimes said that the United Kingdom doesn’t have a constitution – which is understandable, but wrong. The perception that there ‘isn’t a constitution’ arises from the fact that the UK lacks a ‘written’ – or codified – constitution. In that regard, the UK is a global outlier.[1] The vast majority of countries do have codified constitutions. The role played by such constitutions is not uniform across the myriad countries in which they are found, but some generalisations are possible. For one thing, a codified constitution at least forms a starting-point when we wish to find out what the constitution is. The constitutional text may not supply all the answers – we might, for instance, need to consult judicial decisions to find out how a constitutional provision has been interpreted and, therefore, what it really means – but the text at least supplies a point of departure. The constitutional text is also likely to have a status that sets it apart, to some extent at least, from other law. In some systems – the United States of America being a well-known example – the constitution’s status is such that it takes priority over all other forms of law, meaning that other laws can be set aside, or ‘struck down’, if they conflict with the constitution.’
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Public Law for Everyone, 16th October 2026
Source: publiclawforeveryone.com
