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Difficulty: HardThe Unwritten Nature of the Constitution

Although many people refer to the UK constitution as 'unwritten', it actually contains many written elements found in different places. Which of the following best explains why the UK is still said to have an 'uncodified' constitution?

  1. It is an uncodified system drawn from a variety of sources—including Statute Law, Common Law, and constitutional conventions—rather than a single authoritative text.Answer
  2. B
    It consists only of 'unwritten' constitutional conventions, which are legally binding rules that cannot be overridden by modern Acts of Parliament.
  3. C
    It is based on a single, formal document that was written hundreds of years ago and can only be changed by a national referendum.
  4. D
    It is defined as 'unwritten' because it is based solely on historical court precedents (Common Law) and excludes any written legislation or Statute Law.

Answer

The UK constitution is an uncodified system drawn from a variety of sources—including Statute Law, Common Law, and constitutional conventions—rather than a single authoritative text.
The UK constitution is described as 'uncodified' because there is no single document that contains all the rules of government. Instead, the constitution is made up of a mixture of written sources, such as Statute Law (Acts of Parliament) and historical documents, alongside non-written sources like Common Law (court judgments) and constitutional conventions.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the meaning of 'uncodified'.
Identify that 'uncodified' means the rules are not collected in one single document.
The UK's lack of a central constitutional text is the defining feature of its 'unwritten' nature.
2
Identify the primary sources of the UK constitution.
The sources include Statute Law (Acts of Parliament), Common Law (legal precedents), and Conventions (traditional practices).
Mastery of the topic requires knowing that 'unwritten' is a technical term for a multi-source framework.
3
Evaluate the options against these sources and definitions.
The correct answer accurately lists the diverse sources and correctly identifies the lack of a single document.
Differentiating between 'unwritten' (as a label) and 'uncodified' (as a structure) ensures the correct selection.

Key Concept

The Unwritten and Uncodified Nature of the UK Constitution
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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The Unwritten Nature of the Constitution

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