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(London, Houses of Parliament. The Sun Shining through the Fog by Claude Monet, 1904). Parliament (from old French, parler, "to talk") is the UK's highest law-making body.. Although the British constitution is not codified, the Supreme Court recognises constitutional principles, [10] and constitutional statutes, [11] which shape the use of political power. There are at least four main ...
The constitution of British regional governments is an uncodified patchwork of authorities, mayors, councils and devolved government. [278] In Wales , Scotland , Northern Ireland and London unified district or borough councils have local government powers, and since 1998 to 2006 new regional assemblies or Parliaments exercise extra powers ...
Aspects of the British constitution were adopted in the constitutions and legal systems of other countries around the world, particularly those that were part of, or formerly part of, the British Empire including the United States and the many countries that adopted the Westminster parliamentary system.
In this country, there is no conventionally understood written constitution to this day, in other words: a formal constitution, as is the case in other countries. Instead of one document, there are a number of norms called constitutional conventions, or the constitution in a material sense. The doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty applies.
The constitution of the United Kingdom is an uncodified constitution. There are two chambers of the UK parliament: the House of Commons and House of Lords. The UK has various overseas territories and crown dependencies, and is composed of three legal jurisdictions.
The constitution consists of legislation, common law, Crown prerogative and constitutional conventions. Conventions may be written or unwritten. They are principles of behaviour which are not legally enforceable, but form part of the constitution by being enforced on a political, professional or personal level.
In the 2008 case of R (Bancoult) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (No 2), an Order in Council of the British government was found to have no basis in law by a minority of judges on final appeal, which held that additional powers can be granted to actors on behalf of the government only through parliament.
In the United Kingdom, the Bill is considered a basic document of the uncodified British constitution, along with Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, the Habeas Corpus Act 1679 and the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949. A separate but similar document, the Claim of Right Act 1689, applies in Scotland.