The need for a written constitution in the UK

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W201, TMA 01

(Word count - 1096)

In the UK there is no written constitution, so the term may be defined to embody a set of standards surrounding the governing power. It characterizes the means by which power is concentrated and controlled, in order to be legitimately effective within a state. One of its main functions is to allocate powers between the three branches of government; the executive, legislature and judiciary and impose any necessary checks and balances. It also defines basic values that are considered important to society, and individual human rights. The UK is one of only three countries that have an unwritten constitution, largely due to historical circumstances that have seen no dramatic changes in political power requiring a written constitution. Instead, it is to be found within ordinary legal sources, both statute and common law amongst other sources.

Acts of Parliament may have constitutional content, in that they deal with aspects of law which are constitutional, but they are passed by the same procedures as any other statute and are significantly labelled. Statutes regarded as constitutional date back to the Magna Carta in 1215, which largely symbolizes the principles by which the