Should the United Kingdom create a written Constitution?

No

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by Carissa Kane

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According to KC Wheare a Constitution is "the whole system of government, the collection of rules which establishes and regulates or governs the government."

It is a tenet which governs the actions of government ensuring that they are lawful. It implies something far more important than the idea of legality which requires official conduct to be in accordance with prefixed rules. More importantly, a constitution will vary with society.

No where is that above stated definition does it say that this masterpiece must be written, does it? No! Many have queried whether the United Kingdom does indeed have a constitution given the fact that there is no strict or fixed document named "Constitution". However both Sir Ivor Jennings and A.V. Dicey state that the United Kingdom does indeed have a constitution and that it can be elsewhere other than in a single written document.

The main sources of the United Kingdom constitution are found in Statute, Common Law, European Community Law, Conventions and Literary Sources as in writings of the famous author, mentioned above, A.V. Dicey. There is no single document outlining one's constitutional rights. And why should there be one?

Firstly, the UK is a unitary state with Parliament sitting at Westminster being the only body competent to legislate for the UK. Secondly, all laws in the UK including laws relating to the constitution may be enacted, repealed or amended by the Queen in Parliament. There is no specific procedure for changing the law, that is, very important law can be changed by simple majority. This simply means that the decision making process is not stifled in any way by past legislation.

Outside of these obvious points, the fact that the United Kingdom has an unwritten constitution has caused concern since there is no one document that stands alone but this is what makes it so unique. It has somehow managed to function quite efficiently and past the tests of time in being a long lasting system of governance. Where concerns arise, the nature of this unwritten constitution has proved to iron out itself and work quite nicely.

One concern is the power of the Queen. Although the Queen is head of state and retains many of the powers of the government, by "Convention" these powers are exercised in her name by her ministers, hence the term Constitutional Monarchy, as what is used to describe the United Kingdom. These conventions are many and run along side "Statute." These are the procedures that have been developed and are guidelines of what should or should not be done (as deemed acceptable for past events). If they are broken it is not unlawful but it is definitely unconstitutional. Conventions, being one source of law that make up the constitution have confirmed ingenious in the system as it seek to fill the void that written legislation has created.

Looking at things from another perspective as to why the United Kingdom's Constitution should remain unwritten lies in the doctrine of Parliament Sovereignty. Parliament is supreme and can make or break laws. No parliament can bind its successors or be bound by its predecessors. If the UK were to adopt the notion of having a written constitution then this doctrine would be totally pointless and would not be able to execute itself as it has done it the past.

As was mentioned earlier, every constitution will vary with society. The UK has had long-established doctrines, principles and codes of conduct that are embedded in the minds and hearts of its people. It has made the society into what it is today and above all the obstacles faced (as in every other system, whether the constitution is written or unwritten) they have managed to develop one of the best legal systems in the world and have an excellent system of governance.

I strongly believe that the system of an unwritten constitution works and works well. It has been created throughout the years that have seen the UK grow into what is today. It has been developed based on not only great events but great minds of the region giving it a distinct flavor of pride. Nothing is like its kind and it's definitely functional. With that in mind one must ask himself, "Why should I fix that which is not broken"?

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