Introduction

The British Constitution is more than a body of institutions working in accordance with principles laid down in law or expressed in conventions. Since the legal framework of the British Constitution developed before the principle of popular sovereignty was accepted, there is no legal sanction behind them, and they are therefore more indefinite and less sure of application. Orthodox accounts of the British Constitution attribute to it four characteristics that distinguish it from other constitutions in one degree or another. The British Constitution has a Parliamentary executive as distinct from a presidential executive. The contrast which has been suggested between the difficulty of change in a progressive direction and the ease of change in a reactionary direction under the British Constitution is borne out by a consideration of the extent to which individual rights and liberties are guaranteed by the Constitution.