unwritten constitution

American  

noun

1. a constitution, as in Great Britain, not codified as a document but defined by custom and precedent as embodied in statutes and judicial decisions.

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Etymology

Origin of unwritten constitution

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

That democratic system is underpinned by an “unwritten constitution” - a set of laws, rules, conventions and judicial decisions accumulated over hundreds of years.

From Washington Times

Johnson tested Britain’s unwritten constitution.

From Seattle Times

But Blick says Britain’s unwritten constitution means that checks and balances are easier to override than in some other democracies.

From Seattle Times

That democratic system is underpinned by an “unwritten constitution” — a set of laws, rules, conventions and judicial decisions accumulated over hundreds of years.

From Seattle Times

Westminster's gorged itself this week on some of its favourite pastimes: obsessing over who is slithering up or down in the game of political snakes and ladders; pondering the edges of our stretchy, unwritten constitution as the courts and government do battle; and, of course, frantically trying to predict what is next.

From BBC