Aconstitution comprises the laws, rules and customs that establish the organs of a state (such as the government, legislature and courts), the relationship between those organs, and the relationship between these organs and the people. So defined, every nation has a constitution. The UK is distinctive, though not unique, in that the basic provisions of the constitution are not drawn up — or codified — in a single document.
With not having the provisions in a single document, it is common to hear the UK described as having an ‘unwritten constitution’. This is misleading in that most provisions are written. They are to be found in Acts of Parliament (such as the Bill of Rights 1689, the Parliament Act 1911 and the European Communities Act 1972), and in decisions of the courts (common law and statutory interpretation). It is thus not so much a case of having an unwritten constitution as having one that is uncodified. This is a distinction the UK shares with Israel and New Zealand.
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