uncodified constitution

The following states can be considered to have uncodified constitutions.

{{main|Constitution of Canada}}

Although there are Constitution Acts,[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/pdf/const_e.pdf Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982], being The Constitution Act, 1867 (UK), 30 & 31 Vict., c. 3, and The Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c. 11. important aspects of the constitutional system are uncodified. The preamble to the Constitution of Canada declares it to be "similar in principle to that of the United Kingdom" (which is uncodified).

This applies at the federal level and to the provinces,Ontario (Attorney General) v. OPSEU, [1987] 2 S.C.R. 2, [http://canlii.ca/t/1ftn6 1987 CanLII 71 (SCC)], Retrieved 2019-11-07. although each does have the power to modify or enact their own within their exclusive areas of responsibility. To date only British Columbia has enacted a codified provincial constitution (see Constitution of British Columbia), though the other provinces' roles and powers are spelled out in section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867, and through amendments to it dealing with particular provinces such as the Manitoba Act and the Newfoundland Act.

{{main|Constitution of China}}

Some Chinese academics including legal theorist Jiang Shigong have argued that China has both a written constitution and an unwritten constitution based on the comprehensive leadership of the Communist Party.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sulwDwAAQBAJ|title=The Invisible Constitution in Comparative Perspective|last=Zhai|first=Han|chapter=The 'Invisible Constitution' seen Realistically: Visualising China's Unitary System|editor-last=Dixon|editor-first=Rosalind|editor-last2=Stone|editor-first2=Adrienne|year=2018|page=406|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108417570}}

{{main|Constitution of Israel}}

The Israeli Declaration of Independence promised a constitution by 2 October 1948, but due to irreconcilable differences in the Knesset, no complete codified constitution has been written yet. However, there are several Basic Laws.

{{main|Constitution of New Zealand}}

New Zealand has no single constitutional document.{{cite book|last1=McDowell|first1=Morag|last2=Webb|first2=Duncan|author-link2=Duncan Webb|title=The New Zealand Legal System|publisher=LexisNexis Butterworths|date=2002|edition=3rd|isbn=0408716266|page=101}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/journals/CanterLawRw/1989/5.pdf|title=Foundations of the Constitution|first=Philip|last=Joseph |date=1989|page=72|publisher=Canterbury Law Review}} It is sometimes referred to as an "unwritten constitution", although the New Zealand constitution is in fact an amalgamation of written and unwritten sources.{{cite book|last1=Eichbaum|first1=Chris|last2=Shaw|first2=Richard|title=Public Policy in New Zealand - Institutions, processes and outcomes|isbn=1877258938|publisher=Pearson Education New Zealand|date=2005|pages=32–33}}{{cite web |last1=Palmer |first1=Matthew |author-link=Matthew Palmer |title=Constitution - What is a constitution? |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/constitution/page-1 |publisher=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand |access-date=16 August 2019 |language=en |date=20 June 2012}}

The Constitution Act 1986 has a central role, alongside a collection of other statutes, orders in Council, letters patent, decisions of the courts, principles of the Treaty of Waitangi,{{cite book|first=Matthew|last=Palmer|date=2008|title=The Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand's Law and Constitution|publisher=Victoria University of Wellington Press|isbn=978-0-86473-579-9|page=17}} and unwritten traditions and conventions.

{{main|Constitution of San Marino}}

San Marino has several documents that make up its constitution, including some lasting centuries. These documents include six books of The Statues of 1600 and the Declarations of Citizen's Rights. It is the oldest surviving constitution in the world.

{{main|Constitution of Saudi Arabia}}

Saudi Arabia has no legally binding written constitution.{{cite book |title=The paradoxical kingdom: Saudi Arabia and the momentum of reform |last=Champion |first= Daryl |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-85065-668-5 |page=60|publisher=Hurst & Company }} In 1960, King Faisal declared the Quran, the religious text of Islam, to be the constitution. However, in 1992, the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia was adopted by royal decree.{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of world constitutions |volume=2 |last=Robbers |first=Gerhard |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8160-6078-8 |page=791}}

{{main|Constitution of the United Kingdom}}

In the United Kingdom, there is no defining document that can be termed "the constitution". Because the political system evolved over time, rather than being changed suddenly in an event such as a revolution, collapse of government or overthrow of monarchy, it is continuously being defined by acts of parliament and decisions of the courts. The closest the UK has come to a constitutional code has been the Treaty of Union 1707.

Due to the United Kingdom having an uncodified constitution, many acts have been added to the collection of constitutional statutes,{{clarify|date=September 2016}} such as the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022. This means the United Kingdom's constitutional rules are not written in a single document.{{cite book |last1=King |first1=A |title=The British Constitution |date=2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |pages=6}}

• The Constitution of the Roman Republic, made up of the Twelve Tables and other statutes.
• Hungary had an uncodified constitution prior to 1949.
• Sweden: What written and unwritten elements made up the Swedish constitution was the subject of much uncertainty and debate, until the Instrument of Government 1809 (1809 års regeringsform) made a point of expressly superseding “all more or less valid constitutions ... as well as ... any other such laws, acts, ordinances, statutes or decisions, however ancient or new, as have previously been included under the name of constitution”.{{cite book |last1=Bull |first1=Thomas |last2=Sterzel |first2=Fredrik |title=Regeringsformen: en kommentar |edition=4th |date=2020 |publisher=Studentlitteratur |location=Lund |pages=52}} As of 2021, the Instrument of Government specifies at paragraph 3 that the constitution of Sweden (rikets grundlagar) consists of the Instrument of Government, the Freedom of the Press Act, the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression and the Act of Succession.
• The Constitution of the Grand Duchy of Finland was never codified. The Emperor of Russia, who also served from 1809 to 1917 as Grand Duke of Finland, never specifically recognized the constitution as that of a separate and autonomous Finland, in spite of the fact that that constitution largely dictated the relationship between Finland and the Russian Empire throughout the Russian era in Finland.

:By the late 19th century leading Finnish intellectuals—liberals and nationalists, and later, socialists as well—had come to consider Finland as a constitutional state in its own right in a mere real union with Russia. This notion clashed with emerging Russian nationalism and with Russian calls for a unitary state for Slavs only, which eventually came into conflict with Finnish separatism and constitutionalism in the form of "russification policies", which restricted Finland's extensive autonomy from 1899 onwards, excluding a brief interruption between 1905 and 1908, all the way to the February Revolution in 1917.

:The Russian Provisional Government of 1917 eventually recognized the Finnish constitution, and after the October Revolution the Bolshevik government of the RSFSR recognized Finland's declaration of independence on New Year's Eve 1917.

• Andorra did not have a codified constitution until 1993 and until that date, there was no clear separation of powers. The two Andorran paréages of 1278 and 1288 were the basic laws of the country until the promulgation of the 1993 Constitution.{{Cite web|author=Govern d'Andorra|title=History|url=http://www.andorra.be/en/2.1.htm|publisher=The Embassy of Andorra to the Benelux, Denmark and Slovenia|accessdate=14 December 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070720204803/http://www.andorra.be/en/2.1.htm|archivedate=20 July 2007|df=dmy-all}}
• The Constitution of Queensland before 2001{{clarify|date=May 2022}}{{cn|date=May 2022}}
• Oman prior to 1996{{cn|date=May 2022}}
• Libya between 1969 and 1975
• Thailand prior to 1932 had Dharmaśāstra of Manu as an uncodified constitution.{{Dubious|date=January 2024}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Uncodified Constitution}}

Uncodified