How does the American constitution compare with the British constitution?
It is a commonly held but incorrect view that the British do not have a constitution. They do. The British constitution is also written, but the difference between the British and American constitutions is that the American constitution is written all in one place, whereas the British constitution is contained in several documents (‘magna carta’, the ‘Bill of Rights’, etc), and is also contained in common law. A one-document constitution tends to be prescriptive, that is, it tells you what your rights are, whereas the British constitution is subtly different: under the British constitutional system, you have the right to do anything EXCEPT that which is prohibited by law. The law in Britain doesn’t tell you what rights you HAVE, it tells you what rights you DON’T have. (That is, it is proscriptive, not prescriptive.) This is a highly sophisticated and civilised form of constitution. However, the American system is also quite subtle, for it contains an amendment which says that the Cons
