Distinguish between a codified and an uncodified constitution.

A codified constitution is a single, written document that underpins the nature and structure of governance within a state. Codifed constitutions will usually outline the powers of different branches of government, the relationships between the different branches of government, the rights of citizens, the process of admending the constitution etc. They are used in the vast majority of states, notably the United States of America, and are often entrenched to make them much more difficult to amend or remove. Constituional law is thus regarded in some form as 'higher' or superior to non-constituional law.

An uncodifed consitution on the other hand draws upon multiple, sometimes competing, sources that determine the nature and structure of governance within a state. Though not written in a single document, uncodified constitutions draw upon both written and unwritten sources such as statue, judicial review, custom, precedent and usage. Such constitutions typically do not have entrenched, or at least deeply entrenched, elements and the constitution can be changed or removed through legislation or new precedents and behaviours. The UK constitution, for example, has an uncodified constitution.