Editing Politics (section)

=== Constitutions ===
[[Constitutions]] are written documents that specify and limit the powers of the different branches of government. Although a constitution is a written document, there is also an unwritten constitution. The unwritten constitution is continually being written by the legislative and judiciary branch of government; this is just one of those cases in which the nature of the circumstances determines the form of government that is most appropriate.<ref>{{cite web |title=Britain's unwritten constitution |url=https://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles/britains-unwritten-constitution |website=The British Library |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401113644/https://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles/britains-unwritten-constitution |archive-date=1 April 2019 |access-date=25 February 2019}}</ref> England did set the fashion of written constitutions during the [[English Civil War|Civil War]] but after the [[Restoration (England)|Restoration]] abandoned them to be taken up later by the [[Thirteen Colonies|American Colonies]] after their [[American Revolution|emancipation]] and then [[France]] after the [[French Revolution|Revolution]] and the rest of Europe including the European colonies.

Constitutions often set out [[separation of powers]], dividing the government into the [[Executive (government)|executive]], the [[legislature]], and the [[judiciary]] (together referred to as the trias politica), in order to achieve checks and balances within the state. Additional independent branches may also be created, including [[civil service commission]]s, [[election commission]]s, and [[supreme audit institution]]s.