''Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution'' is a book by A. V. Dicey about the

constitution of the United Kingdom The constitution of the United Kingdom or British constitution comprises the written and unwritten arrangements that establish the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a political body. Unlike in most countries, no attemp ...

. It was first published in 1885. Dicey was named the

Vinerian Professor of English Law The Vinerian Professorship of English Law, formerly Vinerian Professorship of Common Law, was established by Charles Viner who by his will, dated 29 December 1755, left about £12,000 to the Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of O ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1883. He began delivering the lectures that were to become ''Introduction'' on 28 April 1884. In a letter to Macmillan on 9 June, he proposed that they be turned into a book. The book was published as ''Lectures Introductory to the Study of the Law of the Constitution'' in late 1885. Early reviews were generally favourable. In the book's third edition, published in 1889, its title was changed to ''Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution''. A seventh edition appeared in 1907. By its eighth edition, published in 1915, a reviewer for the ''

American Political Science Review The ''American Political Science Review'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all areas of political science. It is an official journal of the American Political Science Association and is published on their behalf by Cambri ...

'' wrote that ''Introduction'' was "accepted as a standard work on the English constitution". Dicey wrote a long introduction to the eighth edition in which he argued that the rule of law had declined in Britain since the first edition of ''Introduction'' was published. A ninth edition was published in 1939. Philip Norton wrote in a 1984 book that ''Introduction'' was the "most influential work of the past century" on the British constitution. ''Introduction'' identifies basic principles of English constitutional law including

parliamentary sovereignty Parliamentary sovereignty, also called parliamentary supremacy or legislative supremacy, is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies. It holds that the legislative body has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over all ...

and the rule of law. According to Dicey, the rule of law, in turn, relies on judicial independence. In ''Introduction'', Dicey distinguishes a historical understanding of the constitution's development from a legal understanding of constitutional law as it stands at a point in time. He writes that the latter is his subject. However, J. W. F. Allison argues, Dicey nonetheless relies on historical facts and examples to bolster his argument.

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Works cited

* * * * * * {{Authority control 1885 books Macmillan Publishers books Law books