A
constitutional convention is an informal and uncodified procedural agreement that is followed by the institutions of a state. In some states, notably those
Commonwealth of Nations states that follow the
Westminster system and whose political systems derive from
British constitutional law, most government functions are guided by constitutional convention rather than by a formal written constitution. In these states, actual distribution of power may be markedly different from those the formal constitutional documents describes. In particular, the formal constitution often confers wide discretionary powers on the
head of state that, in practice, are used only on the advice of the
head of government.