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An In-Depth Analysis of Constitutional Law: Nature, Classifications, and Key Features

Examination of constitutional law, its classifications, and key features.

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    1 An In - Depth Analysis of Constitutional Law: Nature, Classifications, and Key Features 1. Discuss the nature of constitutional law. Nature of constitutional law: Firstly, we need to define the following terms: Law : a set of rules imposed upon and enforced among members of a given state. State : an independent political society occupying a defined territory whose members are united together for the purpose of resisting external force and the preservation of internal order. Constitution : Generally it is the fundamental law of the land in so far as it designates the principle organs of government and invests them with authority, thus it will constitute and define the legislature, the executive and the judiciary and state what is the scope of their power and procedure for exercising that power. The word constitution is derived from the Latin word constitutio , which refers to any important law made by the emperor. However, the word constitution is used in two different senses: The abstract sense : the system of laws, convection and customs, which define the composition and the powers of the organs of state and regulate the relations of the various state organs to one another and to the private citizen. The concrete sense : the document in which the most important laws of the constitution are authoritatively ordained. Therefore since Britain has no written constitution, it has no constitution in the concrete sense. There is also what is called the periphery and the core of a constitution: The core: consists of the fundamental rules touching on the daily management of governmental processes, which are however not neatly laid out. The periphery deals with the manner in which the constitution works. Organs of the constitution don’t necessarily work according to written laws, the also work according to practices, which are not legal in character e.g. the nomination of parliamentary candidates. Major points on nature of constitutional law are the definition of law, state, a constitution, constitutional law, the scope of constitutional law, ingredients of a constitution, characteristic s of constitutional law and the key features of a constitution.

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    2 Besides being a legal document, the constitution is also a political document, which seeks to harmonise conflicting social and political interests by considering historical factors. Constitutional law : a collection of rules, which regulate the relationship between the various arms of government among themselves (inter se) and between the same arms of government and the individual citizen. Next, we state what the scope of constitutional law is: The constitution contains what is referred to as the basic/ fundamental/ foundational laws of a state. However, not all constitutional laws are contained in a constitution some are left to the work of legislation by parliament. Constitutional laws made through legislation may be altered or removed in the same ways as all other acts of parliament are altered or repealed. Constitutional law includes customs, conventions, which are sanctioned by public opinion and might not be enforceable in a court of law. The ingredients of a constitution: I. Asserts the existence of a sovereign state for which the laws contained in the constitution apply. II. Power is then divided among various organs of the state. Thus the judicial, executive, and the legislative power is clearly defined and given to the various organs. Also, for the purposes of co - ordination, their relationship to each other is laid down. The various functions of each organ are listed down:  Setting out the powers of the legislature, the privileges of its members, status of ministers and position of civil servants who work under them.  The armed forces and the power to control them,  The general system of the courts plus tenure and immunity of judges,  Treaty - making power,  Relationship between the central government and the local authorities, III. Thirdly, it defines who is to be governed under the constitution i.e. citizenship and then it tells us how the citizen is to relate to the government especially where the rights of the citizen are involved. IV. It also considers historical and political backgrounds of a state e.g. if the major issue at independence was land then, it is likely that it will deal with these issues.

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    3 V. Other issues dealt with are those of national security, taxation and public finance. VI. It also gives the procedure for alteration of the constitution. Sources of constitutional law: I. Legislation: Acts of parliament and other subsidiary legislation done by bodies to which parliament has conferred the power to legislate. II. Judicial Precedent : the decisions of courts expounding the common law or interpreting statutes. III. Custom : the source of many usages of parliament. IV. Conventions of the constitution or convectional rules : rules without the force of law, which are sanctioned by public opinion and perhaps, law proper. V. Advisory or authoritative works : the opinion of writers of authority e.g. historians, politicians, scientists and lawyers. Importance/uniqueness/special nature of constitutional law:  It is the supreme law of the land in accordance with judicial, parliamentary and executive practice. It also requires special procedures for amendment.  Constitutional laws are largely written and this is in contrast with other sources of law like common law, which are largely unwritten. Characteristics of constitutional law: a. It establishes government machinery, b. It states the mode of operation of this machinery, c. It prescribes the rules of access to this machinery, d. It defines the lines of initiative in the management machinery, e. It regulates areas of interplay within this machinery, f. It prescribes rules of resolution of conflict within this machinery and also in relation to private interests, The following are the Key Features of a Democratic Constitution: 01. Codification : A codified constitution is contained in one single document, which, is the single main source of constitutional law but an uncodified constitution consists of several different sources and are not contained in a single written document.

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