ConstitutionConstitutions distribute, organize and regulate state power. Constitutions make the structure of the country or state. In other words it can said to be a body of fundamental principles or series of legal and non-legal rules that define how a state, country or other institutions are governed.We have other definitions of famous authors like Finer he defined the constitution as “codes of rules which aspire to regulate the allocation of functions, powers among the various agencies and officers of the government, and define the relationships between them and the public” Similarly Professor King Defined it as “a constitution is the set of most important rules that regulates the relations among the different part of the government of a given country and also the relations between the different parts of the government and the people of the country” A superior law where a constitutional document does exist, it represents that form of law superior to all other laws in the state or country.
This may be implicit, but is common for it to be stated in the text of the constitution itself. “The Constitution is the supreme law of the republic, Law or conduct inconsistent with it is invalid and the obligations imposed by it must be filled”. In the case of the United States, the Supreme Court acts as a guardian of the constitution. However, this role was not allotted to it by the constitution itself.
Rather, the court assumed the role Marbury v Madison (1803).Amendment, An amendment of the constitution may be initiated only by the introduction of a Bill for the purpose in either House of Parliament and when the bill is passed in each House by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two thirds of the members of that House present and voting, the Constitution shall stand amended in accordance with the terms of the bill.Types of Constitutions:-There are several types of constitutions. Here we discuss these types. So there is first type ‘Written’ or ‘Unwritten’ Constitutions. The constitution is found in one or more than one legal document duly enacted in the form of laws. It is precise, definite and systematic. It is the result of the conscious and deliberate efforts of the people.
It is framed by a representative body duly elected by the people at a particular period in history. This type of constitution is called as Written Constitutions. If a Country having this kind of constitution we can say also says that a country or a state has codified constitution. An unwritten constitution is one in which most of the principles of the government have never been enacted in the form of laws. It consists of customs, conventions, traditions, and some written laws bearing different dates. It is unsystematic, indefinite and un-precise. Such a constitution is not the result of conscious and deliberate efforts of the people. It is uncodified constitution.
Monarchical or Republican, In Monarchical Constitution a form of governance reigned by a king, queen or an emperor. While a republican constitution provides for the post of a President. In some states, the president is effectively head of state and head of the government but in some states the president is the head of state but the head of government is prime minster.Parliamentary or Presidential, In a parliamentary system, the head of the government is Prime Minister. He or she will be a member of the legislature and will be accountable to that for that body for the actions of the government. We have a best example of UK.
In Presidential system the President will be the both head of state and head of the government.Federal or Unitary, A unitary system is governed constitutionally as one single unit, with one constitutionally created legislature. This means that all powers of the Government are centralized in one Government that is Central Government.
The most famous example of Unitary Constitution is UK. In Unitary Constitution the provinces are subordinate to the centre, but in federal constitution, there is a division of powers between the federal and the state governments. Both are independent in their own sphereUnited Kingdom Constitution:-Constitutions organize, distribute and regulate state power. They set out the structure of the state, the major state institutions, and the principles governing their relations with each other and with the state’s citizens.
United Kingdom is unusual in that it has an ‘unwritten’ constitution: unlike the great majority of countries there is no single legal document which sets out in one place the fundamental laws outlining how the state works. UK lack of a ‘written’ constitution can be explained by its history. In other countries, many of whom have experienced revolution or regime change, it has been necessary to start from scratch or begin from first principles, constructing new state institutions and defining in detail their relations with each other and their citizens. By contrast, the British Constitution has evolved over a long period of time, reflecting the relative stability of the British polity. It has never been thought necessary to consolidate the basic building blocks of this order in UK.
What UK has instead is an accumulation of various statutes, conventions, judicial decisions and treaties which collectively can be referred to as the UK Constitution. It is thus more accurate to refer to UK constitution as an ‘uncodified’ constitution, rather than an ‘unwritten’ one. The UK constitution is derived from different sources, Statutes is the first source of UK constitution these are the laws passed by Parliament and generally the fundamental form of law. In other words, written law passed by legislative body is statute. Common Law is another source of UK constitution it is derived from judicial precedent. It is matured by the courts and judges through already decided cases.
Originally, it was based on common law of the land. Another source is Conventions, Convention is defined as an international or global treaty or pact which is the combination of different articles such as Human rights act 1998. The fourth source is International law. The rules and laws entrenched by traditions or customs and are predominantly binding on all the nations in their association with each other. Royal Prerogative “The term royal prerogative applies to these ancient powers and immunities-once exercised or influenced by the monarch personally and thought to be a natural attribute of the Monarch’s constitutional”(Alex Carroll, 1998, p.
296 ).European Law is also a source of UK constitution these are the laws created by European Union that implies on all of the European Union countries and if there is some sort of conflict between European Union law and National law. Priority is given to European Union law as compared to the national law. There are three basic principal of UK constitution Separation of power, Supremacy of Parliament, Rule of Law.
Important documents of UK constitution are Magna Carta 1215,Bill of Rights 1689, Act of Settlement, Treaty of Union 1706, Reforms Acts 1832,1867 ; 1885,Parliament Communities Act 1972,European Communities Act 1972,Scotland, Wales ;Northern Ireland Acts 1998 Human Rights Acts 1998More Classification about UK Constitution Unwritten UK has Unwritten constitution in other words uncodified. It is not in a single book or in a single documents. Flexible It is flexible no specific procedures laid down.
Amendment occurs through Acts of Parliament, Judicial decisions and changes in constitutional conventions. Monarchial The country is presided by a monarch who is head of state. In UK Queen Elizabeth 2 is the head of country. While prime minister is the head of government.Unitary Parliament retains all ultimate legal power.UK constitution is unitary.Bi-Cameral Legislature consist of two chambers, House of Lords and House of Commons.
