CONSTITUTION AND CONSTITUTIONALISM

MEANING

A constitution is an established body of laws and principles according to which a country is

governed. It contains statements intended to define the relations between rulers and ruled, the

basic institutional framework of government the rights and duties of citizens, and many

important procedures to be followed in connection with those mattes

 A constitution may be a vague body of unwritten laws conventions or customs. For

example, in Britain, the constitution is unwritten laws taking te form of understanding,

conventions or customs

 It may be detailed written document as in USA and Nigeria. In these countries,

constitution is an elaborate document in which the organization of the government, its

powers and relations to individuals are all carefully set down.

 By their very nature, constitutions everywhere, are regarded as embodying the

fundamentals of the political system. These fundamentals ave the force of law,

enforceable by the courts

Sources of constitution

(i) A written document as done in many countries with federal system of government

(ii) Organic laws – legislative rules adopted through ordinary legislative procedures are

regarded as rules in the constitution

(iii) Judicial decision s- legal interpretations by the judiciary written and published

constitutes a major source of a country’s constitution

(iv) Constitutional customs thought not written but strictly accepted and obeyed.

Customary rules in practice are established as part of the general body of the

constitution.

The Substance of the Constitution

Although, countries vary in the detailed provisions of the constitution, most of their contents

fall into some combinations of five main categories:

(i) A Preamble.

This is statement of ideal located at the beginnings of the constitution. It usually

state the authority by which the constitutions are established and for what purpose;

(ii) Structure of government

All constitutions specify the major organs of the government, what kinds of people

shall be eligible to occupy positions in those organs and how those organs will be

selected and removed;

(iii) Distribution of power

Most constitutions have rules specifying what the various organs of government and

the main governing officials are authorized to do. Thus, the powers of the three

organs of government-the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary are spelt out in

details in the constitution. For example, the 1999 constitution of Nigeria have powers

distributed as follows: powers in the exclusive list to the federal government; powers

in the concurrent list to both federal government and states; and Residual list to the

state alone.
(iv) Rights of individuals

The constitution provides for fundamental rights of individuals. These rights are of

two main types. First, there are those constitutionally-guaranteed individual

freedoms, civil liberties and political, social legal and participatory rights. Second,

there are obligations of government. These include guarantees of the rights to work,

to education and to safety of individuals;

(v) Formal amendment procedures

Most constitutions specify the procedures by which they may be formally amended.

Amending procedures vary from constitution to constitution. Amending the

constitution may be flexible as in New Zealand and Britain. It may be rigid as in

Nigeria and America.

Types of constitution

 Written constitution – described as constitution in which the fundamental principles

concerning the organization of a government, the powers of its various agencies and the

rights of the citizens are written down in a single document. Examples of countries with

written constitutions are United State of America, Nigeria

Written constitution guard against the emergence of dictatorships and serve as supreme

law of the nation. It also enables provisions to be considered before any amendment

The disadvantages of written constitution the rigidity during emergencies, the limitation

of the scope because not all laws of the state are codified. Besides, written constitution

depend a lot on interpretation, which may generate conflict with other organs of

government.
 Unwritten constitution

- In this, the fundamental principles and powers of a government are not codified or

written down in any single document. Example of country with unwritten constitution

is Britain. The merit of unwritten is that it is flexible and ensures the smooth-running

of the government

 Rigid Constitution – are those which require lengthy and difficult amendment

procedures. It’s disadvantages is that it cannot easily adjust to changing times. The usual

processes of amendment provide for initiative by the legislator alone, by the convocation

of convention created for the purpose, and by the popular vote through the initiative and

referendum. Examples of countries operating rigid constitution are: Nigeria, Switzerland,

Australia and America.

 Flexible constitution – In this type of constitution, amendment does not involved

difficult procedure. It ensures that new ideas and needs are reflected in the constitution.

Its demerit is that it can generate political instability. Examples of countries operating

flexible constitutions are: Britain, Italy, New Zealand and Finland.

 Unitary constitution- A unitary state is one organized under a single central

government, that is to say, whatever powers are possessed by the various districts within

the area administered as a whole by the central government are held at the discretion of

that government. The central government is supreme over the whole without any

restrictions imposed by any law granting special powers to its parts. Examples of

countries operating unitary constitution are: Britain, France and Belgium.

 Federal constitution- A federal state is one in which a number of co-ordinate state unite

for certain common purposes. The powers of the central or federal authority are limited
 by certain powers secured to the units forming the federation. Both the federal and state

authorities derive their powers from the constitution. Examples of countries operating

federal constitutions are: America, Nigeria, Swizerland, Australia, India and Canada.

CONSTITUTIONALISM

Constitutionalism means essentially limited government – a system of restraints on both rulers

and ruled. Constitutionalism is a doctrine which emphasizes that the power of government

should be limited so that fundamental human rights are protected from unnecessary

encroachments by either public officials or private individuals. Indeed, constitutionalism is the

opposite of dictatorship. Other features of constitutionalism are:

 It assumes limitation on government as opposed to arbitrary government. It asserts that

there are fundamental limits which must be observed in the relationships between rulers

and ruled. There are limits beyond which no just government can go.

 constitutionalism is bound up with the motion of the rule of law. It is the essential

attributes of a government conforming to the dictates of a settled constitution. The

attributes include:

(i) respect for the rule of law;

(ii) Liberty;

(iii) separation of powers and a system of checks and balances;

(iv) toleration of the opposition;

(v) press freedom, fearless, independent judiciary, as well as,

(vi) the accountability, responsibility and responsiveness of government to the people

 It embraces the idea that a government should not be permitted to do whatever its

officials please, but should conduct itself, according to equitable and agreed procedures.
 Constitutionalism has led to the general practice of drafting and adopting constitution in

many nations. Such constitutions are usually the product of the people represented in a

special assembly, constituent assembles, elected for that purpose by a constitutional

conventions.

 the purpose of restriction of the government freedom of action is to safeguard

fundamental area of freedom for its citizens, for example, human rights

 The goal of constitutionalism is government based on constitution in exercise of its poser.

Basic procedures for adopting a constitution are:

(i) A constitution drafting committee is inaugurated;

(ii) A representative constituent assembly is inaugurated to debate and adopt the draft

constitution;

(iii) In some countries, the adopted constitution may further be subjected to a popular

referendum;

(iv) In a federation, it might be necessary for at least two-thirds of the states which

make up the federation to approve the adopted constitution before it becomes a

federal constitution.

Today, constitutionalism is almost synonymous with democracy, and there can be no idea of a

government without a constitution, whether written or unwritten.

Resources Suggested

Anifowose, R. & Enemuo, F. (2005). Elements of Politics, Lagos: Concepts Publication Ltd

Oyediran, Oyeleye, Nwosu, H, Takaya B, Anifowoshe, R, Badejo, H, Ogboghodo, G. & Agbade,

A. (2007). New Approach Government. Lagos: Longmans Nigeria Plc

Roskin, M.G., Cord, R.L., Medeiros, J.A. & Jones, W.S. (2007). Political Science. An

Introduction, 10th Edition New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall