Constitution

P R E S E N T E D B Y E M A N D . PA N G C ATA N
The Constitution • A set of rules, written and
unwritten, that seek to establish
the duties, powers and functions
of the various institutions of
government
• Regulate the relationships
between them
• Define the relationship between
the state and the individual
 Philippine Constitution
Nov-Dec 14, 1897 Dec 10, 1898 to Nov 15, 1935 to
Mar 24, 1934 Jul 4, 1946
• Constitution of Biak- • 1935 Constitution
POA- Philippine Organic
na-Bato • Commonwealth of the
Act
• Republic of Beak-na- Philippines
PAA- Philippine
bato • 1934 Constitutional
Autonomy Act
• Promulgated by the Convention
> American Colonial
Katipunan
Jan 23, 1899 to
Period
Jul 4, 1946 to
Mar 23, 1901
> Promulgated by the US
Congress
Jan 16, 1973
• 1935 Constitution
• Malolos Constitution
• 3rd Philippine Republic
• First Philippine
• 1934 Constitutional
Republic
Convention
• Malolos Congress
 Philippine Constitution
Jan 17, 1973 to Mar 25, 1986 to Feb 2, 1987 to
Feb 22, 1986 Feb 1, 1987 Present

• 1973 Constitution
• 1987 Constitution
• Fourth Philippine • Provisional
• Republic of the
Republic Constitution (1986)
Philippines
• 1973 Constitutional • President Corazon
• 1986 Constitutional
Convention Aquino
Commission
 1 N AT U R E A N D O R I G I N

2 C L A S S I F I C AT I O N

Constitution
3 PURPOSE

4 SIGNIFICANCE
 1
Fr Fr?
Association NEITHER ARE TRUE.

• To provide a description of Inaccuracies, distortions, and

government itself (intro and rules) omissions can be found in ALL
• Regarded as the linchpin of constitutions
liberal democracy even its
defining feature
Nature
• To lay down certain meta-rules
for the political system

• To bring stability, predictability

and order to the actions of the
government
 Origin
Ma’at

Ti’en These codes traditionally drew on the

idea of a higher moral power (usually
religious in character

Mosaic Law

Shari’ah Law
 However...
Such ancient codes did not amount to constitutions in the
modern sense.
> They generally failed to lay down specific provisions
relating to the authority & responsibilities of the various
institutions
> Rarely established authoritative mechanisms through
which provisions could be enforced & breaches of the
fundamental law punished.
 Age of Constitution
> It is more helpful to think of
Enactment of a constitution- Marks a
constitutions as late 18th century
major breach in political continuity
creations
Initiated by the enactment of the 1st
A means of establishing a new
‘written’ constitution:
political order following the
rejection, collapse or failure of an
1. US constitution in 1787
older order.
2. French Declaration of the Rights
of man and the citizen in 1789
 Conclusion

Constitutional change is therefore about the

reapportionment of both power and political authority
U.S. Constitution
 Convention Constitutional Convention

Either a formal political meeting or A rule of conduct/behavior that is

an agreement reached through debate based not on law, but on custom and
and negotiation. precedent.
 Convention
Convention
> Either a formal political meeting or
an agreement reached through debate
and negotiation.
> Non-legal rules
>Upheld by Constitutional Propriety
or Practical circumstance Constitutional Convention
• Constitutional Propriety - What is A rule of conduct/behavior that is
‘correct’ based not on law, but on custom and
• Practical circumstance- What is precedent.
‘workable’
 1 N AT U R E A N D O R I G I N

2 C L A S S I F I C AT I O N

Constitution
3 PURPOSE

4 SIGNIFICANCE
 Classification
The form and status Written or Unwritten

The ease with which the constitution can

Rigid or Flexible
be changed

The degree to which the constitution is

Effective or Nominal
observed in practice

The content and the institutional structure

Rival Institutional Structures
that it establishes
Writen or Unwritten
Written or
Unwritten
Now largely abandoned
Written Unwritten

Supposedly embodied
Enshrined in laws
in custom and tradition

Are seen as organic

Are human Artefacts in
entities that have
the sense that they have
evolved through
been “created”
history
 Written/
Unwritten
Abandonment
An overwhelming majority of
a. No constitution is entirely written
states now posses basic written
documents that lay down major
constitutional provisions.
The classification has always been
misleading
-> all its rules are formal and
legally enforceable
b. No constitution is entirely
unwritten
-> none of its provisions have
any legal substance
Every constitution is
a blend of written
and unwritten rules
Codified Constitution- A constitution Codified & Uncodified
in which key provisions are collected
together in a single legal document Constitution
Uncodified Constitution - A More helpful & accurate than
constitution that is made up of rules the written/unwritten
drawn from variety of sources, in the distinction
absence of a single authoritative
document.
Statute Law- Law that is enacted by
the legislature
Common Law- Law based on custom
and precedent; law that is supposedly
‘common’ to all
 DOCUMENT ITSELF IS
1 A U T H O R I TAT I V E ;
H I G H E S T L AW

Codified 2
ITS PROVISIONS ARE
ENTRENCHED

3 IT MUST BE
JUSTICIABLE
 Codified Consitutions
Strengths
• Entrenched
• The power of the legislature is
constrained, cutting
• Non-political judges are able to
police the constitution
• Individual liberty is more
securely protected, and
authoritarianism is kept at bay
• It has an educational value
Weaknesse
• It is more rigid;sless responsive
and adaptable
• Gov. power may be more
effectively constrained by regular
elections
• constiutional supremacy: non-
elected judges>publicly
accountable politicians
UK Parliament
• Has stimulated deep controversy
and widespread criticism
• Parliamentary sovereignty has
been held responsible for what
Lord Hailsham termed ‘elective
dictatorship’
 Lord Hailsham
Elective Dictatorship

Implication The ability of a government to act in

any way it pleases as long as it
maintains majority control of the
If governments can, once elected, act House of commons.
in whatever way they wish, they are
surely at liberty to enlarge their own
powers at will, and are thereby
unconstrained by constitutional rules
of any kind.
• Devolution- Scotland, Wales, &
Northern Ireland Concerns
• Referendums and proportional
electoral systems were more 1980s and 1990s
widely used > A growing campaign in the
UK for radical constitutional
• European Convention on Human
reform has been fuelled
rights was incorporated into UK
law through Human Rights Act
• Most hereditary peers were
removed from the house of lords
• Freedom of information
legislation was passed.
Popular sovereignty
• The Principle that there is no higher
authority than the will of the people directly
expressed
• The absolute and unlimited authority of a
parliament or legislature
• Usually seen as the central principle of the
UK constitution
• Strictly legal and not political form of
sovereignty
• Result of:
• Absence of codified constitution
• Supremacy of statute law over other
forms of law
• Absence of rival legislaures
• The convention that no parliament can
bind its successors
Rigid or Flexible
 Rigid/Flexible
What procedures exist for amending a
constitution?
How easily does the constitution adapt
to changing circumstances?
• codified constitutions are likely to
be relatively inflexible because
their provisions are in some way
entrenched in ‘higher ’ law
• uncodified ones appear to be
flexible and adaptable, because
laws of constitutional significance
can be changed through the
ordinary legislative process and
conventions are, by their nature,
based on conduct and practice
 Rigid/Flexible
• However, there is NO simple
relationship between written
constitutions and ridgity, or
unwritten ones and flexibility
• Various degrees of flexibility are
possible, and the flexibility of a
constitution is NOT directly
proportional to the formality of
its procedures and rules.
• The seeming rigidity this
produces is, however, misleading
• Although the words of the US
constitution and other codified
documents may change little, their
meanings are subject to constant
revision and updating through the
process of judicial interpretation
and reinterpretation.
 Rigid/Flexible
• in the UK, the conventions of
ministerial responsibility have
proved to be so adaptable they can
almost be reshaped at the
convenience of the government of
the day
• other conventions are so deeply
engrained in the political culture
and in popular expectations that
their abandonment or modification
is virtually unthinkable
 • The practice of limited

Constitutionalism government ensured by the

existence of a constitution
• Said to exist when government
institutions and political
processes are effectively
constrained by constitutional rules
• A set o political values and
devices that fragment power,
thereby creating a network of
checks and balances
Effective or
Nominal
Effective & Nominal • A third system of classification
takes account of the relationship
between constitutional rules and
principles, on one hand and the
practice of government (the
‘working’ constitution)
 Effective
constitution
The practical affairs of
this occurs because the
constitution has the
1 government correspond 2 c a p a c i t y, t h r o u g h
to the provisions of the whatever means, to
constitution limit governmental
b e h a v i o u r.
 Effective &
Nominal
Effective Nominal

Constrains government actions and inactions thereby One in which its principles state how government
establishing constitutionalism should behave but fail to limit government behavior
Rival Institutional
Structures

Rival Institutional
Structures
Classification in terms of their content
and, specifically, by the institutional
structure they underpin
• For example, constitutions have
traditionally been categorized as either
monarchical or republican
⚬ former invest constitutional supremacy
in a dynastic ruler
⚬ latter, political authority is derived
from the people
• distinction between unitary and federal
constitutions
⚬ constitutions that concentrate
sovereignty in a single national body
⚬ constitutions that divide it between two
levels of government
• differentiate between what are seen as
parliamentary constitutions and presidential
constitutions
 Rival Institutional
Structures
Classification in terms of their content and, specifically,
by the institutional structure they underpin
• For example, constitutions have traditionally been
categorized as either monarchical or republican
⚬ former invest constitutional supremacy in a
dynastic ruler
⚬ latter, political authority is derived from the people
• distinction between unitary and federal constitutions
⚬ constitutions that concentrate sovereignty in a
single national body
⚬ constitutions that divide it between two levels of
government
3. differentiate between what are seen as
parliamentary constitutions and presidential
constitutions
⚬ In parliamentary systems, the executive is
derived from and accountable to the assembly
⚬ in presidential systems the two branches of
government function independently on the
basis of the separation of powers
4. Contrast between a pluralist and monopolistic
constitution
⚬ former are characteristic of liberal democracies
⚬ latter are more commonly found in communist
or authoritarian states
 1 N AT U R E A N D O R I G I N

2 C L A S S I F I C AT I O N

Constitution
3 PURPOSE

4 SIGNIFICANCE
 Purpose
1 E M P O W E R S TAT E S

2 E S TA B L I S H U N I F Y I N G VA L U E S A N D
GOAL

3 PROVIDE GOVERNMENT
S TA B I L I T Y

4 PROTECT FREEDOM

5 LEGITIMIZE REGIME

Empower States
Treaty-A formal agreement between 2
or more states on matters of peace,
trade, or some other aspect of
interntional relations
• The creation of new states is
invariably accompanied by the
enactment of a constitution
• it can be argued that such states
exist only once they have a
constitution
• The need for empowerment also
applies to subnational and
supranational bodies
• in order to guarantee their sphere
of authority relative to that of
central government
 Purpose
1 E M P O W E R S TAT E S

2 E S TA B L I S H U N I F Y I N G VA L U E S A N D
GOAL

3 PROVIDE GOVERNMENT
S TA B I L I T Y

4 PROTECT FREEDOM

5 LEGITIMIZE REGIME
 Establishing values and
goals
• This is why constitutions cannot be
neutral
• The creators of constitutions therefore
seek to invest their regime with a set of • Acknowledge the significance of
unifying values racial divisions
• In other cases, however, these values and • The constitution effectively
ideological priorities are largely implicit
conceals divisions that arise from
⚬ Charles Beard (1913)- argued that the
provisions of the US constitution social class or gender
were shaped essentially by economic
interests
 Purpose
1 E M P O W E R S TAT E S

2 E S TA B L I S H U N I F Y I N G VA L U E S A N D
GOAL

3 PROVIDE GOVERNMENT
S TA B I L I T Y

4 PROTECT FREEDOM

5 LEGITIMIZE REGIME
• In allocating duties, powers and Providing government
functions amongst the various
institutions of government stability
constitutions act as ‘organizational
charts’, ‘definitional guides’ or
‘institutional blueprints’
⚬ they formalize and regulate the
relationships between political
bodies and provide a mechanism
through which conflicts can be
adjudicated and resolved
• All constitutions fulfil the vital
function of introducing a measure of
stability, order and predictability to
the workings of governmen
 Purpose
1 E M P O W E R S TAT E S

2 E S TA B L I S H U N I F Y I N G VA L U E S A N D
GOAL

3 PROVIDE GOVERNMENT
S TA B I L I T Y

4 PROTECT FREEDOM

5 LEGITIMIZE REGIME
Freedom
• in its broadest sense, the ability
to think or act as one wishes
• A distinction is nevertheless often
made between ‘negative’ and
‘positive’ liberty
⚬ Negative freedom means non-
interference
⚬ Positive freedom is linked to
the achievement of some
identifiable goal or benefit
 Protecting Freedom
• constitutions tend to be viewed as
devices for establishing and
maintaining limited government
⚬ constitutions lay down the
relationship between the state
and the individual, marking
out the respective spheres of
government authority and
personal freedom
• Limited government Government operating
within constraints, usually imposed by law, a
constitution or institutional checks and balances
• Negative Rights- Rights that mark out a realm of
unconstrained action, and thus check the
responsibilities of government i.e. freedom of
expression, movement, religious worship
• Positive Rights- Rights that make demands of
government in terms of the provision of
resources and support, and thus extend its
responsibilities. i.e. health care, education,
work, social and culural.
 However...
• these rights have caused controversy, because they are
linked to the expansion, not contraction, of government
• their provision is dependent on the economic and social
resources available to the state in question
 Purpose
1 E M P O W E R S TAT E S

2 E S TA B L I S H U N I F Y I N G VA L U E S A N D
GOAL

3 PROVIDE GOVERNMENT
S TA B I L I T Y

4 PROTECT FREEDOM

5 LEGITIMIZE REGIME
 • final function of a constitution is
Legitimizing to help build legitimacy

Regimes
• explains the widespread use of
constitutions, even by states with
constitutions that are merely
nominal or a complete façade
• a constitution both symbolizes
and disseminates the values of the
ruling elite, and invests the
governmental system with a cloak
of legality
 2 dimensions

The existence e of a constitution is the ability to use a constitution to

almost a prerequisite for a state’s build legitimacy within a state
membership of the international through the promotion of respect and
community and for its recognition by compliance amongst the domestic
other states population
 1 N AT U R E A N D O R I G I N

2 C L A S S I F I C AT I O N

Constitution
3 PURPOSE

4 SIGNIFICANCE
 Do constitutions matter?

• The value of a constitution is often taken for granted

• Nowhere is this faith in a constitution more developed
than in the USA
⚬ Louis Hartz’s (1955) words, to ‘the cult of
constitution worship’.
 Watergate Crisis
Pres. Richard Nixon Sr. Whitehouse Officials Gerald Ford

‘We have a government of laws, not of

men’
 However...
• the mere existence of a constitution does not ensure that
a government is constitutional
• there is little evidence that a constitution is a major
guarantee against tyranny
• , still less that it offers a ‘ticket to Utopia’
 Bill of Rights
Definition
A constitutional document that

Entrenched bill specifies the rights and freedoms of

the individual
• Enshrined in ‘higher ’ law
• Provides the basis for Statutory bill
constitutional judicial review • Statute of rights
• Can be amended or repealed
through the same process as the
other statue laws
• It does not breach parliamentary
sovereignty
 Do constitutions matter?

• Constitutions ‘work’ in certain circumstances

⚬ they serve their various purposes only when they are supported by a
range of other cultural, political, economic and social conditions
 Meet the Group

RUSSIA AMERICA J A PA N
-Socialist values - Racism -Individual Rights
 Do constitutions matter?

• Constitutions ‘work’ in certain circumstances

⚬ they serve their various purposes only when they are supported by a
range of other cultural, political, economic and social conditions
⚬ A second key factor is whether or not a constitution is respected by
rulers and accords with the interests and values of dominant groups
 Meet the Group

GERMANY INDIA PA K I S TA N
We i m a r c o n s t i t u t i o n under Indira Ghandi Under Gen. Zia ul-Haq
(1919) vs Nazi 1975-77 1977-81
 State of emergency

A declaration by government through In these cases, the support of the

which it assumes special powers, military leadership proved to be far
supposedly to allow it to deal with an more crucial than respect for
unusual threat constitutional niceties
 Do constitutions matter?

• Constitutions ‘work’ in certain circumstances

⚬ they serve their various purposes only when they are supported by a
range of other cultural, political, economic and social conditions
⚬ A second key factor is whether or not a constitution is respected by
rulers and accords with the interests and values of dominant groups
⚬ final factor is the adaptability of a constitution and its ability to
remain relevant despite changing political circumstances
 1 UNIVERSAL

2 F U N D A M E N TA L
Human Rights
• Rights to which people are
entitled by virtue of being human
3 INDIVISIBLE

• Modern and secular version of

natural rights
4 ABSOLUTE
 Relevance
• No constitution reflects political realities, few set out
specifically to do so.
• Generally, successful constitutions are sufficiently
flexible to accommodate change within a broad and
enduringly relevant framework
 However...

• Constitutions can also be over-flexible

 Meet the Group

VLADIMIR PUTIN PRES. ERDOGAN XI JINPING

 Conclusion

The Constitution matters a lot as it can determine the

possible outcome of your state.
Thank You!