Constitution

CONSTITUTION IS DEFINED AS:

“The body of those written or unwritten fundamental laws

which regulate the most important rights of the higher

magistrates and the most important essential privileges

of the subjects."

•Part pointing out the mode or procedure for amending or revising the constitution. This groups of provisions is called the provisions on sovereignity

WWHY DO WE NEED CONSITUTION?

• To state how your association is to be structured

• To detail the safeguards needed to ensure that it operates fairly on behalf of the whole community

• As a basic requirement to apply for funding

KINDS OF CONSTITUTION

A Constitution may be classified into 2 according to

Sir Henry Maine


Historical and Revolutionary

Those constitutions which develop gradually according to the experiences, customs, and traditions of the people.


Those constitutions which are founded on speculative assumptionsremote from the experiences of the people

A Priori

Nature And purpose of a constitution

1) It serves as a supreme or

fundamental law• It is the charter that created a

government• It is binding all individual citizens and

parts of the government together as one

• It is the ultimate law; the law other laws must abide by

• It is the test of legality by government officials

2) Establishes the basic framework and

underlying principles of the government

• Prescribes the permanent framework of the system of government, and assigns to the different department or branches, their respective powers and duties

• To establish certain basic principles by which the government is founded

• Designed to preserve and protect the rights of the citizens against the powers of the state


ACCORDING TO FORM


WRITTEN CONSTITUTION

UNWRITTEN CONSITUTION


Written constitution

• A written constitution is a formal document defining the nature of the constitutional settlement, the rules that govern the political system and the rights of citizens and governments in a codified form.

• A constitution is the supreme law of the land which must serve as the basis of the acts of all the different branches and officials in the government.


Unwritten 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.


Pros and cons of a written constitution

• Pro: It has the advantage of clearness, definiteness, and rigidness that the unwritten doesn’t have. It cannot be easily altered.

• Con: It is difficult to make changes. To change, it requires to go through “charter changing” which may take a while before any changes can be made.


ACCORDING TO

MANNER OF AMENDMENT

KINDS

CONVENTIONAL OR ENACTED

RIGID


Convention or Enacted Constitution

• One is enacted by a constitution assembly or granted by monarch of his subject


Japanese Constitution


Rigid Constitution

• One regarded as a document of “special sanctity” which cannot be modified in the same manner as other laws except by some special machinery, more burdensome than the ordinary legislative process. Whereas a flexible constitution is one which can be altered or amended in the same way to other laws


Constitution Of the United States of America

ESSENTIAL PARTS OF A CONSTITUTI

ON

• Part that deal with the framework of government and its powers that defies the electorate. This group of people is called the provisions on government

• Part that sets forth the fundamental rights of the

people and that imposes on certain limitations on the

powers of this rights, these groups of provision on

liberty

• That part pointing out the mode or procedure for

amending or revising the constitutions. The group of

provisions is called the provisions on sovereignty

QUALITIES OF GOOD

CONSTITUTION

Brief• A constitution is said to

be brief if the major and most important points are marked and minor ones deduced

Broad• A constitution has to endure, it

must be comprehensive in scope and meaning in order to meet the needs of the changing times

Clear and definite• To avoid conflicting

interpretations, a constitution must have clear and definite statements; any vagueness can be disruptive to political stability, administrative, efficiency , and national unity

Constitution of the Philippines

Officially known as the “1987 Constitution of the Philippines”

Features:• Reinstitution of a democratic government• Seperation of church and state• Sovereignity of the people• Renunciation of war as a national policy• Supremacy of civilian authority over the military• Sepertation of powers

Parts of the Philippine constitution

Preamble• Describes the purpose of the document

and governmentArticles• Establish how the government is

structured and how the Constitution can be changed. There are seven articles.

Amendments• Changes to the Constitution; the first ten

are called the Bill of Rights.

PreambleAn introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When

applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent

to the subject of the statute. It is distinct from the long title or enacting formula of a

law.

Preamble of the Philippine Constitution

“We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane

society, and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good,

conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity, the blessings of

independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.”

Constitution

Documents

Transcript of Constitution