Constitutional Law-I

INTRODUCTION The British Constitutional system is the oldest democratic system in the modern world. Great Britain is a Mother of Democracy. The British Constitution is constantly growing, continually developing, and changing from time to time. DEFINITION OF CONSTITUTION According to Colin’s Law Dictionary: The Constitution of a country or organization is the system of laws … Read more

INTRODUCTION The British Constitution contains legal and non-legal sources such as conventions and juristic writings. There is no single constituent document; many constitutional sources are of a written nature. To give meaning to the Constitution, it is necessary to study many fundamental documents, statutes and cares together with the non-legal conventional rules surrounding and giving … Read more

INTRODUCTION The British King’s royal prerogatives included appointing the prime minister, granting pardons, and representing the nation diplomatically. In a parliamentary state, the executive consists of three parts, the Queen/Crown, the Cabinet and the civil service. The Queen/Crown is the formal or nominal executive. The Cabinet is the real executive. The Crown and the Cabinet … Read more

INTRODUCTION The parliament of England is the mother of all other parliaments. The King/Crown, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons constitute parliament. Parliamentary sovereignty means the supremacy of parliament, i.e. parliament can pass, amend or repeal laws to any extent, and there are no fundamental laws with which Parliament cannot interfere. DEFINITION … Read more

INTRODUCTION The doctrine of separation of powers was adopted by the Convention of 1787. It was assumed not to promote efficiency but to preclude his exercise of arbitrary power. The purpose was not to avoid friction but to save the people from autocracy. MEANINGS OF SEPARATION OF POWER According to Black’s Law Dictionary: Separation of … Read more

INTRODUCTION The British Government is a highly centralized system of Government. It is based on one of the most important conventions of ministerial Responsibility before parliament for all policy decisions and actions a minister takes individually or by the Cabinet. MEANING OF MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITY Ministerial Responsibility implies two meanings. They are as follows; The minister … Read more

INTRODUCTION The “Rule of Law” doctrine was introduced in the British Constitution to prevent the coercive powers of the state to press individuals. The “Rule of Law”, which forms a fundamental principle of the English Constitution, is one of the unique characteristics of the British Constitution. DEFINITION OF RULE OF LAW According to Aristotle: He … Read more

INTRODUCTION The cabinet is the real executive, and the Prime Minister is the Key man of it. He holds the most critical position in the ministry. He is virtually head of the administration while other ministers serve at his pleasure. He is the repository of supreme executive authority and enjoys adequate jurisdiction and control over … Read more

INTRODUCTION Law making involves the proposal and drafting of a bill, followed by its review, debate, and voting by the legislative body to determine its passage or rejection as a law. There are several stages in the British Parliament for the Bill to become an act. The procedure of adopting the public, private, and money … Read more

INTRODUCTION “The King can do no wrong” is the personal prerogative and is spoken about the King as a person, and no proceeding, civil or criminal, is maintainable against the Crown in person. MEANING OF THE MAXIM This prerogative enjoyed by the King has two distinct meanings from the point of view of English Constitutional … Read more

INTRODUCTION The US Constitution is a written document. The American Constitution is to be found in the documents prepared in 1787, ratified in 1788, and enforced in 1789, and also in the amendments made occasionally. The critical constitutional decisions the Supreme Court makes are also a part of the American Constitution.   GROWTH OF THE … Read more

INTRODUCTION The US Constitution is the government’s primary instrument and the land’s supreme law. For two centuries, it has guided the evolution of government institutions and has provided the basis for political stability, social progress, and economic growth. The present Constitution of the USA was adopted at the Philadelphia Convention held in 1787. It came … Read more

INTRODUCTION The US Constitution is written. It is rigid. The reason for its rigidity is that its amendment process is challenging and complicated. A unique method is required to amend this Constitution. Only 26 modifications have been made to the Constitution so far in the history of the US Constitution.   PROCEDURE OF AMENDMENT Article … Read more

INTRODUCTION Montesquieu’s theory of separation of powers advocates dividing governmental authority into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. Passion is the cruellest when it is most concentrated and least brutal when diversified. The way to avoid the abuse of power by governmental agencies is to divide the political power and vest it into the hands … Read more

INTRODUCTION The framers of the American Constitution were aware of the defects of the theory of separation of powers. They modified the system of separation of powers by a system of checks and balances to make authorities limited, controlled, and defused.   MEANING OF CHECKS & BALANCES It is the theory of governmental power and … Read more

INTRODUCTION In olden times, people were not well aware of their fundamental rights and did not know how to seek remedies if such rights were infringed. But in modern times, the concept of due process of law seems to be a natural and only human approach. Now, people are well aware of their fundamental rights … Read more

INTRODUCTION The U.S. Constitution provides fundamental rights to individuals in the Bill of Rights. Though these were not embodied in the original Constitution, they were inserted in the shape of the first ten amendments. The Bill of Rights, i.e. the first ten amendments, was proposed in 1789 and ratified in 1791.   FREEDOM OF RELIGION, … Read more

INTRODUCTION The Supreme Court of the USA has the power of judicial review and declares any law passed by Congress as null and void if it Contradicts the provisions of the Constitution. The Constitution has not expressly given this power to it, but the Supreme Court has acquired it through its interpretations of the Constitution. … Read more

INTRODUCTION The Supreme Court is the third branch of the federal government. The judiciary consists of a system of Courts headed by the Supreme Court and including subordinate courts throughout the country. The judicial system in the USA is unique in several ways. It was the first federal system in the world.   COMPOSITION OF … Read more