Concept of Constitutionalism:
– Constitutionalism is a compound of ideas, attitudes, and behavior that emphasizes government authority deriving from and being limited by fundamental law.
– It has both descriptive and prescriptive uses, encompassing the historical struggle for constitutional recognition of people’s rights.
– Constitutionalism places limitations on government powers, upholding the principle that higher law controls public officials.
– It has historical roots and shapes political life, with scholars like Norman Davies and Ann E. Mayer contributing to its understanding.
Historical and Global Perspectives:
– The Magna Carta of England and the U.S. Bill of Rights are key constitutional documents illustrating the source and limits of government power.
– Different nations like the UK, Japan, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Dominican Republic have unique constitutional histories and frameworks.
– Islamic states have developed hybrid models of constitutionalism blending Islamic principles with modern constitutional concepts.
– Constitutionalism has evolved through historical events globally, with challenges and adaptations in different constitutional systems.
Institutional Framework and Principles:
– Constitutionalism establishes an institutional and intellectual framework for governance, ensuring the protection of individual rights and the rule of law.
– Core features of constitutionalism include the legitimacy of government, the collective sovereignty of the people, and the development of fundamental rules governing state power.
– Principles like the separation of powers, judicial review, and constitutional amendments play crucial roles in upholding constitutional limits, ensuring accountability, and adapting to societal changes.
Criticism and Modern Interpretations:
– Criticisms of constitutionalism include concerns about its effectiveness in restraining governments, the need for human interpretation, and potential manipulation for political purposes.
– Modern interpretations highlight the use of constitutionalism for political transactions, legal reasoning for political agendas, and the advancement of political arguments through constitutional tools.
– Legal actors and critical scholars attribute new meanings to constitutional law, engaging in debates on constitutional principles and their applications in contemporary contexts.
Importance and Contributions to Understanding:
– Constitutionalism is essential for guiding actions for legitimacy, shaping political events, and providing a justifying concept in politics.
– Scholarly contributions from individuals like Louis Michael Seidman, Christian G. Fritz, and G. Alan Tarr have deepened the understanding of constitutionalism and its various dimensions.
– Additional resources, such as books and articles on African constitutionalism, global models of constitutional rights, and the separation of powers, offer further insights into the significance and complexities of constitutional governance.
Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law".
Political organizations are constitutional to the extent that they "contain institutionalized mechanisms of power control for the protection of the interests and liberties of the citizenry, including those that may be in the minority". As described by political scientist and constitutional scholar David Fellman:
Constitutionalism is descriptive of a complicated concept, deeply embedded in historical experience, which subjects the officials who exercise governmental powers to the limitations of a higher law. Constitutionalism proclaims the desirability of the rule of law as opposed to rule by the arbitrary judgment or mere fiat of public officials ... Throughout the literature dealing with modern public law and the foundations of statecraft the central element of the concept of constitutionalism is that in political society government officials are not free to do anything they please in any manner they choose; they are bound to observe both the limitations on power and the procedures which are set out in the supreme, constitutional law of the community. It may therefore be said that the touchstone of constitutionalism is the concept of limited government under a higher law.
