CONSTITUTION

Meaning of a Constitution

A constitution is a set of rules and regulations that guide the conducts or behaviours of people in a state or organizationis.  It can also be seen as the whole body of fundamental laws, customs, conventions, principles, rules and regulations according to which a country or organization  operates. The constitution therefore, specifies the working of a government or organization, the functions of its officials, the rights and duties of its citizens or members.

Sources of a Constitution

1.   Historical Documents: historical documents such as treaties, the Magna Carta (1215), Bill of Rights (1689) and the Constitution Reform Bill of 1832. They are the sources of the British constitution.

2.   Past Experience: the political, social, economic and geographical and historical experience of a country serves as major sources of its constitution.

3.   Acts of Parliament: these are bills passed into law by the parliament, they also serve as source of a constitution.

4.   Decree: laws made by military government in many countries where they seized powers, through the promulgation of decrees serve as sources of constitution.

5.   Intellectual Works: works of intellectuals such as John Locke, Karl Marx, Thomas Hobbes, A.V. Dicey and other recent ones are useful for drafting of constitutions.

6.   Customs and Norm: the generally accepted behaviours and ways of living of a people also serve as sources of their constitution.

7.   Judicial Precedents: these are previous or earlier and important judgments passed, and decisions taken in higher courts like the supreme courts etc. They are important sources of constitution.

8.   Conventions: conventions are rules and guides for behaviours which are not written down, which people show their disapproval when violated.

9.   Constitutional Conferences: these are meetings at which difficult constitutional issues are discussed and resolved in preparation for a new constitution. Decisions at such conferences often form the basis for a new constitution.

10.                     International laws: international laws such as the ones made by international organizations like UNO- international law of the Seas, international Civil Aviation Convention etc. serve as sources of constitution.

Features of a constitution

a.    A constitution is a body of fundamental laws according to which a particular government of a country or organization operates.

b.   It has a preamble or introduction which states the ideological stand of the constitution.

c.    The constitution states the type of party system that will operate in a country.

d.   It names the organs of government, their functions and their relations to one another.

e.    A constitution of a country specifies the rights and duties of the citizens.

f.     It specifies the type and characteristics of government either unitary, federal, presidential or cabinet system to be adopted.

g.   It provide for the procedures for the amendment of the constitution.

h.   It states the tenure of office holders and their qualifications

Types of a Constitution

Written Constitution

This is a type of constitution in which the whole body of fundamental laws, customs, rules and regulations which guide the conducts of citizens are codified (written down) in a single document. This means that a written constitution can be found in a single document for people to see and read any time they want. Countries like USA, Nigeria, India, France, Canada, Ghana etc. have written constitution.

Advantages of Written Constitution

1.   A written constitution can be obtained and consulted in a single document.

2.   It makes it easier to ascertain unconstitutional acts of the rulers hence, they can be taken to court.

3.   A court’s action can be predicted based on the provisions of the constitution concerning the particular case.

4.   It reduces the rate of dispute among the organs of government since their functions are clearly written in the constitution.

5.   A written constitution ensures stability.

6.   It can be amended or changed at appropriate time.

Disadvantages of Written Constitution

1.   Most written constitutions are rigid and therefore, they create problem of amendment.

2.   It create friction among the organs of government especially it the constitution contains a lot of flaws.

3.   It does not fit all types of government, like unitary government.

4.   It poses problem of difficulty in interpreting the provisions of a rigid written constitution.

5.   It may lead to delay in government functions as a result of frequent declaration of actions of government unconstitutional.

Unwritten Constitution

Unwritten constitution is a type of constitution in which the whole body of fundamental laws, customs, rules and regulations which guide the conducts of citizens are not codified in a single document. Unwritten constitution is the opposite of written constitution. Britain and New Zealand are countries that have unwritten constitution.

Advantages of Unwritten Constitution

1.   Unwritten constitution have high degree of flexibility which can easily adopt a country’s changing situation.

2.   It makes for easy and quick decision making.

3.   It does not pose problem of amendment.

4.   It meets both present and future needs of a country.

5.   It does not pose problem or difficulty of interpreting its provisions since it is not rigid.

Disadvantages of Unwritten Constitution

1.   It is prone to abuse by the government and individuals since the laws are not codified in one document.

2.   It does not create room for individuals to know their rights and duties.

3.   It encourages violation of citizens’ rights.

4.   It makes it difficult to ascertain unconstitutional acts of government.

5.   It does not suit a federal system of government.

6.   In case of dispute, it does not make for easy reference.

Assignment

Briefly explain the basis of Nigerian constitution

Rigid Constitution

A rigid constitution is the type of constitution in which the procedures for its amendment are strict and difficult to meet. It is one which cannot be amended or changed easily. The procedures for amendment of a rigid constitution are different from the processes of making ordinary laws. Rigid constitutions are normally written constitutions, but not all written constitutions are difficult to amend. USA, France, Nigeria, Canada, India Switzerland etc. have rigid constitution.

Advantages of Rigid Constitution

a.    A rigid constitution is difficult to change or amend, which prevent hasty decisions.

b.   It prevent dictatorial leaders from amending the constitution to serve their interests.

c.    It protects the interest of the minority groups.

d.   It ensures political stability in a country because, no one section can amend the constitution to its favour.

e.    It makes smooth change of government and ensures continuity of the system of government adopted.

Disadvantages of Rigid Constitution

a.    Its amendment or change is stringent and cumbersome.

b.   Its inflexibility makes it difficult to take quick actions in times of emergency.

c.    It creates room for revolution or civil war which brings about its violent change or amendment.

d.   It does not suit the changing social, economic and political situations of a country.

e.    It consume time and energy in conducting referendum for the changing or amending a rigid constitution.

Flexible Constitution.

A flexible constitution is the type of constitution which can be amended or changed so easily without stringent and cumbersome procedures. Flexible constitution can be amended with the same procedures used in making ordinary laws. It requires simple majority for a flexible constitution to be amended. Some flexible constitutions are written while some are unwritten. Britain, Italy, New Zealand etc. all have flexible constitution.

Advantages of Flexible Constitution

      i.            A flexible constitution is easy to amend.

  ii.            It is flexible and therefore, allows for quick actions to be taken in times of emergency.

iii.            It does not encourage revolution or civil war since its flexibility does not make for violent change or amendment.

iv.            Its amendment is not expensive, time and energy consuming.

   v.            It suit the changing social, economic and political situations of a country.

Disadvantages of Flexible Constitution

      i.            A flexible constitution can be amended in a hasty and thoughtless manner because it is easy amend.

  ii.            It encourages dictatorship because, leaders with dictatorial propensities can easily amend it to suit their interest.

iii.            It does not ensure political stability because one section of the country can amend it to its favour.

iv.            It does not suit federal system of government where there is division of powers among different units.

   v.             It does not allay fears of ethnic domination by the majority ethnic groups in a multi-ethnic nation

Federal Constitution

A federal constitution is one in which governmental powers are shared between the central government and the component   units or states, so that each government is constitutionally independent and autonomous. The federal constitution specifies the legislative powers of these different governments. In Nigeria, the central government (Federal) legislate on the matters on the exclusive list, the component units (States) legislate on matters on residual list, while both the federal and state governments make laws on concurrent list. Example of countries with federal constitution include: USA, Nigeria, Germany, Brazil etc.

Advantages of Federal Constitution

a.    Federal constitution unites people of different political, social, geographical, cultural, religious, historical and linguistic origin together.

b.   It maintain the independence and autonomy of the component regions or states.

c.    It makes room for wider representation of people.

d.   It allays fear of external aggression.

e.    It prevents ethnic domination by majority groups over minority ones.

f.     It maintain political stability among the diverse ethnic groups.

Disadvantages of Federal Constitution

a.    Federal constitution emphasises the differences among the different ethnic groups in a country.

b.   It increases sectional consciousness which does not guarantee peace and unity in a country.

c.    Its duplication of powers and government leads to increase in government expenditures.

d.   It leads to dissipation (wastage) of time, energy and resources in unnecessary rivalry among different governments.

e.    It is rigid and difficult to amend.

f.     It create problem of sharing of wealth of the nation among different component regions or states of the country.

Unitary Constitution

A unitary constitution is one in which governmental powers and

authority are concentred in the hands of one single government or legislature/authority. The central government is the only source from which power emanates. It does not share powers with any other body, but delegate powers to other subordinate bodies. Countries with unitary constitution are Britain, Italy, France, Belgium, Sweden etc.

Advantages of Unitary Constitution

1.   A unitary constitution is flexible and easy to amend.

2.   Its flexibility allows for quick decisions and actions to be taken in time of emergency.

3.   It is less expensive to operate.

4.   It instils spirit of nationalism and patriotism in the citizens.

5.   It avoids waste of both human and material resources as a result of non-duplication of government.

Disadvantages of Unitary Constitution

1.   The amendment of a unitary constitution can be done in a hasty and thoughtless manner since it is flexible.

2.   It can lead to ethnic domination of minorities by the majorities.

3.   It does not guarantee the fundamental rights of citizens because the constitution is not supreme.

4.   It does not make room for wider representation of people in government.

5.   It does not encourage bringing government nearer to the people.

Confederal Constitution

This is a constitution in which major governmental powers and functions are reserved exclusively for the component states/units save on common currency, defence and foreign affairs in which the central government holds powers. The constitution reserves powers to the central government only in certain matters that affect all the unions or autonomous states involved. Confederal constitution makes the component states very powerful while the central government becomes weak. Even the component states are free to secede when any of them wishes to do so. Confederal constitution is not common with nations of the world in the present day because of it weaknesses.