CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: OUTLINE OF HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT

We may begin by asking the question: “What is constitutional law and what part does it play in our constitution?” One motive for seeking a definition of constitutional law is simply to settle conventional questions of usage within the legal system for purposes of exposition: to mark, for example, the boundaries of constitutional law and administrative law, or public law and private law. Another point of asking this question is to establish the existence of clear distinction between rules of strict law and rules established by political practice or constitutional convention.

So, constitutional law is the law which establishes, empowers and regulates institutions of government. Simple as it may seem, there is a complication because constitution has three meanings. First, it means all the laws regulating government. From this first meaning comes a second meaning where constitution refers to a system of government. Finally, constitution is used in a narrow sense to mean a document or statute, called “Constitution” containing basic constitutional rules.

The concept of constitution was first outlined in Aristotle’s classification of governments identified with constitution. He believed that the best form of constitution is the combination of monarchy, aristocracy and democracy so that citizens could realize their rights and carry out the duties for the benefit of the whole society.

The modern ideological roots of the idea of constitutional law are connected with the names of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and other scholars who claimed the concept of concentration of powers and separation of powers and developed the notion of social contract. According to the above-mentioned notion, people in society willingly give up absolute freedom for sake of security and prevention of rule of “the law of the jungle” (the principle that only the strongest will survive).

The works of these philosophers influenced upon the authors of the US Constitution and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen.

As the constitution is the framework for government then constitutional law is the study of foundational laws of nation states. Constitutions may limit or define the authority and procedure of political bodies to provide for enforcement of new laws and regulations.

Constitutional law is the body of law governing the implementation and interpretation of the constitution. It defines the range and application of the terms of the Constitution and covers fundamental aspects of the application of government authority in the nation states. It is a field of law that is both complex and broad. Some constitutional lawyers maintain that the Constitution purposely remains vague and subject to interpretation so that it may be adopted to the circumstances of a changing society. Other constitutional scholars however, maintain that the provisions of the Constitution should be strictly construed and their provisions applied in a very literal manner.

Constitution is usually understood as the main formal document of the state but, of course, dealing with constitutional law the constitutional lawyer must not only consider constitutional history and political practice but also conventions of various kinds that are closely linked with the constitution itself.

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