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Importance of Constitutionalism in Governance

1. Constitutionalism is important as it limits government power and gives sovereignty to the people. It establishes both positive limits like civil rights and negative limits like directive principles of state policy. 2. The government of Marianna did not follow directive principles, showing one or more fundamental rights were violated. Separation of powers is another aspect of constitutionalism that was likely absent, preventing proper judicial review. 3. While the will of the people is powerful, how can we guarantee future generations will accept current decisions? Following proper procedures is crucial to protect against unlimited state power and changing the basic structure of the constitution. Constitutionalism is vital to the future welfare and protection of civil rights.

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12 views2 pages

Importance of Constitutionalism in Governance

1. Constitutionalism is important as it limits government power and gives sovereignty to the people. It establishes both positive limits like civil rights and negative limits like directive principles of state policy. 2. The government of Marianna did not follow directive principles, showing one or more fundamental rights were violated. Separation of powers is another aspect of constitutionalism that was likely absent, preventing proper judicial review. 3. While the will of the people is powerful, how can we guarantee future generations will accept current decisions? Following proper procedures is crucial to protect against unlimited state power and changing the basic structure of the constitution. Constitutionalism is vital to the future welfare and protection of civil rights.

Uploaded by

gayathri S
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© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW - POSITION PAPER

[Link]
BA0190021

1. All constitutions need not follow constitutionalism but it is important because it helps to give
unlimited sovereignty to the people and to give limited power to the government.
Constitutionalism has both positive limits such as civil rights, prohibition against any act or
power of the government, and negative limits such as directive principles of state policy and
fundamental rights. In the case of Marianna much like that of Rex's constitution, the first thing is
that the government of Marianna didn't follow the directive principles of state policy. We know
that DSDP and fundamental rights have a special connection, that if the government doesn't
follow DSDP, then we can see that one or more of the fundamental rights is pulled out. Next,
separation of powers, a kind of constitutionalism. Separation of powers is not necessary for
constitutionalism to exist but if present, it makes constitutionalism more effective and strong. If
separation of powers (legislative, executive, and judiciary) were present in the state of Marianna
then the judicial review will be there to ensure a proper check on the exercise of public power.
Some argue that the will of the people is more powerful than anything else. Yes, nothing
in the constitution is entrenched against the will of the people, but how can we guarantee that the
will of the people will stay the same. History repeats itself, after some time these decisions taken
by the Government of Marianna are also going to be unsuitable for the future generation. Then
the following governments will also make decisions on its own without following the procedures
for doing so like the present government. At last one day it will change the basic structure i.e.
Change the democratic state to a monarchial state. Making a decision is not the problem, making
decisions without following the dangerous procedures is the biggest problem. The consequence
of this will be very critical. In the case of Keshavanda Bharathi v. the State of Kerala, the
Supreme Court of India the propounded the basic structure doctrine according to which it said
the legislature can amend the Constitution, but it should not change the basic structure of the
Constitution. From this we can say that to protect the basic structure of the constitution,
constitutionalism is very important.
Some argue that people are not having a problem with the decisions, then why the
procedures are important. The answer is the same, how we can guarantee that the people will
accept future decisions of the governments in the same way it did. The main thing is the civil and
political rights are the most important part of a constitution, a small change in will affect for a
long time in the daily life of people. Even Though it is accepted by the majority of the people we
can’t amend it in any way we want without following any procedures. The problem is if we give
unlimited power to the state now it is not legally answerable for the wisdom or morality of its
decisions, nor is it bound by procedures, or any other kinds of limitations or requirements, in
exercising his powers. Whatever state decide will become constitutionally valid so whoever
makes the decisions should foresee the consequences.
A flexible constitution like or any constitutional amendments are not always going to
affect the basic structure of the constitution but a constitution with zero constitutionalism will
affect the state in any way and any time. Marianna's constitution is with zero constitutionalism
because they are explicitly amending the important part of the constitution, the civil and political
rights without following any procedure and nobody was there to question them. Finally there
must be constitutionalism for the welfare of the people and the future of the country.

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