NEED AND CONCEPT OF CONSTITUTION

DEFINITION OF CONSTITUTION:

The term Constitution means the structure and organisation of the State or government. The
constitution contains the fundamental principles of the government. The constitution of a state, in
brief, gives all basic principles on which the state is to be governed leaving details for the
government to work out. There can be no state without constitution. The beginning of the
constitutional period in the modern sense, may be said to have been in 1776 when the American
colonies separated themselves from the British rule and framed a written constitution.

According to Cooley, “constitution is the fundamental law of the State, containing the principles
on which government is founded.”

According to Dicey, “all rules which directly or indirectly affect the distribution or the exercise
of sovereign powers in the state, make up the constitution of the state.”

According to Leacock, “Constitution is the form of government.”

CONCEPT OF THE CONSTITUTION:

Constitution is the set principles of the state, the structure and processes of government and the
fundamental rights. Constitution is the set of rules and regulation which are binding on everyone
in the state. It concern about the structure and operation of the institutions of government,
political principles and the rights of citizens. Constitution can articulate and explain the nature of
the authority of the political community. It often declares the state’s fundamental principles.The
constitution which came into existence in the 18th/19th century was unique in that it was written,
legally binding, and determined the state’s institutional, political and social order.. It was a
constitution which was already modern, a constitution which monopolized the understanding of
the notion of constitution. Constitutions are, all above, a means of establishing a new political
order following the rejection, collapse or failure of an order. Constitution can define and declare
the boundaries of the political community. These boundaries can be territorial (the geographical
borders of a state, as well as its claims to any other territory or extra-territorial rights) and
personal (the definition of citizenship). Thus, a constitution often distinguishes between those
inside and outside the polity.Constitutions can establish and regulate the political institutions of
the community. Constitutions define the various institutions of government; prescribe their
composition, powers and functions; and regulate relations between them.The liberal democracies
established in Europe based their constitutions on the principle that ultimate authority was vested
in the people so that they must then be involved in constitutional change. In a democracy,
however, constitution has a special significance. Modern writers view the constitution as a
scheme for the arrangement of power-relationship inside a community. The basis of a
constitution lies in a belief in limited government. Its purpose is to design the institutional fabric
of a state by means of which power relationship may be so organized that it would lead to an
effectively restrained governmental action. Constitutions can declare and define the rights and
duties of citizens.

NEED OF THE CONSTITUTION:

We need a constitution because we need a government to protect our natural rights to life,
liberty, and property. The constitution is the fundamental law within which the government must
operate.Countries that have succeeded in establishing and maintaining constitutional government
have usually been at the forefront of scientific and technological progress, economic power,
cultural development and human well-being. In contrast, those states that have consistently failed
to maintain constitutional government have often fallen short of their development potential.This
is because constitutional government ensures ‘the fair and impartial exercise of power’; it
‘enables an orderly and peaceful society, protects the rights of individuals and communities, and
promotes the proper management of resources and the development of the economy’. The
Constitution provides a set of written rules that is authorized, and approved by the people. The
constitution sets out the rules under which the government is to operate. It is important to
remember that the government must protect our natural rights to life, liberty, and property in
accordance only with the written constitution. In this view, the constitution creates the
government; provides powers to the created government; and limits these government powers.A
government needs some basic rules and laws to be followed for effectively governing the state
either it is monarchy or democracy. A constitution itself is a set of basic rules and laws which
complete the need of government. We are also the contributor of government. That's why we
need a constitution. Along with this, it is the constitution who gives the power to legislative
bodies and it gives recognition to the bodies from administrative to political. So, to make a
society safe and secure and free from any kind quotes or prejudices we need the written law book
which talks about rules according to a has to run and the government has to work.Constitution
providegovernment stability. Although the popular image of constitutions is that they limit
government power, a more basic function is that they mark out the existence of states and make
claims concerning their sphere of independent authority. A constitution is desired for a variety of
reasons1:

1. To curb the powers of government by a fundamental law.

2. To restrain the government on behalf of the individual.
3. To limit the vagaries of present and future generation.

CONCLUSION:

Many nations have been forced to draw up a written constitution in response to a revolution, war
or as a step towards independence. Constitutions were believed to provide a description of
government itself, a neat introduction to major institutions and their roles. The basis of any
system of government, democratic or otherwise, is its constitution. Constitutions define the
various institutions of government; prescribe their composition, powers and functions; and
regulate relations between them.Almost all constitutions establish legislative, executive and
judicial branches of government.

1
Eddy Asirvatham & K.K. Mishra,Political Theory (S. Chand & Company Ltd., 13th edn., 2003).