explain the role of constitution
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What role does the Constitution play in our society today?
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MICHAEL KOREN eNotes educator
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The Constitution plays a very important role in our society today. The Constitution was written after the first plan of government, the Articles of Confederation, proved to be too weak. The Constitution was written to develop a stronger plan of government and to correct some of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
The essential characteristic of the liberal theory of the state is the idea that the authority and power of the state are limited. Milton Friedman has this to say about the role of government in Capitalism and Freedom (Chicago, 1962):
There is no formula that can tell us where to stop. We must put our faith, here as elsewhere, in a consensus reached by imperfect and biased men through free discussion and trial and error.
A government which maintained law and order, defined property rights, served as a means whereby we could modify property to rights and other rules of the economic game, adjudicated disputes about the interpretation of the rules, enforced contracts, promoted competition, provided a monetary frame-work engaged in activities to counter technical monopolies and to overcome neighbourhood effects widely regarded as sufficiently important to justify government intervention, and which supplemented: private charity and the private family in protecting the irresponsible, whether madman or child — such a government would clearly have important functions to perform. The consistent liberal is no anarchist. (p.34)
James Madison, the most influential of the draftsmen of the American Constitution, identified (in 'The Federalist', no 51) the main problem confronting the draftsmen of a constitution thus:
The great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed: and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.
The role of a constitution is to provide scope for good government, while at the same time placing limitations on the powers of the governors.
The doctrine of the separation of powers, involving a system of checks and balances, is basic to liberal constitutionalism. The system of checks and balances begins with the separation through a constitution of judicial, executive and legislative powers. However, it goes much further. It operates also within each branch of the state, in the division of powers between state and federal governments and the distribution of powers between the state, other institutions and individuals in the community. Within the legislative sphere, power is distributed between the component parts of parliament (Senate, House of Representatives and the Governor-General). The power of each House is diffused among its many members. A majority is necessary for the House to act. Each House has a different constituency and/or is elected at periodic intervals and is therefore constrained by the necessity of being responsive to the electorate.
Within the executive sphere ministers, besides having a duty to govern in the interests of the whole nation, are obliged to work with a public service. The impartiality of the public service (undermined in recent years) acts as a brake upon favouritism, corruption, discontinuity, nepotism and inefficiency. On the other hand, executive decision making and policy determination remain in the hands of the ministry. Under the Westminster system the ministry is further constrained by the reserve powers of the Crown and by ministerial responsibility to Parliament.
Within the judiciary, power is distributed amongst a hierarchy of courts in the context of judicial independence. The judiciary is the guardian of the constitution and acts as a check on the abuse of the executive and legislative powers.
Under federal constitutions there is also a division of powers between states and the central government usually involving a divided allocation of subjects of legislative power — which is another check on the extent of power.
The system of checks and balances also operates outside the constitution and the law. Democracy, the electoral system, free expression and criticism the investigative media and the existence s of countless strong and not so strong independent institutions cumulatively operate as a system of checks and balances on those exercising private and public power.