A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. It means the act of constituting or the state of being constituted/created/formed. The word constitution implies different things in different settings. For example, in the law of contract constitution is the making of the contract as a written document, such as the constitution of a debt. It is also common to require corporate entities to have constitutions and thus non-governmental organizations and civic groups to have constitutions. Trusts and Cooperative societies also have constitutions. In public law, a constitution implies the fundamental law of the state, containing the principles upon which the government is founded, and regulating the divisions of the sovereign powers, directing to what persons each of these powers are to be confided, and the, manner it is to be exercised. In the context of the state, it expresses the idea of how sovereignty is exercised. A constitution is the supreme law of each State. It lays down rules regarding the organisation, powers, and functions of government. It also defines the basic features of the State and the relation between the citizens and the State.
Constitution: Meaning and Definition
In simple words, we can say a Constitution is the law of the state. Constitutional law enjoys the position of being the supreme and fundamental law of the state. It lays down the organisation and functions of the government of the state. The Government can use only those powers which the Constitution grants to it. The following are some examples of the definitions:
- “Constitution is the collection of principles according to which the powers of the government, the rights of the governed and the relations between the two are adjusted. -Woolsey
- “Constitution is a body of judicial rules which determine the supreme organs of state, prescribes their modes of creation, their mutual relations, their spheres of action and the fundamental place of each of them about the state.” -Jellinek
- ”Constitution of a state is that body of rules or laws, written or unwritten which determine the organisation of government, the distribution of powers to the various organs of government and the general principles on which these powers are to be exercised.” -Gilchrist
Based on these definitions, it can be said that the Constitution is the total of the constitutional laws of the state.
It lies down:
(1) Organisation and powers of the government;
(2) Principles and rules governing the political process;
(3) Relations between the people and their government; and
(4) Rights and duties of the people.
The government of the state gets organised and works by the provisions of the Constitution. People get their rights protected from the constitution. No one, not even the government, can violate the Constitution.