Constitutional lawLesson 1 of 1 in the course Constitutions and constitutionalism

Constitutional Law: Forms, Government Design, Rights, and Enforcement

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 4 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

A constitution establishes the fundamental rules and principles of a polity, organization, or other entity. This lesson introduces what constitutions do, where they apply, and how written, codified, and uncodified constitutions differ.

A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that form the legal basis of an entity and commonly determine how it is governed. For a state, a constitution typically identifies the principles on which the state is based, establishes how laws are made, and assigns authority to public institutions.

All flashcards

Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or precedents that provides an entity’s legal basis and commonly determines how it is governed.
Intra vires
An action is intra vires when it falls within the authority granted to an office or institution.
Ultra vires
An action is ultra vires when it exceeds the authority granted to an office or institution.
Entrenched clause
A constitutional provision that makes certain changes harder or impossible to enact.
Dead hand problem
The concern that earlier generations may bind later generations through difficult-to-amend constitutional rules.

Quiz questions

  1. What principle is Magna Carta especially associated with?Answer: A free person could lose liberty or property only through lawful judgment or the law of the land.
  2. What is characteristic of a federal system?Answer: A constitution divides governmental powers between central government and constituent regions.
  3. What does judicial review allow courts to do?Answer: Examine whether laws or government actions comply with higher legal rules.
  4. A statute can be used constitutionally in some circumstances, but one particular use violates the constitution. What may a court invalidate?Answer: The unlawful application, without necessarily invalidating the entire statute.
  5. What distinguishes a specialized constitutional court from ordinary courts?Answer: It is dedicated to deciding constitutional questions.

Based on the Wikipedia article Constitution, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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