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Comparative Government > Basic concepts > Flashcards

Basic concepts Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the purposes of comparative constitutional law?

A
  1. To critically assess a system
  2. For constitution-building and constitution-engineering
  3. For the creation and development of international organizations
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2
Q

What are the purposes of constitutions?

A
  1. To set up and maintain an effective state
  2. To establish and respect democracy, legitimacy and accountability
  3. To abide by the rule of law
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3
Q

What is a constitution?

A
  1. Formal meaning – A central written document that sets out the basic rules that apply to the government of socio-political entities
  2. Broad/substantive meaning – The entire body of fundamental rules that govern socio-political entity (both written and customary):
    - Attributes power to public authorities
    - Regulates the fundamental relations between public authorities
    - Regulates the fundamental relations between the public authorities and the individual
  3. Divided between institutional law and human rights
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4
Q

What is constitutionalism? And absolutism?

A
  1. Constitutionalism – The idea of limited government, whereby political actors will obey legal norms in how and to what extent they govern
  2. Absolutism – The monarch is sovereign and not bound by law
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5
Q

What is a rigid constitution?

A
  1. A constitution which cannot be changed/amended or with high difficulty and precautions
  2. The opposite is a ‘flexible’ constitution
  3. ‘Substantive rigidity’ – The text of the constitution is accepted as meaning what it says in a narrow sense
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6
Q

What is the difference between a revolutionary and an evolutionary constitution?

A
  1. Revolutionary – A new constitution marks a transformational event, when the old order is replaced by a new one
  2. Evolutionary – The constitution develops gradually through time
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7
Q

What is the definition of a ‘state’?

A
  1. Sovereign entity or

2. Federal entity

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8
Q

What is a republic?

A
  1. A state whose head of government is not a monarch
  2. A state which has a republican order
  3. Republican values include:
    - Democratic representation
    - Rule by many with the consent of the governed
    - Separation of powers
    - Limited government
    - Rule of law
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9
Q

What are the main characteristics of the USA?

A
  1. Federal republic
  2. Presidential democracy
  3. Fifty individual States
  4. President is both head of State and head of government and is elected by indirect popular vote
  5. Federal legislative power is exercised by a bicameral Congress:
  6. The highest federal judicial authority is exercised by the US Supreme Court
  7. The USA relies on separation of powers, which is exercised via a system of checks and balances whereby institutions keep each other in line via mutual institutionalized interference
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10
Q

What are the main features of each state in the USA?

A
  1. Each State has its own constitution
  2. Every state is a republic and features a presidential system of government
  3. They all feature a bicameral parliament except for Nebraska
  4. They are all headed by directly elected governors
  5. They all have their own court system
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11
Q

What are the historical developments that led to the adoption of the Basic Law?

A
  1. After the fall of the Belin Wall, GDR acceded to the area of application of the Basic Law under Article 23
  2. The Basic Law was amended:
    - Article 146 was amended to reflect the unity of the German people
    - Article 23 was scratched and replaced by a new provision on the European Union
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12
Q

What are the main features of Germany?

A
  1. Federal republic:
    - 16 States
    - Each has its own constitution
    - Each State has its own parliament (unicameral)
    - States governments are headed by State prime ministers which are accountable to their Parliament
    - ‘Forever clause’ (art. 79(3)) – The German federal constitutional principles, the division of Germany into States and the State’s participation in federal law-making cannot be amended
  2. Parliamentary democracy
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13
Q

What are the main features of the United Kingdom?

A
  1. Four countries – England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
  2. Historically marked by a power struggle between the King and Parliament
  3. Constitutional monarchy
  4. Parliamentary government:
    - Bicameral (House of Lords and House of Commons)
    - Parliamentary sovereignty
  5. Constitution is not codified in a central document:
    - Case law
    - Constitutional conventions
    - Unwritten customs
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14
Q

What are the main characteristics of France?

A
  1. Unitary state with limited decentralization
  2. Bicameral:
    - National Assembly
    - Senate
  3. Semi-presidential democracy:
    - Elected President as head of state
    - Appointed Prime Minister as head of government
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15
Q

What are the main characteristics of the Netherlands?

A
  1. The Netherlands v. the Kingdom of the Netherlands (includes Curacao, Aruba and Saint Martin)
  2. Constitutional monarchy
  3. Prime minister as head of government
  4. King as head of state
  5. Parliamentary
  6. Bicameral:
    - First Chamber as upper chamber
    - Second chamber as lower chamber
  7. Decentralized but unitary
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16
Q

What are the different institutions of the EU?

A
  1. The European Parliament:
    - 751 members
    - Directly elected by EU citizens every 5 years
  2. European Council:
    - Heads of state and heads of government
    - The President is elected every 2 and ½ year by the European Council and may be re-elected once
  3. The Council of Ministers:
    - Ministers of the Member States, depending on the subject matter
  4. The Commission:
    - 28 members
    - Appointed by the European Council
    - After involvement and agreement of the European Parliament
  5. The Court of Justice
  6. The European Central Bank
  7. The Court of Auditors
17
Q

What are the competences of the EU?

A
  1. Exclusive competences – Art. 3 TFEU
  2. Shared competences – Art. 4 TFEU
  3. Furthermore, the EU must follow the principles of:
    - Subsidiarity
    - Proportionality
    - Conferral
18
Q

What is the EU charter of Fundamental Rights?

A
  1. A collection of HR provisions
  2. Its meaning and purpose shall be the same as the ECHR
  3. Has the same legal value as the TEU and TFEU

Comparative Government (6 decks)

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