POLITICAL LAW IN GENERAL Flashcards
What is Political Law?
The branch of public law, which deals with the organization and operations of the governmental organs of the State and defines the relations of the State with the inhabitants of its territory.
What is Public Law?
It deals to the relations between the individual and
the government or the state
What are the branches of political law? Briefly explain each.
Political Law has 4 branches (PCAL):
- Public Administration - deals with the organization and management of the different branches of the government.
- Constitutional Law - deals with the guarantees of constitution to individual rights and the limitations on governmental action.
- Administrative Law - deals with the exercise of executive power in the making of rules and the decision of questions affecting private rights.
- Law on Public Corporations - deals with the governmental agencies for local government or for
other special purpose.
Explain the etymology of the word constitution.
It comes from the Latin word “consitutio” from “constituere” meaning to “to appoint or establish”
What is the purpose and role of the constitution?
- Serve as the supreme and fundamental law
- binding on all individuals and all organs of the
government
- all other laws must conform to the constitution - Establishes basic framework and underlying principles of the government
- Designed to preserve and protect the rights of individuals against the arbitrary actions of those in authority
- set a limit on the otherwise unlimited power of the
legislature and government as a whole.
What are the types and kinds of constitutions?
A. As to the amendment process:
- Rigid constitution - difficult to amend and must follow a special process to be changed
- Flexible constitution - can be changed by ordinary legislation
B. As to adaption:
1. Written - one whose precepts are embodied in one document or set of documents
- Unwritten - one whose rules have not been integrated into a single and concrete form, and whose sources are scattered.
C. As to its enactment
1. Enacted/Conventional - enacted and has been formally struck off at a definitive time and place
- Cumulative/Evolved -
D. Others
1. Normative - adjusts to norms and function as prescriptive documents
- Nominal - not yet fully operational
- Semantic - enforced to formalize and legalize the monopoly of power in totalitarianism
Explain the doctrine of constitutional supremacy.
Laws that do not conform to the Constitution shall be stricken down for being unconstitutional.
If a law or contract violates any norm of the constitution, that law or contract whether promulgated by the legislative or by the executive branch or entered into by private persons for private purposes is NULL AND VOID and without any force and effect.
Explain the presumption of constitutionality.
Every statute is presumed valid. The presumption is that the legislature intended to enact a valid, sensible and just law and one which operates no further than may be necessary to effectuate the specific purpose of the law.
Every presumption should be indulged in favor of the
constitutionality and THE BURDEN OF PROOF IS ON THE PARTY ALLEGING THAT THERE IS A CLEAR AND EQUIVOCAL BREACH OF THE CONSTITUTION, AND NOT MERELY DOUBT. TO DOUBT IS TO SUSTAIN.
What are the essential qualities of a good constitution?
- Broad - covers the entire government and all people within the territory of the State
- Brief - confined to basic principles
- Definite/Concise - prevents ambiguity which could result in confusion and divisiveness.
What are the essential parts of a good written constitution?
- Constitution of the Government - outlines the organization of the government and its powers.
- Constitution of Liberty - sets forth the fundamental
civil and political rights of the citizens and imposing
limitations on the powers of government as a means
of securing the enjoyment of those rights - Constitution of Sovereignty - The provisions pointing out the mode or procedure in accordance with which formal changes in the fundamental law may be brought about.
What is a constitution?
- A law for the government, safeguarding individual rights set down in writing (Hamilton)
- A written instrument organizing the government, distributing its powers and safeguarding the rights of the people (Tanada and Fernando)
- A written instrument by which the fundamental powers of government are established, limited and defined and by which those powers are distributed among the several departments for their safe and useful exercise for the benefit of the body politic (Malcolm and Laurel)
- An organic instrument under which governmental powers are both conferred and circumscribed (Schwartz)
- The fundamental law of the land to which all other laws must conform, and to which all persons including the highest officials of the land, must confer.
Give a brief history/background of the present constitution.
The 1987 constitution was preceded by:
- 1986 Freedom Constitution
- 1973 Constitution
- 1935 Commonwealth Constitution
- 1899 Malolos Constitution (never fully implemented)
Ruling by decree during the early months of her tenure as a president installed via the People Power Revolution, President Corazon Aquino drafted a new constitution and issued Proclamation No. 3 on March 25, 1986 (Often called the Freedom Constitution), abrogating many of the provisions of the 1973 Constitution adopted during the Marcos regime. The Freedom Constitution provided for an orderly transfer of power while a Constitutional Commission was drafting a permanent constitution.
The Constitutional Commission was composed of forty-eight members appointed by Aquino from varied backgrounds.
The first draft of the Constitutional Commission was completed on?
October 12, 1986
The 1987 Constitution was ratified by a nationwide plebiscite on?
February 2, 1987
The 1987 took effect on?
On the day of plebiscite, February 2, 1987
Not on the day of proclamation!
