​ asic features of

B
constitution of UK,
USA, China,
Switzerland
The term constitution comes through
French from the Latin
word “constitution”, used for
regulations and orders, A constitution
may be said to be a collection of
principles according to which the
powers of the government, the rights
of the governed, and the relations
between the two are adjusted. James
Bryce:
“ constitution as a frame of political
society, organised through and by law,
that is to say one in which law has
established permanent institutions
with recognized functions and
definite rights”.
Uk features :-
British Constitution is not a particular
codified document,it is unwritten and
is an aggregate of several documents
which together constitute the rules of
the land. The unwritten character of
the British constitution is by far the
most important element. There is no
documented, accurate, and compact
document that can be referred to as
the British constitution. The
fundamental reason for this is that it
is founded on customs and political
traditions that are not codified in any
text. Historical Documents,
Parliamentary Statutes, Judicial
Decisions, and Constitutional
Characters, such as the Magna Carta
(1215), Petition of Rights (1628), Bill of
Rights (1689), and Parliamentary Acts
of 1911 and 1949, are among the
written portions. British Constitution
is also a mixed Constitution. The
British constitution is a mix of
monarchical, aristocratic, and
democratic values.The British
constitution is an example of how
things have evolved over time. There
was no presence of a constituent
assembly to frame the British
Constitution like the one that framed
the Indian constitution. This nature is
due to the fact that it is the result of
slow growth and evolution.One of the
most obvious features of an unwritten
constitution is the flexibility that
comes with the uncodified structure,
which might be considered a merit
and demerit at the same time. A
typical example of a flexible
constitution is the British constitution.
Because no distinction is established
between constitutional legislation and
ordinary law, it can be passed,
changed, and repealed by a simple
majority of Parliament. In contrast to
a federal constitution, the British
constitution is unitary in character.
The British Parliament, which is a
sovereign body, has complete control
over the administration. It is
subservient to the executive organs of
the state, which have delegated
powers and are accountable to it.
There is just one legislature in the
United States unlike in the UK.
England, Scotland, Wales and the rest
of the United Kingdom is composed of
administrative, rather than political
autonomous units. The United
Kingdom is governed by a
Parliamentary system. All of the King’s
powers and authority have been taken
away from him. Ministers who belong
to the majority party in Parliament
and continue in office as long as their
party’s trust in them is maintained are
the true functionaries.Parliamentary
sovereignty is a key aspect of the
British constitution. Parliamentary
sovereignty refers to the fact that
parliament is superior to the
executive and judicial spheres of the
government and so has the power to
adopt or repeal any law. Modern legal
systems, like the United Kingdom’s,
see the rule of law as a fundamental
premise. It has been referred to as “as
important in a free society as the
democratic franchise,” and even “the
ultimate governing principle on which
the constitution is founded.” This
prevents the Executive from acting
arbitrarily. It has evolved to only work
in tandem with the equal application
of the law to all citizens (‘equality
before the law,’) and to maintain the
legal philosophy of parliamentary
sovereignty within the framework of
the constitutional monarchy. The
main function of the judiciary is to
uphold the rule of law. The principles
of the rule of law are:
*In the eyes of the law, everyone is
equal, regardless of their position or
rank.
*This theory emphasises that the law,
not any individual, is supreme.
*Without a fair and adequate trial by
a competent court of law, no one can
be detained or imprisoned. A person
cannot be punished or deprived of his
or her life, liberty, or property unless
there has been a specific breach of
law proven in a regular court of law
through a regular procedure.
The Rule of Law in the United
Kingdom is protected by the fact that
judges can only be removed from
office for significant misconduct and
only after a procedure that requires
the approval of both Houses of
Parliament. As a result, the judges are
free to make their decisions without
fear or favour. The same approach
has been taken in India, where
judicial independence is regarded as
an unambiguous component of the
Constitution.
Usa features:-
The present constitution of USA was
adopted at the Philadelphia
Convention held in 1787. It came into
force in 1789. It consisted of only 7
articles. Following are some of the
salient features:-
1. Written and Brief Constitution: The
constitution of USA is the first written
constitution in the world duly enacted
by a Constituent Assembly. It has 7
articles only.It is the shortest
constitution in the world.
2.Popular Sovereignty: American
constitution is based on popular
sovereignty.The people are the source
of supreme power.The constitution
was framed by the representatives of
the people and dedicated to
themselves by the people.
3.Supremacy of the constitution:
According to Article 6 of the American
constitution “ The constitution shall be
the supreme law of the land”.It means
that all other laws and treaties of the
country must be in accordance with
the constitution and if any of them is
not in accordance with the
constitution, the Supreme Court can
declare it null and void.
4.Representative Democracy:
Administration of the state is carried
on by the representatives elected on
the basis of adult franchise.Every
adult male and female has been given
right to vote without any
discrimination.
5.Limited Government: The framers of
the American constitution have
confined the federal govt and the state
govt in their sphere in such away that
none of them can become
unrestrained.The rights of the
individual have been incorporated in
the constitution which limit the
powers of the govt.
6.Federal polity:USA is the first
modern federal state in the world
which has the following federal
features (1) Written
constitution(ii)rigid
constitution(iii)Supremacy of the
constitution(iv)Dual polity(v)Double
citizenship(vi) Double constitution.
7.Rigid constitution: American
constitution is the most rigid
constitution in the world.The proposal
of amendment requires the approval
of both houses of the Congress
separately by 2/3 majority and
ratification by 3/4 state legislatures.
8.Presidential form of government:
USA is the oldest and most successful
Presidential government in the world.
Its presidential features are (i)
President is the real executive head
(ii) Separation between executive and
legislature (iii) fixed tenure of the
executive (iv) members of the cabinet
are responsible to the President (v)
tenure of the congress is fixed.
9. Double citizenship: Every American
citizen enjoys two type of citizenship
i.e citizenship of their respective
states and citizenship of the country
as a whole.
10.Separate constitution of the state:
Every states has its own separate
constitution.Federal constitution is
concerned with the composition and
powers of the federal government and
the constitution of the states are
concerned with the organization and
powers of the state governments. But
the constitution of the state must be in
accordance with the federal
constitution and it is obligatory to
provide Republican government in
every state.
11.Republican form of government:
The office of the head of the state is
not based on hereditary rather he is
elected indirectly elected by the
people for a fixed term of four years.
12.Separation of powers: The three
organs of government are separated
from each other.Article 1 of the
constitution gives legislative power to
the congress Article 2 gives executive
power to the President Article 3 gives
Judicial power to the Judiciary.
13.Doctrine of checks and balances: To
ensure that no organ of the
government may become despot, the
principle of checks and balances on
different organs have been adopted.
14. Bill of Rights: Rights of the
American citizen were incorporated
in the constitution by first 10
amendments. USA is the first country
to include Rights of the citizen in the
constitution.US citizens enjoy various
kinds of freedom and equality.
15. Judicial Supremacy: Judiciary has
been granted supremacy over other
organs of government in USA because
Judiciary interprets and protects the
constitution and also resolves the
disputes between centre and states.
16.Judicial Review: The judiciary has
the power to reject the bills passed by
the congress and treaties concluded
by the President if it is against the
constitution.
17.Bi Cameral Legislature: The Federal
legislature has two Houses. The lower
house is House of Representatives
which represent the people and the
upper house is Senate which
represent the federating states.
18. Conventions: Like in any other
constitution, Conventions have made
their place in American constitution
and have contributed a lot in the
development of the constitution .e.g
existence of political parties, cabinet,
committees of the congress, senatorial
courtesy etc.
Switzerland features :-
1. A written & lengthy Constitution:
The Swiss constitution of 1848 as
amended in 1874 and which was
totally revised in 1999 is
a written file. The new constitution of
Switzerland is more thorough
constitution. It has 196
articles and these have been classify
into six titles and each of which
contains numerous
chapters.
2. A rigid Constitution:
The Swiss constitution is a rigid
constitution. The constitution cannot
be amended by
ordinary law creation process. The
process of amending the constitution
is difficult.
An amendment can become law only
when it is agreed by majority of the
Swiss voters and by
a majority of the cantons through
referendum.
3. A Republican Constitution:
The Constitution of Switzerland is
Republican in character. It is also
believed that
Switzerland is the first to
experimentation with the Republican
institution in the world. The
constitution led the establishment
Republicanism not only at the centre
but also in different
cantons. Being a Republic, all potential
institutions of Switzerland - Federal,
Cantonal and
Communal are elective in character.
The principal of Republicanism is in
fact the bulwark of
Swiss democracy.
4.Federalism:

Art 1 of the 1874 Swiss constitution

describes Switzerland as a
Confederation. But in reality,
It was a Federation with 23 cantons
(20 full & 6 half cantons) constituting
the federation. The
1999 total revision of the constitution
has given strength to the federation.
Switzerland is now
a federation both in name as well as
on reality.
The Federal nature of the Swiss
Constitution is reflected by its
following features; Non-
Sovereign status of Cantons,
Supremacy of Swiss Constitution,
Existence of Written and
rigid constitution affecting a division
of powers between the Swiss
Federation and the
cantons, the cantons have their
separate constitution etc. All these
features clearly established
the subsistence of a federation in
Switzerland.
5. Direct Democracy:
Switzerland has been the home of
direct democracy. Since 1848,
Switzerland has been
working as a direct democracy
through such policy of direct
legislation- Referendum and
initiative. Under the system of
referendum, the people have the right
to approve or disapprove
the laws or constitutional amendment
approved by their legislature. Under
the systems of
initiative Swiss voters can initiate any
proposal for Constitutional
amendment, which ge incorporated in
the constitution when widely held of
Swiss voters as well as of cantons
approves it in referendum.
6. Plural Executive:
A exclusive features of the Swiss
constitution is that it provides for
plural executive which
consists of seven members elected by
the Federal Assembly for four years.
The executive
powers are in a group exercised by
the Federal Council. The president is
elected by the
Federal Assembly for a period of one
year only, and is simply "first among
equals". He in no
way enjoys a position superior to that
of the rest of his colleagues.
7. Bicameral Legislature:
The Swiss Legislature is a bicameral
body. The upper house known as the
Senate (Council of
States) correspond to the cantons of
Switzerland or equal basis like that of
American Senate
which accords equality to all the
stages. It is a small house consisting of
200 members. Both
the houses have kept on par in respect
of their powers.
8. Bill of Right:
A major change affect by the new
Swiss Constitution has been the
amalgamation of a
complete bill of Rights. Under Title 2
chapter 1 and 2 and article 7 to 40, the
new constitution
describes the basic, civil, social and
political rights of the Swiss people.
The bill of rights is a
very detailed bill and incorporates
almost all the rights and freedoms
which stand
acknowledged as essential conditions
of civilized living and necessary for
the enjoyment of
the right to life.
9. Triple Citizenship:
The system of triple citizenship
prevails in Switzerland. The
constitution states that every
citizen of the cantons and local
authorities in that canton shall be the
citizen of Switzerland.
This entitles a person to enjoy the
citizenship of his cantons and local
authorities under it as
well as that of the Swiss Federation.
10. No Judicial Review:
The Swiss judiciary play a less
fundamental role then the judiciary in
India or USA. The
Swiss Federal Tribunal has only
restricted judicial review authority. It
can declare only
cantonal law unconstitutional. But it
does not exercise judicial review of
the laws passed by
the central government.
11. Permanently Neutralized Status:
Switzerland is a everlastingly
neutralized state. This status has been
conferred upon
Switzerland by an international
treaty. Switzerland has taken upon
itself the decision that it
shall join neither any war nor military
alliance. It refuses to be drawn into
any military and
controversial security related
conference/ treaty/ organisation and
alliance. Till 2002 it was
not even a member of the United
Nations. It joined the world body only
in 2003 but without
giving up its permanently neutralized
status.
Federalism in USA,
India, Switzerland
Federalism is defined as, “a hybrid
arrangement that mixes elements of a
‘confederation’ and a ‘unitary’
government.” (Kernell & Jacobson).
A confederation is where you have a
number of governments that come
together because of some need and
attempt to work together. When we
have a confederation, we have
authority being held by independent
“states” through some kind of
agreement. Under confederations
there may be a central government,
but it only has the power that the
individual state governments give to
it.
Quasi-federalism means an
intermediate form of state between a
unitary state and a federation. It
combines the features of a federal
government and the features of a
unitary government. India is regarded
as a semi-federal state or a quasi-
federal state as described by Prof. K.C.
Wheare. The Supreme Court of India
also describes it as a federal structure
with a strong bias towards the Centre.
Federalism in usa:-
The USA is a federal government.
Article I lists the competences of the
national government and has been
called ‘few and established’ by James
Madison. Few, maybe: Section 8 of
Article I has 18 clauses, although some
are subdivided. And, to some degree,
defined: the provision that gives
Congress authority to “create posts
and postal roads” is not well
understood. Other laws were not so
well known as obviously; since 1789 it
has been contested almost
continuously for the importance of
the clause granting the Congress
power “to control trade between the
various States.” In some decisions of
the Supreme Court in the 1990s,
observers proclaimed the beginning
of the federalist movement. The Court
found certain statutes
unconstitutional, as they had for the
first time since 1936 violated federal
values. And at this point, the revolt
looks more like a group of pitchforks
than a serious attempt to overthrow
an enlargement of the national power
since the new deal. The key avenues
of the national government power
centralization have been defined
through the use of legislative
authority in intergovernmental trade
regulations. Congress, inevitably, has
other forces and one, in particular,
becomes more essential as the 20th
century continues. Congress has the
authority to enact and levy taxes to
maintain America’s popular security
to welfare.The growth of the national
government and in particular the
implementation of the sixteenth
amendment, in which Congress
approved the collection of income
taxes (1913), gave the tax authorities a
stronger use. The key consequences
for the separation between States and
the national government of successful
governance were conditional
expenditure programs. Given
domestic fiscal capital, dependent
spending power has almost become as
essential as the trade clause as a
mechanism for centralizing governing
authority. The Court has shown little
interest in significant limits on
dependent spending power. In the
case of Texas V. White, Chief Justice
Salmon held that the United States is a
Federation of indestructible States.
The union of states has never been a
strictly artificial and arbitrary
arrangement. It started among the
colonies and grew up with shared
roots, mutual understanding, common
interests, and geographical
relationships. In the case of Chisholm
vs. Georgia, the first major
constitutional ruling of the U.S.
Supreme Court was made in 1793. It’s
about state sovereignty. Sovereign
immunity has been a central feature
of sovereignty in the Anglo-American
tradition. As already stated in Article
III of the Constitution, federal courts
have authority over disputes between
a State and citizens of another State.
Federalism in india:-
Origin of the idea of federalism in
India was first traced in the
Commission Simon, appointed “Indian
Statutory Commission” in 1927. The
Commission was intended to revise
the Indian Constitution. In its 1930
report, the Commission recommended
the development of India into a
‘federation of self-government units.’
India emerged as a federation that
had been relieved of British Raj’s
clutches. Several princely states,
divided and governed, came together
to form the Indian Union. The pre-
independence Center and Provinces
became a Union of countries with
clear powers divided up into three
lists-Union, States, and concurrent
lists. The former princely states were
replaced by the Indian Union, which
later became the federal units.A
gradual process was followed by the
reorganization of the States, which
continued until the end of 1969.
Ambedkar said that because the
Indian Federation was indissoluble it
was a “Union” and no government
was allowed to separate from it. The
federation is a union because it is an
indestructible strong center to secure
the nation. In general terms, the
‘Confederation’ is the structure in
which the Units dominate the Union;
in the Unitary State, the Union
dominates the Units.Dr. B.R.
Ambedkar used the word Union to
make clear that States do not have the
right to distinguish themselves from
the Union. He said that the Union was
a federation and called it a versatile
federation to say that it was not as
static as the American constitution
was. At the Constituent Assembly,
Ambedkar stated: “The Constitution
for India is a federal Constitution
insofar as it defines what may be
referred to as a dual policy, consisting
of a Union at the Core and States at
the periphery each with the sovereign
powers to be exercised in their
respective areas of competence under
the Constitution.” There are five
essentials necessary to be called as
federal and these are:
*The Constitution has to be written.
*It has to be rigid.
*It must be the supreme rule of the
land;
*The separation or transfer of powers
between the Union or the federal
government and the different States
or provinces may take place.
*An autonomous and impartial
judiciary must be formed to interpret
the Constitution and the Rules.
However, the term ‘federation’ has not
been used consciously. In the case of
Kesavananda Bharati vs. State of
Kerala, the Supreme Court held that
its basic feature was the federal
character of the Constitution. In the
case of the State of Rajasthan vs.
Union of India, the Supreme Court
held that the Constitution was an
amphibian in the sense that it could
travel either on a federal or a unitary
plane. Where the action is taken
under Article 356, the movement shall
be on a unitary plane. Article 249 is a
well-designed provision intended to
ensure greater consistency in the
operation of the union. States have the
exclusive right to legislate on matters
specified in the State List. Article 249
allows for a situation in which the
national interest requires Parliament
to be able to legislate on a matter in
the State List only if the Council of
States agrees, by a two-thirds majority,
that it is appropriate in the national
interest.
Federalism in Switzerland :-
Switzerland’s federal history can be
traced back to August 1291, when
three cantons created a defense union
combined with a system of arbitration
for conflict management. After the
invasion of Switzerland by Napoleon
in 1798 the French attempted to create
a centralized Swiss state. This was
unsuccessful, however, and the 1803
Act of Mediation partially restored the
sovereignty of the cantons, created a
number of new cantons, and
effectively introduced a loose federal
system. After the defeat of Napoleon
in 1815, Switzerland determined that
it would operate as a loose
confederation. The Sonderbund War
of 1847, a civil war in which seven
primarily Catholic cantons created an
alliance to protect their interests
against a centralization of power, led
in 1848 to the enacting of the (current)
federal constitution. This constitution
established Switzerland as a federal
republic, delineated the
responsibilities of the cantons and the
Confederation, and established the
federal authorities of government.The
federal constitution of Switzerland
has provided the basis for the
peaceful cohabitation of different
cultural, linguistic, and religious
groups.The Swiss federal system
consists of three levels of governance.
Authority is shared between the
Confederation (central state), the 26
cantons (the federal states), and the
2,352 communes. Each of these three
levels has legislative and executive
powers. In addition, the Confederation
and the cantons have judicial powers.
The Confederation’s authority is
restricted to the powers expressly
conferred to it by the Federal
Constitution. All other areas, such as
education and health care, are the
responsibility of the cantons which
enjoy considerable autonomy. Some of
the responsibilities of the communes
are expressly assigned to them by the
Confederation, or by the canton of
which they are a part. However,
communes can also legislate when
cantonal law does not specifically
refer to issues that affect them
directly.
Switzerland’s direct democracy means
that all proposed amendments to the
constitution are decided by
referendum. Any federal law can be
put to a referendum if a petition for
reform receives the signatures of
50,000 citizens. This means that the
Swiss people have the ability to make
changes to the federal system. While
the process of and implementing
reform may be slow, changes do occur
frequently.

Unitary System
Unitary government is a kind of
government system in which a single
power, which is known
as the central government, controls
the whole government. In fact, all
powers and
administrative divisions authorities
lies at the central place. Today most of
the government
systems in the world are based on
unitary system of government. It is
slightly different from
federal model of government. In
unitary government, central
government has the power to
increase or curtail the power of
subnational units. It can create and
abolished the same. UK,
Afghanistan, Italy, China, Saudi
Arabia, Spain, etc., are the important
examples of unitary
government. The unitary government
system is based on the concept of
consistency, unity,
and identity that’s why the
centralization of power and authority
system remains at the top
priority. The decision-making power
rests with the central government that
are shared by
the government with the lower level
government when needed. There are
not so many
options for change and new
innovation as the people have a very
limited voice in this
government system. There are many
merits and demerits of unitary
government. It is useful
in the term that rules and regulations
in this government systems remain
consist and equal
throughout the country. Moreover, it
is less expensive as compared to the
federal
government because the number of
powerful people remains very low. In
a time of
emergency, it makes timely decisions
as compared to the federal
government system. But at
the same time, the concept of freedom
of speech and expression always
remains at a low
priority that’s why most of the
principles of unitary government are
much similar to that of
dictatorship system of government. Its
distinctive feature is given as follows;
1. Concentration of Powers:
A unitary government is one in which
all the powers of administration are
vested in a single
centre. The centre is omnipotent. A
unitary state may be divided into
small units for the sake
of administrative convenience but the
units do not have any constitutional
status of their own.
2. Single Government:
In a unitary government, there is a
single set of governmental apparatus.
There is a single
supreme legislature, single executive
body and one supreme judiciary.
England, for example,
is a unitary state. She has one
parliament as her legislature, the
King-in-Council as the
executive and the judicial committee
of the House of Lords as her supreme
judiciary.
3. Written or unwritten Constitution:
A unitary government may or may not
have a writ ten constitution. As for
example, England
and France are unitary states. France
has a written constitution but England
has none
4. Rigid or Flexible Constitution:
Unlike a federation, a unitary state
may or may not have a rigid
constitution, e.g., the
constitution of England is flexible but
that of France is slightly rigid.
5. No Special Judiciary:
There is no need of having a special
judiciary with wide powers of judicial
veto in a unitary
government. Even the highest court of
U.K., for example, cannot sit in
judgment over the law passed by the
Parliament.

Comparison of
executive ,
legislature, judiciary
of U.K. and U.S.A

On the basis of relationship between

executive and legislature the modern
democratic govts are classified into
parliamentary and presidential form
of govt. The parliamentary system of
govt is also known as cabinet or
resposible govt. In a parliamentary
govt there exists very close
relationship between the executive
and legislature.

U.K
In the administrative system of Britain
the king or the queen is the head of
executive and all adminstrative
functions are performed in his her
name. Although all the functions are
performed in the name of crown yet
she has no power to perform not even
a single function. The real executive
powers vest with the cabinet.
Powers of the King
1. Executive powers
-All administrative powers are vested
in him.
Appoints P.M, ministers and other civil
and military officers.
-Supreme commander of armed
forces, sends and receives
ambassadors and other diplomatic
agents.
2.Legislative powers
-Summons,prorogues and dissolve
parliament.
-Assents to the bill passed by
parliament.
-He can refuse to give assent to any
bill.
3.Judicial powers
-Foundation of justice.
-Grands pardon to criminals or
reducing or postponing their
sentence.
-All criminal proceeding are started in
the name of king
In practice the king reigns but does
not rule.
The privy council
-Important institution in the
governmental system of England.
-As cabinet system came privy council
lost its importance
Cabinet
Most powerful institution in political
system of England. According to
Bagehot , Cabinet is the hyphen that
joins and buckle that binds legislature
and executive.

Functions of cabinet-

1. Executive functions
Real executive powers vest with the
cabinet. In law executive is the king
but in practice , exercise of executive
powers is directed and controlled by
the cabinet.

2. To formulate policy
It is a policy formulating body. Inside
the cabinet all ministers can express
their opinions freely and frankly and
when decision is taken all ministers
must oblige to it. Failure to do so
redults in removal.

3.Legislation
Cabinet plays impoertant role in
legislation.
It is the cabinet that legislates with
consent , support and advice of
parliament.

4.Controls budget
Cabinet controls national finance. The
budget regarding expenditure and
revenue is placed before House of
Commons by the cabinet.
The Prime Minister
- Head of cabinet.
-His position legally recognized by the
ministers of crown act 1937.

Powers
1. Powers over cabinet
- Head of cabinet
-Preside over meetings of cabinet.
-Exercise supervision over the
activities of other ministers.

2.Powers in relation with monarch

-He is confidential advisor of the
crown and the principal channel of
communication between crown and
cabinet.

3. Powers in relation to Parliament

-PM is the leader of house of commons
, he represent the cabinet as a whole.
- Answers the questions on the general
conduct of govt.

4. Power of dissolution of house of

commons
- Request sovereign for dissolution. It
means that members of house hold
their seat at his mercy.
British Parliament
- Supreme legislative authority.
-Mother of parliament.
-Consists of queen, house of lords and
house of commons.
-Consent of all these 3 parts is
necessary to pass a bill.
-No law made by parliament can be
challenged. But in U.S.A and India it
can be challenged.

The House of Lords

- Upper house and second chamber of
british parliament.
- More than 1000 members
- Presiding officer is lord chancellor
# Functions of house of lords #
1. Executive functions
- Some ministers from house of
commons are also the members of this
house that is house of lords.
-Members of house of lords ask
questions, seek information from govt
on any aspect of administration but
ministers of house of common not
responsible to house of lords.

2. Legislative powers
- Examine and revise the legislative
work sent by the house of commons
similar to Rajya sabha of India.
- On the matter of money the house of
lords has no power at all.

3. Judicial powers
The house of lords was the Supreme
court of appeal for cases in U.K. and
Northern Ireland and court of
impeachment. On 1st october 2009
judicial authority was transfered
away from the house of lords and
creating Supreme Court forunited
kingdom.

House of commons
- Oldest legislative chamber of he
world .
-635 members.
- Tenure 5 years.
-Most important official is the speaker.
-Member enjoys so many privileges.
First is freedom of speech ensured by
bill of rights.

# Powers and functions of house of

commons
1.Law making
-supreme law making body
2.Financial matters
-the house of commons is supreme in
financial matters.
3.Controlling executive
-most of the members of the cabinet
belongs to the house of commons.
-ministery individually and
collectively responsible to the house
of commons.
-hold office as long as they enjoy the
confidence of house of commons.
American Executive - The
President
Executive powers vested with the
President of U.S.A. Any natural born
american citizen , at least 35 years of
age and 14 years of resident within
U.S may stand for election.
- can be removed before his legal term
is over on impeachment.

#Powers and functions

- US president is most powerful
elected executive in any democratic
country in the world.
-his powers can be disscussed under 3
heads.
1. Executive functions
-head of administration
-power of making appointments
-power of removal
-power of foreign affairs
-commander-in-chief of armed forces
-control over cabinet

2. Legislative functions
-American political system being non
parliamentary, the president is
neither chosen by the legislature, nor
can be removed by it.
-he and his advisors have no right to
present in congress
-he cannot dissolve any houses of
congress
-president have power to summon
extraordinary session of the houses of
parliament.
-Power to veto- it may become an
absolute veto.

3. Judicial power
-power to grant reprieves and
pardons.
American President v. British Prime
minister
In the democracies of the world the
office of President of America and that
of PM of England are regarded as
most powerful, prestigious and
dignified. Following are the
differences:-

1. Electoral college elects the US

president though his election is direct
whereas Queen appoints the British
P.M though her choice is confined to
leaders of majority party in house of
commons.
2. US president is elected for fixed
term of 4 years. He can be removed by
impeachment only while british
prime minister remains in his office as
long as his party is in majority in the
house of commons.

3.President of US is head of state as

well as of the govt while PM is the
head of govt only.

4. American president appoints

members of the cabimet and can
dissmiss them at his own will while
the british PM also chooses his
minister and can dissmiss them but in
some respect they are his equals.

5. In respect of legislative powers US

president is weaker than british PM.
American legislature (The Congress)
-Legislature of US is known as
Congress.
-Congress is a bicameral legislature
consisting of sennate and house of
representative.
-the sennate is the upper house
chamber, unlike the british house of
lords, the american upper house is
elected one.
The Sennate
- upper chamber of congress.
-according to federal principle all
states are equally represented in the
sennate.
-each state elect 2 sennator.
-as there are 50 states there are 100
sennators.
-6 years term.
-one third member retire after 2years.
-sennate enjoys a permanent tenure.
powers and functions of sennate
1. Legislative functions
-vice president preside over sennate's
meetings.
-has the right to amend any bill or
budget and can also amend the
constitution.
1. Legislative functions
-vice president preside over sennate's
meetings.
-has the right to amend any bill or
budget and can also amend the
constitution.

2. Executive functions
-appointment to federal offices made
by the president are confirmed by the
sennate.

3. Judicial powers
-conduct trial of impeachment of
president and judges of supreme
court.
The House of representative
-lower house of American congress.
-despite being lower house enjoys less
power than the sennate.
-435 members.
-direct elections.
-2 years tenure of office.
-the house itself elects the speaker to
preside over the meetings.

#powers and functions

-constitution empowers to enact the
laws both the houses enjoys equal
legislative powers.
-money bill can be introduced only in
this house. But American lower house
cannot override upper house like the
british lower house.
-thus the financial powers are not
superior than the sennate.
-House of representative initiates
impeachment proceeding by framing
charges against officer concerned.
American judiciary
-has power of judicial review.
-dual judicial system- federal court
and state courts.
# Supreme court
-highest federal court
-judge appointed by president with
the approval of sennate and can be
removed only by impeachment.
#powers and funtions of supreme
court
-original and appellate jurisdiction.
-guardian of fundamental rights.
-it has advisory function too.
# Judicial review#
_through judicial review judges
determine whether laws made are in
accordance with the provisions of
constitution or not. If yes, then law
can be declared as ultra virus or
unconstitutional.
Administrative law
Administrative law is the law that
governs the administrative actions. As
per Ivor Jennings- the Administrative
law is the law relating to
administration. It determines the
organisation, powers and duties of
administrative authorities. It includes
law relating to the rule-making power
of the administrative bodies, the
quasi-judicial function of
administrative agencies, legal
liabilities of public authorities and
power of the ordinary courts to
supervise administrative authorities.
It governs the executive and ensures
that the executive treats the public
fairly.

Administrative law is a branch of

public law. It deals with the
relationship of individuals with the
government. It determines the
organisation and power structure of
administrative and quasi-judicial
authorities to enforce the law. It is
primarily concerned with official
actions and procedures and puts in
place a control mechanism by which
administrative agencies stay within
bounds.

Rule of law
As the term itself connotes, ‘Rule of
Law’ means rule of law and not of
men.

The expression “Rule of Law” is

derived from the French phrase ‘le
principe de legalite’ meaning the
principle of legality.
Defining rule of law Prof Wade
expressed- “The rule of law requires
that the government should be subject
to the law rather than the law subject
to the government”
According to Black’s law dictionary,
Rule of Law may be specifically
defined as supremacy of law where
decision is made by applying known
principles or laws, where there is no
intervention of discretion in
application of such principles or laws.

Rule of law has been defined by many

scholars as the symbol of ultimate
authority, which no man can override.
As stated by Lord Denning in case
Gouriet V. Union of post office workers
Every person in land, no matter how
powerful or high in status he may be,
law will always be above them.

The rule of Law is one of the basic and

general principles of the constitution.
It is characterized in the words of Max
Weber as – “legal domination as an
idea of government of law rather than
an idea of men.’’
Judicial review in
france, usa, uk

The doctrine of judicial review holds

that the courts are vested with the
authority to determine the legitimacy
of the acts of the executive and the
legislative branches of government.
The State as well as Federal courts are
bound to render decisions according
to the principles of the Federal
Constitution.
France:-
For a long time, there simply was no
judicial review of legislation in
France. France, like many other
countries of the Romano-Germanic
legal tradition, adhered to a principle
of parliamentary supremacy; the
parliament, being the representation
of the people’s will, could not be
challenged. The Conseil d’Etat (Council
of State), France’s highest jurisdiction
in matters of administrative law,
confirmed this principle in a 1936
decision in which it refused to even
consider whether a piece of legislation
was contrary to constitutional law. In
fact, the Third Republic, which lasted
from 1870 to 1940, did not have a
supreme constitution by which other
legislation could potentially be struck
down. Rather, the three constitutional
laws of 1875, which organized the
government and political institutions,
were themselves ordinary laws that
could be amended or repealed by an
ordinary piece of legislation. That is
actually how the Third Republic
ended: shortly after France’s defeat by
Germany at the beginning of World
War II, the French Parliament voted
on the Constitutional Law of 10 July
1940, which gave full powers to
Marshall Philippe Pétain and marked
the beginning of the infamous Vichy
Regime.
The 1946 Constitution, which
established the Fourth Republic,
established a Constitutional
Committee, which had the authority to
declare a bill contrary to the
Constitution. Its powers were
extremely limited, though, as it could
only invalidate a bill before it was
signed into law. Perhaps more
importantly, the Constitutional
Committee could only intervene if it
was appealed to by both the French
president and a majority of the
Council of the Republic (which was
the name of the Senate under the
Fourth Republic, although with very
reduced powers compared to what it
had under the Third and what it
would have under the Fifth Republic).
In practice, the Constitutional
Committee was only convened a
handful of times between 1946 and
the end of the Fourth Republic in
1958.The 1958 Constitution, which
instituted the Fifth Republic and is
France’s current constitution,
established an institution that was
similar to the Constitutional
Committee, the Constitutional Council.
The Constitutional Council was more
powerful than its predecessor in the
early years of the Fifth Republic, but
not dramatically so. Under the
original version of the 1958
Constitution, the Constitutional
Council could review legislation under
only two circumstances. First, the
Constitutional Council automatically
reviews bills for lois organiques
before they can be signed into law.
These are laws that have to do with
the organization and functioning of
government. They complement the
Constitution and are situated between
the Constitution and ordinary laws in
the French hierarchy of norms.
Secondly, the Constitutional Council
can review bills for ordinary laws
before they are signed into law, but
only if it is asked to do so by either the
President of the Republic, the Prime
Minister, the President of the National
Assembly, or the President of the
Senate. This was expanded a bit in
1974 so that, in addition to the four
officials listed previously, the
Constitutional Council may also be
asked to review a bill by a group of 60
members of the National Assembly or
60 senators. In neither case the
Constitutional Council could strike
down a law after it had been signed
and promulgated. That is, until the
constitutional reform of July 23, 2008,
which introduced the “priority
question of constitutionality”
(question prioritaire de
constitutionalité, often referred to
under the acronym QPC).The Conseil
d’Etat adopted a similar approach in a
1989 decision, although it limited its
authority to overturning legislation
that was adopted prior to the
international treaty, and not after (the
Cour de cassation found that it could
overturn laws adopted both before
and after a treaty). These decisions
remain very important, especially
because they allow French courts to
strike legislation that is contrary to
international and European
agreements, such as the European
Convention on Human Rights. With
regard to constitutional review,
however, these decisions are quite
limited; neither the Cour de cassation,
nor the Conseil d’Etat have the
authority to invalidate a law on
constitutional grounds other than
through the aforementioned article
55.
Usa:-
The doctrine of judicial review is one
of the invaluable contributions of the
U.S.A. to the political theory. Its origin
has been the result of a judicial
decision and its continuance has been
possible due to some conventions. The
concept of judicial review was
developed by Chief Justice Marshall of
the American Supreme Court in the
famous Marbury v. Madison case
(1803). In this case Chief Justice
Marshall laid down that the judiciary
has the power to examine the laws
made by the legislature. It was also
declared that if any such law is found
to be in violation of the constitution,
then such a law would be declared by
the court as ultra-vires of the
constitution. While doing so the
Supreme Court referred to Article VI,
Section 2 of the Constitution.Judicial
review is important because laws
passed need to be checked to make
sure they are constitutional. Judicial
review is important because it allows
the higher courts to review the
outcomes of the lower courts. It helps
to check on the other branches of
government. The main importance of
judicial review is to protect individual
rights, to balance government powers
and to create and maintain equality to
every person. The system of civil
liberties that we know of today would
be very different without judicial
review.
The US Constitution is the supreme
law of the land. The Supreme Court
has the power to interpret it and
preserve its supremacy by preventing
its violations by the Congress and the
President. This provision has been the
basis of the judicial review power of
the Supreme Court. “Judicial Review "
is the principle and authority which
give the Supreme Court of USA the
power to reject or abrogate any law
which is made by Congress or states.
According to this power Supreme
Court of USA reject or abrogate any
law which does not suit or conform to
the constitution of USA or apposite the
constitution of USA or violate the
Constitution It has come to be
recognised as the most distinctive
attribute and function of the Supreme
Court. As such, it can be said Judicial
Review is the power of the Supreme
Court to determine the constitutional
validity of federal and state laws
whenever these are challenged before
it in the process of litigation. It is the
power to reject such laws as are held
to be it ultra vires.There is no clear
mention of the Judicial Review power
of the court in any part of the US
Constitution. Its origin has been the
result of a judicial decision and its
continuance has been possible due to
some conventions.

The U.S. Constitution does not

mention judicial review. This power,
however, was used before 1787 by
courts in several of the American
states to overturn laws conflicting
with state constitutions. In 1789 the
Congress of the United States passed
the Judiciary Act, which gave federal
courts the power of judicial review
over acts of state government. This
power was used for the first time by
the U.S. Supreme Court in Hilton v.
Virginia (1796).After the historic
judgement in the Marbury v. Madison
case, the Supreme Court has been
regularly using this power. After 1803,
it was used only in 1857 in the Dred
Scott case. Till today nearly 100
Congressional statutes have been
declared unconstitutional by the
Supreme Court. The Court has always
refused to apply judicial review to
political questions.
Uk:-
In the United Kingdom, the “Miller
case” [R (on the application of Miller)
vs. The Prime Minister] was a
flashpoint vis-à-vis the powers of
judicial review over parliamentary
affairs.Post the Miller case, the
process of judicial review has been
subjected to intense scrutiny and
assessment in the UK. On July 31,
2020, during the pandemic, the UK
government constituted a panel of
legal and academic experts to
examine the scope of judicial review.
The outcomes of this panel may have
significant and far-reaching
repercussions even in other
jurisdictions, especially India.
In an unprecedented move, the UK
government constituted an
independent panel to determine
‘whether the right balance is being
struck between the rights of citizens to
challenge executive decisions and the
need for effective and efficient
government’. The panel has been
tasked to consider and provide its
findings on the following issues:

1. Terms of Judicial Review as a

written law.

2. Applicability of Judicial Review on

certain executive decisions.

3. Grounds and remedies available in

claims brought against the
government.

4. Any further procedural reforms

including timings and the appeal
process.
In other words, this essentially
constitutes a political evaluation of
the judicial review process. In order to
understand the intention of the UK
Parliament, one needs to appreciate
the series of events leading up to this
decision, none more so important
than the UK Supreme Court’s
judgment in the Miller case, where it
intervened in the decision of the
Prime Minister to prorogue
Parliament.

Party system and

coalition politics
Political parties are voluntary
associations or organised groups of
individuals who share the same
political views and who try to gain
power via constitutional means and
who desire to promote national
interests.
In modern democratic states, there
are four types of political parties:-
*Reactionary parties which cling to
the old socio-economic and political
institutions
*Conservative parties that believe in
status-quo
*Liberal parties that aim to change
and reform the existing institutions
*Radical parties which aim at
establishing a new order by
overthrowing the existing institutions
Political parties are also classified as
per the ideologies. Political scientists
have placed radical parties on the left,
liberal parties in the centre and
reactionary and conservative parties
on the right.
In India, CPI and CPM are examples of
leftist parties, Congress of centrist
parties and the BJP is an example of
rightist parties.
There are three kinds of party systems
in the world:

(i) The one party system in which only

one party rules and no opposition
party is permitted. The Soviet Union
was an example of one party system.

(ii) Two-party system on which two

major parties exist. For example the
Republicans and the Democrats in the
United States.

(iii) Multi-party system on which there

are a number of political parties lead
to the formation of coalition
governments. India, France and
Switzerland are examples of multi-
party systems.
A coalition government is a form of
government in which political parties
cooperate to form a government. The
usual reason for such an arrangement
is that no single party has achieved an
absolute majority after an
Government.
The features of a Coalition
Government are highlighted below:

*Coalition is formed for the sake of

reward, material or psychic
*A coalition implies the existence of a
least two partners
*The underlying principle of a
coalition system stands on the simple
fact of temporary conjunction of
specific interest.
*Coalition politics is not a static but a
dynamic affair as coalition players
and groups can dissolve and form
new ones
*The keynote of coalition politics is
compromise and rigid dogma has no
place in it.
*A coalition works on the basis of a
minimum programme, which may not
be ideal for each partner of the
coalition.
*Pragmatism and not ideology is the
hall-mark of coalition politics. In
making political adjustments,
principles may have to be set aside.
*The purpose of a coalition
adjustment is to seize power.
In India, coalitions have come up
before or after elections. The pre-poll
coalition is considered advantageous
as it provides a common platform for
all parties to woo the electorate on the
basis of a joint manifesto. A post-
election union is intended to enable
constituents to share political power
and run the government.

Factors affecting
voting behavior
Voting behaviour, also known as
electoral behaviour, involves
understanding the factors and reasons
which influence voting patterns.

To interpret voting behavior both

political science and psychology
expertise were necessary and
therefore the field of political
psychology emerged including
electoral psychology.
According to Sociologist Gordon
Marshall: “The study of voting
behaviour invariably focuses on the
determinants of why people tend to
vote in public elections as they do and
how they arrive at the decisions they
make”.
In India:-
factors can be divided into two
categories: socio-economic factors and
political factorsThey are explained in
detail below:
Caste: Caste is an important factor
influencing the behaviour of voters.
Politicisation of caste and casteism in
politics have been a feature of Indian
politics. While formulating their
election strategies political parties
account the factor of caste.
Religion: Religion is another
significant factor which influences
electoral behaviour. Political parties
indulge in communal propaganda and
exploit the religious sentiments of the
voters. The existence of various
communal parties has further added
to the politicization of religion.
Despite India being a secular nation,
no political party ignores the
influence of religion in electoral
politics.
Language: Linguistic considerations of
the people influence their voting
behaviour. During elections, the
political parties arouse the linguistic
feelings of the people and try to
influence their decision-making. The
reorganisation of states (in 1956 and
later) on language basis clearly
reflects the significance of language
factor in India politics.
Region: Regionalism and sub-
regionalism play an important role in
voting behaviour. These parochial
feelings of sub-nationalism led to the
emergence of perpetual regional
parties in various states. These
regional parties appeal to the
electorate on the ground of regional
identities and regional sentiments.
Sometimes, the secessionist parties
call for the boycott of elections.
Personality: The charismatic
personality of the party leader plays
an important role in electoral
behavior. Thus, the towering image of
Jawaharlal Nehru (Born on November
14, 1889), Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi,
Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Naredra
Modi had significantly influenced the
electorate to vote in favour of their
parties.
Money: The role of the money factor
cannot be overlooked in explaining
the voting behaviour. Despite the
limitations on the election
expenditures, crores of rupees are
spent on elections. The voters seek
money or liquor or goods in return for
their votes.
Performance of the Ruling Party: On
the eve of elections, every political
party releases its election manifesto
containing the promises made by it to
the electorate. The performance of the
ruling party is judged by the
electorate on the basis of its election
manifesto.
Ideology: The political ideology
professed by a political party has a
bearing on the decision making of the
voters. Some people in the society are
committed to certain ideologies like
communalism, capitalism, democracy,
secularism, decentralization and so
on. Such people support the
candidates put up by the parties that
profess those ideologies.
Other Factor: In addition to the above
explained factors, there are also
various other factors, which
determine the voting behaviour of the
Indian electorate. These are
mentioned below:
(i) Political events preceding an
election like war, murder, of a leader,
corruption scandal etc.(ii) Economic
conditions at the time of election like
inflation, food, short age,
unemployment etc.(iii) Factionalism –
a feature of Indian politics from
bottom to top levels(iv) Age – old or
young(v) Sex – men or women(vi)
Education – educated or
uneducated(vii) Habitation – rural or
urban(viii) Class (income) – rich or
poor(ix) Family and kinship(x)
Candidate orientation(xi) Election
campaign(xii) Political family
background
In USA:-
In the US, when studying voting
behaviour, the electorate is broadly
divided by religion, ethnicity, and
region.
The Heartlands

Both Republicans and Democrats have

support bases that they can
consistently rely on to support them.
For the Republicans the support base
is made up of White Anglo-Saxon
Protestants, whereas for the
Democrats it is typically those who are
Catholic, Jewish and minorities. The
US South as well was traditionally
Democratic heartland. However these
bases are susceptible to change, and
change they do.
Religion

Religion is a key factor in voting

behaviour in the US with different
religions or denominations supporting
different parties. Religion plays a
more significant role in US Politics
than it does in the UK. Catholics have
generally been seen to vote for the
Democrats, as many are immigrants
from Ireland or Italy, and these are
the groups that have been courted by
the Democrats in the past.
Ethnicity

The support of the African American

population for the Democrats have
never dipped below 83%, and 93%
supported Obama’s re-election in
2012. This arises from the likelihood
that most African Americans will be
on the poorer end of American
society, so as such will support
Democrat attempts to support them.
Historically African Americans have
supported the New Deal and Civil
Rights, which have helped hugely in
the support for the Democrats. In
addition to this the Democrats have
more role models in the party for
African Americans. Finally the
Republican stance for being against
affirmative action is widely held to be
racist among African Americans.
Despite this level of support however,
turnout is very low among African
Americans primarily due to parties
ignoring them in electoral cycles.
Region

It is fairly easy to see how regions

tend to vote in elections in the US
thanks to the safe states that exist.
Typically the Pacific Coast and North
East will always vote Democrat and
the South and Mid West will always
vote Republican. The more rural the
area the more likely it is to be
Republican, the more urban, the more
likely it is to be Democratic.

Historically the South used to vote for

the Democrats, but the Civil Rights
legislation passed by Democratic
presidents has led to many in the
South feeling alienated and so
switching to the Republican Party.
In UK:-
There are a variety of different
models and social factors, which will
impact on voting behaviour.
Party Identification – The idea that
children identify with a political party
and will stick to that party for the rest
of their lives. Although they may vote
for another party in exceptional
circumstances but predominantly stay
loyal. This was an important factor
post WW2 but has declined
significantly.
Social Class – Party alignment based
upon class has been a traditional
predictor of a person’s voter
behaviour. However this has declined
over the past 40 years and we can see
evidence of class dealignment.
Region – Traditionally there has been
a north/south divide, with Labour
dominating in the north, primarily
urban areas and the Conservatives in
the south in rural areas. At the 2015
election the most obvious difference is
the Conservative superiority in
England and the SNP almost total
dominance in Scotland.

Rational Choice – This is a model

which ignores any of the factors
above. Instead the voter bases their
decision upon a rational decision after
looking at the manifestos, leaders and
the record of the parties.

Issue Voting – Looking at the different

policies you vote positively for ideas
you support or against ideas you hate.
Key areas are economy, health and
education.

Party Competence – For example the

Conservatives were previously trusted
with the economy, until October 1992
and Black Wednesday. After this
Labour were able to demonstrate
their competence in this important
area until 2008.
Leadership – Elections have become
more presidentialised and as such
leaders are under increasing scrutiny.
Their personality can have a huge
impact on how people vote, e.g.
Gordon Brown’s “bigoted” woman
comment on Gillian Duffy in 2010 or
Ed Miliband's Ed Stone in 2015. Of
course this election has increased the
scrutiny with the PM debates. in 2017
Theresa May did not participate in the
leadership debate and used the
catchphrase "strong and stable",
which Labour was fairly successful in
changing to "weak and wobbly".

Voting Context Model – Voters are

trying to put the election into context
and this can be seen in the following
areas.

Media – This can have an effect,

particularly with the social media.
Newspapers have traditionally held
sway but this is changing rolling news
channels, internet and social media
e.g. Facebook and twitter ensuring
people registered to vote.