CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND CONSTITUTION

DEFINITION OF TERMS

1. Constitutional Law - is the law embodied in the Constitution

and the principles growing out of the interpretation and
application made by the courts, especially the Supreme Court,
being the court of last resort, of the provisions of the
Constitution in specific cases.

2. Philippine Constitutional Law - is that which deals mostly

with the study of the applicable decisions interpreting
constitutional provisions, and arises from the controlling judicial
determinations made by the Supreme Court being the court of
last resort.

3. Judicial Review - is the power of the courts to determine the

constitutional validity of the acts of the legislature, the
executive and the other branches of government.

4. Constitution - is that body of rules and maxims in accordance

with which the powers of sovereignty are habitually exercised.

5. Constitution of the Philippines - may be defined as that

written instrument by which the fundamental powers of the
government are established, limited, and defined and by which
these powers are distributed among the several departments or
branches for their safe and useful exercise for the benefit of the
people.

ROLE OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

The role of constitutional law is to effect an equilibrium between

authority and liberty so that rights are exercised within the framework
of the law and laws are enacted with due reference to rights.

THREE SYSTEMS OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

The three systems of Constitutional law are as follows:

1. The American System - which consists of the written

Constitution and the exercise of judicial review by the courts.

2. The English System - which consists of an unwritten

constitution, under which the courts have no power to exercise

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 judicial review, and, in which the courts cannot invalidate the
acts of parliament as being unconstitutional because of
parliamentary supremacy.

3. The Continental-European System - which consists only of a

written constitution and under which the courts have no power
to exercise judicial review but can only render advisory opinions
on constitutional questions upon request of the government.

NATURE OF A CONSTITUTION

1. The Constitution is a Social Contract. - The Constitution is a

covenant between the government and the people. When the
people opted to establish a government designed to promote
their welfare, they have surrendered some of their rights to the
great organs of government created in the Constitution. This is
the social contract doctrine articulated by the Supreme Court in
Marcos vs. Manglapus, 177 SCRA 668. Said the Court: "The
Constitution xxx is a law for rulers and people, equally in war
and in peace, and covers with the shield of its protection all
classes of men, at all times, and under all circumstances. No
doctrine involving more pernicious consequences was ever
invented by the wit of man than that any of its provisions can
be suspended during any of the great exigencies of
government."

2. The Constitution is the Supreme Law. - In Mutuc vs.

COMELEC, 36 SCRA 228, the Supreme Court said that the
concept of the Constitution as the fundamental or supreme law,
setting forth the criterion for the validity of any public act
whether proceeding from the highest official or the lowest
functionary, is a postulate of our system of government. That is
to manifest fealty to the rule of law, with priority accorded to
that which occupies the topmost rung in the legal hierarchy. The
three departments of government in the discharge of the
functions with which it is entrusted have no choice but to yield
obedience to its commands. It overrides any governmental
measure that fails to live up to its mandates. Thereby there is a
recognition of its being the supreme law.

THE BASIC PURPOSES OF A CONSTITUTION

1. It prescribes the permanent structure of the system of

government;

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 2. It defines and allocates to the various organs of government
their respective powers and duties; and

3. It establishes basic principles upon which the government is

founded.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD WRITTEN CONSTITUTION

A good written constitution must be:

1. Brief - insofar as it ought to outline only in a few provisions the

structure of the government of the whole state and the rights of
the citizens.

2. Broad - insofar as it ought to be comprehensive enough to

provide for every contingency for a constitution must state or
ought to state not rules for the passing hours but principles of
expanding future.

3. Definite - insofar as it ought to prevent ambiguity in its

provisions which could result in confusion and divisiveness
among the people.

ESSENTIAL PARTS OF THE WRITTEN CONSTITUTION

A good written constitution contains the following essential

substantive parts:

1. Constitution of Government - consists of a series of

provisions outlining the organization of the government,
enumerating its powers, laying down certain rules relative to its
administration, and defining the electorate.

2. Constitution of Liberty - consists of a series of prescriptions

setting 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.

3. Constitution of Sovereignty - consists of the provisions

spelling out the authority of the people as the repository of
sovereignty including the power of the people to amend or
revise the Constitution and to ratify whatever revisions or
amendments have been proposed thereto.

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CLASSIFICATIONS OF A CONSTITUTION

1. As to its origin and history:

a. Enacted or Conventional - enacted by a constituent

assembly or granted by a monarch to his subjects.

b. Cumulative or Evolved - a product of growth or long period

of development originating in customs, traditions, judicial
decisions and others rather than from a deliberate and
formal enactment.

2. As to its form:

a. Written - one whose precepts are embodied in one

document or set of documents.

b. Unwritten - consists of rules which have not been

integrated into a single, concrete form but are scattered in
various sources, such as statutes of a fundamental
character, judicial decisions, commentaries of publicists,
customs and traditions, and certain common law principles.

3. As to the manner of amending it:

a. Rigid or Inelastic - one that can be amended only by a

formal and usually difficult process.

b. Flexible or Elastic - one that can be changed by ordinary

legislation.

4. As to the extent to which Constitutions are observed as

NORMS OF GOVERNMENTAL ACTIONS:

a. Normative one where its norms direct governmental

action, and government habitually adjusts its actions to the
norms.

b. Nominal one which cannot yet be fully operative because

of existing socio-economic conditions. Its principal value is
educational. It points towards the mature state to which a
fledging polity must grow.

c. Semantic one which serves as a tool for the perpetuation

of power in the hands of power holder.

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ADVANTAGE OF A WRITTEN CONSTITUTION

A written constitution is more definite and clear than an unwritten

one. This is so because it is prepared with great care and deliberation.
Such a constitution cannot be easily bent and twisted by the legislature
or by the court. Since it is difficult to amend, it is more stable and
steady and free from the dangers of temporary popular passion.

DISADVANTAGE OF A WRITTEN CONSTITUTION

A written constitution is difficult to amend and this will prevent the

introduction of needed changes to it and thereby retard the growth and
progress of the State.

ADVANTAGE OF AN UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION

An unwritten constitution is elastic and flexible. It therefor can easily

be modified so as to meet new and changing conditions. This facility of
alteration not only removes the temptation to disregard the
constitution, but also afford a legal means of satisfying popular passion
and of minimizing or preventing revolution by meeting them halfway. A
flexible constitution is capable of being twisted to meet great
emergencies where a rigid constitution would break under such
circumstances.

DISADVANTAGE OF AN UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION

An unwritten constitution can be easily altered to meet the

temporary fancies of the moment.

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