INTRODUCTION
A conflict may arise in any legal system regarding the supremacy of state organs i.e. Legislature, Executive and Judiciary which bases itself upon the Doctrine of Separation of Powers. The constitution empowers the legislative bodies {Parliament / state legislative assemblies} in the country to make laws in their respective jurisdictions. However, this power is not absolute but is subject to judicial review. Power of judicial review makes Supreme Court guardian of not only fundamental rights but the constitution itself. However, at the time of enactment of the constitution, the Supreme Court derived its power to review the acts via article 13, article 226 and article 245 mainly. Article 13 declares that any law which contravenes any of the provisions of part –III {Fundamental Rights} shall be null and void. Articles 32 and 226 entrust Supreme Court and High Courts with roles of the protector and guarantor of fundamental rights Article 245 states that the powers of both Parliament and State legislatures are subject to the provisions of the constitution. Once the constitution was in force and Supreme Court was established, a long struggle started between Judiciary and Parliament, which ultimately culminated in what is known as Basic Structure Doctrine. The gist of this long struggle is that while parliament went on an amendment spree to achieve its socio-economic and political goals, Supreme Court kept reviewing these amendments and striking down those which were
In May of 1787, representatives from all the states, excluding Rhode Island, gathered together in Philadelphia for a Constitutional Convention. They were faced with the task of writing a new constitution, since the Articles of Confederation weren’t working. They had to create a government that protected against tyranny, when too much power is in an individual or groups hands, and that would work for everyone in the states. So they came up with a constitution that guarded against tyranny by separating power between the federal and states governments, separating the federal government into three different branches, creating checks and balances for the branches, and having a bicameral legislature.
In any given constitution a nation, the recording of bills of rights has been a gradual process. All the aspects of life in society were done with respect to the law. The society requires being guided by certain principles and guidelines that would define and evaluate each and every aspect of their lives. To ensure that the entire society remained focused and concentrated in the given policies and guidelines, they recorded in the constitution and made available to each and every member of the society for the purpose of doing reviews. The action of the people would be judged in accordance with the constitution. With society running several errands towards the realization of development, many fields had to be covered. Criteria for the operation of the people would require significant efforts to accomplish the set objectives. Violations in the society occur either due to misunderstanding or lack of awareness of the rights present in the constitution. Any form of violation is evaluated by the appropriate form of punishment offered. (Hand, 1965)
In her novella Anthem, Ayn Rand describes a futuristic society in which the concept of self, even the pronoun “I”, has been eliminated. Members of this society are expected to submit to a barrage of rules. Ostensibly, these rules are set in place to help the society function as a unit; in reality, they serve only to subjugate its members, to keep them downtrodden and unable to resist their circumstances.
There is a central government and more than twenty five state governments. Under the India Constitution there are three lists, federal list, state list and the concurrent list. Things covered under the first two lists are the exclusive domain of the concerned parties but under the third central government can overrule the state governments on matters of national interest. Judiciary is independent with the power of judicial review. Every state has a high court above subordinate courts presided by the Supreme Court of India. Under the Constitution the functions of Legislature, executive and judiciary have been clearl defined. (Shukla)
Document A: Federalism guards against tyranny because separating the power between the National government and state government allows there to be no one government with too much power. This is because since the two governments have different jobs and different powers this makes it so each government has its limits and the government will be protected from becoming a dictatorship. For example in document a it says that Central or National government can regulate trade, conduct foreign relations, declare war etc. while the each of the States are allowed to set up local governments, hold elections, establish schools, pass marriage and divorce laws and regulate in-state business, which are all things you would normally do locally. Although both
Almost 230 years ago in Philadelphia, 55 representatives from 12 out of the 13 colonies met up to revise the Articles of Confederation. They felt the Articles were too weak and went into this meeting with the intention of only changing a couple of things on the regarding America’s protection against a dictatorship. Instead, they ended up creating a completely new system; the Constitution. The Constitution protects Americans from tyranny through federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and protection of small states.
Although the constitution separates powers in the government, doesn’t mean that the country and the states individually have their own sets of laws and power. The government has to distinct compound powers, one is powers given to the states, and the other is power given central government. Consequently, some powers given to the state are setting up local governments, holding elections and establishing schools, some powers that the
People have their own perspective of a government that they envision for their people. Thomas Jefferson has been the president of the United States and ruled under a monarch. Jefferson couldn’t tolerate the abuse from a monarch, so he rebelled against the British crown. In 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote The Declaration of Independence, and declared the colonies were free from British rule. Before he became the author of The Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was established “ as an ardent republican and revolutionary” (Jacobus 77). Jacobus states Jefferson is, “one of the most versatile Americans of any generation” (Jacobus 78). In The Declaration of Independence, Jefferson and the founding fathers envisioned a government that would
I feel the system is biased because there are inequalities among the representation and participation of interest groups and constituents in the political system. Unfortunately, poor and uneducated citizens aren’t as organized as interest groups, lobbyists and PACs because they lack the money, resources and connections necessary to influence congress members on legislative bills. It is evident that, “businesses, interest groups and labor unions are spending more than $100 million a month to lobby the federal government”(Associated Press, SFC, 3/7/98). “The actual population of interest groups in Washington surely reflects that there is a class bias in the membership of interest groups”(JBG).
People want power because it gives them control and dominance over others. Power gives the person who has it the ability to do whatever they want, say whatever they want and make people do what they want. In the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller the whole plot revolves around the theme of power. There is a never ending conflict of characters to keep, assert and acquire power. The most prominent characters that ultimately hurt the community the most due to their greed and lust for power are Deputy Governor Danforth, Reverend Parris and Abigail Williams. Although their relationship with power is different from one another they all have one thing in common. Parris, Danforth and Abigail all contribute to the demise of Salem because of their
The body, mind, and soul of an individual are capable of becoming corrupted by power. Power makes one feel as if that person was a God, which is a sign of the corruption in that individual. According to Lord Actin, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely," states that power can make an individual vulnerable to corruption. The second portion of Lord Actin?s quote discusses absolute power corrupting absolutely which implies that absolute power can corrupt an individual as well as the individual?s surroundings. This idea of corruption can be located in fictional novels such as Animal Farm by George Orwell. Animal Farm is a story about animals dictated by a former animal comrade. The dictator in the novel, Napoleon,
A world of system designed to keep people in unjust and unequal positions is held in place by several interrelated expression of "power over": political power, economic power, physical force, and ideological power (Bishop, 1994: 36). So, we can say power is defined as a possession of control, authority or influence over others. In terms of power of dominant groups over subordinate groups, we define power as domination of one group of people over another in major important spheres of life. Power inequities have been in existence throughout the history of humanity and the ways of manifestation evolved from extreme overt oppression to subtle, covert oppression. Three major forms of power inequalities discussed in this paper are
Sovereignty Sovereignty refers to ultimate and absolute authority designated to either an individual or an institutional body. The term sovereignty could be contested due to the fact that there is no universally agreed definition. Thomas Hobbes defined what he considered the basis of a political body as 'the most high and perpetual.' (Hobbes, quoted in Heywood, 1997, p26.)
Philosophers have struggled with determining the proper role of government. In the absence of government and laws, people could do whatever they wanted, and some of them would try to slaughter others and steal their property. This is the state called anarchy. People have realized that the safety of the people and the country would be in jeopardy in such a state. Thus, it is necessary for a country to have a government and/or ruler. However, a ruler must not have absolute power nor lack authority. But the protection of the people and the country alone is not enough for a country to prosper. The property and the natural rights of the people and the government must also be protected. Thus, the proper role of government is to protect the
Power means to be on top, that there is no competition against you. I personally believe power gets you respect. People follow a powerful person. A powerful person is someone who does anything that they please in any particular way without any restraints. Another the way of having power to be financially successful. Having financial power in my world is another way of being powerful because money has a huge value in today's society and can affect people’s decisions. Having power is important to me not only for the respect factor but because by being powerful I would have less financial worries.