The Australian Constitution

Constitution ~ a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed.

In this world there are many different constitutions. While many of them are long, they can be short. Many constitutions were written a long time ago, while some were just written recently or just a few years ago. The ones that were made a long time ago have even been passed down and changed for people to understand now. Even though all constitution have similarities, they all have differences between each other as well.

Australia 's Federal System is dynamic and the division of lawmaking power between the Commonwealth and State since 1901 has changed dramatically; Critically discuss, focussing on the major reasons for those changes.

At the end of the twentieth century, there have been 159 constitutions written for various countries in the world, 101 of them enacted just since 1970. France, for example, has had ten different constitutions including five republics, two empires, a monarchy, and two dictatorships. The country of El Salvador has had thirty-six constitutions since 1824. The United States, however, has the oldest written framework for the governing of a nation in the world and has

However, they now argue that it is no longer the most suitable system. Originally, Australia was made up of 6 colonies which struggled to support themselves. They needed high levels of assistance from the United Kingdom, as they were only relatively small and not fit for self-governance. Over time this changed, and in 1901, Australia federated to become one country, which was the first step towards Australian independence. After many more years, Australia reduced its dependence on the United Kingdom, and 85 years after federation the Australia Acts were passed. This turned Australia into what is known as a ‘crowned republic’, and removed the United Kingdom’s authority to legislate in Australia or for it to be involved in Australia’s governance. Republicans argue that the next necessary step is for Australia to remove its final governing ties with the United Kingdom by becoming a republic, which would be the final step in Australia’s

Constitutions – “The system of fundamental principles according to which a nation, state, corporation, or the like is governed.” (1)

The first constitution of the 13 American states, adopted in 1781, and replaced in 1789 by the Constitution of the United States(history.com). The Constitution of the United States was written as a set of rules for this country. Many of the “rules” have helped the country stay in order, but a great many have been abused and taken out of context. Three provisions in the Constitution that are important to our individual rights and liberties are freedom of speech, freedom to vote, and that all people should be treated equally.

A constitution is a set of rules which may be written or unwritten, establishes the distribution of power in a political system, the limits of government jurisdiction, the rights of citizens and the method of amending the constitution itself. An uncodified constitution is unwritten, or at least not written all in one document. The constitution in the UK is found in a variety of sources which are mainly statute and common law, conventions and traditions, European law etc. There are arguments for the UK to both retain an uncodified constitution and to change this to a codified constitution like the USA. Some of the arguments for retaining the uncodified system are that; codification produces

A written constitution is precisely a charter that has been codified, in that the rules and regulations that citizens / individuals must abide by are stated in a single document format. Although elements of the UK constitution are written e.g. the statute law, sections of

A constitution is often defined as a set of rules set to regulate the system of government within a state. Professor King in his Hamlyn Lecture defined the constitution as, “the set of the most important rules that regulate the relations among the different parts of the government of a given country and also the relations between the different parts of the government and the people of the country”. Unlike some other democratic countries, the United Kingdom does not have a single written document entitled “The Constitution” but rather it has what is referred to as an ‘unwritten constitution’.

The word ‘constitution’ is commonly used in at least two senses in any ordinary discussion of political affairs . First of all it is used to describe the whole system of government of a country , the collection of rules which establish and regulate or govern the government . These rules are partly legal , in the sense that courts of law will recognize and apply them , and partly non-legal or extra-legal , taking the form of usages , understandings, customs , or conventions which courts do not recognise as law but which are not less effective in regulation the government that the rules of law strictly so called.

How can one describe a constitution? 1) A constitution can be written or unwritten. Written constitutions are entrenched meaning that if something in the constitution needed to be amended, it would be difficult to do so. For example after the numerous gun incidents in America, majority of society has urged the gun laws to be changed however they are still the same. An unwritten constitution on the other hand is more flexible and can be changed if needed for example in the UK after the Dunblane gun massacre in Scotland, the gun law was pretty much immediately amended. 2) A constitution states the principles of a country, which everyone must accept and follow. 3) A constitution helps establish how that country is to be ruled or governed, and 4) a constitution sets out how different institutions are to be organised. Overall, a constitution is a necessity to a country because without one there would simply be chaos and anarchy. In addition, ‘as power tends to corrupt, we need to be protected from those in government, and this protection is provided by a constitution’

Constitution is the basic principles and laws of a nation, state or social groups that determine the powers and duties of the government and guarantee certain rights to the citizen (Merriam-Webster online dictionary, n.d). In other words, it is a set of guidelines for a government to exercise the given power.

In order to state whether I am in favour of this statement or not, it is important to understand the statement itself. Constitution is a set of rules standardising the power and duties of a country 's government as well as the rights of its individuals. Currently constitutions come under two key terms; 'codified ' and 'uncodified ' constitutions. The UK and countries like Israel and New Zealand are a prime example of uncodified constitutions but that is not to say it is unwritten. Uncodified constitution is one that is made up of numerous written sources. Magna Carta , the Bill of Rights , Act of Settlement and Parliament Acts are among those sources used by the UK. Due to the existence of many written sources it would not be accurate to refer to the UK constitution as 'unwritten ' instead a more suitable word that can be used is 'uncodified '. Uncodified follows the normal processes for enacting statute law in order to alter or eradicate, the constitution therefore there is no judicial authority. Codified constitution on the other hand, is one that is entrenched and has key constitutional provisions collected within a single document. This type of constitution is referred to as a written constitution. The USA constitution, as an example, was drafted around as lon200 years ago and lays down the rights of American citizens and sets out the power of the government in place. Malcolm Walles described USA 'smoke of gun powder ' and the UK constitution 'appeared out of

Firstly, the focus is on the fundamentals of New Zealand’s constitutional rules and arrangements. A constitution describes and establishes the major institutions of the government and endeavors to regulate the power that they hold. The main constitutional institutions in New Zealand that are subject to the constitution are the executive, the legislature, the judiciary and the Sovereign. The main features of New Zealand’s constitution is that it is a monarchy, it is a parliamentary system of government, and it is a democracy. New Zealand’s constitution is identified as an ‘unwritten’ constitution because the key constitutional rules and arrangements aren’t written in one document. The rules and arrangements that make up New Zealand’s constitution can be found in legislation including, the Bill of Right 1688, the Electoral Act 1993, Constitution Act 1986, the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, the Judicature Act 1908, in the Cabinet Manual, judgments of the courts, the Treaty of Waitangi, and in broader constitutional principles, doctrines, and conventions. Paine argued a constitution must possess four key features; it must be a document, it is antecedent to government, it must be comprehensive, and it must have the status of fundamental law. Whereas Morgan noted that a constitution, whether it is written or unwritten, can only be authoritative if there is a broadly shared consensus around its authority and legitimacy. Regardless of New