A Comprehensive Analysis of Constitutional Principles and Practices

This essay delves into the multifaceted nature of a constitution, exploring its definition, principles, and interaction with the legal and political order. It outlines the core functions of a constitution, including defining government structures, protecting citizen rights, and establishing the rule of law. The essay examines the amendment process, international standards, and the importance of constitutionalism in safeguarding democratic procedures and human rights. It highlights the significance of a constitution in limiting the arbitrary exercise of power and ensuring the government manages the state on behalf of citizens. The essay draws on various sources, including books, journals, and online articles, to provide a comprehensive understanding of constitutional principles and practices. It also touches upon how constitutions can be amended, the role of international standards, and the importance of a wider consensus for constitution-making.

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The Constitution is to bind every citizen & ordinary law-making institutions of the state
The massive mainstream of modern constitutions enshrines the condition's elementary
ideologies, government structures and actions, and citizens' fundamental rights in a advanced
law that cannot be altered unilaterally by ordinary law making act. A constitution is the name
given to this higher law. The contented and nature of a constitution, as well as in what way it
interacts with the respite of the lawful and politically aware order, differ significantly among
republics, and there is no widespread and undisputed meaning of a constitution 1. Somewhat
commonly acknowledged working meaning of a constitution will most credibly define it as a
group of basic legal-political laws that, are obligatory on every person in the country,
counting regular law-making establishments, apprehension the assembly and process of
government institutions, political principles, and citizen privileges, are more difficult to
change than regular laws (two-thirds majority vote or a referendum are required), the globally
standard requirements for a self-governing organization in standings of illustration and
human rights at a minimum. Citizens' rights and responsibilities can be declared and defined
by constitutions. The majority of constitutions contain a declaration of citizens' basic rights.
At a bare least, these will comprise the fundamental public rights required for a free and self-
governing culture, such as the freedoms of thought, speech, association and assembly; due
process of law and freedom from arbitrary arrest or unlawful punishment2.
The Constitution determines the parameters of the structure of power
Constitutions can create and regulate the community's politically aware establishments by
specifying the various government institutions, prescribing their configuration, controls, and
purposes, and governing their relationships. Constitutions virtually always establish
legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. There may also be a
representative head of country, organizations to ensure the political process' honesty such as
an election commission, and establishments to safeguard those in control's accountability and
transparency such as auditors, a court of accounts, a human rights commission, or an
ombudsman. Institutional provisions usually include instruments for democratically
allocating and peacefully transferring power such as elections as well as instruments for
limitation and elimination of those who misuse power or have lost the people's trust such as
impeachment procedures, motions of censure3. In order to protect self-governing procedures
and basic human rights, a bureaucratic constitution establishes the lawful and politically
aware systems of community organizations, as well as the lawful restrictions of government
authority. Different deposits of government or sub-state societies may share or split power
under constitutions. For the allocation of power between provinces, regions, and other sub-
state groups, many constitutions create federal, quasi-federal, or decentralized processes 4. As
1 What Is a Constitution? Principles and Concepts, International IDEA by Elliot Bulmer, 2017 International
Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance Second edition. First published in 2014 by International IDEA.
2 Gabriel Negretto, Constitution-making and liberal democracy: The role of citizens and representative
elites, International Journal of Constitutional Law, Volume 18, Issue 1, January 2020, Pages 206–232
3 What Is a Constitution? Principles and Concepts, International IDEA by Elliot Bulmer, 2017 International
Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance Second edition. First published in 2014 by International IDEA.
4 A Practical Guide to Constitution Building: An Introduction, Winluck Wahiu, International Institute for
Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), 2011, p.1-76

legal gadgets, constitutions are, A constitution "marries power with justice" (Lutz 2006: 17),
ensuring that power is exercised in a predictable manner, upholding the rule of law, and
limiting power's arbitrariness. It is the highest commandment of the country, and it
establishes the requirements that regular laws must meet5.
The Constitution embodies political ideologies, historical traditions & rights of Citizens
unpredictability refers to rulers' ability to rule will fully that is, with comprehensive decision
and to aid their own benefits rather than the interests of the governed. The Constitution tries
to mitigate these risks by establishing framework that regulate who can rule, how, and for
what tenacities. In this sense, a constitutional order is defined as a fundamental commitment
to the constitution's norms and processes, as manifested in behaviour, practice, and
internalization of those norms. The constitutional command is much more than just a
manuscript of the constitution. Customs, conventions, standards, cultures, administrative
structures, party systems, and judicial decisions all play a role in how the constitution works
in practice. It is extremely difficult to achieve this level of cultural internalization of a
constitutional order6. Constitutions should declare and designate the political community's
borders. These boundaries may be territorial, such as a state's geographical borders, as well as
claims to other territories, extraterritoriality, and personal/citizenship rights. Constitutions
should announce and designate the politically aware group's nature and specialist. The
Constitution often state the state's basic principles and norms, as well as the extent to which
the state's authority ranges. Some constitutions, particularly codified constitutions, act as
restraints on state power by creating lines that the rulers of a state cannot cross, such as
fundamental rights.
The Constitution is based on widespread public legitimacy
Constitutions may be used to express a nation's identity and values. Constitutions, as
country’s structuring gadgets, should designate the national flag, anthem, and other symbols,
as well as make announcements about the nation's values, history and identity. In other
words, constitutionalism authorizes genuine establishments to act for the community
betterment in the administration of communal issues while defending citizens from the
subjective power of leaders who would otherwise use their authority for their own profit
rather than the community betterment, and the fact that The constitution guarantees that the
government does not own the state, rather, it manages it on behalf of citizens under the
authority of higher laws. Citizens are deciding that certain rights, principles, values,
institutions, and procedures are moreover significant to be left to the whims of those in
power, and that they should be enshrined in a manner that makes them enforceable by the
government. People in such a system live under a government of worldwide regulations built
on comprehensive civic agreement, and they are free from the ruler’s subjective acts 7.
According to Ackerman 1993 Constitution-making necessitates a wider consensus as well as
a better inclination to put direct self-interest aside for the betterment of long-term civic ethics.
Constitutionalism, in principle, transforms the country into a community entity, a mutual
ownership of all residents, rather than the ownership of one person, party, or segment of
5 Lutz, Donald S., Principles of Constitutional Design (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006)
6 Bellamy, Richard. "Constitutionalism". Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Jul. 2019,
https://www.britannica.com/topic/constitutionalism. Accessed 22 March 2021.
7 Andrei Marmor, "Are Constitutions Legitimate?," 20 Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence ( January
2007)

humanity, by making all people to a excessive bargain, a people's promise, or a community
agreement.
The Constitution is hardly changed
The constitution has to go through along process for a change to happen, where these are
known as the amendments, where only a single act or a phase is changed not the whole
constitution, and for the whole constitution to change the governing constitution must be
repelled. There are some acts of the constitution that become obsolete due to the fact that it
had not been used for many years or it is not applicable to the time of the generation. A two-
thirds majority in parliament can amend most provisions of Sri Lanka's Constitution. Certain
fundamental characteristics, such as language, religion, and the reference to Sri Lanka as a
unitary state, require a two-thirds majority as well as approval in a nationwide referendum8.
Amendment process of the constitution is a long and a hard process, therefore many
amendments take time and the public is allowed to challenge whether it abides with the
constitution and take this up in the Supreme court (Article 121 of the Constitution). If there
was no challenge then there can be a second reading, where the legislature will debate on the
applicability of this, and then voted on at the third reading. With the sufficient number of vote
the bill will be passed or fail, making changes to the constitution 9.
The Constitution is to meet internationally recognized standards
Transforming worldwide customs and values into native law and then ensuring their
application can be a long and difficult procedure, but it is crucial. Through legislation,
executive and administrative deeds, and the courts, states are the most important, but not the
solitary, players in altering international values into native law. a state Parties to international
human rights treaties are legally obligated to apply the resolutions' provisions in their home
countries. International law usually leaves it to country to determine the types of legislative
and other actions that are required to give outcome to the responsibilities they receive, in
accordance with their constitutional processes. For implementing international standards to
the constitution, International legal instruments and customary international law have a direct
impact on national legal systems. Direct incorporation of international instrument-recognized
rights into a national bill of rights or national legislation, Implementation of comprehensive
legislative procedures to give effect to civil liberties recognized in international legal tools &
Unintended combination or use of customs in the domestic legal order as aids in interpreting
other norms or developing new norms 10.
8 CommonLII >> Databases >> Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka >> 2000 >>
Chapter XII - The Legislature
9 A brief Q and A on the Proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution, CENTRE FOR POLICY
ALTERNATIVES on 17 September, 2020
10 Andrew Byrnes, Jane Connors and Lum Bik (eds), Advancing the human Rights of Women: Using
International Human Rights Standards in Domestic Litigation (Commonwealth Secretariat, 1997)

Secondary Sources
Books
What Is a Constitution? Principles and Concepts, International IDEA by Elliot Bulmer, 2017 International
Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance Second edition. First published in 2014 by International IDEA.
Gabriel Negretto, Constitution-making and liberal democracy: The role of citizens and representative
elites, International Journal of Constitutional Law, Volume 18, Issue 1, January 2020, Pages 206–232
A Practical Guide to Constitution Building: An Introduction, Winluck Wahiu, International Institute for
Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), 2011, p.1-76
Lutz, Donald S., Principles of Constitutional Design (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006)
Journals
Andrei Marmor, "Are Constitutions Legitimate?," 20 Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence ( January
2007)
Encyclopaedia
Bellamy, Richard. "Constitutionalism". Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Jul. 2019,
https://www.britannica.com/topic/constitutionalism. Accessed 22 March 2021.
Online Articles
CommonLII >> Databases >> Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka >> 2000 >>
Chapter XII - The Legislature
A brief Q and A on the Proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution, CENTRE FOR POLICY
ALTERNATIVES on 17 September, 2020
Andrew Byrnes, Jane Connors and Lum Bik (eds), Advancing the human Rights of Women: Using International
Human Rights Standards in Domestic Litigation (Commonwealth Secretariat, 1997)