The Young League Forum

CONSTITUTIONALISM      We should note that one thing is for a country to have a constitution and another thing is to have constitutionalism. The principle of constitutionalism states that everybody , both the ruler (government) and the ruled (subjects) should abide by the provisions of the constitution. It means that nobody is above the law. The principle of constitutionalism is anchored on the rule of law that everybody is equal and subject before the law.      Shively (2005) did an elaborate research on the tenets constitutionalism. He started in his logical analysis by posing the following questions: given that each state has a constitution, how faithful is a state to its constitution? That is, how fully do the leaders honour the rules of politics in the state? He defined constitutionalism as “the doctrine that states that, states should be faithful to their constitutions because the rules so provided are all that can protec...

CONSTITUTION BY A . O . EZE      Every state, in fact every political organization, club, or other group has a constitution, or set of rules by which power is distributed among the members (Shively, 2005). Constitution is the fundamental law in a state that sets principles on how a state should be governed. According to Roskin et al (1988: 46) political scientists, view it as “that set of rules and customs, either written or unwritten, legally established or extralegal, by which a government conducts its affairs.” In the same vein Heywood (2007:316) contends logically that a constitution is a “set of rules, written and unwritten, that seeks to establish the duties, powers and functions of the various institutions of government, regulate the relationships between them, and define the relationship between the state and the individual.”      Constitution is the mother of other laws. It is the fundamental law of the state....