Question: explain-‘The Constitution declares that the sovereignty lies with the people and the Constitution is the embodiment and solemn expression of the will of the people’
Introduction
Law is the command of the Sovereign. It means that it has its source in the sovereign authority, it is accompanied by sanctions and the command to be a law should compel a course of conduct. So it is the system of rules that a particular country or community identify as regulating the actions of its members and may enforce by the imposition of penalties.[1] To avoid unfairness from reigning is its purpose. And Constitution is basically the essential law of a state which sets out how to operate, what are the liabilities and how that state will be organized. It is the powers and authorities of government between different political units and the basic principles of the society. Again it is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed[2]. It is a significant part of the general public which also demonstrates their strength. Its foundation law is that the people are sovereign – all just powers of the government are resulting from the rule of the governed.
This essay will be discussed in two separate parts in the context of Constitution. On the one hand The Constitution declares that the sovereignty lies with the people. On the other hand the Constitution is the embodiment and solemn expression of the will of the people’
The Constitution declares that the sovereignty lies with the people
The above mentioned statement explained the term constitution and how the people affect its resolution. Only under and by the authority of the Constitution, all powers in the Republic belong to the people, and their implement on behalf of the people shall be affected.
Prof. KC defines constitution of a state as the whole system of government of a country, the group of rules which establish and control or govern the Govt. This power or influence lies with the people. Without the people or ignoring the right and goodwill of the people, no one can make any rule.
As we all know the term constitution refers to a set of policy and values that define the nature and scope of government. These rules together make up, constitute. When these standards are written down into a particular or set of lawful documents, those documents may be said to have a written constitution. The Constitution of India is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world, containing 444 articles, 12 schedules and 94 amendments, with 117,369 words in its English language version, while the United States has the shortest written constitution, at 7 articles and 27 amendments.[3]
The rule of the United States is also based on a written constitution, in fact the shortest in the world. This consists of an opening, seven Articles, and 27 Amendments. From this document, the entire federal government was created. It is a living document whose interpretation has changed over time. This process is such that while not easily amended, US citizens are able to make necessary changes over time.
On the other hand, Sovereignty is the quality of having ultimate independent authority over a geographic area, such as a region[4]. It can be found in a control to rule and make law that rests on a supporting fact that no simply legal details can be provided. This kind of state has an effective and independent government within a defined territory is what The United Nations currently requires. According to current international law norms, states are only required to have an effective and independent system of government pursuant to a community within a defined territory[5]. In other words, the leader of that state and makes all the system and laws with the explicit goal to provide the most complete shelter for his, her, or their rights to life, liberty, and property in any nation. For centuries past, the idea that a state could be sovereign was always connected to its ability to guarantee the best interests of its own citizens[6]. Thus, if a state could not act in the best interests of its own citizens, it could not be thought of as a “sovereign” state.
Different political systems have different sovereigns. It is the King in England, so all laws enacted by Parliament by or through his delegated authority. In America, the “sovereign” is the People both individually and collectively, people who created government to protect their collective and individual rights to life, liberty and property.
In Australia sovereignty lies with the people because we are a social equality where, by definition, the people regulation. Australia is a Common Law country, where the law made by the ordinary people prevails over all other forms of law. The Australian Constitution is, itself, Common Law because it was directly accepted by and can only be changed by a referendum of the common people[7]. Here are the major requirements of the Constitution-
Sovereignty of the People
- It lies in the people themselves. Every governmental system has a sovereign, one or several who have the benefit of all the executive, legislative, and judicial powers. That sovereign may be a person, a group, or the people themselves. The origin Fathers held in general law, which holds that true sovereignty rests with the people.
Separation of Powers
- It is a model for the supremacy of democratic states[8]. The state is divided into branches under this model; each with divide and independent powers and areas of task thus no one branch has more control than the other branches. An executive, a legislature, and a judiciary are the ordinary division of branches. In the United States, the executive branch is headed by the President and includes the bureaucracy. The legislative branch includes both houses of Congress: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts.
Limited Powers of Government
- The powers the people granted to the three branches of government were exclusively limited. The Founding Fathers well understood human nature and its propensity to exercise unrighteous power when given authority. A constitution was then designed to limit government to certain enumerated functions, beyond which was tyranny.
The Principle of Representation
- We have delegated to a nominated official the power to stand for us is the meaning of principal representation. Our constitutional government is based on the principle of representation. For both direct representation and indirect representation the constitution is provided. A tempering power on clean democracy is provided by both form of representation. The aim was to protect the individual’s and the minority’s rights to life, liberty, and the fruits of their labors property. These rights were not to be subject to majority vote.
A Moral and Righteous People
- According to the John Adams (first vice-president and second president of the United States), “The Constitution was designed to work with only a moral and righteous people. “Our constitution,” was made only for a moral and religious people.” It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other” (John R. Howe, Jr., The Changing Political Thought of John Adams, Princeton University Press, 1966, p. 185).
The Constitution is the embodiment and solemn expression of the will of the people
Constitution is the extreme law in state. It itself declare that in article 7(2) “This Constitution is, as the solemn expression of the will of the people, the supreme law Of the Republic, and if any other law is inconsistent with this Constitution and other law Shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void”. It is no doubt that, depending on the constitutional order all activities must be done at the same time all laws should be formulated to the constancy with the constitution. As citizens, we must continue the rules and regulations which are included in it. If we want to see the opening of the constitution we see, “Affirming that it is our sacred duty to safeguard, protect and defend this Constitution and to maintain its supremacy as the embodiment of the will of the people of Bangladesh so that we may prosper in freedom and may make our full contribution towards international peace and co-operation in keeping with the progressive aspirations of mankind;” That means this article indicates that by any means State has the duty to defend, protect and defend this Constitution and maintain its primacy so that we may prosper in freedom and may make our full contribution towards international peace and co-operation in keeping with the progressive aspirations of mankind.
Constitution of Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy, since its independence. The Constitution of Bangladesh is the supreme law of Bangladesh[9]. It declares Bangladesh as a worldly democratic republic where sovereignty belongs to the people[10]. It is a Republic based where the sober form of the people’s will rule themselves. But it is an irony since the approval of the Constitution; it has undergone so many amendments that it hardly has its original spirit, the spirit which motivated the Drafters to draft the First Constitution of Bangladesh after its glorious birth through a long liberation struggle. The constitution of Bangladesh being the image of the will of the Republic of Bangladesh, is the vital law and all other laws, events, procedures must be conventional to it and any law or action or proceeding, in whatever shape and method, if made in abuse of the Constitution, is illogical and invalid. In Bangladesh there is Constitutional power and Article 7 in its sole feature declares the primacy of the Constitution. Our constitution itself proclaim that in article 7(2) “This Constitution is, as the solemn expression of the will of the people, the supreme law Of the Republic, and if any other law is inconsistent with this Constitution and other law Shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void”. It is no uncertainty that, depending on the constitutional order all behavior must be complete at the same time and all laws should be formulated to the reliability with the constitution. As citizens, we must continue the policy and system which are included in constitution.
Conclusion
The term law is referring to rules of conduct emanated from and compulsory by the state. People should follow certain common rules to live peacefully in a controlled society. The constitution is the essential political beliefs on which a state is governed. The supreme, absolute, and uncontrollable power by which any free state is governed is the sovereignty. It’s basically just a concept that the people should rule the government. All in all, it is a significant part of the general public which also demonstrates their strength. All powers in the Republic belong to the people, and their exercise on behalf of the people shall be effect only under, and by the authority of the Constitution. The command of the people created government, and that political power comes from the people point to by the popular sovereignty. However, in practice, political leaders abuse their power because they consider themselves sovereigns, instead of public servants.
Bibliography
- Commercial law and industrial law by Arun Kumar Sen and Jitendra Kumar Mitra
- Constitutional and administrative law by Hillarie Barnett
- FORUM, A monthly publication of The Daily Star, Volume 3 Issue 11| November 2010
- Law Journal by Bangladesh
- http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/rearch/bangladesh-constitution.pdf
- http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=6985
- http://www.answers.com/topic/popular-sovereignty
- http://americanhistory.about.com/od/governmentandpolitics/a/amgovoverview.htm
- http://www.parliament.gov.bd/Constitution_English/part1.htm
11. http://www.banglaembassy.com.bh/Constitution.html
12. Popular sovereignty and Seven fundamental principal of constitutional law , by Professor will huhn, 15 march 2011, constitutional law
[1] ^ Robertson, Crimes against humanity, 90; see “analytical jurisprudence” for extensive debate on what law is; in The Concept of Law Hart argued law is a “system of rules” (Campbell, The Contribution of Legal Studies, 184); Austin said law was “the command of a sovereign, backed by the threat of a sanction” (Bix, John Austin); Dworkin describes law as an “interpretive concept” to achieve justice (Dworkin, Law’s Empire, 410); and Raz argues law is an “authority” to mediate people’s interests (Raz, The Authority of Law, 3–36).
[2] ^ The New Oxford American Dictionary, Second Edn., Erin McKean (editor), 2051 pages, May 2005, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-517077-6.
[3] Sarkar, Siuli. Public Administration In India. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. p. 363. ISBN 9788120339798.
[4] “sovereignty (politics)”.Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
[5] Article 4 of United Nations Charter, Benedetto Conforti, The Law and Practice of the United Nations, 3rd ed. (Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2005), 25
[6] Bateman, C.G. (February 15, 2011). Nicaea and Sovereignty: Constantine’s Council of Nicaea as an Important Crossroad in the Development of European State Sovereignty. University of British Columbia. pp. 54–91.
[7] Compiled by J. Wilson, http://www.rightsandwrong.com.au
[8] This latter refers specifically to the separation of powers into three branches of government: legislative, judicial and executive.
[9] “Constitution of Bangladesh”. Parliament.gov.bd. Retrieved 2010-11-28
[10] http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?cid=2&id=175271&hb=4