What is a Constitution? - Indian Polity and Governance | Polity and Constitution (Prelims) by IAS Masters - UPSC PDF Download

What is a Constitution?

• It establishes the political system; the institutions that make it: Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary. All other institutions have to be compatible with the Constitution. Laws made and implemented should be in line with the Constitution.
• Constitution also lays down what powers are available to the above-mentioned institutions. It sets limits for the powers as well. The pattern of separation of powers among the three organs is also clearly demarcated in the Constitution.
• Constitution also empowers the citizens and others with a variety of rights embedded in it. There are many more rights outside the Constitution but their validity is judged by conformity to the Constitution. 
• For example, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 protects women on a preferential basis but it does not violate the right to equality as special treatment of women is legitimate under Art.15 of the Constitution. Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 is being taken up by a Constitution Bench of the apex court(2013) to ascertain whether the special rights conferred on the disadvantaged children are allowed by the Constitution or not.

• In a democracy, the purpose of a constitution is to prevent the government from abusing its power over the people of a nation. Therefore, the judiciary is sanctioned by the Constitution to ensure rule of law and individual and collective rights.
• Some Constitutions also impose duties on the citizens- as in the erstwhile USSR and India since 1976, called Fundamental Duties. The objective is to build responsible citizenship.
• The need for the Constitution arises because the government is the only institution that has the legal right to force/coercion within a country and restrained use of force requires rules.
• In most countries, the constitution is a written document. India, US, Australia, Canada, China & almost every other nation have a single written document. It means a body of elected or nominated members meet for a prolonged period to deliberate with expert participation as to what should be the rules of governance.
• If a country has a Constitution evolving out of conventions, laws, judicial verdicts, etc. it is known as 'unwritten'- for example, the UK, New Zealand, and Israel. The only reason for naming these constitutions as 'unwritten' is that a single body of experts was not set up to draft the Constitution like the Constituent Assembly of India which met from 1946 to 1949 to formulate the Constitution.