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GCE A/L Political Science study materials
GCE A/L Political Science study resources

GCE A/L Political Science: Constitutional and Institutional Framework

GCE A/L Political Science · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

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Constitutional and Institutional Framework

This domain examines how constitutions allocate and constrain public power. Questions typically test constitutional supremacy, separation of powers, parliamentary and presidential government, federalism, judicial review, and the rule of law.

Core rules

  • A constitution sets fundamental rules and usually limits government. Written constitutions are not automatically rigid; rigidity depends on amendment procedure.
  • Constitutional supremacy means ordinary law must conform to the constitution; parliamentary sovereignty means the legislature can change ordinary law without a higher constitutional court.
  • Separation of powers is rarely complete. Constitutions use checks: legislative approval, judicial review, executive veto, and independent commissions.
  • Parliamentary executives are drawn from and accountable to the legislature through confidence; presidential executives have fixed terms and separate election. Semi-presidential systems combine a directly elected president with a prime minister accountable to parliament.
  • Federalism constitutionally divides sovereignty between central and regional governments. Devolution transfers powers but keeps central supremacy.
  • The rule of law requires predictable, equally applied law and independent courts; 'rule by law' merely uses law as an instrument of rulers.

Worked example

A constitution provides a directly elected president who appoints the prime minister from parliament, may dissolve parliament, and chairs cabinet. Parliament can censure the cabinet. Is this presidential? No: the cabinet is responsible to parliament, so it is not pure presidential. If the president has real governing powers and the prime minister is separately accountable to parliament, the system is semi-presidential. Show the criteria, not just the label.

Traps

Do not equate federalism with administrative deconcentration. Do not treat any strong president as presidentialism. Judicial review is not judicial supremacy, and a written constitution is not necessarily rigid.