Constitutional framework
Constitutional framework
This domain tests the architecture of public power: supremacy of the constitution, separation of powers, rule of law, fundamental rights, and review. Questions often ask whether an act is unlawful, unconstitutional, or merely unwise.
Core rules
- Constitutional supremacy means all state organs are bound; amendments usually require special procedure and may protect entrenched clauses.
- Separation of powers allocates legislative, executive, and judicial functions; courts review legality, not the merits of policy.
- Fundamental rights bind the state and may have horizontal effect between private parties depending on the clause.
- Limitations must have a legal basis, pursue a legitimate aim, and be necessary and proportionate; some rights have non-derogable cores.
- Judicial review may be concentrated in a constitutional court or diffuse across all courts; standing rules determine who may invoke review.
- Rule of law requires publicity, predictability, and a legal basis for coercive state action.
Worked example
A statute bans all public assemblies in a city for six months. The aim of public order is legitimate, but a blanket ban is not necessary when permits, conditions, and policing could address the risk. The measure likely fails proportionality and the core of assembly.
Traps
Equating a bad policy with unconstitutionality; ignoring the limitation clause; assuming rights bind only the state; confusing standing with merits; forgetting that emergency powers still have limits.