Comparative Government and Politics - Constitution and Courts

Question 1

what is a constitution

Answer 1

a document or a set of documents that outlines the powers, institutions, and structure of government, as well as expressing the rights of citizens and the limits on government

Question 2

what is the rule of law

Answer 2

the principle that societies are best governed using clear, stable and just laws to which all residents are equally subject regardless of their status or background

Question 3

what is a codified constitution

Answer 3

one that is set out in a single self-contained document

Question 4

what is an uncodified constitution?

Answer 4

one that is spread among several documents

Question 5

what is the purpose of the preamble

Answer 5

it seeks popular support for the document with a stirring declaration of principles, and, sometimes, a definition of the state’s purposes

Question 6

what is the purpose of an organisational section

Answer 6

it sets out the powers and structures of government institutions

Question 7

what is the purpose of a bill of rights

Answer 7

it covers individual and, often, group rights, including access to legal redress

Question 8

what is the purpose of procedures for amendment

Answer 8

outlines the procedure for revising the constitution

Question 9

What is an example of a regime change

Answer 9

break up in the 1990s of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia and of Sudan in 2011

Question 10

what is an example of wholesale political change

Answer 10

Bolivia (2009), Kenya (2010), Zimbabwe (2013) and Tunisia (2014)

Question 11

what is the oldest constitution in use

Answer 11

technically Britain (1215)
oldest codified constitution is the US (1789)

Question 12

what is the newest constitution

Answer 12

Thailand (2017)

Question 13

shortest constitutions?

Answer 13

Iceland, Laos, Latvia, Japan (each 4,000-5,000 words)

Question 14

what is the longest constitution

Answer 14

India - 146,000 words

Question 15

what is the judiciary

Answer 15

a collective term for the judges within the system of courts that interpret and apply the law in keeping with the constitution

Question 16

what is judicial review

Answer 16

the power of courts to nullify any laws or actions proposed or taken by government officials that contravene the constitution. Otherwise known as constitutional review

Question 17

what is entrenchment

Answer 17

the question of the legal procedures for amending a constitution

Question 18

what is a flexible constitution

Answer 18

one that can be amended more easily, often in the same way that ordinary legislation is passed

Question 19

what is a rigid constitution

Answer 19

one that is entrenched, requiring more demanding amendment procedures

Question 20

what is a concrete review

Answer 20

judgements based on the constitutional validity of the law in a specific case. Sometimes known as the American model

Question 21

what is abstract review

Answer 21

advice (not usually binding) given by a court on the constitutionality of a law or public policy. Sometimes known as the European Model

Question 22

What is an original jurisdiction

Answer 22

the power of a court to review cases that originate with the court itself

Question 23

what is an appellate

Answer 23

the power of a court to review decisions reached by lower courts

Question 24

what is judicial restraint

Answer 24

the view that judges should apply the letter of the law, leaving politics to elected bodies

Question 25

what is judicial activism

Answer 25

the willingness of judges to venture beyond narrow legal reasoning so as to influence public policy

Question 26

what is common law

Answer 26

judicial rulings on matters, not explicitly treated in legislation, based on precedents created by decisions in specific cases

Question 27

what is statute law

Answer 27

laws enacted by a legislature

Question 28

what is civil law

Answer 28

judicial rulings founded on written legal codes which seek to provide a single overarching framework for the conduct of public affairs

Question 29

what is sharia law

Answer 29

the system of Islamic law - based on the Quran and on the teachings and actions of Mohammed - which functions alongside Western law in most Islamic states

Question 30

What is a system of government without a constitution

Answer 30

an unorganised collection of habits that can be changed at the whim of the leaders of the people

Question 31

how many countries have adopted new constitutions have between 1990 and 2014

Answer 31

105 countries

Question 32

what did Hayek say about constitutions

Answer 32

that they are nothing but a device for limiting the power of government, whether elected or unelected

Question 33

what is the average length of a constitution

Answer 33

29,000 words

Question 34

what is the form of review used by a supreme court

Answer 34

primarily concrete

Question 35

what is the form of review used by a constitutional court

Answer 35

primarily abstract

Question 36

what is the relationship between the supreme court to other courts?

Answer 36

it is the highest court of appeal

Question 37

what is the relationship between constitutional courts and other courts?

Answer 37

it is a separate body dealing with constitutional issues only

Question 38

how does recruitment of the supreme court work

Answer 38

candidates require legal expertise plus political approval

Question 39

how does recruitment to a constitutional court work

Answer 39

political approval is incredibly important

Question 40

what is the tenure of a member of the supreme court

Answer 40

until retirement age (life tenure)

Question 41

what is the tenure of a member of a constitutional court

Answer 41

it is typically one non-renewable term (6-9 years)

Question 42

how does South Africa score on the democracy index rating

Answer 42

it is a flawed democracy

Question 43

how does South Africa score on the democracy index rating

Answer 43

it is a flawed democracy

Question 44

what is the first reason for the increasing use of judicial activism

Answer 44

the increasing reliance on regulation as a mode of governance encourages court intervention. A government decision to oppose same-sex marriage, for example, is open to judicial challenge in a way that a decision to go to war or raise taxes is not

Question 45

what is the second reason for the increasing use of judicial activism?

Answer 45

International conventions give judges an extra lever to move outside the limits of national law. Documents such as the UDHR and the ECHR provide a base for judges to construct what would once have been viewed as excessively political statements. The emergence of international courts such as the ICC (2002) has also encouraged national courts to become more assertive

Question 46

what is the third reason for the increasing use of judicial activism?

Answer 46

the continuing prestige of the judiciary has encouraged some transfer of authority to its domain. The judicial process in most democracies has retained at least some reputation for integrity and impartiality, whereas the standing of many other institutions - notably political parties - has declined.