Constitutional Differences

It can be said that the most important difference between constitutions is their strength over the rule of law and the rigidity of the fundamental laws and principles enshrined in them. Some constitutions are amended by supermajorities of Parliament, while some require refendums and others put complete legislative power in the parliament. The one feature the three constitutions I will discuss have in common is their liberal democratic nature, but the rigidity of their fundamental laws and how they are amended are all very different.

I will explain and analyse the constitutions of Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom, three constitutions that have varying degrees of rigidity and I will offer theories on why these constitutions are framed the way they are.

The German Constitution

The German Constitution knows as The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is a higher law constitutional model that was formally approved on May 8th 1949 and came into effect on May 23rd. ”Chiefly influenced by the grim lessons on the immediate past” (Jeffrey 1999, p34), the occupying Allies, keen to ensure Germany would never be in the position to start another great war, set about changing the internal structure of German. Initially only including the states of West Germany within the Federal Republic However, within a few years it had come to include all of West Germany and “the proclamation of the Basic Law marked the beginning of an unprecedented era of constitutionalism in Germany” (John and Koch 2009). During the Constitutional conference of 1948 major failings in the Constitution of the Weimar Republic were identified, which eventually “allowed the democratic system to be dismantled from within by extremist forces” (John and Koc...

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...land and New York, USA. A Cassell Imprint.

Stone Sweet, A. 2000. Governing With Judges. Constitutional Politics in Europe. New York, USA. Oxford University Press.

Journals

Flinders, M. Shifting the Balance? Parliament, the Executive and British Constitution. Political Studies. Vol. 50, 23-42. 2002.

Available at:

http://www.politicalstudies.org/pdf/flinders.pdf

Online Sources

Bunreacht na hÉireann

Available at:

http://www.constitution.ie/constitution-of-ireland/default.asp

Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (Grundgesetz, GG)

Available at:

http://www.iuscomp.org/gla/statutes/GG.htm

John, T and Koch, C. The Genesis of the German Constitution - From Total Devastation to the Dawn of a New Era. Schriftenreihe Öffentliches und Internationales Recht. Peter Land Publishing Group. 2010.

Available at:

http://www.ssrn.com/abstract=1520819