CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
QUARTER 1
L. Spruit (16030575)
THE HAGUE UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
,Lieke Spruit (16030575) Constitutional Law Study Guide
Table of Contents
LECTURE 1 .................................................................................................................................................. 2
LECTURE 2 .................................................................................................................................................. 5
LECTURE 3 .................................................................................................................................................. 9
LECTURE 4 ................................................................................................................................................ 13
LECTURE 5 ................................................................................................................................................ 18
LECTURE 6 ................................................................................................................................................ 22
LECTURE 7 ................................................................................................................................................ 28
1
, Lieke Spruit (16030575) Constitutional Law Study Guide
Lecture 1
What is a Constitution?
Formal – Narrow
• It does not describe the whole collection of norms, legal and non-legal, but rather a selection
of them which has usually been embodied in one document or in a few closely related
documents.
o Almost exclusively legal documents
o Constitution as a text
Functional – Broad
• It describes the whole collection of rules which establish and regulate or govern a country or
polity.
o Partly legal norms, in the sense that courts of law will recognize and apply them
o Partly non-legal or extra-legal norms, taking the form of usages, understandings,
customs, conventions, interpretative context or practices which courts do not
necessarily recognize as law, but are not necessarily less effective in regulating societal
interactions than the formal rules or laws strictly.
• It is beyond a single document.
Central functions of a Constitution
• Ensure limited government
• Establish and maintain the organs that constitute the government
• Delineates power between the main organs of government
• Delineates the boundaries between the exercise of public power and individual self-
determination and collective self-determination
• Confers rights on individuals against government action
• To a certain degree entrenches central organs and individual rights against legal change.
o All constitutions perform an entrenchment function in the sense that they all contain,
explicitly or implicitly, a rule setting the requirements for changing their own content.
• Institutional – defines and organizes the various institutions of what is called ‘the State’
(institutional) and possibly basic rights
• Normative hierarchy – provides for its effect on prior or subsequent law
• Amendment – establishes the extent to which it may be changed.
Typically, a Constitution includes rules on:
• Organization of the State (existence and function of basic state organs and their inter-
relationship)
• Relationship between state and individual or groups of individuals (civil and political rights,
social and economic rights)
• Other provisions relevant to the state ideology, governmental objectives, etc.
Nature and Organization of the State
• Existence and regulation of important State institutions through the division of power
2
QUARTER 1
L. Spruit (16030575)
THE HAGUE UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
,Lieke Spruit (16030575) Constitutional Law Study Guide
Table of Contents
LECTURE 1 .................................................................................................................................................. 2
LECTURE 2 .................................................................................................................................................. 5
LECTURE 3 .................................................................................................................................................. 9
LECTURE 4 ................................................................................................................................................ 13
LECTURE 5 ................................................................................................................................................ 18
LECTURE 6 ................................................................................................................................................ 22
LECTURE 7 ................................................................................................................................................ 28
1
, Lieke Spruit (16030575) Constitutional Law Study Guide
Lecture 1
What is a Constitution?
Formal – Narrow
• It does not describe the whole collection of norms, legal and non-legal, but rather a selection
of them which has usually been embodied in one document or in a few closely related
documents.
o Almost exclusively legal documents
o Constitution as a text
Functional – Broad
• It describes the whole collection of rules which establish and regulate or govern a country or
polity.
o Partly legal norms, in the sense that courts of law will recognize and apply them
o Partly non-legal or extra-legal norms, taking the form of usages, understandings,
customs, conventions, interpretative context or practices which courts do not
necessarily recognize as law, but are not necessarily less effective in regulating societal
interactions than the formal rules or laws strictly.
• It is beyond a single document.
Central functions of a Constitution
• Ensure limited government
• Establish and maintain the organs that constitute the government
• Delineates power between the main organs of government
• Delineates the boundaries between the exercise of public power and individual self-
determination and collective self-determination
• Confers rights on individuals against government action
• To a certain degree entrenches central organs and individual rights against legal change.
o All constitutions perform an entrenchment function in the sense that they all contain,
explicitly or implicitly, a rule setting the requirements for changing their own content.
• Institutional – defines and organizes the various institutions of what is called ‘the State’
(institutional) and possibly basic rights
• Normative hierarchy – provides for its effect on prior or subsequent law
• Amendment – establishes the extent to which it may be changed.
Typically, a Constitution includes rules on:
• Organization of the State (existence and function of basic state organs and their inter-
relationship)
• Relationship between state and individual or groups of individuals (civil and political rights,
social and economic rights)
• Other provisions relevant to the state ideology, governmental objectives, etc.
Nature and Organization of the State
• Existence and regulation of important State institutions through the division of power
2
