Maria Andrade
Introduction to Law Study Guide
PBL 1: Foundation of Governments
The rule of law
Rule of law: government’s powers are limited and citizens have core rights; the State is bound to respect those
rights (and actually does respect)
School of thoughts
Skeptical Trustful
Rule of gov should not be trusted Limit should be min on gov power
law Legal control over them Eg: UK
Eg: US
Checks Approves Limited, thinks gov should be free,
and provided it does not break the law to
balances govern in whatever way it thinks best
Sovereignty
Sovereignty: supreme power of authority
● Two types:
1. External sovereignty: independent nation on the eyes of the international community
a. Limits: members of the EU respect, some laws can’t be intervened
b. Other states cannot meddle with the state’s business
2. Internal sovereignty: they have power to make their own laws inside their own borders
a. constitution
Conventions
Conventions: a practice that people in political life think they are bound to respect though it is not laid down in
law
● Aka: not enforceable by the courts
● Trustful school of thoughts
● Advantages: flexible → can be altered as conditions change
● Disadvantage: They might not be viable
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, Maria Andrade
Checks and balances
Checks and balances: A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other
branches in order to prevent abuse of power
Examples of checks and balances:
● Separation of powers → trias politica: divides state power
according to function
○ Functions:
1. Legislative → makes the laws
2. Executive → enforces the laws and governs
the country
3. Judicial → judges the laws
○ Reasons for:
■ To avoid too much much concentration of
power
■ Each branch can be kept in check by others
● Federalism → power divided up in geographical basis
○ Reasons for dividing power:
■ Country is too large
■ Language barriers
■ Too much power (central gov) if not balanced
● Bills of rights → dividing power between state and private citizens
○ Listing in a law certain basis of rights of citizens (if there’s a written constitution, then in the
constitution)
○ Ways of ensuring they are respected:
■ Convention
■ International treaty
■ Courts
● Judicial review → judges review legislature, to see if it conforms to the law
○ Reasons for:
■ Will of the people
■ Protection of minorities
○ Centralized systems → ordinary courts are not allowed to set aside statutes if they consider
them unconstitutional → refer questions about constitution to the constitutional court
(supreme court)
○ Decentralized system→ ordinary courts can also claim that statutes are unconstitutional
Constitution
Constitutional law: the branch of law that regulates the state
● Constitution: written doc where all constitutional rules are laid down
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● Entrenchment: constitution can only be amended through difficult or special procedure
○ Some parts of the constitution cannot be amenable
State
State: organization that is able to control a territory and the people in it
● Exercises its power within the limits of the law
● Strong state → Has all the criteria a state needs
● Weak state → Lacks certain criteria (eg: corruption) ~ one criteria
● Failed state → Lacks all criteria
4 criteria of statehood :
1. Defining territory
2. Population
3. Ability to enter in international politics
4. Effective governance
Functions of state power are trias politica
State power
Absolutism: free from laws → dictator or monarch
Territorial division of power:
● Unitary states: all powers ultimately reside in one central gov authority
○ Everything that other provinces may establish can be retracted by the central gov authority
● Federations
○ State is divided into the organs of the central state (federal level) and the organs of the
subunits (regional levels), this division is explained in the constitution
○ Criteria:
■ Divided in territorial sub-units
■ Conflicts between federations and the state are decided by an independent arbitrary
■ Sub-units have constitutionally protected powers
● Confederations → membership of states are voluntary (federations are NOT eg: US)
○ Joined for activity or effort → have a common goal
○ Eg; united nations, european alliance, provinces in civil war
Government systems
Parliament system Presidential system Semi presidential system
Government is accountable to Head of the executive have their Directly elected head of state and
3
Introduction to Law Study Guide
PBL 1: Foundation of Governments
The rule of law
Rule of law: government’s powers are limited and citizens have core rights; the State is bound to respect those
rights (and actually does respect)
School of thoughts
Skeptical Trustful
Rule of gov should not be trusted Limit should be min on gov power
law Legal control over them Eg: UK
Eg: US
Checks Approves Limited, thinks gov should be free,
and provided it does not break the law to
balances govern in whatever way it thinks best
Sovereignty
Sovereignty: supreme power of authority
● Two types:
1. External sovereignty: independent nation on the eyes of the international community
a. Limits: members of the EU respect, some laws can’t be intervened
b. Other states cannot meddle with the state’s business
2. Internal sovereignty: they have power to make their own laws inside their own borders
a. constitution
Conventions
Conventions: a practice that people in political life think they are bound to respect though it is not laid down in
law
● Aka: not enforceable by the courts
● Trustful school of thoughts
● Advantages: flexible → can be altered as conditions change
● Disadvantage: They might not be viable
1
, Maria Andrade
Checks and balances
Checks and balances: A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other
branches in order to prevent abuse of power
Examples of checks and balances:
● Separation of powers → trias politica: divides state power
according to function
○ Functions:
1. Legislative → makes the laws
2. Executive → enforces the laws and governs
the country
3. Judicial → judges the laws
○ Reasons for:
■ To avoid too much much concentration of
power
■ Each branch can be kept in check by others
● Federalism → power divided up in geographical basis
○ Reasons for dividing power:
■ Country is too large
■ Language barriers
■ Too much power (central gov) if not balanced
● Bills of rights → dividing power between state and private citizens
○ Listing in a law certain basis of rights of citizens (if there’s a written constitution, then in the
constitution)
○ Ways of ensuring they are respected:
■ Convention
■ International treaty
■ Courts
● Judicial review → judges review legislature, to see if it conforms to the law
○ Reasons for:
■ Will of the people
■ Protection of minorities
○ Centralized systems → ordinary courts are not allowed to set aside statutes if they consider
them unconstitutional → refer questions about constitution to the constitutional court
(supreme court)
○ Decentralized system→ ordinary courts can also claim that statutes are unconstitutional
Constitution
Constitutional law: the branch of law that regulates the state
● Constitution: written doc where all constitutional rules are laid down
2
, Maria Andrade
● Entrenchment: constitution can only be amended through difficult or special procedure
○ Some parts of the constitution cannot be amenable
State
State: organization that is able to control a territory and the people in it
● Exercises its power within the limits of the law
● Strong state → Has all the criteria a state needs
● Weak state → Lacks certain criteria (eg: corruption) ~ one criteria
● Failed state → Lacks all criteria
4 criteria of statehood :
1. Defining territory
2. Population
3. Ability to enter in international politics
4. Effective governance
Functions of state power are trias politica
State power
Absolutism: free from laws → dictator or monarch
Territorial division of power:
● Unitary states: all powers ultimately reside in one central gov authority
○ Everything that other provinces may establish can be retracted by the central gov authority
● Federations
○ State is divided into the organs of the central state (federal level) and the organs of the
subunits (regional levels), this division is explained in the constitution
○ Criteria:
■ Divided in territorial sub-units
■ Conflicts between federations and the state are decided by an independent arbitrary
■ Sub-units have constitutionally protected powers
● Confederations → membership of states are voluntary (federations are NOT eg: US)
○ Joined for activity or effort → have a common goal
○ Eg; united nations, european alliance, provinces in civil war
Government systems
Parliament system Presidential system Semi presidential system
Government is accountable to Head of the executive have their Directly elected head of state and
3
