SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT

CLASS: SS 1

TERM: 2ND TERM

WEEK II

TOPIC: TYPES OF CONSTITUTION

CONTENT

Written, Unwritten, Rigid, Flexible, Unitary, Federal and Confederal Constitution with Merits and
Demerits of Each Type

A written constitution: This refers to a constitution that is written down. The whole body of
fundamental laws, customs, conventions, principles, rules and regulations according to which a
particular government of a country is governed, are written and codified in a single documented.
Examples of countries with a written constitution are Nigeria, USA, India, France, Canada, Sierra
Leone, Gambia etc.

FEATURES OF WRITTEN CONSTITUTION

• It is written down in a single document

• A written constitution has a preamble.

• It stipulates the method and conditions of its amendment and change.

• A written constitution looks very simple because it can be obtained in a single document.

• It spells out the fundamental human rights and duties of a citizen of a country.

• A written constitution is usually rigid.

ADVANTAGES

• A written constitution can be obtained and consulted as a single document

• It has easy reference in case of dispute

• Both lawyers and laymen can get hold of it and read it in order to know their duties and rights.

• A written constitution removes ambiguity normally experienced with unwritten constitution.

• It can be amended or changed at any appropriate time.

• Minority interests are protected in the constitution.

• It ensures stability, defining the powers of government and specifying how they can be
exercised and thus reducing areas of conflict.

DISADVANTAGES

• Most written constitutions are rigid and therefore they create problems of amendments.

• It may lead to constant disaffection if it does not favour some sections of the country.

• Unless a written constitution is frequently amended, it will not meet both the present and the
future needs.

• Written constitution does not fit all types of government like unitary system of government.

• The judiciary may become too powerful because of its power to interpret constitution.

• It is time consuming to amend.

• It amendment process may be expensive.

UNWRTTEN CONSTITUTION

An unwritten constitution refers to when the whole body of fundamental laws, customs,
conventions, rules, and regulations according to which a particular government of a country
operates are not written down or codified in a single document.

Examples of countries with unwritten constitution are Britain and New Zealand. Some part of
unwritten constitution may be written down while some may not.

ADVANTAGES

• Unwritten constitution has a high degree of flexibility which can easily adapt to a country's
changing socio-political and economic situation.

• An unwritten constitution makes for easy and quick decisions.

• It does not pose problems for amendment.

• Its non-rigidity makes for a high degree of compromise between the organs of government.

• It meets both the present and future needs of a country.

• The constitution can easily be interpreted because of its flexibility.

• It is suitable in times of emergency.

DISADVANTAGES

• It is prone to abuse by the government and individuals since the laws are not codified in one
document.

• Unwritten constitution can encourage dictatorship.

• It does not create room for individuals to know their duties and rights.

• It encourages violation of citizen's rights.

• It does not suit a federal system of government.

• It does no encourage stability especially in big countries.

RIGID CONSTITUTION

A rigid constitution may be defined as that constitution which cannot be amended or changed
so easily because of its special stringent and cumbersome procedure of amendment. Rigid
constitutions are normally written constitutions but not all written constitutions are rigid. Not all
sections of a rigid constitution are difficult to amend.

Examples of countries with a rigid constitution are USA, Australia, France, Nigeria, Sierra Leone,
Gambia etc.

ADVANTAGES OF RIGID CONSTITUTION

• A rigid constitution is difficult to amend or change and this prevents hasty actions.

• It prevents dictatorial leaders from amending the constitution to serve their dictatorial interest.

• It protects the interest of the minority groups.

• It ensures political stability in a country because no section can amend the constitution to its
favour.

• It removes constitutional ambiguity.

• It allays fears of ethnic domination by the majority groups in a multi ethnic nation like Nigeria.

DISADVANTAGES

• Its amendment or change is stringent and cumbersome.

• Its inflexibility makes it difficult to take quick actions in times of emergency.

• It creates room for revolution or civil war which brings about its violent change or amendment.

• It will be very expensive, energy and time consuming in conducting referendum for the
changing or amending.

• The amendment of rigid constitution may lead to slow economic growth and development.

FLEXIBLE CONSTITUTION

A flexible constitution may be defined as the constitution which can be amended or changed so
easily without stringent and cumbersome procedures. It requires simple maiority for a flexible
constitution to be amended. Some flexible constitutions are written, while others are unwritten.
Britain, Italy New Zealand, Ghana are good examples of countries that have flexible constitution.

ADVANTAGES OF FLEXIBLE CONSTITUTION

• A flexible constitution is easy to amend.

• It is flexible and allows for quick action to be taken in time of emergency.

• It does not encourage revolution or civil wars since its flexibility does not make for violent
change or amendment.

• Its amendment is not expensive, time or energy consuming.

• Old constitutional rules can be easily replaced with new ones.

DISADVANTAGES

• A flexible constitution can be amended in a hasty and thoughtless manner because it is easy
to amend.

• It encourages dictatorship because; leaders with dictatorial tendencies can easily amend it to
suit their dictatorial whims and caprices.

• It does not ensure political stability because one section of the country can easily amend it to
its favour.

• A flexible constitution is enveloped by constitutional ambiguities

• It does not allay fears of ethnic domination by the majority ethnic groups in a multi- ethnic
nation.
FEDERALCONSTITUTION

CONTENT

A federal constitution refers to the one in which governmental powers that exists in the country
are shared between a central government that represents whole country and government of
component states so that each government is legally and constitutionally independent. A
country that adopts this type of constitution is known as a federal system of government.
Examples of countries with federal constitution are USA, Nigeria, Federal Republic of Germany,
Brazil, Switzerland, Australia, India etc.

FEATURES OF A FEDERAL CONSTITUTION

• Division of governmental powers among the central government and the component states

• It guarantees the supremacy of the constitution.

• The different governments derive their powers from the constitution.

• It is always rigid

• It has judicial interpretation and review.

• It allows bicameral legislature to operate

• There is supremacy of the central government

• Duplication of the organs of government exists.

REASONS FOR THE ADOPTION OF A FEDERAL CONSTITUTION

• It is useful in a multi ethnic nation

• It is used to take care of linguistic differences

• It is used to form a federation in order to unite different groups.

• It is used to form a common central government that will guarantee a strong security.

• It is adopted to maintain political stability

• It is adopted in order to take care of large population

• The vast geographical area of a country necessitates the adoption of a federal constitution.

• The need for economic stability makes the adoption of a federal constitution to be necessary.

• Fear of domination of minority groups by the majority groups makes the adoption of a federal
constitution to be imperative.
• Fear of external aggression makes federal constitution necessary

• It is adopted to take care of religious differences of the people

• It takes care of the racial and cultural differences of the people.

ADVANTAGES OF A FEDERAL CONSTITUTION

• It unites people of different political,social and geographical areas together

• It maintains the independence of the judiciary.

• It prevents monopoly of power in a country • It protects the interest of the minority groups.

• It guarantees strong security in a country.

• It makes room for wider representation of the people.

• It allays fear of external aggression

• It prevents ethnic domination of the minority by the majority groups.

• It maintains political stability among diverse ethnic groups.

• It encourages healthy competition

• It leads to the creation of employment opportunities

• It leads to checks and balances thereby preventing tyrannical use of powers.

DISADVANTAGES OF A FEDERAL CONSTITUTION

• It emphasizes the differences among the different ethnic groups in a country

• It creates a weak central government. • Duplication of powers leads to increase in expenditure.

• It increases sectional consciousness.

• Political rivalry leads to political instability.

• It increases secession.

• It leads to inflation of population census figures.

• It often leads to election rigging.

• It creates problem in the share of national cake.

UNITARY CONSTITUTION

CONTENT

A unitary constitution refers to one that concentrates authority in a single central government. It
does not share governmental powers with any other subordinate government. Examples of
counties with unitary constitution are Britain, Belgium, Zealand, Sweden, Sierra Leone, Gambia,
etc.

ADVANTAGES OF UNITARY CONSTITUTION

• It is flexible and therefore easy to amend

• Its flexibility allows for quick decision and action to be taken.

• It adapts easily to the changing conditions in a country.

• It is less expensive to operate.

• It creates room for internal stability.

• It fosters national unity.

• It instills the spirit of nationalism in the citizenry.

• It prevents waste of both human and material resources as a result of non-duplication of

government

• Its non-division of powers and authority makes the central government stronger.

DISADVANTAGES OF UNITARY CONSTITUTION

• It narrows the scope of political participation.

• There is little or no room for local autonomy on customary issues.

• It can lead to the emergence of a dictator.

• It may not tolerate interest groups.

• The fundamental human rights of the citizens may not be guaranteed.

• The constitution can be easily amended for selfish reasons.

• It can lead to abuse of political power.

• Domination by a group may engender tendency for secession.

CONFEDERAL CONSTITUTION

CONTENT

A Confederal constitution can be defined as one in which almost major powers and functions of
government are reserved exclusively for the components states apart from the common
currency, defense and foreign affairs in which the central government may hold power.
Examples of confederacy are Switzerland, Senegal, and Gambia before 1982.

ADVANTAGES OF CONFEDERAL CONSTITUTION

• There is mutual benefit among member states in different areas of interest.

• No member state was forced to become a member of the union since they can secede at any
time.

• Citizens have to obey only one government, that is, that of their own state.

• There is unity of states as independent states, big and small, rich and poor are brought
together for a common purpose.

• All the member states which make up the confederation are equal. No state can claim
superiority over others.

• The component states have full control over their internal affairs.

DISADVANTAGES OF CONFEDERAL CONSTITUTION

• Confederacies bring about political instability.

• There is no effective central authority because a sovereign power cannot be located in a

confederation.

• There is no spirit of nationalism in a confederation.

• The right of members to secede can destabilize and break the union.

• Confederation is a loose union of sovereign states.

• Policies discussed may not be effectively implemented in their respective countries.