Constitutional And Administrative Law Past Papers Text

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length: 2433 words 7 double spaced pages constitutional and administrative law in the uk, the constitution claims to be democratic in that it aims to ensure that the government's authority is derived from the consent of the people. At the very heart of a democracy lies the concept that the electorate is able to see their views represented and their wishes fulfilled by their elected government. As the british constitution evolved, so to did the need to weave genuine democratic ideals into the fabric of our constitution. The body of judicial precedent that has gradually developed through a process in which courts interpret, apply, and explain the meaning of particular constitutional provisions and principles during a legal proceeding. Executive, legislative, and judicial actions that conform with the norms prescribed by a constitutional provision. the text of the u.s. Constitution is marked by four characteristics: a delegation of power, in which the duties and prerogatives of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches are delineated by express constitutional provisions a separation of powers.

In deciding their cases, courts look to these constitutional provisions and principles for guidance. Once a court has interpreted a constitutional provision in a certain fashion, it becomes a precedent. The judicial branch is required to adhere to existing precedent in all future cases presenting analogous factual and legal circumstances, unless it has a compelling reason for deviating from the precedent or overruling it. A state or federal law is said to be constitutional when it is consistent with the text of a constitutional provision and any relevant judicial interpretations. A law that is inconsistent with either the written text or judicial interpretation of a constitutional provision is unconstitutional. By establishing a structure for the federal government and preserving certain areas of sovereignty for the states, the constitution has created a system of government that has allowed every area of civil, criminal, and administrative law to evolve with the needs of society. People in 1788 when new hampshire, pursuant to article vii, became the ninth state to vote for ratification.

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Article i defines congressional lawmaking powers, article ii sets forth the presidential executive powers, and article i establishes federal judicial powers. Enumerate certain individual liberties that must be protected against government infringement. The rest of the constitution contains miscellaneous other provisions, many of which are intended to maintain a federalist system of government in which the federal constitution is the supreme law of the land and the federal government shares sovereignty with the states. article i: the lawmaking power article i of the constitution allocates the lawmaking power to congress. Section 1 provides that a ll legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a congress of the united states.

Article i also requires that candidates running for the house of representatives be elected directly by the residents of each state. Originally, article i endowed the state legislatures with the power to choose members of the senate. However, the seventeenth amendment now requires all senators to be elected directly by the people of their home state. These include the power to declare war raise and support armies provide and maintain a navy regulate commerce borrow and coin money establish and collect taxes pay debts establish uniform laws for immigration, naturalization, and bankruptcy and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the united states. Both the senate and the house must approve all bills before they are submitted to the president.

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If the president vetoes a bill, section 7 authorizes congress to override the veto by a two thirds vote in both houses. Because congress is a public body, this article requires the house and senate to record and publish its proceedings, including the votes made by any of its members. Section 8 also grants congress the power to pass all laws that are necessary and proper to the performance of its legislative function. 579 1819 , the supreme court broadly interpreted the necessary and proper clause to grant congress the implied powers to enact all laws that are useful, convenient, or essential to fulfilling its lawmaking and fiscal responsibilities. Thomas jefferson had earlier argued that the necessary and proper clause authorized congress only to enact measures that are indispensable to the implementation of the enumerated powers. Congress frequently relies on its authority to regulate commerce as a justification for the legislation it enacts. Section 8 gives congress the power to regulate commerce among the several states.

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23 1824 , the supreme court ruled that congressional power to regulate commerce is plenary complete in itself and extends to all interstate commerce commercial activity that concerns more than one state. The court said that intrastate commerce commercial activity that is conducted exclusively within one state is beyond the reach of this congressional power. 122 1942 , where the supreme court ruled that congress has authority to regulate a family farm that produces and consumes its own wheat. The court said that even if a farm's activity be local, and though it may not be regarded as commerce, it may still x2026 be reached by congress, if it exerts a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce x2026 irrespective of whether such effect is direct or indirect. 2d 626 1995 , where the supreme court ruled that mere possession of a gun at or near a school does not substantially affect interstate commerce and may not be regulated at the federal level. Although the interstate commerce power has been given an expansive reading in modern times, the court said in lopez.

The scope of congressional authority in this area must be considered in light of our dual system of state and federal government and may not be extended so as to embrace effects upon interstate commerce so indirect and remote that to embrace them, in view of our complex society, would effectually obliterate the distinction between what is national and what is local and create a completely centralized government. Article i of the constitution not only delegates specific powers to congress, it also forbids congress to take certain action. Section 9, for example, prohibits congress from passing bills of attainder and ex post facto laws.

A bill of attainder is a legislative act that imposes punishment on a party without the benefit of a judicial proceeding. An ex post facto law makes criminal or punishes conduct that was not illegal at the time it occurred. Section 9 further prohibits congress from suspending habeas corpus a citizen's right to protection against illegal imprisonment except as may be necessary to preserve national security in time of rebellion or invasion. Although the constitution delegated this power to congress, president abraham lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the civil war without congressional assent. Article i also restricts the power of state legislatures, such as the power to make treaties, alliances, and confederations, are also prohibited by article i. In the century preceding the american revolution, parliament acquired unlimited sovereignty.

This arrangement replaced an earlier system of government in which the english monarchy ruled with a tyrannical scepter. In the united states, the framers sought to create a system of checks and balances in which the executive and legislative branches would share power with each other and with the judiciary. In this light, many of the powers delegated to the president must be viewed in conjunction with the powers delegated to the coordinate branches of government.

Article ii provides that t he executive power shall be vested in a president of the united states x2026 who shall hold x2026 office during the term of four years x2026 together with the vice president. Which provides the method by which the president and vice president are elected, derives its constitutional authority from article ii as well as from the twelfth and twenty third amendments. The twenty second amendment limits the president to two terms in office, and the twentieth and twenty fifth amendments set forth the order of succession for presidents who are unable to begin their term or continue in office. Article ii, section 2, makes the president the commander in chief of the armed forces. Between these two powers lies a gray area in which presidents have exercised the prerogative to commit u.s. In response to these executive maneuvers, congress passed the war powers resolution pub. , which restricts the president's authority to involve the united states in foreign hostilities for more than 60 days without the approval of congress.

Section 2 authorizes the president to make treaties with foreign governments, but only with the advice and consent of the senate. The president must also seek senatorial approval when appointing ambassadors federal judges, including supreme court justices and other public ministers. Section 4 states that the president may be removed from office only through impeachment for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. The house is responsible for drafting articles of impeachment accusations of misconduct , and the senate is responsible for holding an impeachment trial. The united states revisited the issue of what constitutes a high crime and misdemeanor during the impeachment proceedings against president william jefferson clinton. House of representatives approved two articles of impeachment against president clinton, accusing the president of having committed the crimes of perjury and obstruction of justice to conceal his relationship with a white house intern named monica lewinsky.

The impeachment trial was then held before the senate from january 7, 19, through february 12, 19. Clinton supporters generally opposed impeachment on grounds that concealing a private, extramarital affair should not constitute an impeachable high crime or misdemeanor. Clinton detractors generally supported impeachment on grounds that perjury and obstruction of justice are felony level offenses that render a chief executive who is guilty of such offenses incompetent to discharge the duties of his office. Clinton supporters contended that past presidents had concealed their extramarital affairs without it rising to the level of an impeachable offense, while clinton detractors countered by arguing that the president was not being impeached for having an extramarital affair but for committing crimes to conceal it. However, constitutional historians on both sides of the debate generally agreed that the phrase high crimes and misdemeanors had no settled usage at the time the constitution was ratified by the states, except that the founding fathers rejected proposals that would have allowed for impeachment in cases of maladministration, malpractice.

Or neglect of duty. the founding fathers favored a chief executive who was subject to constitutional checks and balances, but not one who was weak and easy to remove by political opponents. Neither article of impeachment was supported by even a majority of votes, far short of the 67 votes required to convict. Although the president participates in the lawmaking process by preparing budgets for congressional review, recommending legislation on certain subjects, and signing and vetoing bills passed by both houses, no formal lawmaking powers are specifically delegated to the executive branch. The president nonetheless legislates by issuing executive orders, decrees, and proclamations.

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