Prepared by: Rashid khan from Malakand, SS English/ MPhil English.

Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

Cabinet/parliamentary or Ministerial form of government:

Introduction:

 Cabinet or parliamentary form of government is one in which the legislature and

executive are closely related and dependent upon each other. Government is formed by
the parliament and parliament is superior organ.
 There are two types of executive i.e. TITULAR executive and REAL executive.
 Titular executive is the nominal head of state and elected president while the real head of
government is Prime Minister.
 Such a system is responsible and democratic one for the reason that parliamentarians are
elected and government is responsible before the legislature.
 A parliamentary system is the combination of four parts i.e. president or king, prime
minister, council of minister/cabinet and parliament.

Pre-requisites or essentials conditions of parliamentary system:

Party system:

 Parties are instrument through which the game of parliamentarianism is played.

 In this system, it is must for prime minister to have support of the majority party.
 Without securing majority party support, it is almost impossible to be a PM.
 In a non-party house it is totally difficult to have majority support.
 For the reasons that in non-party house, everyone have their own territorial interests and there is
absence of common ideas, program or charter.
 Majority party in elections can select easily their PM.
 In this system legislation is done quit easily and with simple majority.
 For this purpose, two parties system is suitable and it would be stable as that of UK.

Sound political culture:

 As this system is represented by the representatives who are elected for a period and they
represent the concern communities.
 These politicians must some national and international outlook.
 They must have experience, education and patriotic.
 To have a sound culture we need to have creative cultured electorates who elects the
representatives.
 Cultural values must be rational and not sentimental and its focal point must be national interests.
 The stability of parliamentarianism must be achieved through installation of political culture.

Political consciousness:

 Every system is dependent upon the people.

 Parliamentary form of government has closely dependence over its citizens.

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Prepared by: Rashid khan from Malakand, SS English/ MPhil English.
Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 Its sustainability requires positive democratic values, culture, tolerance, acceptance and
respecting others.
 Eagle eyes are needed to critically evaluate the arena of politics.
 Political dormant society cannot go ahead and its survival is mainly dependent upon the
activeness and consciousness of individuals.
 If these people are politically aware of their due rights then there is less chances of betrayal and
they will not be deceived by the seasonal, professional and opportunist politicians.
 This area must be filled and the political consciousness must be brought by increasing literacy
rate and that should be according to the national needs.

Independence of media and press:

 Media and press are the backbones of democracy.

 Relationship of the ruler and ruled are dependent upon the role of media.
 It ventilates the grievances of the people to government and the policies of government are
exposed to the people.
 Government, bureaucracy, cabinet and other members of the government are inform from the
reactions of the people and the common people are kept aware of the government policies.
 Furthermore, a sound political culture, political awareness and political education is impressively
provided by the media.
 So, freedom of media and press is necessary to give the real face of happenings in the country.

Spirit of team work:

 In this system the legislature and executive are to work according to the principles of
parliamentary system.
 They are to share their works and they are responsible to each other in their sphere of work.
 In parliamentary system, the ministers are to swim together in a same boat. They can swim or
sink together.

Constitutionalism:

 Constitution in an agreement between the rulers and ruled.

 Every government can be run according to the basic principles of law.
 In parliamentary system there are frequently floor-crossing, lotacracy, bargaining and horse
trading in the developing countries.
 Extra constitutional means are adopted to stabilize the system but that further aggravated the
situation.

Miscellaneous:

 It is seen in this system that political parties are to facilitate the members through unfair means
which can destabilize the country’s situation.
 Political bribery, favoritism, victimization and corruption are the major points in this system.
 It pollutes the political culture and democratic values.

Features of parliamentary system:

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Prepared by: Rashid khan from Malakand, SS English/ MPhil English.
Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 Formation of cabinet
 Team work.
 Supremacy of prime minister.
 Coordination of powers.
 Political responsibility.
 Term of government.

Advantages and disadvantages of parliamentary system:

Merits/ advantages:

Balance between legislative and executive:

 In this system the ministers are simultaneously the members of cabinet and legislature.
 Therefore, there is a close relationship between the organs.
 Ministers present a bill in the legislature and they are responsible for them.
 This system is truly democratic as they are taken from the legislature.
 There is coordination of powers.

Responsible system:

 Legislature is the people’s elected body and they are responsible to them.
 Both the legislature and executive are responsible to the people.
 Any disturbance can be checked easily.

Flexible system:

 In the time of tension, ministers may be changed peacefully and constitutionally and even the
legislature may be dissolved during the national crises.
 There is no rigid fixation of the term of government.
 Therefore, it can be molded according to the changing circumstances.

Able executives:

 All the ministers are taken from the legislature and they are crucial and able one.
 PM selects the able and skillful persons in his cabinet.
 Portfolios are allotted to the ministers keeping on view certain factors.
 It is the need of the hour that ministers are to be able to face collective responsibility.

Educative system:

 The kith and kinship between the legislature and executive and the members possess great
qualities like leadership, power of speech and knowledge.
 The responsibilities of ministers keep them alert to face the problem any time.
 Therefore education is give preference while selecting the ministers,

More representative and democratic:

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 Compare to presidential system, presidential is more responsible and democratic one.

 Executive in this system simultaneously responsible to the press, voters and legislature.
 If executive becomes dictator, legislature is to remove the government.

Demerits OR disadvantages:

Sudden change in the cabinet:

 The term of cabinet is fixed and that can be removed any time.
 As long as it enjoys the support of majority in the parliament.
 In case of weak majority, the system goes downward and from bad to worse.

Party government:

 It produces party government and people are divided in to various groups of parties.
 Mainly the system is composed of party or groups.
 Ruling party tries to do the things and opposition tries to obstruct them.

Actual legislative powers with executives:

 In this system the parliament is just like a like stamp.

 A machinery to endorse the bills drafted by the executives.
 More than 80% bills are drafted by the executive and the legislature has to pass it.
 In case if any bill is rejected by the legislature, than it means there is no confidence on
cabinet and the bills are actually prepared by the highly intellectual Bureaucracy who are
the real law makers.

In-effective during the foreign aggression:

 It has been observed that in time of foreign aggression, this system remains in-capable.
 This is the reason why national government is formed during external aggression.
 In England during the 1st and 2nd WWs the national governments were formed.

In-effective in multiparty system:

 Except in a few states, the multi-party system ever remained instable in parliamentary
setup.
 Generally coalition of government is formed and that is nothing but a mixture of political
parties and absence of unity.
 Their charters and thoughts are different on a view.
 Consequently differences arise and the system fails badly.
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Prepared by: Rashid khan from Malakand, SS English/ MPhil English.
Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

Presidential form of government

Introduction:

In this form of government, the head of executive is president. There is separation of powers i.e.
legislature and executive are different and their powers are separated. President is directly elected by
the people and he selects his ministers but not from the legislature. In USA the president elected
and due to the system of spoil he selects his ministers where he wants to pick them up. In USA
the legislature is know is CONGRESS. The organization is;

President: there is no difference between titular and nominal head of executives but the only
real head of state and government is the president. He is not responsible and has rigid fix tenure
except of impeachment. He is the boss of ministers and he is not bound to act on their consult.

The council of ministers: they are responsible to president and he selects them out of
legislature. This system has no responsibility to the legislature. They are for helping the
president. They are only responsible to president and president to people.

Legislature: Legislature makes and formulates laws are not responsible to the president. President
indirectly impresses the legislature through the sending of messages, political bargaining, direct contact
and through his party

Feature/ attributes of the presidential system:

Separation of powers:

 There is clear-cut difference between the two organs of government i.e. executive and legislature.
 There is no ministerial involvement in the legislative functions.
 Bills are presented by the legislatures.
 There is no direct influence over each other.

Election method:

 Presidential election is done through direct or indirect.

 People elect the electoral-college and then they elect the president.
 In USA the president is elected indirectly while in Pakistan in Ayub khan era, the basic democrats
has to elect the president.

Term of office:

 In this system the term of office is fixed and the president cannot be removed from his office until
he commits a serious crime.
 The only serious way to check him that the people do not elect in the next elections.

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Prepared by: Rashid khan from Malakand, SS English/ MPhil English.
Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

Council of ministers:

 Here the president is the soul form of executive and the real executive head.
 He nominates ministers in his discretion power but no from the parliament.
 They are not responsible to parliament but to president only

Check and balance:

 Despite the separation of powers, both the organs can interfere in each other function through a
check and balance system.
 President can veto the legislation.
 Foreign agreements and treaties are subject to the ratification of congress and congress has the
power to reject it.

Supremacy of the president:

 In this system, president is more superior.

 He is the boss his ministers.
 He is direct choice of the people.
 He is supreme because he is the real head of the state and government.

Pre-requisites or essential condition for presidential system

Effective leadership:

 Success of a system is greatly dependent upon the leadership.

 The president is the sole authority over executive and it depends upon him to carry it out well.
 A qualitative leadership leads a system from bottom to peak.
 He is allowed to select his assistants all around the state that he may not excuse while running the
state administration.

Strong electoral system:

 In this system the president is elected through electoral-college.

 This college is strong enough in the field of education, skill and experience.
 This is the reason here is strong electoral system.
 Election is impartial and transparent.

Genius of the people:

 Every system is framed according to the mind and psychology of the people.
 UK people are tradition loving people therefore their system reflects customs and tradition.
 In USA the people love presidential set up.
 Pakistani people also favor parliamentary system.

Political awareness:

 Awareness is must in the common people that they might know their system well.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 Political parties play a decent role in this arena.

 Through political parties, media, press, educational set up and socialization play an immense role
in bring the awareness in the people.
 President is also responsible to the people in commencing in election only.
 A strong check through president’s powers by the people.

Political parties’ role:

 Political parties are the soul of every system.

 In presidential system its importance is multiplied.
 Due to separation of powers, parties play an important role.
 Elections are frequently happens.
 In USA the original is silent about the political parties but currently there are parties and this is
due it is the need of the hour.
 Creative political culture, democratic values, literacy rate and socialization.

Merits of presidential system:

Stable government:

 The president term is rigid and fixed and cannot be removed except in special cases.
 President policies have long life not like that of parliamentary system.

No dictatorship:

 Due to the theory of separation of powers, there is no chance of becoming dictator by either
house.
 Neither executive nor legislature can directly influence each other.
 In USA there is the system of checks and balance.

Able executive:

 President appoints the able ministers for himself to consult him in every affair.
 They are selected through their ability.
 They are responsible to the president for their acts.

Responsibility:

 President is alone responsible to all the people for his government policies, but in reality he is not
responsible to anyone.
 The only check on him by the people is that he cannot be reelected in the next election.

No severe party spirit:

 Bills are presented by the private members and not by the government.
 Therefore, bills are thoroughly discussed in the parliament without any party restrictions.
 Neither government tries to pass the bill, nor opposition try to obstruct the bills.
 The resultant legislation ever remains strong.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

Disadvantages of the presidential system

Separation of powers:

 There is no coordination in the organs of government.

 There is no interference in the legislation which is a defect in this system.
 Interference is necessary sometimes with the changing of conditions.
 This is inconvenient when president is from one party and in legislature there is another party in
majority.
 Keeping in view this point, the USA has introduced interference in the form of checks and
balance system.
 Separation in the form of rigid leads to despotism.

Rigid government:

 In this system the term of office is fixed and cannot be removed from office except some
conditions but those are rare in occurrence.
 Changes in the government are necessary sometimes which is a difficult task in presidential
system.
 Legislature cannot move a no-confidence movement on the executive.
 So, flexibility is necessary sometimes to bring changes accordingly.

Absence of responsibility:

 President is not responsible to the legislature.

 His acts are not according to the people as there is no responsibility except in the reelecting him.
 He can use those powers according to his interests rather than common people.

No effective council:

 He has the power to select his ministers according to his own sweet will.
 Those may be ineffective ministers.
 Due to that the system becomes ineffective.

Weak administrative policy:

 The governmental policies are just the outcome of one person, president.
 He formulates policies according to his well.
 It remains weak than parliamentary system.

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Prepared by: Rashid khan from Malakand, SS English/ MPhil English.
Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

Rights and Duties

Persona and Social Needs/Aspects of Man:
Man has two aspects: personal and social. Personal needs are bodily needs, desires, feelings etc
while his instinct demands sociality which needs companionship, family, culture, and other such social
relationships. Personal needs can be determined by the physical and mental strengths of a person but
social needs are subjected to the direct or indirect, explicit or implicit approval of society and other
companions. Here come rights and duties.

Rights:
Claim and Recognition: When a claim or power to have or do something is recognized by others
members of society, it becomes a right. Therefore, right is a socially recognized claim arising from the
very nature of human personality and society. Therefore, claim of entitlement and recognition by the
society are the essentials of rights in a society.
Society recognizes only those claims and desires which do not injure others and those actions which
promote common good and harmony. Therefore, individual’s claims, and action must be in harmony with
the good and safety of other members of society. Rights of one are subjected to the safety of similar right
of others.
Oxford defines rights as, “Moral or legal entitlement to have or do something.”
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement that is, rights are fundamental
normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social
convention or ethical or moral theory.
Essentials of Right: There are three essentials for the entitlement of rights:

1) The needs of human personality (claims and desires).

2) The social recognition (recognition of claims and desires by others members). Recognition of
right is given by conscience of men, by social opinion of people, or by the state. State does not
create rights, it merely recognizes them, for rights arise from human nature.
3) Promotion of common good or the moral nature of social life. Rights promote socially protected
or guaranteed freedom and liberty.

Classification of Rights:

Rights are broadly divided into legal and moral rights. Legal rights are further divided
into civil/social and political rights.

Moral Rights: Rights which are recognized by the moral sense of people and which are not subjected to
punishment or reward in the legal system. They merely based on our sense of morality and justice. E.g.
helping poor, Donating blood, being polite to aged people etc. moral rights often become source of legal
rights.

Legal Rights: rights enjoyed by a citizen against other citizens, association or government, recognized by
the state and upheld by its authority and law. Violation of legal rights is subjected to punishment by the
legal system or courts of the state. Similarly, legal rights bear corresponding duties. Legal rights are
divided into political and civil rights:

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

Political Rights: Those rights through which a citizen is able to participate in the formation and
administration of government. E.g. right to vote, form association, right to hold public office etc.

Civil or Social Rights: Civil or social rights are concerned to the life and property of the people of a
state. They are essential for the social and personal development of citizens. They are rights to life and
property, freedom of speech, freedom of movement, work etc. Civil and Political rights form the original
and main part of international human rights. They comprise the first portion of the 1948 UDHR with
economic, social and cultural rights comprising the second portion.

Rights

Legal Rights Moral Rights

Civil/social Rights Political Rights

Right to family, Right contract,

Right to property, Equality before law.
Right to work
Right to education Right to vote
Right life Right to contest election
Right to speech/press
Right to free movement Right to public office
Right of association
Right of religious belief

Civil Liberties:

These liberties determine what make an individual free and what government cannot do to infringe his
liberty. Civil liberties protected in the Bill of Rights may be divided into two areas:

 Freedom and rights guaranteed in the first amendment like, religion, speech, press, assembly, and
petition.
 Liberties and rights associated with crime and due process.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

Duties:

Duties are actions to do or not to do for the sake of society or state. They are things we owe to
other as social beings. They are the reciprocal and corresponding action of one’s legal rights for the
common good of the society. Therefore, rights and duties are inseparable. They are the two sides of a
coin. They are obligation imposed upon members of society by the state or other legal authority. Every
right has a corresponding duty. Protection of one’s life and property must ensure protection of others’ life
and property. Thus right of one person is the duty of another.

Kinds of Duties: Duties can be divided into Moral and Legal duties. Moral duties are performed on moral
or ethical grounds and their violation is not subjected to punishment by the legal system, while legal
duties are imposed by the state or other legal authority and their violation is subjected to punishment by
the legal system of the state.

Rights of State: State owe certain rights to its citizens like, obedience to law, allegiance to the state,
payment of taxes, duty to vote etc.

Fundamental Rights: fundamental rights are those basic standards without which people cannot live in
dignity as human beings. Human rights are the foundation of freedom, justice and peace. They are rights
and freedom to which all human beings are entitled. There are some features of fundamental rights:

Features of Fundamental Rights:

 Universal and Inalienable: This is the cornerstone of international rights law. It is reiterated in
the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948. The 1993 Vienna World Conference on
Human Rights also noted that it is the duty of states to promote and protect all human rights and
fundamental freedoms regardless of political, economic and cultural system.
 Interdependent and Indivisible: All human rights moral, political, legal or civil and
fundamental freedoms are indivisible and interdependent on each other.
 Equal and Non-Discriminatory: it is the central theme of all international treaties and laws that
all human beings are entitled to fundamental human right without any discrimination on racial,
cultural, political or economic grounds. International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms
of Racial Discrimination etc reiterates the theme.

International Laws and Conventions on Human Rights

Human rights are inherent to all human beings regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language,
religion or any other status. It includes right to life, and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom
of opinion and expression, right to work, right to education, right to vote, right to make association etc.
everyone is entitled to them without any discrimination.

UN has defined a range of internationally recognized rights including civil, cultural, economic, political
and social.

International Human Rights Law:

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

These are internationally recognized law administered by the International Court of Justice that
lay down obligations of governments to act in certain ways or refrain from certain acts in order to protect
human rights.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights Dec, 10, 1948.

The UN General Assembly passed Universal Declaration of Hman Rights on Dec, 10, 1948,
through the resolution 217 A (III). Since its establishment, it has expanded human rights law to
encompass specific standard for women, children, persons with disabilities, minorities, and other
vulnerable groups. UDHR has been translated to more than 500 languages.

Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948)

It prohibited the crime of Genocide.

International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965)

This convention prohibited any form of discrimination on the basis of race or colour.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

 The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights entered into force 1976 that
established the right to work in just and favourable condition.
 The right to social protection, adequate of living.
 Highest attainable standard of physical and mental well-being.
 It also established the right to education, enjoyment of cultural freedom, and scientific progress.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Its first Protocol entered into effect in 1976 and Second Protocol in 1989 which established the
following human rights:

 Freedom of movement.
 Equality before law and right to fair trial.
 Freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
 Freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly.
 Freedom of association and participation in public affairs.
 Protection of minorities’ rights.

Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (1979)

Through this convention, women were given equal status and discrimination on the basis of gender was
prohibited.

Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)

This convention described and established the rights of children.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

Convention on the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities (2006)

This convention established the rights of persons with physical or mental disabilities.

Human Right Council

It was established in 2006 by the General Assembly. It has the representation of 47 states that monitor
human rights condition in 192 states who give Universal Periodic Review.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR)

It serves as secretariat for Human Rights Council. It is the monitoring body that observes compliance of
states with human rights’ treatise.

Human Rights In Pakistan

In Pakistan, the fundamental Rights are enshrined in the Part (II) Chapter (1) of the Constitution of
Pakistan 1973. The following are the provision of Human Rights in the constitution:

 (Article: 9) : Security of person.

 (Article: 10) : Safeguard as to arrest and detention.
 (Article: 10A) : Right to fair trial.
 (Article: 11) : Slavery, forced labour prohibited.
 Article: 12) : Protection against retrospective punishment.
 Article: 13) : Protection against double punishment and self incrimination.
 (Article: 14) : Inviolability of dignity of man.
 (Article: 15) : Freedom of Movement.
 (Article: 16) : Freedom of Assembly.
 (Article: 17) : Freedom of Association.
 (Article: 18) : Freedom of trade, business and profession.
 (Article: 19) : Free Speech.
 (Article: 19A) : Right to Information.
 (Article: 20) : Religious Rights.
 (Article: 21) : Safeguard against taxation for purpose of any particular religion.
 (Article: 22) : Safeguard to education institutions in respect of religion.
 (Article: 23) : Provision as to Property.
 (Article: 24) : Protection of Property rights.
 (Article: 25) : Equality of citizens.
 (Article: 25A) : Right to education.
 (Article: 26) : Non-discrimination in respect of access to public places.
 (Article: 27) : Safeguard against discrimination in services.
 (Article: 28) : Preservation of language, script and culture.

Article 8 of 1973 constitution: Any law/s inconsistent with or in derogation of fundamental rights to
be void except those of armed forces and other forces as charged with the maintenance of public
order.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

Therefore, fundamental rights impose limitations on the legislature. They are the rights of individual
against the state while ordinary rights are the rights of individual against private individual.

Classification of Fundamental Rights: Under the constitution, fundamental rights are 22 and are
classified into six categories.

 Personal Rights  Economic /Financial Rights

 Civil Liberties (Social Rights)  Equality Rights
 Religious /Educational Rights.  Cultural /Language Rights

Characteristics of Human Rights: there are some characteristics of rights which make them so
powerful:

 They are moral claims grounded in morality not just in law.

 They are mandatory for the protection and realization of human values.
 They are means for the creation of better life quality.
 They are universal: All human beings have certain right for being human than any other reason.
 They are pre-political. They precede social, cultural, legal, political and historical conditions.
 They are independent from legal, social, cultural and religious recognition. Humans have rights
even if the customs or culture of a country do not recognize them.
 They are unconditional. Respect for human rights is not conditional upon fulfillment of duties.
 They are inalienable: they are human rights for being human. They are not given to them and
hence, cannot be taken away.
 They are not forfeitable. People cannot give away their rights for some reason.
 They are equal: equal in nature and to all humans.
 They are interdependent.
 They are not politically neutral. Not all political systems respect human rights alike.

Pakistan Human Rights Commission

It was established in 1987 that aims to monitor and evaluate human rights conditions and
compliance of laws with human rights in the country.

Human Rights Violation in Pakistan

1) Child Abuse: Child sexual abuse and child labour are the major violation of human rights in
Pakistan which violates the UN Covenant of the Rights of Child 1989.
 3445 cases of child sexual abuse were reported in 2017 only.
 12 schools were burnt in August 2018 by Taliban in Gilgit.
 Over five million primary school-age children are out of school.
 141 child sexual abuse cases were reported from Lahore in six months of 2018 only.
 In January 2019 Zainab Ansari, an eight years girl, was raped and murdered.
 In August a 5-years old girl was raped and murdered in Mardan KP.
 According to SAHIL organization 91 sexual abuse cases are reported daily.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 In 2015, a well-connected ring of pedophiles in Kasur made headlines after hundreds of

videos depicting sexual abuse of children surfaced.

Discrimination against Women

Article 25 (2) of the constitution of Pakistan says that, “there shall be no discrimination on the
basis of sex”.

 According to World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2020, Pakistan ranked 151 out
of 153 countries, just ahead of Yemen and Iraq. the lowest in South Asia.
 According to a survey (2017-18), only 22.8% female participate in labour force while 81.1% male
of age 15 and above participate in labour force.
 According to Punjab Social and Economic Wellbeing of Women Survey 2017-18 shows that of
total women in the age of 18-29 years, only 22% have attained grade 12 or above education.
 11% women from minorities have grade 12 or above education with 2.6% employment.
 21% females get married before the age of 18 and 3% before the age of 15.
 About 1000 honour killings take place every year. At least 66 women were killed in Faisalabad in
the first six months of 2018.
 According to Local 479 attacks against transgender women were reported in KP during 2018.

Freedom of Speech and Expression

Article 19 of the constitution says, every citizen has the right to express him/herself.

 Mashaal Khan’s Case in AWKUM Mardan.

 Ban on PTM.
 Media censorship by PPEMRA. Idea of making Media Courts.
 Suspension of 3G and 4G internet service in FATA and Balochistan.

Discrimination against Ethnic and Religious Minorities

 About 1000 girls from Hindu, Christian and other minorities are forced to marry Muslims every
year.
 Many persons from minorities fall prey to Blasphemy Law.
 The population of minorities in 1947 was 23% that has reduced to 3 or 4% in 2019.
 Minority in Kilash valley Chitral once had a population of more than 20000 that has reduced to
only 4000 in 2019.
 Taliban and other terrorist attack religious minorities.

Target Killings and Deaths in Custody:

 Extra judicial killing is common in Pakistan. Only Rao Anwar an SP in Sindh police is reported
to have killed more than 400 person without fair trial.
 On July 13, 2019, 128 people were killed in election rally held by Balochistan Awami Party in
Mastung including Nawabzada Siraj Raisani.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 On July 10, Haroon Bilour of ANP was killed along 20 others in blast.
 In Sahiwal, four innocent person including children and woman were shot dead by police n June
20, 2019 and the convicts were later acquitted by the court.

Reforms by Pakistan Government

UN Human Rights Commission has given recommendation after 23rd August 2017 observation related to
death penalty, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial killing and freedom of religion, conscience and
belief. It asked Pakistan to:

 Review the Action of Civil Power Regulation 2011 that give extra jurisdiction to armed forces in
FATA and other areas.
 To criminalize enforced disappearance.
 To investigate all cases of extra judicial killings thoroughly.

Contrary to it, Pakistan passed KP Action in Aid of Civil Power Ordinancein August 2019 that extends
the extra power of armed forces to the entire province of KP.

 Pakistan parliament passed a law guaranteeing basic rights for transgenders. The law grants
individuals the right to self-identity as male or female or blend and to have that identity registered
on all legal documents like, CNIC, Passport, license etc.
 Zainab Alert Recovery and Response Bill 2020 was passed that brought reforms in handling the
child abuse cases. The bill underlies life imprisonment and one million rupees fine as maximum
punishment. The cases of child abuse are supposed to be investigated in 3 months.
 Child alert app was launched by PM Imran Khan.

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Separation of Power
Background:

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

The term “trias politica”or Separation of power is a political doctrine originating from the
writings of Montesquieu “the Spirit of the Laws” in which he urges constitutional government with three
branches of government: Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. His concept inspired the Declaration of the
Rights of Man and the Constitution of US. Montesquieu argues that to promote liberty effectively, these
three powers legislature, executive and judiciary must be separate and act independently.

Although, separation of power is essential but no democratic system exist with absolute separation of
power or absolute lack of separation of powers. The powers and responsibilities of government are inter-
related and overlap each other intentionally. For the categorization of powers of these branches the
legislator and other staff set them to a diverse set of resources like, law review articles, court cases and
legislative reports.

Necessity of Separation of Power:

 Prevent Abuse of Power: History has shown the ulimited powers in the hands of person or
institution leads to corruption and abuse of power. Therefore, separation of power prevents abuse
of power and safeguards freedom of all.
 Sharing Power and Checking One Another: The separation of powers divide the task into three
branches, legislature, executive and judiciary. These tasks are assigned to these institutions in
such a way that each of them can check the other.
 Maintain Rule of Law: Separation of power maintains rule of law through check and balance.
 Establishing Jurisdiction of Institutions: separation of power establishes and assigns the
jurisdiction of each institution to them.
 Legislative Power: Legislature has the task to pass laws and supervise their implementation.
 Executive Power: Executive branch has the task to implement laws. It include the cabinet, PM,
and other authorities including armed forces and police.
 The Judicial Power: interpretation of laws and administering justice impartially and
independently is the responsibility of judiciary. Judiciary also ensures compliance of government
with laws/constitution.

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Independence of Judiciary
Introduction:

Independence of judiciary means that the judiciary needs to be kept away from other branches of
government. That means courts should not be subject to the improper influence from other branches of
government or partisan interests.

Characteristics of Judicial Independence:

 It should be impartial: it means that decisions are not influenced by judge’s personal interests.
 Compliance of Judicial Decisions: the decision once rendered should be respected either
voluntarily by the parties of or enforced by those in power.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 Free of Interference: The third principle is that judiciary is free from interference. The judges
are protected from the influence of the party with interest or from officials of other branches of
government. Normally government poses the most serious threat to judicial independence
because first, it has potential interests the outcomes of myriad cases and second, it has much
potential power over judges,

It is a democratic principle that judges and judiciary as whole are impartial and independent of all external
pressure and of each other so that public can have confidence in it.

Concepts of Judicial Independence

 Reasons: Judicial independence is necessary for its ability to resolve problems information
asymmetry between citizens, principals and public officials-agents, transform constitutional
declaration to credible commitments and provide a mechanism of political insurance.
 It also means that there should be a mechanism for appointing judges and the jurisdiction of
courts.
 To play role of veto player in collective decision-making and policy implementation.
 To become an explanatory variable and affect economic variable of interest.

Basic Principles of Independence of Judiciary

 Independence of judiciary should be enshrined in the constitution and guaranteed by the state.
 The judiciary shall decide the matters before it impartially on the basis of facts and in accordance
with the law without any restriction, pressure or influence.
 The judiciary shall have jurisdiction over all issue of a judicial nature and must have the authority
to impose its jurisdiction as per law.
 There shall not be any inappropriate or unwarranted interference with the judicial process.
 Everyone has the right to be tried by ordinary courts or tribunals using the established procedures.
 Independence of judiciary requires it to ensure that judicial proceedings are conducted fairy and
the rights of the parties are protected.
 It is the responsibility of each state to provide enough resources to the judiciary to perform its
functions.

The independence of the judiciary is as significant for the smooth running of the state as is the
independence of the legislature and executive. The protection of rights and adherence to the rule of law in
a society are only possible through the independence of the judiciary. An independent judiciary that
underpins the rule of law is essential to the functioning of democracy.

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Judicial review
Introduction:

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

The powers of the judicial branch of government to decide whether the laws passed by the legislature are
consistent with the constitution or not, if not then those laws are repealed or considered void with the
basic principles of constitution and thus declared null and void, is known as judicial review. Judges do not
make hypothetical decisions about the constitutionality and also do not offer advices to the parliament
officials about their actions. This case, judicial review, is different from country to country. For instance,
in USA the judiciary can strike down all those laws which are not in consent with the constitution. In
Germany, the constitutional court is empowered to shoot down not only ordinary laws but also the
amendments for being inconsistent with the fundamental character of the constitution. In India the court is
authorized in 1971 by the 24th amendment to decide the validity of the laws

Major features of powers of judicial review:

i) Judicial review is a check and balance:

 Judicial review is of the check and balance on the separation of powers.
 The power of the judiciary to supervise the legislative and executive branches of state.
ii) Concept of judicial review:
 It is a process whereby the apex court to interpret a law and determine its constitutional status.
 If the judiciary finds that a given piece of legislation or executive is in conflict with the provisions
of constitution, it may strike down the same.
iii) Origin of judicial review:
 In the start of 1800s first decade, the presidential election held in USA and the candidates were
Thomas Jafferon and John Adam in which Thomas Jafferon won the election. Before Jafferon
could have entered into the office, Adam and congress collectively passed an act in 1801 in which
many new courts were emerged and more judges were appointed to these offices. This act was
passed because to make Thomas frustrated and Adam took approval of the senate of these
appointees but to finalize these appointments, the secretary of state’s commission was needed to
send and approve these appointments. The actual twist occurs here. The secretary of state was
appointed by Thomas Jafferon namely James Madisan and the new president prevented him to
deliver the commission and he did so. Now there was an appointee namely, William Marbury
newly appointed to the office of District of Columbia justice of peace. His appointment was also
in pending due the commission. He filed a petition in the supreme court of USA for the delivery
of commission to compel the Madisan to deliver the commission.

Judicial Review under the Constitution of Pakistan

Divine origin of the judicial review:

 O ye who believe obey Allah and obey His messenger.

 And those charge with authority among you.
 If you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His messenger.
 And you do believe in Allah and the last day.
 That is the more best and suitable for final determination (surah 4:59).

Judicial review under the constitution of Pakistan:

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 Though no express provision as to “the judicial review” has been given in the constitution of
Pakistan but the supreme court of Pakistan under the article 184(3) and any High court may
under article 199 exercises the power of judicial review.

Legislative acts subjects to judicial review under article 184(3) and 199:

i) Any law made in conflict with any of the fundamental rights granted by the constitution
(violation of article 8).
ii) Any law made repugnant to the injunctions of Islam. (Article 227 of the constitution)
legislative acts subject to judicial; review under article 184(3) or 199.
iii) Any law inconsistent with the basic character of the constitution.
iv) Any law creating confliction between two governments.

Executive acts subject to judicial review under the article 184(3) and 199:

Following are the grounds to exercise power of judicial review over any administrative actions if they are
resulting injustices.

 Illegality;It means that the decision-makers must understand correctly the law that regulate his
decision-making power and must give effect to it.
 Irrationality: it means unreasonableness.

Modes of exercising powers of judicial review under constitution:

The supreme court of Pakistan or high court of Pakistan uses the power of judicial review by issuing,

 Writ of mandamus: A writ of mandamus is a command issued to a public authority to do a

certain act which he is bound to do.
 Writ of prohibition: A writ of prohibition is a command issued to a public authority to refrain
from doing anything which he is not permitted by law to do so.
 Writ of certiorari: it means to declare that an act of public authority is without lawful
authorityand is of no legal effect.
 Writ of Habeas corpus: A writ of habeas corpus means to direct that a person may be brought
before it so that the court may satisfy itself that he is not being held in custody without lawful
authority or in an unlawful manner.
 Writ of quo Waranto: a writ issue to requiring a person holding a public office to show under
what authority of law he claims to hold that office

ARTICLE 184(3) of the Constitution of Pakistan provides a measure of last resort for citizens of Pakistan
to move the highest court of law for the collective protection of their fundamental rights from an
overreaching executive or legislature. In deviation from standard legal procedure, the Supreme Court can
also exercise this jurisdiction on its own initiative, iesuomotu.

Difference between Judicial Review and SuoMotu

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

What sets apart suomotu actions from normal judicial cases is that they require no petition and no
aggrieved party. The court can take judicial notice of any matter and it becomes the prosecutor and the
decider of the matter all at the same time.

Background of SouMotu

Suomotu cases by the Supreme Court of Pakistan under Article 184(3) began with the DarshanMasih case
where the apex court took suomotu notice of bonded labour practices, which took place in Pakistan on the
basis of a letter sent to the court by one of the victims.

Purpose of SuoMotu

Before 2009, suomotu actions had been mostly exercised by the Supreme Court to ensure certain
marginalised communities and persons whose rights were greatly threatened, and who were out of the
reach of the courts, were provided a forum for redress all of their grievances.

Post 2009, however, the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 184(3) began to metamorphose.
Suomotus became less about marginalised communities and more about political grandstanding and the
Supreme Court`s intervention in political governance.

Sou Muto and Judicial activism:

Political suomotus can also be problematic because they tend to shift governance and administrative
measures from elected representatives and experts to a bench of unelected judges who may not have
relevant expertise in a particular area. E.g. Supreme court decried the efforts of the federal and
provincial governments and passed directions which effectively led to an end of the lock down. It appears
that the honourable court passed these orders without the assistance of any medical and public health
experts.

Sadly, no rules providing guidelines for the exercise of suomotu powers have ever been made or
attempted to be made till date. It has been observed that this may have made suomotu jurisdiction under
Article 184(3) a tool to be used at the whim of a chief justice, which is antithetical to the very idea of the
rule of law.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

Constitution of UK
Introduction:

UK is the oldest democratic system in the modern world. UK is called the “Mother Democracy and
Mother of Parliamentary System”.

United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and unitary state consisting of four states:

 England
 Northern Ireland
 Scotland
 Wales

It is governed by parliamentary system with its seat in London, the capital with three devolved
administrations in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland
respectively. UK was world’s largest empire during 19th and early 20th century. World’s 6th largest
economy. It is UN permanent member, member of Commonwealth, G8, G20, NATO and World Trade
Organization.

Government and Politics in UK

Queen Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch and head of the UK and 15 other Commonwealth
countries. UK has parliamentary system based on the Westminster system. The parliament has two
houses: House of Commons and House of Lords. any bill passed requires the consent .

Sources and Features of UK Constitution

Normally constitution is a body of legal rules drawn up either by a constituent assembly,

formulated the legislature or may have been granted by the king through a proclamation. It is a written,
precise and systematic document containing the general principles under which the government of a
country functions. But British constitution is an exception to such features. It is a child of chance and
result of necessities of the time and therefore, remains undefined and unmodified. There are some
enactment of parliament which form part of the constitution. The following are general sources and
features of British constitution:

Sources:

 Conventions: Conventions are political usages which have developed over a period of time.
These conventions have not been enacted in statute and thus have no legal sanction behind them
but they are strictly followed by the government and people.
 Common Law: laws which are not laid down by British parliament nor ordained by the monarch
but have developed in England independently and have slowly gained recognition.
 Annotation of Eminent Jurists: Jurists’ written comments on constitutional law.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 Judicial Decisions: The Judges interpret all statutes and charters and lay down their scope and
limitations. Some of such decisions have established principles of the constitution.
 Charters. Petitions and Statutes: There are a number of historic Charters and Statutes laying
some of the fundamental principles of British Constitution like, Magna Carta (1215), The
Petition Rights (1628), The Bill of Rights (1689), The People Representation Act (1918), The
Equal Franchise Act (1928) and the Parliament Act (1911 and 1948).


Unwritten Constitution

It is not contained in any single document. It was never promulgated on any specific date in history.
There is no such thing as written, precise, and compact document which may be called the British
Constitution. Major part of British constitution consists of judicial decisions, customs and conventions.
Despite of these conventions, there is a part of British constitution that derived from regularly enacted
laws.

A Specimen of Development and Continuity:

 English Constitution is a child of evolution. It is like an organism that has developed and is
developing from age to age. It has grown instead of being made.
 Munro says, British constitution is not a complete thing but a process of growth according to the
changing conditions. Like transition from absolute Monarchy to Constitutional Monarchy.

Oldest and Flexible:

 It is the oldest constitution of the world.

 It is flexible because it can be passed, amended and replaced by simple majority of parliament
since no distinction is made between a constitutional law and ordinary law.

Unitary:

 British constitution is unitary because all powers of the government are vested in parliament as
opposed to federal system.
 There is only one legislature while England, Scotland, Wales etc are administrative units rather
than political autonomous units.

Parliamentary Executive:

 England has parliamentary form of government while King is merely a titular head of the country.
 The real functions are performed by the representative ministers who belong to majority party in
the parliament.
 The king can summon them but they in actual practice parliament summon them. The king cannot
retain them in office at his pleasure. It is the pleasure of the parliament that can keep a minister in
saddle.

Sovereignty of Parliament:

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 British constitution stipulates sovereignty of law. Legally, parliament can make, amend and
repeal any law whether ordinary or constitutional. It command is law and is final.
 Its command neither requires ratification nor is subject to judicial review. No court in the country
can challenge the validity of the laws passed by the parliament. As De Lolme remarked, “The
British Parliament can do anything but make a man a woman and a woman a man”.

Rule of Law:

 It implies equality of all before law, its supremacy, uniformity and universality.
 All persons are equal before law irrespective of their position or ranks.
 This emphasises the supremacy of law and not of any individual.
 No one can be detained or imprisoned without a fair and proper trial.

Gap between Theory and Practice:

 There is a great gap between theory and practice that has derived from the unwritten character of
the constitution.
 In theory King or Queen is sovereign but in practice parliament is so.
 In theory, king or Queen can veto a bill but in practice no King or Queen can veto the bills passed
by parliament.
 In theory Queen or King is the fountainhead of patronage but in practice all honors are conferred
by the PM.

Mixed Constitution:

 British Constitution is a mixture of monarchy, aristocracy and democracy. The institution of king
show monarchy, the existence of the House of Lords shows aristocracy and The House of
Commons is popular that shows democracy.

Sources of British Constitution: Is it “A child of accident and design?”

 Normally constitution is a document that is drawn by a constituent assembly, or formulated by
legislature, or may have been laid down by the King through his proclamation. But in case of
Britain, English men never dew their political system in the shape of formal document.
 It is a child of chance and result of the necessities of the time and consequently remains
undefined and uncodified. Some enactments were made due to need of the time but they form a
small part of the constitution. Major part of British constitution has derived from customs, usages
and precedents and is therefore, unwritten.
 All laws whether constitutional or ordinary are passed, amended and repealed by the parliament.
Thus, there is supremacy of parliament than of constitution.
 The British constitution is not contained in a single written document. An elected representative
body by the British people for the purpose never enacted it.
 It was never promulgated on a specific date in history. It consists of various elements lying
scattered all over British history.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

Sources of British Constitution

 Conventions: Conventions are political usages which have developed over a period of time.
These conventions have not been enacted in statute and thus have no legal sanction behind them
but they are strictly followed by the government and people. For Example, the cabinet resigns
when it ceases to enjoy the confidence of the majority of the parliament. Another convention is
that the Prime Minister must belong to the House of Commons.
 Common Law: laws which are not laid down by British parliament nor ordained by the monarch
but have developed in England independently and have slowly gained recognition. The common
law developed out of customs and usages. The judges recognized some customs of the realm,
applied them to individual cases and set precedents for decisions in later cases.
 Annotation of Eminent Jurists: Jurists’ written comments on constitutional law.
 Judicial Decisions: The Judges interpret all statutes and charters and lay down their scope and
limitations. Some of such decisions have established principles of the constitution. For example,
independence of juries was firmly established by the judicial decision in the famous Bushel’s case
in 1670.
 Charters. Petitions and Statutes: There are a number of historic Charters and Statutes laying
some of the fundamental principles of British Constitution like, Magna Carta (1215), The
Petition Rights (1628), The Bill of Rights (1689), Act of Union with Scotland (1707), The People
Representation Act (1918), The Equal Franchise Act (1928) and the Parliament Act (1911 and
1948).
 A Child of Accident and Design: As British constitution has not established or promulgated on a
specific date and has evolved over the history due to needs and necessities of the time, therefore,
it is called a child of accident and design. it has not been framed or adopted by any constituent
elected body at a particular time, nor was it ordained or enforced by any monarch. All political
institutions like Bicameralism, Cabinet System, and Constitutional Monarchy were born out of
chance and expediency. Even the office of PM grew up instead of being created. That is why
Strachey is justified saying that British constitution is a child of wisdom and chance”.

Sovereignty of Parliament in England

Background:

The struggle between the king and the parliament was finally decided by the Glorious Revolution of 1688
which was further reinforced by the Act of Settlement 1701 which granted Sovereignty to British
Parliament. British Parliament consists of: The House of Commons, The House of Lords and The
Monarch. Therefore, sovereignty of Parliament means it supremacy. There is no law or institution beyond
British Parliament. De Lolme has said well, “Parliament can do anything except making a woman a man
and a man a woman”. British Parliament can adjudge a minor of full age, naturalize an alien or legitimize
a bastard. It personifies the British people. Therefore, when the parliament legislate, the whole nation
legislate.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

Aspects of Sovereignty of Parliament:

 There is no law which the parliament cannot make.

 It is competent to pass, amend and repeal both ordinary and constitutional laws.
 It is both a legislative body and constituent assembly.
 The parliament controls the ministry. Ministry remains in office as long as it retains confidence of
Parliament.
 It controls army, executive and judiciary.
 It can make laws annulling a decision of a court of law.
 It can establish an absolute monarchy or a communist society by an ordinary law.
 Laws passed by parliament whether ordinary or constitutional do not require ratification.
 Its word is law and is final.
 The parliament can extend its own life; can legislate for the abdication of a monarch or
restoration of a parliament. Like, in 1660, it restored Charles II to the throne, in 1936, it passed
Abdication Act of Edward VIII. It passed the septennial Act fixing its life 7 year and reduced it to
5 years by an Act in 1912.

Dicey sums up the unlimited authority of the parliament as follows:

 There is no law touching the UK which the parliament cannot make.

 There is no law already in force which the parliament cannot amend or repeal.
 There is no judicial authority in UK which can set aside laws passed by the parliament.

Limitation:

Legally, Parliament is sovereign to make, amend or repeal any law but in practice there are
certain limitations on parliament:

 It cannot pass laws which are against the established code of morality. If it does, public opinion
us sure to revolt against its authority because sovereignty of parliament is the result of a long
established custom.
 Rule of law and sovereignty of Parliament go together. Supremacy of Parliament is tolerated
because of Rule of Law. Rule of law establishes equality before law. Therefore, parliament
cannot pass a law that violates the rule of law as the liberty and freedom of people depends upon
the rule of law.
 Parliament legally legislate for the dominions but its powers are limited b conventions. For
example, any change touching the succession to throne, the royalties shall require the assent of
the legislatures of dominions apart from the parliament of UK. No law passed by the UK
parliament will be applicable to the dominions.
 The jurisdiction of the British Parliament is further curtailed by the International Law. It cannot
pass any law that violates IL.
 As matter of convention, parliament cannot pass a law that affects the interest of trade unions,
chamber of commerce without consulting these bodies.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 Parliament cannot pass a law that affects the fundamental principles of the state unless rectified
by the people through referendum, for example, Brixit took place after majority of people voted
in its favour in 2015.

Negative Aspects

 There is no authority in the country that can question the legality of the laws passed by the
Parliament. There is no system of judicial review. The courts cannot question the authority of the
parliament but can only interpret the laws passed by parliament.
 The judge cannot and do not declare any parliamentary legislation invalid.

Rule of Law
Introduction:

Ordinarily it means government of laws and not of men in England. Law is supreme over all and
none can claim exemption from law.

Implication:

 No one Can be Punished Except for Breach of Law: No one can be made to suffer in body or
goods except for a district breach of law. It means that no citizen of Great Britain can be arrested,
detained or imprisoned without a fair and proper trial in a court of law.
 No Arbitrary Power in the Hands of Executive: This principle also implies that the executive
does not have any arbitrary power to detain a citizen without fair trial. No person should be
deprived of his life, liberty and property arbitrarily.
 Equality before Law: No one in the country is beyond the law. All citizens of Great Britain are
equal before law irrespective of status, rank or condition. Dicey says that “every official, from
PM down to constable or tax collector is under the same responsibility for every act done without
purification, as any other citizen.
 Fundamental Rights of the People are Guaranteed by the Ordinary Law: the rule of law
implies that the people’s liberty and security etc are in England part of common law are the result
of judicial decisions unlike other countries like US or India where these rights are embodied in
their written constitutions. Therefore, the judiciary of Great Britain is the guardian of liberties and
rights of people.

Exception to the Rule of Law:

There are certain limitations which the principle of Rule of Law suffers from. Like:

 The Crown is not liable for the wrong done by its officer. A government official is personally
responsible for his mistakes made in his official capacity rather the institution.
 With the extension of the authority of executive to more fields like health, education, transport, it
has become customary to entrust the executive authorities with judicial powers. Therefore, the
distinction between the Rule of Law and the Administrative Law is fading.
 Judges cannot be held responsible for anything done by them in the official course of their
business.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 Foreign rulers and diplomatic representatives cannot be tried by any court in England for
wrongdoings.
 The servants of the Crown have practically no protection against the Crown even though they are
dismissed without a just cause.
 The action of the Home Minister regarding naturalization of aliens or cancellation oc citizens
cannot be challenged.
 Trade Unions enjoy a lot of immunity from law.
 Proceedings against a public official must be started in six months. After that the time lapses.
Similarly, hearing penalty is to be paid if a citizen’s lawsuit against an official of government
fails. This discourages action on part of private citizens against public officials.
 The King or Queen is not amenable to the jurisdiction of civil or criminal law.

In fact is the Rule of law of Parliament in England today to pass or repeal any law. It can establish
administrative courts or retrain people’s liberty and so on. Although, the Rule of Law suffered a lot in last
few decades in but it is still the protector of human rights and democracy in England and a heritage for the
rest of the world.

Cabinet
Introduction:

The Cabinet is defined as a body of Royal advisors, chosen by the PM in the name of the Crown.
Its members must be part of either of the Houses of Parliament and belong to the party in power in the
Lower House (The House of Commons). Cabinet is the real power holder in UK. It is called “the steering
wheel of the state”. It is a small body of ministers who take all decisions regarding the policy of the
government. King or Queen is the nominal head of the state while the real responsibility of carrying the
administration falls on the shoulders of the cabinet.

Cabinet Development in England:

Cabinet system is the greatest contribution of English people to the art of government. During Norman
rule in England Curia Regis or Royal Council came into existence. During the reign of Edward VI, its
name name was changed and it came to be known as Privy Council. The Cabinet is the child of the Privy
Council. The Cabinet system further developed during the reign of William III and Queen Anne. The
principle of party government was established during this period. During the reign of George I, the office
of Prime Minister came into existence.

Difference between Privy Council and Cabinet:

 Privy Council is a defunct body consisting of 359 members while Cabinet is fewer. Thus, Privy
Council is a bigger body while Cabinet is a small body of Ministers.
 All cabinet Ministers are the members of the Privy Council because till now law does not
recognize the Cabinet. No One is officially appointed as Cabinet Minister.
 Ministers are first appointed as Privy Councilor and then summoned to Cabinet meeting.
 The work of the Privy Council is of formal character.

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 The meeting of the Privy Council is only convened when there is the Coronation of the
King/Queen or other such ceremony while normally, 4 or 5 Cabinet Ministers who are also Privy
Councilors meet at Buckingham Palace and act in the name of Privy Council.

Difference between Cabinet and Ministry

The cabinet is also different from Ministry in UK in the following respect.

 Ministry is a body that includes all Cabinet members.

 The Ministry consists of all Ministers who are members of either House of Parliament and are
responsible to it for their policies while the Cabinet is smaller body consisted of the important
ministers selected by the PM.
 They hold the office as long as they enjoy the confidence of the House of Commons.
 There are more than sixty ministers in the Ministry but there are sixteen to twenty five Ministers
who enjoy the Cabinet rank.
 The Ministry does not meet as body for the transaction of government business or formulate
policies while the Cabinet as a body meets to formulate the policies of the government.
 A minister is merely the head of a department and has no role in policy making while Cabinet
takes decisions and communicate them to the ministers.

Ministers of Cabinet

The following ministers are taken into cabinet:

 First Lord of the Treasury: That is the Prime Minister himself.

 The Chancellor of Exchequer:
 The Minister of Defense.
 The Secretary of the State for Foreign Office.
 The Secretary of the State of Home Office.
 The Secretary of the State for Commonwealth Relations.
 The Secretary of State for Colonial Office
 The Lord President of the Council
 The Lord Privy Seal.

Formation of Cabinet

 After the general election, the King/Queen asks the leader of the majority party, the Prime
Minister, to form the ministry.
 The cabinet members must be member of either of the House of Parliament.
 The PM puts up a list of ministers, especially, the important and senior members of his party, to
the king/queen for appointment. Approval of king or queen is a ceremonial, by convention the
king or queen has to approve the recommended ministers.
 Role of King: Although the king/queen does not have key role in formation of the cabinet but if
the cabinet resigns, the king is free to ask the leader of opposition and appoint him as PM. The
king has freedom when no single party wins absolute majority in the House of Commons or when
the PM resigns or dies. E.g. in 1984 when Gladston resigned, Queen Victoria appointed Lord

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Rosebery.
 Role of PM: PM is central to the formation, continuance and dismissal of the cabinet. If a
minister differs with his policy, he resigns from the cabinet. By Convention of 1923, the PM must
belong to the House of Commons. In 1923, the king appointed Mr. Baldwin because he belonged
to the House of Commons and set aside the claim of Lord Curzon because he was from the House
of Lords.

Throwing off the Cabinet:

The cabinet may be thrown out of the office by an adverse vote in the House of Commons in the
following manners:

 A token cut may be made in the salary of a minister during the budget discussion by a majority
vote in the House of Commons.
 The House may reject a Bill initiated by the minister and declared vital by the Cabinet.
 The House may pass a Bill opposed by the cabinet.
 The House may pass a vote of censure against a certain minister. A vote of no confidence against
one minister is considered as a vote of no confidence against the entire cabinet. The cabinet must
sink or swim together.
 The House may pass a straight vote of no confidence regarding the general policy of the
government.
 The PM also has the power to request the king throw the cabinet or a minister.

Functions of the Cabinet

Cabinet in UK enjoys central position and authority in the government. Ramsay Muir calls the cabinet as
“the steering wheel of the state”. Lowell calls it the “keystone of the political arch”. Cabinet in UK
controls both administration and legislation. Key functions of the cabinet are the following:

Policy-determining Function:

 Cabinet is the policy formulating body. It discusses and decides all national and international
problems and attempts to reach unanimous agreement. The cabinet must formulate and present a
single policy to the parliament.
 An administrative branch carries the policy for action. If it conflicts with the existing law, the
administration with the help of cabinet legislates for it. The minister initiate a bill in parliament
and the cabinet defend it and it is enacted.

Executive Functions:

 Cabinet is the real executive contrary to the King or Queen who is nominal.
 Cabinet formulates general policy of the government, determines foreign policy and decides
questions regarding the war and peace.
 The minister in charge of foreign affairs negotiates treaties and agreements of all sorts with
foreign states on behalf of the cabinet. He ratifies treaties without formal approval of the
parliament.

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 The ministers make all important appointments. Each minister is in charge of a particular
department and conducts its administration.
 The cabinet coordinates the activities of various departments and decides their inter-departmental
disputes.

Legislative Functions:

 Cabinet not only controls executive but it also controls the legislation.
 The parliament is summoned and prorogued by the king on the advice of the cabinet.
 The on the advice of the PM may dissolve the House of Commons before expiry of its term.
 Cabinet prepares the speech for King or Queen in beginning of each session that outlines the
general policy and legislative programme of the cabinet.
 All important bills in the parliament are introduced, explained and defended on the floor of the
House by the members of the cabinet. A bill that does not have the support of the cabinet has little
chances of success in parliament.

Financial Function:

 Budget is prepared by the Chancellor of Exchequer, an important member of the cabinet. He

introduces it in the House of Commons. Although, budget is not disclosed to the cabinet but
before it introduction but disputes regarding various climates are settled in the cabinet.
 The budget is passed as it is by simple majority in the Lower House and no demand for grant can
be cut down without the willing consent of the cabinet.

Judicial Functions:

 The Judges of the important courts are appointed by the King on the advice of the Lord
Chancellor, a member of the cabinet.
 The powers of pardon, reprieve and respite are exercised by the king on the advice of the
Secretary of state for Home Affairs.

The Cabinet as a Coordinator

 One of the most important functions of cabinet is to coordinate between various departments and
components of the government to bring harmony and unison. Cabinet performs all the inter-
departmental functions and resolve their disputes if they fail to resolve them themselves.

Therefore, it is evident from the discussion that cabinet almost dominates and controls every activity of
the government in UK and is thus, am important and powerful component of the government.

Salient Features of the Cabinet

 Exclusion of the King: King is not the deciding figure or presiding body of cabinet meetings.
Exclusion of king happened during the reign of George I who was a German and did not
understand English that is why he would not participate in cabinet meetings.
 Political Homogeneity: Members of cabinet belong to the same political party and have
homogeneous views.

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 Close relationship between executive and the Legislative: being from the majority party,
Cabinet has close relation with the legislative in the House of Commons.
 Unity of Cabinet: the Cabinet always acts as one unit. They say the same thing in the parliament
and to the public.
 Ministerial Responsibility: Ministers are responsible for their advice to the king and should be
responsible for the legality of his actions in the court. Ministers countersign every act of the King.
That is why it is said that, “King can do no wrong”. Ministers are also responsible to the House of
Commons.
 Leadership of the PM: PM form the cabinet and assigns portfolios to ministers. The cabinet
members work under his guidance and directions. He presides over the meetings of the cabinet.
He can call for the resignation of a minister if the minister does not approve his policy.
 Secrecy of the Cabinet Proceedings: all cabinet members observe secrecy of the proceedings of
the cabinet. Cabinet is a secret body responsible for the decisions of the cabinet.
 Cabinet Committees: The cabinet acts through various sub-committees like, the Defense
Committee is the most important. Foreign affairs committee. They are presided over by the PM.
The decisions of these committees are generally accepted by the cabinet.

Cabinet of England a Virtual Dictator

In Theory:

 In theory the ministers are responsible to the parliament

 The tenure of their office depends upon the will of the House of Commons. Parliament can
remove the cabinet by a vote of no confidence.
 Cabinet is under the general control and supervision of the parliament.

In Practice:

 The cabinet is the master of its own because it enjoys the support of the majority in the HOC.
 Once the cabinet comes into power, it cannot be ousted by the adverse vote in the House.
 The cabinet control legislation: it introduces, explains and defends legislative measures in the
House. The House has to accept them.
 The Approval of the House is merely a formality.
 Cabinet summons, adjourn and prorogue the Parliament at will.
 It also controls state finance. Chancellor of the Exchequer decides the budget.
 Cabinet make treaties with other states without consultation of parliament.

Therefore, it is the cabinet that has taken all functions of the House and parliament has become only a
registering body.

Reasons for the Powerfulness of the Cabinet:

 Party Discipline: The main reason for the cabinet dictatorship lies in the growth of rigid party
discipline. In 19th century ministers were hired as functionaries and had little power. But later the
situation changed altogether party system has developed due to increase in the number voters.
Therefore, allegiance to party has become mandatory which make power to the majority party in

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the House.
 Power of Dissolution: its power to dissolve the House of Commons strengthens cabinet before
its term.
 Two-party System: Another factor is two party system. The parties dominating the House are
the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. It is unlikely for a member of one party to join the
other. Therefore, cabinet is fully backed by its party in majority which strengthens it.
 Delegated Legislation: House of Commons is overburdened with work. Therefore, it delegates a
good deal of tasks to the cabinet.
 Committee System: Most of the controversial matters are thrashed out in the committees of
cabinet.
 National Emergencies: Emergencies like WWI etc delegated huge powers to the then
governments.

Prime Minister of UK
Introduction:

Laski has well said that, “The key-stone of the cabinet arch is the Prime Minister”. PM is central to
cabinet’s formation, central to its life and central to its death. The British PM is more than the primus
inter pares, but less than autocrat. He leads the majority party. PM and Cabinet are responsible for all
state’s policies and administration.

Background:

 The office of PM is also the product of a convention which evolved over a period of time.
 Originated from during the Revolutionary Settlement (1688-1720) when power shifted from King
to Parliament but with little legal recognition of the post.
 By 1830’s PM became “first among equals” in the cabinet and Head of Her Majesty’s
Government but currently, he is the master of the cabinet.
 Till the Ministers of Crown Act 1937, the position of PM was not legally recognized.
 Before it, the title of PM appeared only in 1878 in the Treaty of Berlin and in 1905 in the Order
of Precedence mentioning his name at number 5 below the Archbishop of York.
 But currently, the PM enjoys supreme position in British Constitution.

Requirements for Being PM

 Leader of the majority party.

 Must be member of the House of Commons.
 Elected for five year term.
 After general election, the leader of the majority party or coalition of parties is asked and selected
by the Crown as PM.
 Current the PM receives 132923 Pounds in addition to his salary 60277 Pounds as member of the
parliament. .
 His residence is Number 10 Downing Street.

Power and Functions of the PM Office

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Leader of the Cabinet:

 If cabinet is the engine of the ship of the state, the PM is its driver. Cabinet is the real government
and he is the master of the cabinet. PM forms the cabinet.
 He appoints and dismisses the Ministers the ceremonial approval of the king.
 He is chairman of the cabinet and presides over all its meetings.
 A policy supported by the PM is more likely to be approved in the cabinet.
 He can ask his colleagues to accept his views or resign from cabinet. If the cabinet or member of
cabinet does not agree with his view, he can dismiss the minister or the entire cabinet.

Leader of the House of Commons:

 PM is the Leader of the Parliament that is the House of Commons.

 He makes all announcements regarding the government policy in the House.
 He is the chief representative of Government and cabinet in the House and faces the burden of the
opposition’s stacks.

Source of Communication between the Cabinet and the Queen

 He is a link between the cabinet and the queen.

 He is the chief advisor of the Crown not only for England, but for Commonwealth and British
colonies.
 Although, every minister has access to the Queen, yet no colleague of PM accesses her without
PM’s consultation.
 On his advice the King or Queen exercises his/her statutory powers and prerogative powers like,
the dissolution of parliament, high judicial, political, official and Church of England ecclesiastical
appointments and awards and honours.

Control over Foreign Affairs

 PM acts as the public “face” and “voice” of Her Majesty’s government both at home and abroad.
 The Secretary of Foreign Affairs remains in constant contact with the PM for all important mattes
of foreign policy.
 All foreign treaties and agreements are initiated on his behalf but he seldom participates in
international conferences.
 PM also holds power over the deployment and disposition of forces and the declaration of war.

Control over Finance:

 The Chancellor of Exchequer prepares the budget but he constantly consults the PM about the
financial affairs.

Appointments and Patronage:

 He appoints a number of officials like, ambassadors and diplomatic representatives, Governor

Generals of Dominions, Governors of colonies, senior civil servants, senior military officer,
members of important committees and other officials. He also formally advise the King/queen on

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the appointment of Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of England.

 He also recommends awards of all titles and honours like, peerages, knighthoods etc by the
Queen to distinguished persons in the society.

Manager-in-Chief of the Government

 He is the chief coordinator of policies of the several ministries and departments.

 He is also the chairman of all important committees, like, foreign affairs, defense and economic
policy.

Therefore, his constitutional powers and functions make him the political ruler of England. He is the most
powerful constitutional ruler in the world, even more powerful than the President of US. He is in fact the
virtual dictator of the government with the majority of in the House.

The PM is a Dictator:

 He can ask any minister to resign.

 He asks the queen to dissolve the House of Parliament.
 He can resign himself: his resignation will mean the resignation of the entire cabinet.

He is not a Dictator:

 Resignation of minister may cause rift in the party, cabinet and the Parliament.
 The people don’t have faith in a cabinet that changes now and then.
 Asking the queen to dissolve the parliament has the many complications too: Fresh election
means expense of millions of pounds to which no party may be ready to spend.
 The risk of losing in case of re-election.

The House of Commons

Introduction:

It is the popular chamber and lower House of British parliament that is directly elected by the people for
five years. It can be dissolved before the expiry of its term if the PM and cabinet wish to. The House can
extend its term beyond five years in case of national emergency It is the most vital part of British
Parliament. Normally, the name of Parliament refers to the House of Commons.

Formation of the House of Commons:

 The present strength of the House of Commons is 650.

 There are single member territorial constituencies. The Labour Party Government in 1948
abolished the right of double voting and multiple constituencies.
 The House of Commons is elected on the basis of adult franchise, secret ballot and direct voting.
Every person of age 18 has the right to vote.
 Every person of age 25 can contest election. However, insane, criminals, aliens, holders of office
of profit etc cannot stand for election.

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 Its presiding officer: the HOC is presided over by the Mr. Speaker who is elected by the House
and is formally confirmed by the Queen/King. The moment the speaker is elected, he ceases to
have any loyalties to any party. He becomes neutral.

Powers and Functions of HOC

The House of Commons being the most important part of British Parliament enjoys distinguished powers
and functions. Some of them are the following:

Legislative Functions

 It can make, amend and repeal both ordinary and constitutional laws.
 There is very few checks over its legislative authority. The veto of King has fallen in disuse.
 The House of Lords also plays an insignificant part in law making because its wings were clipped
in the Parliament Act 1911. It can only delay a Non-money bill for not more than one year and a
Money Bill for not more than one month.

Financial Powers:

 HOC exercises control over the state finance. A Money Bill can only be initiated in the HOC.
 Every year in February the Chancellor of Exchequer places the budget before the House.
 It determines the expenditure of government and raising of taxes.
 Once the HOC passes a Bill, the House of Lords cannot delay it more than a month. After one
month, the bill is forwarded to the king for formal signature even if it is not approved by the
HOL.
 The HOC also monitors, audit and criticizes the manner of spending.

Control over the Executive

 British has a parliamentary or cabinet system in which cabinet exercise the executive powers and
is responsible to the parliament for its actions.
 The HOC makes or unmakes the cabinet.
 The cabinet remains in office as long as it enjoys the confidence of the House. The House can
indicate its lack of confidence in the cabinet by rejecting Bills introduced by Cabinet or a
minister, refuse to support, or oppose passing of a bill or straight away give vote-of no confidence
against the cabinet. As a result, the cabinet either resigns or request the dissolution of the
parliament.

Ventilation of Grievances

 HOC has fixed an hour for asking questions (the question hour) on each day the house meets.
 The questions may be about ordinary problems, mistreatment of official, defense, foreign policy
which gives an idea to the House about public opinion.
 The House also affords a considerable protection against negligence, inefficient, arbitrary,
extravagant or oppressive administration.

Position of the House:

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 Although, theoretically, the HOC is very powerful but in practice it is dominated by the cabinet.
Cabinet has become master of the Parliament. More than 85% Bills are initiated by the cabinet.
No bill can be passed without the support of the cabinet.
 Chancellor of the Exchequer prepares the budget. Therefore, cabinet has control over legislation
and state finance while the House is merely a passive signatory.
 In executive, the house does not have significant role as the MP’s support the cabinet because of
their affiliation and risk of losing the favours of the PM and cabinet.
 The House holds the right of the vote of no confidence against the cabinet but no cabinet has been
ousted by such vote so far since 1895. It is because the cabinet belongs to the majority party, the
party discipline is strict which hinder crossing the floor by MP’s.
 The cabinet has the power to request dissolution of the House, therefore, the members submit to
the wishes of the cabinet than facing dissolution.

Importance of the HOC

 Despite of cabinet’s hegemony, the House still holds some role. It reflects people opinion. Every
bill is discussed that provides the cabinet with people’s temperament.
 The cabinet is also responsible and answerable to the HOC for its actions. It has to inform,
explain and satisfy the HOC about its policies.
 The cabinet has to carry its party members along by persuading them, appealing to them but not
by threatening them. Discussion in the party meetings controls the cabinet to a very large extent.
 Therefore, the House forms the cabinet, keep vigilance upon it, criticize its policies and keep it on
the right path. The house, ventilates grievances, extracts information, gives direction by passing
resolutions and selects leader.

The Monarchy/The Nominal Executive

Introduction

The institution of monarchy has existed in England since the Roman times, except for a decade of Puritan
Commonwealth (1649-1660). The British monarchy traces its origin from the king of Angels and the
early Scottish kings. The last Anglo-Saxon monarch Harold II was defeated and killed in the Norman
invasion in 1066 AD and the English monarchy passed to Norman conquerors. In 1215 Magna Carta
began the process of reducing the political powers of the Monarch. in 1707, the kingdoms of England and
Scotland were merged to create the Kingdom of Great Britain and in 1801, Kingdom of Ireland joined to
create the United Kingdom of Great Britain. It was in the English Bill of Right 1689 and the Act of
Settlement 1701 that sovereignty was shifted to the Parliament and much powers were transferred from
king to the Crown.

During the last ten centuries, England has had fifty three monarchs including five women.

Succession to Throne:

It is a hereditary institution which is regulated according to the law of succession passed by the
parliament time to time. The present succession to throne is regulated under the Act of Settlement of
1701. This Act says that the throne should pass over to heirs of the princess Sophia of Hanover. The

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1914, the Royal Family was designated as the House of Hanover. According to the Act only Protestants
are eligible to the throne. The elder son is to be preferred to the younger. Male heirs are preferred to
female of the same degree. Parliament has to provide for a new dynasty by amending the rules of
succession.

Annual Grant to the Monarch

The British monarchs receive an annual grant from the national treasury. It is called Civil List which is
determined by the parliament for the maintenance of the Monarch and his/her family.

The King or Queen Reign but does not Rule

Background

The constitutional history of England begins with absolute monarchy. The king had the supreme
authority. He was the source of laws, head of executive authority and fountainhead of justice and honour.
With the growth of democratic ideas, the power of king as person began to be transferred to the Crown as
an institution gradually. By and by, the king was reduced to the position of a nominal head or
constitutional head of the institution and his powers began to be exercised by the Crown: a strange
combination of the King, Privy Council, Cabinet and Parliament..

Difference between Monarch/King and Monarchy/ Crown

The distinction between the monarch or and monarchy or Crown is that Monarch or King refer to a person
while Monarchy and Crown are institutions. The British constitution says, “The king is dead, long live the
king”. The first king refers to the king as a person, and latter means the institution.

Democratization of Monarch and Monarchy

The people of Britain fought against the powers of king and gradually force the kings to surrender their
powers to the cabinet and parliament. Monarchy has been retained but it has been fitted in the framework
of democracy and parliament. The Queen of present UK is not a demigoddess but a nominal and
constitutional head of a parliamentary democracy. The laws and the customs bind her. The powers once
exercised by the monarch have now been transferred to the Crown as institution.

Powers of the King

The king or queen still wears the crown on ceremonial occasions and enjoys great prestige. In strict legal
sense, king or queen still enjoys absolute power in executive, legislative and judicial spheres but these
powers are legal fictions because all these powers are now exercised by the Crown as an institution in the
name of the king or queen. The king/queen has delegated all the powers of government to the Parliament
either by statute or by constitutional convention.

Executive Powers:

 Chief executive Head of the state. The whole administration is run in the name of His/Her
Majesty.

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 King or Queen is the supreme commander of the armed forces. In this capacity He/She makes all
appointments in army, navy and air force.
 God Save the Queen is the British national anthem.
 The monarch appears on postage stamps, coins and banknotes.

Appointment of the Prime Minister

 The monarch is responsible for the appointment of the PM. As a convention the, Sovereign must
appoint an individual who commands the support of the majority party in the House of Commons.
 The PM takes office by attending the Monarch in private audience and Kissing Hands and the
appointment is effective without any further formality.
 In a hung parliament without clear majority, the Monarch has greater choice of choosing the
individual who is likely to command the most support (normally the leader of the largest party).

Dissolution of Parliament

 Under a constitutional convention (Lascelles Principle) of 1950’s, if a minority party requests the
Monarch to dissolve the party for early election, the king or queen could refuse.
 By convention, the king or queen dissolve the House of Commons if requested by the PM in
office.

Royal’s Prerogative

 Some executive authority is theoretically and nominally vested in the Sovereign and is known as
the Royal Prerogative. The monarch acts within the constraints of convention and precedents,
exercising prerogative on the advice of the Ministers, normally the PM, who are responsible to
the parliament.
 Dissolution of cabinet or parliament on the advice of PM.
 Appoint or dismiss ministers on PM’s advice.
 Declare war, make peace, direct the action of military.
 Negotiate and ratify treaties, make alliances, and international agreements.
 Receives diplomats from foreign states.

Summons and Prorogue the Parliament (Legislative Powers).

 It is the prerogative of the monarch to summon, prorogue and dissolve parliament.

 Each session of parliament begins with monarch’s summons.
 The Monarch on the advice of PM can prorogue the parliament. E.g. Boris Johnson requested
prorogue of parliament on the matter of Brixit in 2019.
 Any law or Bill passed by the parliament becomes law after the assent of the Sovereign.

Appointment of First Minister

 The monarch has similar relationship with the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland. The Sovereign appoints the First Minister of these Federating Units on the
nomination of their respective Parliament of Assembly. In case of Wales, the Sovereign acts on
the advice of PM or cabinet of UK.

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 The Sovereign can also veto a law passed by the Northern Ireland if it is deemed unconstitutional
by the secretary of state for Northern Ireland.

Fountain of Justice

 Judicial functions are performed in his or her name.

 It appoints all the judges but it cannot dismiss them unless both Houses of the Parliament present
a joint address.
 It enjoys the power of pardon, reprieve and general amnesty.
 “The monarch can do no wrong” because all her actions are countersigned by the ministers.

Fount of Honour

 The monarch creates all peerages, appoints members of the orders of chivalry, grants knighthoods
and awards other honours but most of these are done on the advice of PM.

Theory vs Practice

Though, all the powers mentioned above are exercised in the name of the Monarch, yet these are
all powers of the Crown (The Parliament). The king is merely a ceremonial part of the Crown. The king is
a rubber stamp which is affixed on orders issued by the ministers. The king is a figurehead because he
cannot even refuse to agree with the ministers in any matter.

 Appointment of officials is recommended by the cabinet and PM and the king by convention has
to approve it.
 Negotiation of agreements, treaties, declaring war and making peace are theoretically done by
king but in practice the cabinet and PM perform all these.
 The monarch creates all peerages, appoints members of the orders of chivalry, grants knighthoods
and awards other honours but most of these are done on the advice of PM.
 All laws and bills are normally initiated by the cabinet and only ceremonially approved by the
king.

Therefore, it is evident that the king or queen of England in reality has become a titular or ceremonial
head while the actual power rest in the hands of PM and his cabinet.

Retaining the Monarchy

Despite of the being democratic, UK has retained the institution of monarchy that seems misfit in the
modern democracy. The 20th century witnessed dethroning of many monarchs around the world because
monarchy is detested in the modern democracy. In UK the monarchy has been democratized in her
constitution by curtailing its powers and functions and reducing it to a ceremonial head. That is main
reason of the survival of monarchy in UK. The king is no more the directing force in the political and
administrative machine.

Reasons of Monarchy’s Survival

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 Conservatism: The people of Britain are conservative who do not wish to give up their cultural
values in revolutionary or radical manner. They want to retain their ancient ideas and institution
with the required modification. Therefore, monarchy is also one of those ancient institutions that
has survived.
 Lack of Republican Sentiments: People of England have little republican sentiments because
when they could easily abolish monarchy in 1689, they did not abolish it and asked William
Orange and his wife Mary to occupy the throne when King James II left the throne and fled to
France. Eve in the present time, there is no opposition to the existence of the throne except the
communist section.
 Symbol of Commonwealth: The king has proved to be the symbol of unity and has thus kept
bound together various religious and social sects of the society. Similarly, in 1949, in the
Commonwealth declaration, King was recognized as the symbol of free association of the
independent member nations of the Commonwealth and as head of the Commonwealth. He or
She is the golden chain that binds together the Commonwealth nations together. Commonwealth
nations are sovereign states and the king of England is their nominal head which give the nation
of England feelings of pride.
 Mediator in Politics: The king plays the role of mediator between different conflicting political
parties because he/she belongs to no party and his/her sole object is welfare and solidarity of the
nation.
 Titular Head of Parliamentary Government: A parliamentary government presupposes the
existence of a chief executive with nominal powers like president in India, France of Pakistan.
Therefore, King is assumed as the titular head instead of president. The permanent tenure of the
king provide stability because in case of resignation of ministers, all authority reverts to the
king/queen.
 Patriotism: King is not part of a political party or representative of a particular class but the
chief of a nation which incorporate the feelings of patriotism.
 Head of Social Life: King is the head of the social life, leader of the British nobility and gentry.
The social and moral standards set by the Royal family become a sort of ethical code for the
English nation.
 Influence in Politics: despite of surrendering all his powers, the king still has enough influence
over the politics of the country. He encourages, warns and gives opinion in various political
matters. Victoria appointed ministers and prevented the appointment of ministers during her
reign.
 It is not costly: Queen Elizabeth is paid 470000 Dollars beside 240000 to other members of
Royal Family which is similar to the Civil List of an elected president in other countries.

Therefore, despite its anachronism in democracy, the British monarchy is becoming more and more
popular.

Question Hour

 The “Question Hour” in the House of Commons has a vital importance. On each day the House
meets, an hour is set apart for answering various questions from the ministers.
 Each member of the House can ask four questions at a time.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 The questions relate to any problem or matter. The questions should not be contain any argument
or inference nor should they be ironical, or carry some imputation.
 The Speaker can reframe the questions or drop them all together if he considers them improper.
 The minister may refuse to answer if the questions refer to some confidential information.
 The question hour is both a source of information and all their flaws and failings are exposed
before the House. The answers enrich the knowledge of the members and get a peep into the inner
-working of the government because the answers are given after careful preparation.
 They also provide them with a source of enjoyment because the questions are sometimes very
embarrassing which sometimes drag the ministers into hot waters.
 The members have no right to discuss the answers given by the ministers to the question. It
matters little if they are dissatisfied.

Committee System of Britain

Introduction

Committee System is employed in all the legislatures of the world. It has become an essential part
of legislative procedure on account of the following reasons:

Reasons for Having Committee System

 Modern legislatures are huge bodies and are unfit for effective deliberations. Matters introduced
in the House cannot be understood and healthy discussion on their implication and consequences
cannot be held. Therefore, legislature all over the world assigns preliminary work to certain
committees.
 Pressure on the legislative which cannot be completed without the help of small committees.
 The House lacks time and technical knowledge and the modern legislation is highly technical.
Therefore, committees consist of experts who deal with the matters in through thorough and close
examination.
 The committees provide therefore, provide technical assistance and speedy analyses of various
matters to the House which save its time.

Background

The House of Commons long resisted the adoption of committee system and it was in the late 19th century
that two committees were formed on the style of French Chamber. Their number rose to four in the first
decade of 20th century. In 1919, six committees were formed which was later reduced to five in 1926.
Currently, there are five committees in UK.

Formation of Committees:

 All committee except the Committee of the Whole House are selected by the Committee of
Selection.
 The members of the committees are conference between the government and the opposition party
leaders.
 Majority of the members goes to the supporters of the government.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 The Committee of Selection nominates members to the various committees generally in

proportion to the strength of the various parties in the House.

Composition, Nature and Functions of Committees

1. The Sessional Committees: The committees are chosen by the House for the entire session. Each
committee is meant for a specific work. For example, there is a Committee of Selection whose
function is to select members to the Standing Committees and Private Bills Committees. These
Sessional Committees consist of 3 to 17 members. They deal with miner matters.
2. The Standing Committees: these are six in number:
 Scottish Affairs Committee and five others are known alphabetically. Each committee
consists of 20 permanent members and 15 to 30 additional members. A committee may
have maximum sixty members.
 In all committees, the government and opposition have proportionate representation.
Members are selected by the Committee of Selection.
 The chairman of the Standing Committees is nominated normally from the majority
party.
 The committees do not have specific purpose but Public Bills may be referred to them for
consideration. The Bills after second reading in the House are referred to a certain
Standing Committee which scrutinizes and polishes them thoroughly and report back to
the House.
3. The Select Committee:
 As a rule the Select Committee has 15 members.
 These committees are form for a special purpose and come to end when their purpose is
fulfilled. Such committee is formed in case of a special bill that may need closer
examination and deliberation.
 The Committee of Selection also selects these committees.
 A Select Committee elects its own Chairman.
4. The Committee of the Whole House: the Whole House sits as a committee to discuss the
budget.
 The Speaker leaves his chair so the House may not seem in session.
 The Chairman of the Committee is chosen in the beginning of each Parliament who
presides over its meetings.
 The rules are relaxed and a member can speak as many times as he likes.
 When this committee considers revenue measures, it is known as The Committee of
Ways and Means.
 When it discusses the expenditures, it is known as the Committee of Supply.
 When the work of the committee is finished, the committee rises, the chairman leaves and
the Speaker resumes his duty.
 The Chairman of the committee reports to the House about various conclusions arrived
at.
5. The Private Bill Committee: These are small committees consisting of 4 or 5 members who are
selected by the Committee of Selection from amongst the list prepared by the party whips.
 These committees are quasi-judicial in character.
 They consider and report on Private Bills.

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 They listen to all the parties and persons interested in the Bills.

Advantages of the Committees:

None can deny the importance of committees and its role in legislation.

 They save the time of the parliament.

 It also brings about technically better legislation.
 Although, the committees cannot modify or change the principles and broad outlines of the Bills
but may modify certain clauses of measure.

Committee System of England and America

Both the British House of Commons and the American House of Representatives make extensive use of
Committees but with a vital difference.

British Committee System American Committee System

The House of Commons has not delegated its In US, the Standing Committees are real
powers of legislation to the Committees. The legislative bodies. President Woodrow Wilson
function of the Committees is to revise the Bills called them “miniature legislature”. Bills are
and offer technical advice. given a proper shape in the Committees and the
debate over a Bill in the House is formal.
Chairmen of the Committees of HOC are The Chairmen of the Committees of the House of
generally neutral and impartial though they Representatives are thoroughly partisan.
belong to the majority party.
The Committees in England work under the In America due to absence of the executive in the
leadership of the Cabinet. House, the Chairman of the Committees enjoy
this leadership.
The Committees must report back all the Bills The Committees may not report unless asked by
referred to them without exception. the majority of the House. In this way, the
Committees may kill a number of Bills
themselves.
Bills are referred to the Committees after their In America, Bills are referred to the Committees
principles have been approved by the House. before general principles are approved by the
House. It results in wastage of time and labour if
the House rejects the Bills later.
The Committees are free from the influence of In America, various Bills are shaped during the
vested interests. Committee Stage by special interests through
lobbying.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

The constitution of the united states of the America:

Introduction:

The American constitution is adopted on 17th September 1787 and finally effective on 4 march 1789. Her
name shines like a comet. In international politics she possesses supremacy. She is the rejuvenator and
builder of the western democracies of European economy against the alarming threat of communism. Its
history is old only four hundred years. She has gone through various stages towards development ass that
of imperialism, nationalism, industrialism and democracy. It was the philosophy of John Lock that
stabilized the Glorious Revolution. It was Montesquiueu who expounded the theory of separation of
powers and they strictly adhere to this doctrine. It was here that the concept of union without unity was
adopted and mooted here for the first time. It is the oldest constitution among the written constitutions. It
is the most powerful in terms of economic and military in the world.

Features of the USA constitution:

Written character:

 Written character and brief one.

 7 articles and 26 amendments till date.
 It is clothed with the conventions, customs, judicial decisions and legislative measures.

Conventions and usages:

 A strong jacket was not made to the constitution.

 They provided with a skeleton which was to be supplied by the flesh and blood by way customs,
traditions and usages.
 For instance, the framers provided for indirect election of the president but due to conventions the
election held directly.

Rigidity:

 The most rigid constitution in the world.

 Lengthy and cumbersome process is applied for its amendment.
 Nearly 200 years of working, it has only twenty-sic amendments.

Federal character:

 Originally a federation of 13 states but due the admission of more states, its number increased to
50 states.
 Constitutional division has been made between the center and states.
 Defined powers are given to the federal and the residuary powers are given to the states.

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 States exercises all the powers and not delegated to the central.
 The constitution has created weak center because the residuary powers has been given to states.

Presidential form of government:

 He is head of the executive branch of the state.

 He is not responsible to the congress in a manner in which in other countries the president is
responsible to the legislature.
 The president does not attend the session of legislature. He does not invite the legislature directly
nor answer the questions directly.
 Congress cannot remove the president in office until a serious crime attempted by the president
and then through impeachment his removal is done.

Supremacy of the constitution;

 It is the supreme law of the land.

 Neither the center nor the states can override it.
 The supreme-court can declare a law or an executive order null and void repugnant to the
constitution.

Bicameral legislature:

 American legislature is consists of two houses.

 Upper house is known as senate and the lower house is termed as house of representative.
 Senate is more powerful than the lower house and the most powerful upper chamber in the world.
 It is equipped with executive, legislature and judicial powers.
 Tenure is six years and consists of 100 members.

Spoil system:

 It is another ingredient to the US constitution.

 The coming president selects his own ministers and appointees which have to serve the president.
 As long as the president is in power, they hold the office till that.

Dual citizenship:

 The citizens have the citizenship of the USA as well the respective state in they reside.
 Sovereignty lies with the people of USA.

Separation of powers;

 It is based on the theory of separation of powers.

 Although, the three wings of administration are inter-dependent but yet an attempt has been
made to put them aloof that may not violate and overlap each other.

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 It is to retain the liberty of the people and check over the despotism.

Check and balance system:

 The framers were aware of the fact that if they left the three organs strictly unchecked, there will
be despotism.
 For this purpose they introduce the system of checks and balance.
 To keep each compartment within its working sphere, this system was required.
 The treaties of president are subject to the approval of senate, which is check over president’s
power and in response the president possesses the power of suspensive-veto.

Guarantee of the individual liberty:

 Every American possesses certain fundamental right of which he cannot be deprived even legally.
 Freedom of speech, religious worship, right to assemble peacefully and right to live and property.

Judicial review:

 Supreme court of USA is both supreme in theory and in practice.

 The laws passed by the congress can be nullified by the court if that seems repugnant to the
constitution or any basic fundamental rights of the citizens.

Sovereignty of the people:

 The preamble of the constitution says that “we the people of America” which shows that there the
supreme authority is with the people.
 In the words of a well-known French writer, the American people rule in the political world as
deity does in the universe.

SOURCES OF AMERICAN CONSTITUTION:

Following are the source of American constitution:

Original document/written constitution of 1787:

 The original document was drafted in the convention of Philadelphia in 1787.

 It came into effect in 1789.
 The original states were 13 but later on the admission of states into the federal system increased
and reached to the numbers of 50.
 The original constitution is too short having 7 articles only.

Conventions:

 A convention is a custom which by long usage has acquired the force of sanctity of the
constitution.
 For example it is said that in the appointment of the ministers shall be made by the president with
the consent and advice of the senate, but convention says that president never seek any consent of
the senate and if he picks a minister, the appointment is approved by the senators from the state

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where the office lies.

 The senate must confirm it and this is known as senatorial courtesy.

Judicial decisions:

 The occasional interpretation of the cases in the USA constitution by the supreme-court has added
much to the constitution.
 Much modification has been added through this way.
 Originally the center was much weak but the supreme-court has interpreted the constitution in
such a way that has strengthened the center.
 The states were stronger but by the character of the supreme-court in the form of interpretation in
such a way that has broadened the work of center.

Laws of congress:

 Original constitution has just given a general sketch of the constitution and governmental
structure.
 But the details have been filled by the laws passed by the congress and states legislatures.
 For example, the supreme-court has originally been made by the constitution but the rest of the
federal courts are laid down by the laws passed by the congress.

Formal amendments:

 Although in USA the amending process is not an easy task.

 It takes almost year to have the process of amendment.
 In 200 years, only twenty-seven amendments have been added to the constitution..
 These amendments consist of abolition of slavery, rights of the people, prohibition of female
suffrage, direct election of the senators etc.

Executive contributions:

 The American presidents have added much to this constitution positively.

 Roosevelt, Jackson, Lincoln, Washington and many more presidents have contributed.
 For instance, Washington has created the council of ministers for consulting and this practice
still going on.

President of the United States of America

Qualification:

 According to the constitution of USA the president must be US born.

 Age is 35 year for the candidacy of president.
 And have resided in the state for at least fourteen years.

Election to the office of the president:

 American political system with the calendar.

 The electors elect the representative for electing the president of USA.

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 The president electors are elected on Tuesday in the number of every leap year.
 The electors meet in the capital of the respective state’s capital on first Monday after the second
Wednesday in the December and caste vote for the presidency candidate of January 6.
 In a joint session of the congress, votes are counted and the candidate becomes the president with
a highest votes.
 The president assumes the office in the January.

Term of office:

 It has four years of term in office.

 Vice-president can ascend the post if any casualty occurs to the president.
 He cannot be removed from office until he commits a serious crime or any other illegal
involvement. The process of impeachment is the way through which a president can be removed.
Two presidents have been impeached in US i.e. Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton and Richard
Nixon from office before the impeachment process starts.

Responsibilities/duties/functions and powers of the president: following are the powers and function
of the president of the United States of America.

Executive powers:

 He is the chief executive of the country.

 Execution of all those laws passed by the congress.
 He nominates ministers and presides over their meetings.
 His nominated ministers regulate the 14 departments in the country.
 Due to spoil system he nominates ministers of his choice and he is the boss not the leader and he
is not bound to act upon their consultation.
 Issuance of executive orders to the lower ministerial personnel to perform their job.
 Various agencies are directed by him like Environmental Protection Agency, Equal Employment
Opportunity commission and Export-Import bank etc.
 Appointment function is also performed by the president as those of Part-time officials and full-
time officials.

Legislative powers:

 There is separation of powers but there is the system of check and balance through which every
organ keeps check over the other.
 The American president has to face problems to compel the Congress. First he introduces a bill in
congress and then it sends to congressional committee for consideration.
 Then he tries to prevent the some committee members and lobbyists against the proposal.
 Then president needs a favorable rule for consideration in the house of representative followed by
the majority vote.
 He has the power of veto through which he can compel the congress and senate.

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 Executive orders have the force of law. Congress has no time to go in to the detail of every bill
but these are filled by the executives.
 He can send messages regarding the legislation of a bill and congress cannot ignore him.
 There can be a political bargaining between the president and legislature through which both can
bargain and do what bot wants to do on each other.

Judicial powers:

 The president appoints the federal judges subject to the approval of senate.
 He also assumes some judicial powers through his executive agencies.
 The USA constitution regards the president as a court of last resort.
 He can pardon those accused of federal court.
 He can grant mercy and can provide amnesty.

Financial powers:

 He has role in budget and economic affairs.

 His decision to increase or decrease the budget and to cut taxes or increase taxes in injunction
with congress has profound effect.
 Ability to shape tariffs and on imports.
 He has a council of economic advisers to research and write the annual economic report for
submission to congress.

Foreign policy:

 He is responsible for the foreign policy of USA.

 He is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
 He has the power to make treaties but subject to the ratification of the senate.
 He has the power of recognition of foreign new states.
 When he initiates a treaty that is subject to the ratification from senate by 2/3 majority and also in
the house of representative.
 He can appoint diplomatic representatives.

Military functions:

 He is the civilian head of the military.

 The president gives orders to the armed forces and they have to obey the orders.
 He can deploy American forces at any part of the world.
 The question of war and peace are in his hand but subject to the ratification of congress. (This
power rests with congress too but president can deploy troops wherever he wants.)

Party leadership:

 He leads his political party.

 He uses this power sometimes to campaign for the congressional candidates.
 His veto power enables the candidates to win the elections.
 Political party is dependent upon the role of the president.

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Limitations on his powers:

 The supreme-court, the media and public opinion can affect his decisions.
 Congress has a strong check on his power on refusing the fund for presidential initiatives whether
national or international.
 It can refuse the presidential appointees.
 There is in independent council which has to check the president wrongdoings.
 Political future of the political party keeps the president on the right track.
 The check and balance system keeps him limited to his position.

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Congress of the United States of America:

“It is the proper duty of representative body to look diligently into every affair of government and to talk
much about what is sees. It is meant to be the eyes and voice, and to embody the wisdom and will of its
constituents” Woodrow Wilson.

Introduction:

In USA the legislature is known as the congress. It is instituted by the article-1 of the constitution which
prescribes it membership and defines the powers. It is composed of two houses i.e. house of
representative and senate. Congress has 535 voting members, 435 from lower house and 100 from upper
house.

Powers and functions of the Congress of the United States of America:

Legislative powers:

 The constitution has granted the power to congress to formulate all laws for the USA properly
and accordingly the necessity of the people and circumstances.
 It has the power of printing money, maintaining a military, declaring war, regulating inter-states
and foreign relations of the USA.
 Control federal taxing and spending policies.
 It can change, repeal and amend the existence laws.
 A bill, whether private or public, must passed by both the houses to become a law.
 Temporary legislation as the short-term budget extension or passing the joint resolution.

Investigative powers:

 It is also responsible for the investigation of congress.

 It can oversee the executive branch and its agencies ass department of defense and department of
justice.
 It can also summon senior officials to question them and can order audits of the agencies.
 It can hold hearing to raise public awareness about an issue.

Financial powers:

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 Due to rush of work, congress has to rely on a large number of auxiliary agencies.
 One of the most important agencies if the Congressional budget office, a group of economic
experts and statistics.
 This group gives an estimation of the budget presented by the president’s officials and to
estimates tax revenue.

To control staff:

 It has a large congressional staff.

 Many of these are serving as a personal assistant to the representatives and senators.
 Others are the congressional committees for example 30 members are work for the house
committee for the District of Colombia alone.

Check on executive:

 Its relationship with the executive is regulated under the system of checks and balances.
 Friction occurs sometimes between president and congress which causes the movement slow.
 The differences increase between the legislature and the executive when one party is not majority
in the legislature or an executive.
 President’s appointees are subject to the ratification of senate and the treaties ratification are also
subject to the approval of the senate.

Impeachment:

 Congress can impeach the president and other high officials of federal for high treason, bribery
and other illegal acts.
 But it rarely happens.
 There have been round about a dozen of the impeachment may trailed but not all of them were
removed from the office.
 Only two presidents, Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson, were removed from the office and the
third one, Richard Nixon, resigned from the office as the process of impeachment started.

Amendments:

 Congress has the power to amend the constitution.

 New constitutional permits the congress to propose amendment through a two-third of the
majority of both the chambers which then must be ratified by three-fourth of states.

Elective power:

 The house of representative has the power to select its presiding officer (speaker).
 Also can elect the president from the two top candidates if the electoral-college fails to elect.
 The senate is to elect the vice-president if not by the electoral-college.
 It has to elect its president pro-tempore.

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Miscellaneous:

 To initiate bills to fund the federal programs, set tariffs and taxes.
 Provide international defense fund such as fortification and the defensive weapons.
 To control immigration and to establish post offices.
 Congress also share control over the military.

House of representatives:

Introduction:

It is the lower house of the American congress which is elected for two years term and elected directly by
the people of America trough secret ballot on population basis. It has 435 members.

Composition and qualification:

The numbers of representatives are on the basis of population. They are elected for the term of two years
only. The strength is 435 and five additional representatives are from the Puerto Rico, Guam, American
Samoa, Virgin Islands and District of Columbia, they represent their constituencies but do not vote in the
chamber. A candidate must have 25 years of age and must be of US resident at least for the 7 seven years.
The speaker is elected from its own members and he does not quit politics.

Powers and functions of the House of Representatives:

Legislative powers:

 It has joint powers of legislation with the senate.

 Bills maybe presented in any house but the financial bills must be originated in lower house.
 This is not the real power because the senate may amend it at any way it likes.
 If there is any kind of misunderstanding on bill between the two houses, the bill is referred to the
conference committee for settlement and if the committee fails too, then it is considered as
rejected.
 Both the houses combination makes it the most powerful chamber in the world.

Executive powers:

 Like that of executive, it has no executive powers as neither the executive has been taken from
this house nor responsible to this house.
 But yet some of the executive functions are performed by the lower house.
 This is because of the principles of separation of powers.

Judicial powers:

 When the congress sits ass the judicial tribunal, it shares the power of impeachment with the
senate.
 The president and other high officials can be impeached by the congress.

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 The house also has the power to initiate the impeachment process but the senate actually
conducts the impeachment trails.

Elective powers:

 If the president is not elected by the electoral-college, then it is the function of the house of
representative to elect the president from the top two candidates.
 It is to elect the speaker, the sergeant at armed and clerk of the house.

Amendments:

 Together with the senate the house propose amendments to the US constitution.

War:

 The president international treaties are subject to the approval of the senate only.
 But the declaration of the war is done jointly.

Financial powers:

 The house enjoys the sole financial authority to propose tax legislation, but the senate must
approve tax bills.
 By tradition, all bills funding to the governmental activities also originate in the house.

Comments: the US lower house is the weak lower chamber of the world. It has certain reasons;

 Firstly, its tenure is only two years which is nothing while senate has 6 years of tenure which is
the strongest one.
 Secondly, federal system needs a strong upper chamber and USA has a strong upper chamber
through which the lower chamber became weak.
 Thirdly, the financial bills are often initiated by the lower house being the representative of the
people. The same happens with US constitution that has given this to lower house but on the other
side the senate is empowered to amend the money bill at any way it likes.
 Fourthly, the experienced like to be senators and less experience people come to lower house
which no experience.
 Fifthly, the executive is neither taken from nor responsible to the legislature.
 Sixthly, it is a large body and a debating platform.
 Lastly, the power of the judicial review has weakened the lower house.

===================================================================

THE AMERICAN SENATE:

Composition:

It is the upper house of the US congress and is composed of 100 members. Each state irrespective of its
area and population send two senators. The original constitution says that the upper house members
should be elected indirectly by the state legislature but under the 17th amendment in 1913, the senators are

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directly elected by the people. Its presiding officer is Vice-President with the president elected directly by
the people. If presidential seat becomes vacant then it is Vice-President who succeeds to the seat and the
senate is then presides by the President Pro-Tempore from among its own members.

Tenure and qualification:

The candidate is elected for the period of six years but one-third retires after two years. Thus, it is a
continuous body. A senator must have 30 years age and must be US resident for at least 9 years of the
state which he wants to represent. Every senator is aided by general staff to assist him in many
departments of his state.

Powers and functions of the senate: James Madisan said in 1787 “the use of the senate is to consist in
proceeding with more coolness, with more system and with more wisdom than the popular branch.”

Legislative functions:

 Along with the house of representative, it has the power of legislation.

 Nearly all important bills are presented by the senate and then send to the lower house.
 The only restriction is that the money bills be initiated in the lower house.
 The senate may change a money bill in any way and if any disagreement occurs, then the
presiding officer selects the conference committee to resolve the differences.
 If this committee fails to resolve the issue then the bill is considered rejected.

Executive powers:

 The most known function is the ratification of the appointments made by the president.
 Normally, the appointments are approved by the senators in the state in which these appointments
are made but on the behalf of the whole senate which is called senatorial courtesy.
 The ratification of the international treaties by two-third majority of the senate.

Judicial functions:

 The American senate sits as a judicial tribunal presided by the chief justice of the supreme-court
to impeach the president.
 The appointments of the judges are also approved by the senate.
 The senate has also the power to conduct the impeachment trails against the president, the federal
judges and other high officials.
 Two-third majority of the senate is must for the conviction.

Financial powers:

 All financial bills must originate in the lower house but the bills may be amended by the senate.
 It is to deal with the national budget.

Elective powers:

 When the vice-president is not elected with a clear-cut majority of the electoral-college, then it is
the responsibility of the senate to elect the VP from two high candidates.

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 President pro-tempore is the temporary president by of the senate elected by the senate among its
own members.

Appointment of the committees:

 It appoints certain committees to investigate and report on the activities of the president’s
administration.
 It also creates joint committees in cooperation with the house.
 The senate establishes selective or investigative committee to conduct inquiries into scandals.

Why senate is the most powerful upper chamber in world?

Article-I of the constitution declares that the senate has been given the most prestigious powers than that
of other houses of the world. Following are the reasons of the powerfulness of the SENATE as the upper
house in the world.

Strong federation:

 American federation is a strong and a stable federation.

 A strong federation needs powerful upper chamber of the house to safeguard the rights of the
federating units.
 It has also been designed to protect the small population states as well the large population states.
 Two senators are guaranteed by the constitution to guard the units irrespective of the area and
population.

Direct election:

 The original constitution declares indirect election of the senate by the states’ legislature in order
to control evil representative democracy.
 With the passage of time the house passed resolution to bring the direct election of the senators.
 Through a constitutional amendment the house is not electing directly by the American people.
 It is a unique feature of the upper house of the upper house of the USA than that of the rest of the
world where mostly the upper chamber is elected indirectly.

Long tenure:

 Unlike the house of the representative, it has a long tenure and a permanent body.
 Its term of tenure is 6 years.
 The strength is also small in number.
 Small but a directly elected house is therefore strong much.

Experienced members:

 Due to its prestige, prominence at international level, every-one likes to be the part of this house.
 It is composed of highly educated, skilled and well-experienced members.
 They have the support of wealthy donors.

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 They have a wealthy background and many of them are millionaires.

 Three-fourth senators work in banks, business or any other before the winning of the chamber
elections and some are former state governors.
 They receive more attention from the press and media and public.

Powerful chamber:

 To maintain a strong federation, the framers have vested more powers in the senate.
 It has the executive check on the US president.
 It can amend a bill at any way it likes.
 Long debates and speeches are held in the floor of the senate.
 It has the power of impeachment of the president and other officials.

Investigative powers:

 The senate can appoint various investigative agencies and committees to report on the
administration of the president and especially his scandals.
 It can also appoint committees to probe the national problems.
 In the words of C B Galloway “the investigation committee has become more than a particular
form of parliamentary procedure… it has taken the place of the cabinet in the English cabinet
system, has provided an effective means of control, has informed public opinion and has
considerably augmented the power of the congress.”

Ratification of the treaties by the majority votes in the senate:

 The senate has the power to approve all those agreements and treaties which are done by the
president, subject to the ratification of the senate by two-third of the senate vote.
 No treaties will take effect until it is approved so.
 President negotiates the terms of treaty and after the terms have been concluded, it is referred to
the Foreign Affairs Committee.
 The committee hold public hearings and then with deliberate consideration, it report on the
rejection or approval of the treaties and send back to the senate which later on negotiated in the
senate and finally approved or rejected.

Long debate:

 The senate does not limit the amount of the debate on any bill or for any one senator.
 This privilege allows the senators to filibuster or make unlimited speeches to block action on a
bill or to delay a vote for an extended period of time.

Power to amend the constitution:

 The senate and the house have equal powers for effecting the amendment in the constitution.
 There are two basic ways for the amending of the constitution which are spelled out in the
constitution. First, amendment can take place by a vote of two-third of both the houses followed
by a ratification of the three-fourth of the states. (38 states require ratification). Second, the
constitution might be amended by the convention called for this purpose by two-third of the state

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legislatures.

It represents the entire nation:

 Senate is elected by the entire population of the country while the house of representative is
elected by a small fraction in a constituency concern.
 Senators have greater representative character than the house.
 The senators represent the states as political units.

Judicial review(in USA):

Introduction:

The powers of the judicial branch of government to decide whether the laws passed by the legislature are
consistent with the constitution or not, if not then those laws are repealed or considered void with the
basic principles of constitution and thus declared null and void, is known as judicial review. Judges do not
make hypothetical decisions about the constitutionality and also do not offer advices to the parliament
officials about their actions. This case, judicial review, is different from country to country. For instance,
in USA the judiciary can strike down all those laws which are not in consent with the constitution. In
Germany, the constitutional court is empowered to shoot down not only ordinary laws but also the
amendments for being inconsistent with the fundamental character of the constitution. In India the court is
authorized in 1971 by the 24th amendment to decide the validity of the laws.

The history of judicial review in the special reference to USA emerged in the case of Murbary vs Madisan
case in 1803. Judicial review is not only limited to the legislature in USA but that is extended to the
federal and states’ executives too whose actions and decisions are nullified if they are in contradiction
with the constitution. In USA there is no specific provision in the constitution which may state the very
basic about the judicial review but that has been developed as a convention in the case of Marbury and
Madison case in 1803 and its decision was written by judge Marshal.

Origin of judicial review:

In the start of 1800s first decade, the presidential election held in USA and the candidates were Thomas
Jafferon and John Adam in which Thomas Jafferon won the election. Before Jafferon could have entered
into the office, Adam and congress collectively passed an act in 1801 in which many new courts were
emerged and more judges were appointed to these offices. This act was passed because to make Thomas
frustrated and Adam took approval of the senate of these appointees but to finalize these appointments,
the secretary of state’s commission was needed to send and approve these appointments. The actual twist
occurs here. The secretary of state was appointed by Thomas Jafferon namely James Madisan and the new
president prevented him to deliver the commission and he did so. Now there was an appointee namely,
William Marbury newly appointed to the office of District of Columbia justice of peace. His appointment
was also in pending due the commission. He filed a petition in the supreme court of USA for the delivery
of commission to compel the Madisan to deliver the commission.

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Now there were three questions in front of supreme-court of USA,

i) Does the petitioner have the right to receive the commission?

ii) Can they sue for the delivery of commission?

iii) Does the supreme-court have authority to order the delivery of commission?

Decision of the supreme-court:

The supreme-court decided the case and declared the Madison’s refusal as illegal but the supreme-court
also did not order Madisan to deliver the commission. The supreme-court wrote in its decision that the
judiciary act 1789 under which the Murbary has filed writ of mandamus, is unconstitutional and thus
declared as void. From then the judicial review came into its proper working.

 Article-iii of the constitution says that the federal judiciary has the power to make judgments in
all cases pertaining to the constitution, statutes and treaties of the United States.
 Article-vi implies the judicial power of the federal courts of law must be used to protect and
defend the supreme authority of the constitution against acts in government that violates or
contradict it.
 Article-vi further says that “This constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be
made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made under the authority of
the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be
bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.”
Further this article exposes that all officials of the federal and state governments, including all
judicial officers both of the United States and several states; shall be bound by the oath or
affirmation to the support of this constitution.

Impacts of the judicial review: As it has vast powers and more powerful in the system of US political
system, there are a lot of impacts of the judicial review in the political system of US which are pinned-
down.

Constitutional supremacy:

 By practicing judicial review, judges maintain limited government and the rule of law by
upholding the supremacy of the constitution.
 All courts in the United States may use the power of the judicial review.
 The supreme court of the US has the finality power to finalize the governmental activities.
 Judicial review is power through which the courts check the acts and statutes of the government
whether those in conflict with the constitution or not.
 Marshal says “because the constitution is the supreme paramount law, it is unchangeable by the
ordinary legislative means and the legislative acts contrary to the constitution of not law.”

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Courts’ importance:

 The judicial review has multiplied the powers of the judiciary in US political system.
 It had invalidated most of the laws of federal and state government whenever founded in conflict
with the constitution.
 It can also issue order to abstain the federal and states officials from misbehaving in constitution.
 Some of the analysts are of the opinion that the power of the judicial review has made the
judiciary the third organ of the Congress.
 Because of this opinion, that is why the American constitution is called a judge made constitution.
 More than 150 Acts and thousands of laws have been declared nullified due to unconstitutional
nature of those Acts and Laws.

A source of check and balance:

 This system is useful combined with the judicial review.

 The complete separation of powers are also instable and a problem.
 Those three organs must be interlinked to work within their own sphere.
 In the absence of this power, the legislature may become totally supreme and executive can
become dictator.

Three aspects:

 In the US political system, the supreme-court has to see three main options for the purpose that
whether the constitution is respected or not. Firstly, the relation between the state and the
national government. Secondly, the separation of powers within the government. Lastly,
individual rights.
 Due to the checking of these areas, the judiciary has gone under various changes.
 The checks and balance system in these areas are the sole job of the judiciary.

Check on president:

 In the US political system, more powers have been vested in the hands of president.
 During the conducting of an emergency, the president cannot avoid the rules formulated by the
congress.
 It has established that the prerogative of the president to keep the confidential statements secret
must yield to the need of the judiciary to enforce criminal justice if the secret does not relate
strictly to the military or diplomatic matters.
 It is to review the orders of the president and to abstain his orders if those are not with the
consonant of the constitution.

To protect the ideologies:

 It defends the values of the political ideology of the USA.

 It has to defend the main skeleton of the democracy in the constitution.
 In the early 19th and 20th centuries the idea of the self-governing market was dominated by the
elites of the western world.
 But the US judiciary did its best to enforce it in the US political system.

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 The court furthered the values of democracy in the US.

 It has to save the main skeleton of the constitution which has presented by the founding fathers of
the US constitution.

Limitations OR restrictions on the judicial review:

Although the powers of the judiciary in the US constitution as more than expected but yet there are much
restrictions have been imposed on the judiciary too which can obstructs its way from becoming a dictator.

 Courts may strike down the laws against the nature of the constitution but in the absence of a
case, it cannot issue an advisory an advisory opinion.
 Every case does not have a nature of the judicial review. The parties who want judicial review on
a case if they are affected by the law. A person cannot seek the help of the court against a law if
he is not affected by the concern law.
 Judiciary is not in itself above the law OR cannot bypass the laws but a mechanism for
maintaining the supremacy of the basic law.
 The judges do not try to involve themselves in the legislative process because they can be
impeachment by the Legislature.

The separation of the powers and the system of checks and balances:
Introduction:

James Madisan said, “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, judiciary and executive, in the same
hands whether of one, of few or of hereditary one, appointive or self-elected, may justly be pronounced
the very definition of tyranny.”

Separation of powers means that the system in which all the three organs of the government are put
separated that it may not overlap each other. This means that the legislation may not interfere in the
affairs of the executive, judiciary may not interfere in the legislative affairs and vice versa. It prevents the
organs from the concentration of powers.

Main attributes of the separation of powers:

To avoid concentration of powers:

 In this system the US political system have the theory of separation of powers which states that
the focus of powers should be avoided in this system.
 Alexander Hamilton said in 1788 that it is essential for judiciary to be independent so it can
prevent abuse of power by the two stronger organs.
 Important point in this regard is that the same person cannot use the powers if he is in another
branch of the government.
 Under article-I, section-6 of the constitution states that elected member could be a part of another
office at the same time.

Judicial review:

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 The court, not president or legislature can interpret what the laws mean except that of judiciary.
 Inn suitable cases, the court may strike down the laws make by the legislature or can order an
executive to halt the enforcement of a law or a policy.
 Judiciary in early ages was much weak, but it is due to Justice Marshal who made it the most
important instinct of the government by establishing the judicial review.

To avoid tyranny:

 This is deeply ingrained in every American that the way to safeguard the rights to prevent the
tyranny by bringing powers to a single hand.
 Strict checks and balance avoid tyranny of the single hands.
 As James Madisan clearly pointed out that the accumulation of all powers to a magistrate man
an end to the liberty.

Pro-democracy:

 Through this theory, the people can be assured that they are the real rulers.
 Due to this powers and authority are vested in various hands.

Accountability:

 They work independently and with confidence.

 Here the president works as with confidence and no fear of Vote of no-confidence and legislature
also works without the fear of dissolution.
 They work for the defined period of time without any scare.

Independence of judiciary:

 In this system, the judiciary also works as an independent organ of the state.
 Free of interference and authority.
=====================================================

System of the checks and balances:

Checks and balance system means that all the three organs perform their function within the defined
boundaries. This system is introduced in the US political system to keen eyes on the three organs of
government that they may not contradict each other in any way. Montesquieu provided the theory of
separation of powers to the founders of the USA to defense for an independent judiciary, “when the
legislative or judiciary powers are vested in the same hands of magistrates, there will be no liberty. Again
there will be no liberty if judiciary is not separated from the legislative and executive.” It was the theory
of Montesquieu that produced the system of tripartite which is followed by the founding fathers in the US
constitution for the protection of the US political system. This theory is the outcome of the theory of
separation of powers.

For example,

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 Legislature enacts laws but the president can veto these laws which in turn can be overridden by
two-third majority of both the houses.
 The president can serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces but only the congress has the
authority to raise and support an army and to declare war.
 The president has the power to appoint the federal judges but these appointments are subject to
the ratification of the senate.
 The supreme-court has the authority to strike down both legislative and presidential acts as
unconstitutional.
 Thomas Jefferson said, “Checks and balance balances are our only security for the progress of
mind, as well as the security of body.”

Congress can check the president and federal court as:

 By refusing to pass a bill the president wants.

 By passing a law over the president’s veto.
 By using the impeachment powers to remove the president from office.
 By refusing to approve a presidential appointment (senate only).
 By refusing to ratify a treaty the president has signed (senate only).
 Congress can check the federal courts by changing the number and jurisdiction of the lower
courts.
 By refusing to approve a person nominated to be a judge (senate only).

President can check legislature as:

 Can check congress by vetoing a bill it has passed.

 Can check the federal courts by nominating judges.

Courts can check congress and president:

 Can check congress by declaring a law unconstitutional.

 Can check the president by declaring his actions or his subordinated administration actions as
against the consonant to the constitution and interest of the American people.

There are certain weaknesses of the theory of separation of power:

 It causes confrontation and deadlocks.

 It divides the executive from the legislature, dividing power responsibility and reduces executive
accountability.
 Separation of power is archaic and generally unsuited for modern complexities and great crises.
 It creates inability of government to formulate, execute and sustain coherent policies.
 It produces germs of dictatorship in three organs in their respective fields of work.
 This system has no ability of government to protect the country and all its citizens under any
emergency or threat without undue delay or unnecessary divisions among the three organs.
 Due to separation of powers, there are inefficiency, unnecessary delays, bureaucratic
arrangements and lack of clarity in the function of government.

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Committee system in USA:

Introduction:

There are various committees in the US Congress. The committees are of different kinds, namely;

i) Standing committees.
ii) Special committees.
iii) Investigating committees.
iv) Specialized standing committees.
v) Joint committees.
vi) Committee on rules.

Standing committees:

 A standing committee is an offshoot of the political or any deliberately body established for the
purpose to assist them in its functions.
 It is the most common committees in the US congress which are usually permanent.
 Each standing committee takes responsibility of specific subject area.
 There are 20 standing committees in the house and 16 standing committees in the senate who
performs various functions.
 These committees are of permanent nature and are Congressional committees which are formed
regarding the rule of house of representative and the senate.
 The house has a large number and for the quick work these committees are formed and they
perform their functions in the fields such as Agriculture area or the Military area.
 The senate has almost 16 standing committees and 68 sub-committees.

Special committees:

 These are the committees formed by the congress having in temporary nature and are called
special or select committees and they have the work to write bills on a particular topic or to
conduct investigation.
 Both the houses have authorized these committees to oversee the intelligence-gathering operation
including that of CIA and NSA.
 The house sometimes creates special investigative committees to probe national problems as that
of the corruption and other illegal issue in a government agency.

Investigative committees:

 The senate sometimes creates the special committees to probe the issues like scandals or
problems.
 They have temporary authority most of the time and most lack of powers to formally consider
legislation.

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Specialized standing committee:

 It is a kind of specialized committee that is being formed for the purpose of reviewing the bill
after its presentation in the house, the presiding officer or the president pro-tempore sends it to the
specialized committee.
 Most of the bills die here when the committee members ignore or veto it to take no action.
 These committees form more sub-committees which further aggravated the situation.
 Committees’ job is to hear, review, research or revision and finally to recommendation to approve
or reject the measure.
 Hearing usually affect the committee’s main decision whether to report the bill to the chamber or
to reject it entirely.
 Very few bills are sent to the full chamber without changes.

Joint committees:

 It establishes by the house to assist the senate.

 Joint committees included both the house and the senate members.
 These are the Congressional committee joint for the common interests.
 Most joint committees are standing committees but special joint committees are creates at times.

Conference committee:

 If there is any difference between the two houses on a particular bill, then it is normally send to a
conference committee comprise of equal members from both the chambers.

Committee on rules:

 Due to the rush off work, the house has established a special kind of standing committee, called
committee on rules.
 This is considered a sort of traffic officer for the house for it opts that which of the bills reported
by their concern committee should be brought on the floor on the house for consideration.
 The destiny of the bills depends upon this committee except non-controversial type.
 Most of the important public bills after they have been considered by their appropriate legislative
committee are sent to the rule committee for a rule.
 A rule is a decision of the committee, laying down the date and nature of debate upon a bill on the
floor of the house.

Constitution of the French republic:

Introduction:

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The French citizens created the fourth republic in 1946. They built it out of the ruins of the war and the
ravages of the four years of the German occupation of the Second World War. The fact that it is a fifth
republic suggests that there had existed other governmental systems than that which prevails at present.
During the century and a half following the French Revolution, French experienced three further
Revolutions, two coups d’etat and three wars. She adopted and rejected more than a dozen of
constitutions, three of them were Monarchies, two Dictatorial, three Imperial and four republicans.
Besides these constitutional experiments, there have no written text during these periods through which
the state could be regulated but instead, the country was ruled by the Comite de salut public, the
provisional government of 1848 and government of national defense of 1870.

After the falling of the fourth republic in 1958, the government was unable to coup with the situation. The
president Rene Cory unequivocally and firmly told the national assembly that he would resign if the
government led by the Charles De Gaulle. The assembly persisted but then ready to form his
government. The constitution of the fifth Republic emerged out of the Enabling Act of June 3, 1958 in
which the National Assembly provided three-fifth majority. A Referendum was held on September 28,
1958 in which Charles De Gaulle got a triumphal vote of confidence all around the France by getting
79.25% votes. The constitution was imposed on 4 October 1958.

Features of the constitution of France:

Written and brief:

 The character of the constitution is written in nature.

 It has a preamble and 89 articles and sixteen chapters.
 It was made in hurry to solve the current problems of the state.

Bi-cameral:

 It is consisted of two chambers, the National Assembly and the Senate.

 The national assembly is more powerful than the senate. Although both the chamber share equal
legislative authority.
 The deputy to the national assembly shall be elected to the assembly by direct suffrage.
 The senate shall be elected by indirect suffrage.
 An institutional act determines the tenure and allowances of these members.

Authoritarian:

 The constitution is the product of the emergency and General De Gaulle’s political ambitions.
 He has no profound knowledge of political system but has emphasized on the system based on the
principles of authoritarianism.
 France was in need of unity and according to the framers this was only possible by having the
system of authoritarianism.
 Head of the constitutional committee, Michel Debre said, “We have to rebuild the nation of
France that is to say to rebuild the Democracy, rebuild a state and rebuild a power.
 So, for this purpose the more dictatorial powers were given to the president.

Constitutional bodies:

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 The constitution provides for the constitutional bodies such as constitutional council which is
elected for the term of nine years and composed of nine members. It has the authority to supervise
election and referendum and to decide constitutional questions.
 Another body is economic and social council. It gives opinion of such governmental bills, draft
ordinances and decrees and members’ bills as have been submitted to it. It can be consulted by
the government at the times of any issue related to economic and social.
 Third body is the high council of judiciary. Article 65 deals with this body. The high council of
judiciary shall be Preside over by the president of the Republic and the ministers of justice shall
be its vice-president.
 It is consists of two sections, one is jurisdiction for judges and the other is for the prosecutors.

Amendment procedure:

 Amendment may be proposed by the president at the request of the government or member of the
parliament.
 The amendment is adopted after getting the approval of both the houses of parliament and by
subsequent referendum or merely approval of the three-fifth of the parliament.
 It is rigid in a sense that amendment is proposed by the president and considers is unique..

Hyper-presidential:

 This constitution empowered the president by the giving more powers and reduced the powers of
the parliament.
 The president is elected by the direct popular vote, is the head of the state.
 This official appoints the prime minister who is the head of the government.
 He appoints the prime minister and his other ministers and Presided the council of ministers.
 He can dissolve the parliament, declare emergency, referring a bill to referendum and to send
messages to parliament.
 These powers need no any consultation and during the crises, these powers increase.

Secular and democratic:

 The constitution is both secular and democratic.

 Article-1 says that the motto of the republic should be liberty, equality and fraternity.
 This constitution is based on Lincoln democracy.
 There should not be any kind of distinction on the basis of religion and creed. All the citizens
living in the France are French citizens.

Unitary:

 The constitution provided for the unification and integration of the France.
 All state powers are controlled from Paris.
 There is local government system in the France but the strings of these local governments are
strictly controlled by the center.

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 There is no any concept of the distribution of powers but the center is the sole reservoir of
powers.

Republican:

 The president is an elected head of state.

 It is elected for the period of seven years by direct universal franchise.
 If the president does not take clear majority in the first ballot, the second shall take place and the
two top candidates get into contest.

Mixed:

 It is quasi-presidential and quasi-parliamentary in nature.

 On one side it gives power of legislation to the two chambered parliament headed by prime
minister and on another side president is empowered that much that he can dissolve national
assembly and to choose prime minister.

Parliamentary color:

 The constitution is parliamentary in color. Parliament is composed of 577 deputies elected

directly for a term of five years in single member constituencies on the basis of majority two
ballot systems.
 It performs dual powers as the power of legislation and also controlling the executive.
 The head of the government is prime minister and appointed by the president.

Sovereignty:

 Article-3 of the constitution says that the sovereignty belongs to the people of France.
 They shall exercise it through their elected representative and by means of referendum.
 So, in 1958 the people are sovereign.

No rights:

 There is no any list of the fundamental rights enumerated in the constitution.

 Although after the French Revolution, the Declaration of Human Rights was made.
 In the preamble of the original constitution says, “It is solemnly proclaim their attachment to the
rights of man and principles of national sovereignty as defined by the Declaration of 1789.”

The French president:

Appointment:

Articles-6-19 deals with the French president because of the Republican structure. Four of France’s
republics have had presidency which make it the oldest institution in Europe. The president is appointed

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through direct universal suffrage. In a 2000 referendum the tenure of the president decreased from seven
years to five years. There is no fixed limit of the president terms. He can be elected as possible. He should
be elected with majority, if not elected with clear majority then there would be second ballot voting
contesting between the two top candidates. In this battle the person who gets with majority becomes a
president of the French republics. If the post of the president becomes vacant then the president of the
senate can be temporary the president of the France.

Powers and functions of the president: Before the fifth Republic, the president was empowered with
much power that the president was the sole authority of the France. He was authoritarian or a benevolent
dictator. Following are the powers of the president.

Appointment of the government:

 Article-8 of the constitution says that the president can appoint the prime minister and he can
terminate the appointment of the president.
 On the proposal of the prime minister, he can appoint other members of the government.
 Article-9 of the constitution says that he can preside over the council of ministers.
 It is to note that the president can appoint the premier with his own sweet will and not from
either house in the parliament.
 Other civil and military officials are selected by him.
 Ambassadors, envoy and other civil servants are appointed by him.

Promulgation of acts:

 Article-10 says that the president of the republic shall publicize the acts of parliament within
fifteen days.
 He can ask the parliament within this duration to reconsider the bill or acts of the bill and the
parliament cannot deny the reconsideration referred by the president.

Dissolution power:

 Article-12 has an immense importance in this regard as it is related to the dissolution of the
assemblies.
 After consulting the prime minister and the president of the assemblies, he can dissolve the
National Assembly.
 A general election for the national assembly will be held not less than 20 days and not more than
40 days of the dissolution.

Referendum:

 Article-11 of the constitution says that the president may, on a proposal from the government
when it is in session or in a joint motion, may referred a bill to the referendum relating to the
public authority or any reforms relating to the social policy of the nation.
 The referendum decides in favor of the government bill, the president of the republic shall
promulgate it within fifteen days.
 Certain policy matters are also refers to the referenda by the president.

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To sign ordinances and decrees:

 The ordinances and decrees are deliberated by the council of ministers are signed by the president
of the French republic.

Defense power:

 President is the official head of the state and commander in chief of the army of the French.
 He shall preside over the higher national defense council and committee.

Emergency power:

 Article-16 vests the powers of emergency to the president.

 The institution of the republic, the independence of the nation, protection and integrity of the
national territory and commitment to the immediate action against the threat to the nation, the
president vested with the powers to take immediate action in these circumstances.
 But after the formal consultation with the prime minister, the president of the assemblies and the
constitutional council.
 But the National assembly will not be dissolved in the times of emergency.

Judicial powers:

 Article-17 says that the president has the power to grant pardon.
 The president appoints judges.

Messages:

 President is empowered to send messages to the assemblies of the parliament which he shall call
to be read and which shall not be the occasion for debate.
 Outside the sessions, parliament shall be convened especially for this purpose.

French legislature:
Introduction:

The French parliament is bi-cameral in its structure consisting of the two houses i.e. National Assembly
and Senate. Each assembly conducts their legislative sessions in different locations in Paris. The senate is

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elected indirectly for the term of nine years and one third of its members retiring after every three years. It
represents the territorial units of the republic and the citizens living outside the country are also
represented by this house. The lower house has the strength 321 members and article-24 says that senate
should be elected by indirect suffrage.

National assembly is the representative chamber elected for a term of five years. But the president can
dissolve parliament. The president of the National Assembly is elected for the duration of the legislature
and the president of the senate is elected after each partial re-election of the senate. Parliament is
empowered to convene two sessions in a year. It can also conduct an extraordinary session on the request
of the prime minister to consider a specific agenda. Its strength is 577 members.

Powers and functions of the parliament:

Legislative functions:

 It is not a sovereign in the law-making process.

 Its powers are limited in this connection.
 The powers given to this house are enumerated in the article-34 of the constitution.
 Apart from this rule-making power of the executive, the government may also, with the
permission of the parliament, take over, for a limited period, the responsibility for dealing with
the matters that fall within the domain law.
 Laws must be promulgated by the French president to take effect.
 The president may ask the parliament to reconsider the law or the articles related too it and the
parliament must honor the request.
 Parliament is generally engaged in the debate and adaptation of laws.
 The prime minister and the members of the parliament alike shall have the right to initiate
statutes.

Financial powers:

 Article-47 explains the procedure for enacting the finance bills.

 In financial matters also the parliament does not enjoy much authority.
 The government submits financial bills to parliament.
 Bill and amendment introduced by the parliament cannot be considered when their adaptation
has, as consequences, either a diminution of the public financial resources or the creation or
increase of public expenditure.
 If the parliament does not complete the reading of the bill within the given time limit of 40 days,
the government refers the bill to senate, which must be rule within a time limit of 15 days.
 If the parliament fails in the decision in the limit of 70 days, the bill may be enforced by an
ordinance.

Declaration of war and ratification of the treaties:

 In France, the parliament authorizes the declaration of war.

 Treaties are negotiated and ratified by the president.

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 But peace treaties, commercial treaties, treaties or agreements for the finance of the state, those
that modifies the provision of legislative nature are subject to the ratification of the law.
 It is considerably noted from the above mentioned points that the powers of the parliament have
been reduced.
 These ratifications are clarified in the article-53 of the constitution.

Ordinances:

 In order to carry out its programs, the government may ask the parliament to authorize the
government for a limited period, to take measures by ordinances that are normally a matter of
statutes.
 Ordinances should be issued in the council of ministers.
 They should come in to force by publication but shall laps if the bill to ratify them is not laid
before parliament before the date set by the enabling act.

Executive functions:

 The parliament is to see the authority uses by the government’s executive branch in a restricted
manner.
 The prime minister, after thorough deliberation by the council of Ministers, may make the
government programs or possibly a statement of its general policy before the National Assembly.
 The national assembly may raise the issue of the government’s responsibility by passing a
motion of censure.
 The motion is admissible only when one-tenth of the members of national assembly sign it.
 The voting may take place in next 48 hours after the adaptation of the motion of censure.

Amendment powers:

 Article-89 of the constitution explains the procedure of the amendment.

 The president of the republic on the proposal of the prime minister, and members of parliament
alike shall have the right to initiate amendments in the constitution.
 A government or a member’s bill to amend the constitution shall be passed by two assemblies in
identical terms.
 The amendment shall have the effect after approved by referendum.

Military powers:

 Article-35 and 36 deal with the military powers of the parliament.

 A declaration of war shall be authorizes by the parliament.
 Martial law shall be decreed in the council of ministers.
 Its extension beyond twelve days maybe authorized by the parliament.

The French council of ministers:

Introduction:

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The government of the French republic exercises the executive powers in the French republic. It is
composed of the prime minister who is the head of the government and Council of Ministers bot h consist
of junior and senior ministers who are titled as the Secretary of state. A smaller and more powerful
executive body called the council of ministers is composed of only senior ministers, though some
secretary of state may attend the meetings of the council of ministers.

Composition of the Government:

The French council of ministers is composed of the prime minister and other ministers. In the language of
the constitution it is called the government. The president appoints the Prime Minister and the prime
ministers appoints other ministers and propose to the president for the appointment of new ministers. The
Prime Minister and other ministers are not the members of the parliament. The Council of ministers is the
collective body and its decisions are the decisions of all its members. The council of ministers is
responsible to the parliament. The national assembly can defeat the government either on its programs or
on declaration of the general policy. In such a situation, the government can resign as a whole. The
president presides over the council of ministers.

Functions:

 The council of ministers determines and directs the national policy.

 At has at disposal the administration and directs the policy of the nation.
 Ministers direct operation of the government and he is responsible for the national defense.
 He ensures the execution of the laws.
 The Prime Minister has the right to initiate the legislation.
 Government bills are first discussed in the council of ministers and then filed with the secretariat
of one of the two assemblies.
 The government may, in order to carry out its programs, ask parliament to authorize it to take
through ordinance measure that are normally within the domain of law.
 The Prime Ministers has the right to propose the amendments to the constitution through the
president of the republic.
 The cabinet plays a major role in determining the agenda of the parliament houses.
 It can propose laws and amendments during the parliament session.
 It also has a number of procedures at its disposal to expedite parliamentary deliberations.

Local government system in the French republic:

Introduction:

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The French government is stereotypically synonymous with the strong centralization and hierarchical
structure. This means a comparatively weaker role for local authorities and even a slight mistrust of Local
Government. Local government system in French system has a long history of centralization and the past
20 years have brought radical changes. At first sight the system may seems complex. The French is the
first in European states who have four-tier local government system i.e. state or central government,
region, department and commune.

History:

In 1972, the parliament approved a code of regional reforms that had been rejected when proposed
previously by the president Charles De Gaulle in 1969. Under this law, the 96 departments of the
metropolitan French grouped into 22 regions. Regional councils composed of local deputies, senators and
delegates were formed and prefects appointed; in addition the regional economic and social committees,
made up of labor and management representative. This system was supersede by the decentralization of
the law in 2 March, 1982, providing for the transfer of the administrative and financial authority from the
prefects to the general council, which elects its own president; the national government’s representative in
the department is appointed by the cabinet.

The 1982 law replaced the regional prefects to the regional council elected by the universal direct suffrage
and for each region an economic and social committee that serves as in advisory role. The first regional
assembly to be elected was that of Corsica in august 1982, and the first direct assembly elections were to
be held in March 1986 in all the 22 regions.

Three tiers of local government:

In France there are three main local tiers in the administrative structure; The commune (municipality),
Department and Region. There are both districts in which both the administrative decisions made at
national level are carried out and local authorities with powers of their own, legally speaking, a local
authority is a public law corporation with its own name, territories, budget and employees. The detail of
three tiers has been given;

Commune or the Municipality:

 This is the lowest tier in the local government in the France dates back to the 1789.
 There are neatly 37000 communes and 80% of them have fewer than 1000 residents.
 This situation led the government to encourage the smaller communities to emerge in the urban
communities or formed groups together in the urban areas.
 The mayor has two hats, the since he or she is the elected and the state’s representative.
 As the legal representative, the mayor has the responsibilities to carry out the decisions of
municipal council, as the municipal legal representative’s, proposes and implement the budget,
ensure the conservation and management of the commune’s natural environment and build
heritage and issues building permits.
 He/she is responsible for various administrative tasks including publicizing laws and regulations
and drawing up the electoral register.
 Mayoral acts are unilateral acts, generally orders, whose legality is subject to a posteriori control
by the courts when they are issued by the mayor as the commune’s chief executive and to the

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approval of the prefect to whom the mayor is subordinate when acting in the capacity of the
state’s representative.

Department:

 There are 100 departments in France, 96 in metropolitan France and four overseas (Martinique,
Guadeloupe, Reunion and French Guiana.)
 It dates back to 1789 in which it is established, the department has developed from a partially
decentralized local authority to one with fully powers of its own.
 It had played a prominent role in the state administration and the geographical organization.
 The department has essential competence in the fields of health and social services, rural
capital works. Departmental roads, capital expenditure and running costs of colleges.

Region:

 France has 26 regions, 22 in the metropolitan and four overseas.

 The later have a special status, being at the same time departments and regions.
 Created in 1955 to provide a framework for the regional town and country planning, the region
became a local authority in 1982.
 Its main sphere of competence is planning, in regional as well in country planning, economic
development, vocational training and the building.
 The decision making organ is the regional council whose members are elected for 6-years.
 They are assisted by the economic and social committees, which is a consultative assembly made
up of representatives of business, the professions, trade unions and other employees’ organization
and voluntary organization.
 This committee must be consulted on the preparation and implementation of the national plans,
establishment of the regional development plan and the major guidelines for the regional budget.
 The committee is also free to comment on any regional matters or, at the initiative of the regional
council’s chairman, any social, economic or cultural proposal.
 The regional council chairman is elected by the councilors, is the region’s executive authority.
 His/her responsibilities are identical with that of the general council chairman in the area within
the region’s sphere of competence.

The French departments and municipalities enjoys little powers in the early times but the continuous
decentralization after 1980s made more powerful the lower tiers. In 2002 and 2004 decentralization
introduced both the territorial autonomy. This process increased the expenditure share more as in
between 1982 and 2014 expenditure has increased from 56.4 billion Eros to 200.8 billion Eros, primarily
due the representatives which the state have provided to them.

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The Constitution Of People’s Republic Of China:

INTRODUCTION:

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The Chinese people of all nationalities led by the communist party of china with the chairman of Mao
Zedong as its leader ultimately in 1949, throw over the rule of imperialism, feudalism and capitalism, won
a great victory in new-democratic revolution and founded the people’s republic of China. Since then the
Chinese people have taken control over the whole state. In 1949 the Chinese Communist Party won the
civil war and established the people’s republic of China. After coming to power the party established
agriculture and industry under the state control.

In 1997 Hong Kong was transferred from Britain to China under the agreement that the China would give
it autonomy. Portugal recognized Macau as Chinese territory in the late 1970s decade and later on
negotiated the transfer of administration from Portugal to China. Macau too was guaranteed a notable
autonomy as that of Hong Kong. Great changes have taken place in China when it is controlled by the
China Communist Party and gradually transfer the society into socialist set-up. The first constitution
went into effect in 1954. It established the government structure and contained a long chapter on citizen
rights and duties. The government adopted new constitutions in 1975 and 1978, while the present
constitution is adopted in 1982.

Features of the people’s republic of China: Following are the features of Chinese constitution.

Written and enacted constitution:

 The 1982 constitution like that of previous constitutions 0f 1954, 1975 and 1978 is a written and
enacted constitution.
 It was drafted by the National Constitution Revision Committee, discussed by the standing
committee and people at large and passed by the National People’s Congress in December 1982.
 It has 138-articles and seven chapters and has a preamble describing the historical struggle for
independence and future determination of Chinese Communist Party.

Rigid constitution:

 The constitution of the Chinese Republic is rigid in a sense that it provides for special method of
amendment.
 The National People’s Congress has the power to amend the constitution by two-third votes.
 There are two ways to amend the constitution i.e. more than twenty percent of the deputies of the
national people’s congress OR by the permanent standing committee of the national people’s
congress.
 The proposal is then ratified by two-third of the majority votes of the national people’s congress.

Unitary state:

 Under the system of “one country two systems,” Hong Kong and Macau were handed over to the
people’s republic of China.
 These two administrative units have special systems under which it works.
 Presently, China has thirty-three sub national units or constituencies: twenty-two provinces, four
municipalities directly under the central government, fiver national autonomous regions and two
special administrative regions.
 With the creation of special administrative regions, Chinese have experienced unitary system.

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 There is no division of powers. All powers are centralized and the administrative divisions are
just for the purpose of smooth running of administration and not the political one.

Unicameral system:

 Articles 57 of the constitution deals with the one chamber.

 China is a one party state, with real power lies with the communist party.
 The communist party is working under the constitution of 1982 as amended and working since
the accession of the communist party in 1949.
 The unicameral legislature is the National People’s Congress consisted of deputies elected for the
term of five years.
 Its size is too much vast that is why most of its powers are exercise by its permanent standing
committee.
 The NPC decides on national economic strategy, elects or remove high officials and can change
China’s constitution; normally it follows the directives of the Communist Party’s politburo.

A people’s democratic dictatorship:

 Accordingly, article-2 of the constitution describes China as a people’s Democratic dictatorship.

 It means that the system is based on the alliance of the working classes and in Communist
terminology, the workers and peasants and is led by the Communist party, the vanguard of the
working class.

Building of the socialist society:

 The establishment of the people’s republic of China does not usher in a socialist society all at
once.
 Its preamble says that it is a period of transition.
 Its task is to attain the same but step by step.
 In building the socialist political democracy, China has always adhered to the basic principles of
Marx theory of democracy be combined with the reality of China, borrowed from the useful
achievements for the political civilization of mankind, including western democracy and
assimilated the democratic elements of China’s traditional culture and institutional civilization.

Parliamentary color:

 Chinese prime minister is nominated by the president and prime minister’s appointment is ratified
by the national people’s congress.
 Vice premier and cabinet members are nominated by the prime minister and approved by the
national people congress.
 Prime minister, vice premier and other members of the cabinet are accountable before the national
people’s congress and its permanent standing committee.
 Bills are presented before the legislature. But if the system is analyzed in narrow sense, one can
find that it is not parliamentary because the prime minister is not taken from the majority party.
 There is not collective responsibility which is the very basic of the parliamentary system.

Democratic centralism:

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 Article 3 of the constitution provide for the Democratic Centralism phenomenon.

 The Democratic term here means that all the institutions , organization and structure of the
Communist is elected from bottom to top in a democratic way and the term ‘centralism’ means
that all the subordinate and inferior institutions are subject to the obedience of their orders.
 So there is a counter flow of the democratic and centralism which the former means the going
upward and the later means downwards.

Fundamental rights:

 Article-33 to article-56 of the constitution is dealing with the fundamental rights of the peoples of
the China.
 Important rights are equality, right to meetings, right to contest elections, right of criticism and
right too procession, right to education and speeches but these all should be within the sphere
prescribed by the state and should not be against the state.
 Should not be against the communist party or socialist set-up.
 The constitution guarantees the freedom of religious worship as well as the freedom not to believe
in any religion and affirms that religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination.

Role of the Communist Party of China:

 The pivot of the Chinese political system is the Communist Party of China.
 The constitution allows only one party and that is Chinese Communist Party.
 The whole political arena is subordinated by this political system.
 The constitution of China says, “The CCP is the core of the leadership of the Chinese people.”
 The working class exercises the authority over the state through its vanguard, the CCP.
 It is one of the sacred duties of the citizens of China that they follow the orders of the party.

Minorities:

 Article-4 of the constitution of 1982 says that all nationalities in China are equal and hey have
equal, protected and guaranteed rights.
 There is no distinction on the basis of religion.
 Minorities have been given autonomy in the form of National Autonomous Areas, which are the
integral part of the People’s Republic of China.

National People’s Congress (NPC):

Introduction:

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The National People’s Congress usually abbreviated NPC, is the national legislature of China. With 2980
members in 2018, it is the largest parliamentary body in the world. The constitutional structure of China is
composed of National People’s Congress, a unicameral legislature, the standing committee of the
National people’s congress; the president- the ceremonial head of the state, the state council, the Cabinet
with the premier as its head and a judicial system comprising supreme people’s court and the supreme
people’s Procuratorate.

Artilcle-59 and 60 deal with the structure of the NPC. Its members are deputies elected by the provinces,
autonomous regions, centrally administered local government institutions and people’s liberation army.
There is a special quota for minorities and the election is supervised by the Permanent Standing
Committee. It is elected for a five year term of office. New elections are held two months before the
expiry of its term. It holds a session on the first quarter of each year convene by the standing committee.

Functions/ duties/role of the NPC: The NPC is the highest organ of the state power in the people’s
republic of China. Its main functions and powers including legislative power, appointing and removing
power, decisive power and supervising power etc which are pinned down.

Legislative functions:

 It is the only legislative organ at national level.

 The NPC has the right to amend and enact the constitution of the people’s republic of China.
 It can also enact and amend the basic laws relating to criminal offence, civil affairs, the state
organs and other matters.
 About all legislative powers have been vested to the hands of this organ.
 It can also change the legislation of its permanent standing committee.
 Maximum bills are presented by the ministers.

Executive functions:

 Elective powers: Its main responsibility is to elect the Chinese president, to approve president’s
nomination of prime minister, appointments of the prime minister and cabinet members (members
of the state council) and approval of the nomination of the auditor general by the prime minister.
To elect the chairman of central military commission and on the advice of the chairman to decide
the appointments of other officials.
 Removal powers: It has the power to remove the prime minister, vice prime minister, ministers,
president of the armed forces and other officials of the state. It can also remove the members of
the Permanent Standing Committee.
 Plans: It is to analyze the national economic and social development plans and to approve these
plans too.
 Local government: It is to recommend the establishment of the local government institutions and
formation of the special administrative areas and to give recommendation of the execution of
various systems in such areas. It is to approve the establishment of the provinces, autonomous
regions and municipalities directly under the central government.
 Military: the question of peace and war is decided by the NPC. To elect the chairman of the
central military commission and upon nomination by the chairman, to decide on the choice of all
other members of the Central Military Commission.

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 Committees: it appoints various committees for instance, committee on nationalities, committee

on foreign affairs, committee on law, fiscal and economic committee, committee on education,
science, culture and health and committee on affairs of chinese abroad.

Judicial functions:

 The constitution of China has given all powers to the judiciary but yet some powers are with the
National People’s Congress.
 The NPC can impeach the president of the supreme people’s court and other officials.
 Impeachment is a judicial function.
 National people’s congress is to elect the president of the supreme people’s court.

Financial powers:

 National budget is presented in the national people’s congress in the form of a report.
 It is then critically evaluated and passed by the NPC.
 It is to audit the implementation of the budget.

Amendment in the constitution:

 The constitution proposes two ways for the amendment in the constitution.
 Article-64 says that the amendment may be proposed either by the permanent standing committee
or 20% of the deputies of the national people’s congress.
 The proposal is valid only when two-third of the majority in the NPC gives their approval.

Supervisory powers:

 The NPC has the right to supervise the implementation of the constitution.
 According to the constitution, the State Council, the supreme people’s court, supreme people’s
Procuratorate are all created by the NPC.
 They are responsible to it and supervised by it.

The Permanent Standing Committee Of NPC:

Introduction;

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The standing committee of the people’s republic of China like its prototype— presidium of the Soviet
Union (which is not in existence now), is the permanent functioning organ of the government. Its size is
much larger than the presidium. It is, in fact, is the national people’s congress in miniature.

Article-65 to 78 of the constitution of 1982 deals with the permanent standing committee of the NPC. It is
composed of the chairman, vice chairman, general secretary and members. Its strength is determined by
law. Minorities are given proper representation in the PSC. All its members are elected by the NPC and
can also and only be remove by it. Its members are the most learned, experienced and firm adherents of
the communist party. It is elected for the term of five years and the chairman and vice chairman may be re
-elected. Its powers were increased in 1987 when it was given the powers to enact and amend laws with
the exception of those which should be enacted by the NPC. The standing committee presides over the
session of the NPC and determines the agenda, the routing of legislation and nomination for the offices.
The members are 150 (According to 2013 estimation) and none of them can assume another
administrative office which is seen to be useful.

Powers and functions of permanent standing committee:

Legislative functions:

 It summons the NPC.

 The national people’s congress is a huge body and constitutionally it meets once in a year.
 Most of its functions are performed by the permanent standing committee.
 It is to make and modify laws other than specified for the NPC.
 It has the power to fill the detail of the laws passed in broad by the NPC.
 PSC has the power of supplementary legislation, interpretation and can present bills in NPC.
 The committees created by the NPC work under the direction of the PSC when the former is not
in session.

Executive functions:

 When the NPC is not in session, it appoints minister on the advice of prime minister and to
appoint head of various committees.
 Furthermore, it has to appoint the military officers advised by the chairman of the army.
 But all these functions are performed in the absence of NPC.
 The powers are vested to PSC to appoint and remove the diplomats and Chinese representative
abroad.
 It has the power to make partial changes and approve such changes in the budget in national
economic plans..
 It supervises the state congress and central military commission in the absence of NPC.
 It can rejects and ratify international treaties and to declare war and peace partially or totally.

Judicial powers:

 PSC is to supervise people’s supreme-court and in the absence of the NPC is has to appoint and
remove the vice president, judges and judicial committee of the standing committee and
president of the military court as advice by the chief justice.

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 It is to forgive or reduce the punishment given by the supreme people’s court.

Guardian of the constitution:

 Permanent standing committee of the NPC has to protect and guard the constitution.
 It has the power of interpretation of laws of the constitution.
 PSC has empowered to reject those rules and orders declared by the autonomous region,
provinces and centrally administered local governments which are in contradiction with the laws
of the constitution.
 State’s council law can be declared null and void by this committee if those laws are found not in
consonance with the constitutional laws.

Miscellaneous functions:

 Its members can propose amendments in the constitution which are than ratifies by the NPC.
 It supervises the general election for the NPC.
 Both NPC and PSC have the power to appoint various investigative committees to probe into
national scandals and other national issues.
 In the absence of the NPC it has to supervise all the committees of NPC.
 The PSC adopts and interprets laws and adopt decrees

Comments:

 Permanent standing committee is similar in structure and function with that of the Ex-USSR
“Presidium” or “Politbureau”.
 In fact it is a committee of cream legislators and orthodox communist leaders.
 It is a medium for the Communist party to rule the country.
 In the very sense, it is the real legislature due to the practice that all powers of NPC are exercise
by this institution.
 It is strange that some of the president powers are also in its control.
 In practice, it is the condensed form of the Chinese legislature and executive.
 If one is analyze the powers exercise by it, one can clearly find that the real ruler of the country is
the Permanent Standing Committee.

The state council:

Introduction:

 The State Council of the people’s republic of China is the central people’s government of the
PRC.
 It is the highest executive body of the Chinese’s administration and state power. Article-85 of the
constitution explains that this is the highest executive organ of the state power and central
government.
 The state council of the PRC is established in 1954 developed from the government
administrative council of the central people’s government in the early years of the People’s
Republic of China.

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 According to the constitution of 1982, the state council is born in the first session of the NPC.
 The tenure is the same as the NPC, five years of term.
 Premier, vice premier and state councilors shall not serve more than two consecutive terms.
 The state council is responsible and reports to the NPC or when the NPC is not in session, to its
standing committee. The NPC has the power to remove the members from office.

Powers and function of the state council: Following are the whole functions of State Council.

 To adopt administrative measures, enact administrative rules and regulation and issue decisions
and orders in accordance with the constitution and the laws.
 To submit proposals to national people’s congress or to its standing committee.
 To formulate the tasks and the responsibilities of the ministries and the commissions of the state
council, to exercise the unified leadership over the work of the commission and ministries and to
direct all administrative work of a national level that does not fall within the jurisdiction of the
ministries and commissions.
 To exercise the unified leadership of the work of the local organs of the state administration at
various level throughout the country. To formulate the detailed division of functions and powers
between the central government and the organs of the state administration of provinces,
autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the control of central government.
 To draw up and implement the plans for national economic and social development and the state
budget.
 To direct and administer the economic affairs in urban and rural development.
 To direct and administer the affairs of education, science, culture, public health and family
planning and physical culture.
 To direct and administer civil affairs, public security, judicial administration, supervision and
other related matters.
 To conduct foreign affairs and conclude treaties and agreements with foreign states.
 To direct and administer the building of national defense.
 All matters concerning ethnic and to safeguard their natural and fundamental rights are
administered by this organ.
 To protect the legitimate rights of the Chinese nationals residing abroad and to protect the lawful
rights and interests of returned overseas Chinese.
 To alter or annul inappropriate orders, directive and regulation issues by the commissions or
ministries.
 To nullify the inappropriate orders and decisions issued by the local government organs,
autonomous regions and various administrative organs in the lowest ebbs of state.
 To approve the geographic division of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly
under the Central government, and to approve the establishment and geographic autonomous
prefectures, counties, autonomous counties and cities.
 To decide on the imposition of martial law in parts of provinces and other administrative organs.
 To decide and examine the size of the administrative organs and in accordance with the law, to
appoint or remove administrative officials, train them and appraise their performance and reward
them by good performance and punish them by doing evil things.
 To exercise such other functions and powers as the National People’s Congress or its standing
committee may assign to it.

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 The premier has always been a member of the powerful Politburo Standing Committee of the
Communist Party of China.

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Directive principles of the constitution:

Introduction:

A unique feature of the constitution is that the incorporation of the general of the general principles of the
constitution. The main principles are prescribed in the following section.

Political principles:

 The people republic of China is a socialist state under the people’s democratic dictatorship led by
the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants. The socialist system is the
basic system of the country.
 All powers of the people’s republic of China belong to the people. The organs, through which the
people exercise state power, are the National People’s Congress and the local people’s congress at
different level.
 The state organs are based on and function according to the principles of democratic centralism.
The national people’s congress and the local people’s congress at different level are instituted
through direct elections. They are responsible to the people and subject to their supervision. The
higher organs of state authority supervise the work of the lower organs.
 All nationalities in the people’s republic of China are equal. The state protects the lawful rights
and interest of minority nationality. Regional autonomy is practiced in areas where people of
minority nationalities live in compact communities. These people of all nationalities have the
freedom to use and develop their own languages and to preserve and reform their own ways and
customs.
 The state upholds the uniformity and dignity of the socialist legal system. No law or
administrative or local rules and regulations should contravene the constitution. All state organs,
the armed forces, all political parties and pubic organizations and all enterprises individual may
enjoy the privilege of being above the constitution and law.

Economic principles:

 The basis of the socialist economic system is socialist ownership of the means of production,
namely, ownership by the whole people and collective ownership by the working people.
 The state economy is the sector of socialist economy under ownership of the whole people. It is
the leading force in the national economy.
 Rural people’s commune, agricultural producers’ cooperatives, and other forms of cooperative
economy belong to the sector of socialist economy under collective ownership of the working
class. The various forms of cooperative economy in the cities and towns, such as those in
handicraft, industrial and service trades, all belong to the sector of socialist economy under the
collective ownership of the working class.

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 Mineral resources, water, forests and mountains etc are owned by the state that is by the whole
people.
 Land the cities is owned by the state.
 Land in rural and suburban areas is owned by collectives except for those portions which belong
to the state in accordance with the law. House sites and privately farmed plots of crop land and
hilly land are also owned by collectives.
 The state may, in the public interest, take over land for its use in accordance with the law.
 No organization or individual may appropriate, buy, sell, lease land or unlawfully transfer land in
other ways.
 The individual economy of urban and rural working class/people, operated within the limit
prescribed by then law, is a complement to the socialist public economy.

The President of the Chinese Republic:

Introduction:

The office of the chairman of People’s Republic of China originated with the inception of 1954
constitution. Mao held this office for a couple of years. Concurrently he held the office of the chairman of
the Communist Party. Mao was succeeded by Liu Shao Chi as the chairman of the country. A rift surfaced
between the two leaders during the Cultural Revolution 1966-69. Liu was kept disgraced and ousted from
the office in 1969. The office was kept vacant until it was abolished in 1975. The Standing Committee of
the NPC served as the head of the state. Its chairman exercised the ceremonial functions of the head of
state though military functions were entrusted to chairman of the Communist Party. The constitution of
the 1982 reversed the position. The office of the president was created. The president is the highest
functionary of the state. However, he is not the executive president as that of the American president.
Presently Xi Jing Ping is president of China. He was elected president of China and chairman of the
Central Military Commission of the People’s Republic of China at the fourth plenary meeting of the first
session of the 12th national people’s congress in Beinjing, capital of China.

Method of appointment and tenure of president and vice president:

The president is elected by the NPC. The Chinese citizens, who attain the age of forty-five or more, are
eligible to seek election for the office. He is elected for the same term as the congress. It means he is
elected for a period of five years. No person can hold the office as a president for the consecutive two
terms. The vice president is also elected for the term of five years by the NPC. He is to assist the
president in his acts and functions and as a president he serves if the position is vacant. In case the
president office falls vacant due to his death or resignation or any other matter, the vice president
succeeds the office. In case of the vacancy of the vice president, the NPC is to elect the vice president for
the office.

Functions of the president: The office of the president is ornamental. He performs only ceremonial
functions. Following are the powers and functions related to the office.

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 He suggests a person to the NPC for the office of the prime minister. After the NPC accords its
approval, the premier is formally appointed by the president.
 The vice premier, state councilors, ministers in charge of ministries and commissions. The auditor
general and secretary general of the state council are appointed by the president in pursuance of
the decision of the NPC or its standing committee.
 All persons are appointed by the president are removable by him on the recommendation of the
NPC or its standing committee.
 In pursuance of the decision of the standing committee the president confers state medals and
titles of honor.
 He proclaims martial law and state of war.
 He issues orders of mobilization.
 The orders in above three cases (v, vi, vii) are issued by the president in accordance with the
decision taken by the NPC or the standing committee. He cannot take the decisions on his own.
 He receives ambassadors and foreign diplomatic representative on behalf of the People’s
Republic of China.
 He appoints and recalls Chinese ambassadors and other diplomatic representatives in foreign
countries. This function is also exercised on the recommendation of the standing committee of the
NPC.
 He ratifies the treaties concluded by the government with foreign countries. He is authorized to
abrogate treaties and other important agreements with foreign countries.

Critical evaluation of the president: Critical analyses of the president clarifies that the office of the
president is just like a glamorous piece of decoration. He does not take any decision on his own. His
initiative lies in recommending the names of a person to be chosen as the premier to the NPC. In other
words, he implements the decisions of the NPC and its standing committee. However, the essence of the
office magnified if the president happens to be an important member of the party as well. Li Xiannian, the
first president after the 1982 constitution elected by the sixth National People’s Congress in June 1983
happened to be a prominent leader of the party.

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Constitution of Turkey
Introduction:

Officially known as Republic of Turkey is an Euroasian country that stretches across the Anatolian
peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of Southeastern Europe. Turkey is successor
state of Ottoman Empire. It is a democratic secular unitary constitutional republic with an ancient
historical heritage. It political system was established in 1923 under the leadership of Mustafa Kamal
Ataturk following the fall of Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of WWI. Since then, Turkey has become
integrated with the West through membership in organizations such as NATO, OECD, WEOG and G-20.
Turkey has also begun full membership negotiation with Europe in 2005 after having been associate
member of the European Economic Community since 1963. Apart from that Turkey has also developed
good economic, industrial, cultural relations with Eastern world through OIC, Economic Cooperation
Organization.

DEVELOPMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL MOVEMENTS IN TURKEY

The Ottoman Empire was among the first Non-Western nations to establish a constitutional government.
Constitutional movements in the Ottoman Empire, which began during the second half of the 19th
century, can be characterized as the product of the following developments:

Reasons of Constitutional Development

 The decline of the Ottoman societal system.

 Influence of the Western European socioeconomic and political developments.
 Emergence of an enlightenment age in the Ottoman Empire. They were top-down constitutional
movements in contrast with those of the Western countries.

Major Steps towards Constitutional Government

 Two major steps toward a constitutional government were the Rescript of Tanzimat of 1839 and
that of Islahat of 1856.
 The rescripts were unilateral declarations and recognition by the Sultan of certain basic human
rights.
 These rescripts also paved the way for the promulgation of the first Ottoman Constitution in
1876.
 The 1876 Constitution provided certain mechanisms checking the absolute power of the Sultan by
creating a legislative assembly partially elected by the people.
 In 1909, the 1876 Constitution was substantially amended to increase the powers of the
legislature and to restrict those of the Sultan for developing a democratic monarchical political
system similar to that of the Western European societies.
 The 1921 Constitution established during the War of Independence included rules necessitated by
the conditions and requirements of war. It proclaimed the principle of "national sovereignty"as
an expression of the radical revolutionary transformation in the Turkish society by establishing

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the constitutional principle that the Grand National Assembly is the sole and true representative
of the nation. For realizing this purpose, it established an assembly government system in which
all the powers of sovereignty were embodied in the parliament.

1924 Constitution

 The Republic of Turkey adopted its first constitution in 1924. It retained the basic principles of
the 1921 Constitution, notably the principle of national sovereignty.
 The 1924 Constitution provided for a continuation of the parliamentary system. Both the
legislative and executive powers were embodied in the Assembly.
 Although the Assembly had the power to supervise and dismiss the Government, neither the
Government nor the President had the authority to dissolve the parliament.
 The 1924 Constitution can be characterized as a step toward a parliamentary system. The
Assembly was able to exercise executive power through the President and the Council of
Ministers.
 There was a clear separation of powers. Meanwhile, the collective responsibility of the ministers
before the Assembly was also adopted.
 The principle that the President must not bear any political responsibility was another feature of
the 1924 Constitution.
 The judiciary was totally separated from the legislative and executive bodies. Judicial power was
to be exercised by independent courts on behalf of the nation.

1961 Constitution

 The second constitution of the Republic of Turkey was adopted in 1961. It established a
constitutional system within the framework of social state, rule of law and a parliamentarian
democratic governmental system.
 The 1961 Constitution introduced a bicameral parliament. The National Assembly, one of the
parliamentary chambers, consisted of 450 deputies elected by universal suffrage. The National
Assembly had the final say in the lawmaking process.
 The Prime Minister and the Ministers made up the Council of Ministers, who bore political
responsibility for the use of this power.
 The 1961 Constitution fully separated the judiciary, the executive and the legislative branches
under the principle of the separation of powers. Furthermore, the concept of the "Constitutional
Court"was first introduced with the 1961 Constitution in accordance with its aim of establishing
a fully developed concept of the rule of law.

1982Constitution

The third constitution of the Republic of Turkey, in effect today, was ratified and adopted Nov 7, 1982.
According to the 1982 Constitution, unconditional and unrestricted sovereignty is vested in the nation.
The fundamental change in the legislature by the 1982 Constitution was the abolition of the Senate of the
Republic.

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Characteristics of the Republic under Constitution of 1982

 ARTICLE 2 •The Republic of Turkey is a democratic, secular and social state governed by rule
of law, within the notions of public peace, national solidarity and justice, respecting human rights,
loyal to the nationalism of Atatürk, and based on the fundamental tenets set forth in the preamble.
 Integrity, official language, flag, national anthem, and capital of the State: ARTICLE 3: The
State of Turkey, with its territory and nation, is an indivisible entity. Its language is Turkish.
 Its flag, the form of which is prescribed by the relevant law, is composed of a white crescent and
star on a red background.
 Its national anthem is the “Independence March”.
 Its capital is Ankara.
 Sovereignty:ARTICLE 6 Sovereignty belongs to the Nation without any restriction or condition.
 Legislation: ARTICLE 7 Legislative power is vested in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
on behalf of Turkish Nation. This power shall not be delegated.
 Executive power and function ARTICLE 8: Executive power and function shall be exercised
and carried out by the President of the Republic in conformity with the Constitution and laws.
 Equality before the law ARTICLE 10: Everyone is equal before the law without distinction as
to language, race, colour, sex, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion and sect, or any
such grounds.
 Nature of fundamental rights and freedoms ARTICLE 12: In addition, the 1982 Constitution
recognizes all basic human rights such as freedom of speech, press, communications, travel, right
to privacy, right to property. Everyone possesses inherent fundamental rights and freedoms,
which are inviolable and inalienable.
 National Security: Turkish Armed Forces are subordinate in capacity to the President in capacity
of commander-in-chief. The chief of staff of the TAF is responsible to the PM in the exercise of
his function and PM along the Council of Ministers is responsible to the parliament. National
Security Council comprising of chief of general staff, four main commanders and selected
members of the council of ministers develop national security policy.
 Revision/Amendment: Article 175 sets out the procedure of its own revision and amendment by
either referendum or a qualified majority of vote of 2/3 in the National Assembly. Only members
of parliament can propose modifications to the constitution.

Grand National Assembly

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey usually referred to simply as the parliament is the unicameral
Turkish legislature. It is the sole body that has been given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish
constitution. It was found in Ankara on April 23, 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence.
The parliament was fundamental in the efforts of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and his colleagues to found a
new state out of the remnants of Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of WWI.

Composition of GNA

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 The Grand National Assembly of Turkey shall be composed of six hundred deputies elected by
universal suffrage.
 Election: Article 77: Elections for the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and the Presidency of
the Republic shall be held on the same day every five years. If the simple majority is not obtained
in the first round of Presidential elections, a second round of voting is held according to
procedure stated in Article 101.
 Deferment of Election: Article 78: If holding new elections is deemed impossible because of
war, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey may decide to defer elections for a year.
 By-election: ARTICLE 79 Elections shall be held under the general administration and
supervision of the judicial organs. The Supreme Board of Election shall execute all the functions
to ensure the fair and orderly conduct of elections from the beginning to the end, carry out
investigations and take final decisions, during and after the elections, on all irregularities,
complaints and objections concerning the electoral matters, and receive the electoral records of
the members of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and presidential election. No appeal
shall be made to any authority against the decisions of the Supreme Board of Election.
 Parliamentary Immunity: ARTICLE 83 Members of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
shall not be liable for their votes and statements during parliamentary proceedings. A deputy who
is alleged to have committed an offence before or after election shall not be detained,
interrogated, arrested or tried unless the Assembly decides otherwise.

Duties and powers of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey

General Functions under Article 87

 The duties and powers of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey are to enact, amend, and repeal
laws;
 to debate and adopt the budget bills and final accounts bills;
 to decide to issue currency and declare war;
 to approve the ratification of international treaties,
 to decide with the majority of three-fifths of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to proclaim
amnesty and pardon;
 to exercise the powers and carryout the duties envisaged in the other articles of the Constitution.

Introduction and deliberation of bills Article 88

 Deputies are empowered to introduce bills.

Promulgation of laws by the President of the Republic Article 89

 The President of the Republic shall promulgate the laws adopted by the Grand National Assembly
of Turkey within fifteen days
 The President of the Republic shall send the laws that he deems, in whole or in part, unsuitable
for promulgation, along with the justification, back to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for
reconsideration in the same period. In case of being partially deemed unsuitable by the President
of the Republic, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey may discuss only those articles. Budget
laws shall not be subject to this provision.

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 If the Grand National Assembly of Turkey adopts the law sent back for reconsideration with the
absolute majority of total number of members without any amendment, the law shall be
promulgated by the President of the Republic; if the Assembly makes a new amendment to the
law, the President of the Republic may send the amended law back for reconsideration.

Ratification of international treaties under Article 90

 The ratification of treaties concluded with foreign states and international organisations on behalf
of the Republic of Turkey shall be subject to adoption by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
by a law approving the ratification.

Declaration of state of war and authorization to deploy the armed forces Article 92

 The power to authorize the declaration of a state of war in cases deemed legitimate by
international law and except where required by international treaties to which Turkey is a party or
by the rules of international courtesy to send the Turkish Armed Forces to foreign countries and
to allow foreign armed forces to be stationed in Turkey, is vested in the Grand National Assembly
of Turkey.
 In case of emergency when the Assembly is in recess, the President of Turkey is authorized to
decide on the use of Armed forces.

Provisions relating to the activities of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey

Convening and recess Article 93

 The Grand National Assembly of Turkey shall convene of its own accord on the first day of
October each year.
 The Assembly may be in recess for a maximum of three months in a legislative year; during
adjournment or recess it may be summoned by the President of the Republic.
 The Speaker of the Assembly may also summon the Assembly either on his own initiative or at
the written request of one fifth of the members.

President of the Republic

Nomination and Election of President under article 101:

 The President of the Republic shall be elected directly by the public from among Turkish citizens
who are eligible to be deputies, who are over forty years of age and who have completed higher
education.
 The President of the Republic’s term of office shall be five years. A person may be elected as
President of the Republic for two terms at most.
 Political party groups, political parties which have received more than five percent of the valid
votes in sum alone or jointly in the latest parliamentary elections, or at least a hundred thousand
electorates may nominate a candidate for Presidency of the Republic.
 If a deputy is elected as the President of the Republic, his/her membership of the Grand National
Assembly of Turkey shall cease.

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 In presidential elections conducted by universal suffrage, the candidate who receives the absolute
majority of the valid votes cast shall be elected President of the Republic. If such a majority
cannot be obtained in the first ballot, the second ballot shall be held on the second Sunday
following this ballot. The first two top rated candidates in first ballot shall run for the second, and
the candidate who receives the majority of the valid votes cast shall be elected President of the
Republic.

Duties and powers of President

ARTICLE 104

 The President of the Republic is the head of the State. Executive power belongs to the President
of the Republic.
 In this capacity, he/she shall represent the Republic of Turkey and the unity of the Turkish
Nation;
 He/she shall ensure the implementation of the Constitution, and the regular and harmonious
functioning of the organs of the State.
 If he/she deems it necessary, delivers the opening speech of the Grand National Assembly of
Turkey on the first day of the legislative year.
 He/she gives message to the Assembly about domestic and foreign policy of the country.
 He/she promulgates laws.
 He/she returns laws for reconsideration to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
 He/she lodges an action for annulment with the Constitutional Court for the whole or certain
provisions of enacted laws, the Rules of Procedure of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on
the grounds that they are unconstitutional in form or in substance.
 He/she appoints and dismisses Vice-Presidents of the Republic and ministers.
 He/she appoints and dismisses high level State officials, and regulates the procedures and
principles relating to the appointment of these, by presidential decrees.
 He/she accredits representatives of the Turkish State to foreign states and receives the
representatives of foreign states appointed to the Republic of Turkey.
 He/she ratifies and promulgates international treaties.
 He/she holds a referendum, if he/she deems it necessary, on laws regarding amendment to the
Constitution.
 He/she determines the national security policies and takes the necessary measures.
 He/she represents the Office of Commander-in-Chief of the Turkish Armed Forces on behalf of
the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
 He/she decides on the use of the Turkish Armed Forces.
 He/she commutes or revokes the sentences imposed on certain individuals, on grounds of chronic
illness, disability and old age.
 The President of the Republic may issue presidential decrees on matters relating to the executive
power. In the case of a conflict between presidential decrees and the laws due to differences in
provisions on the same matter, the provisions of law shall prevail. In case the Grand National
Assembly of Turkey introduces a law on the same matter, the presidential decree shall become
null and void.

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 The President of the Republic may issue by-laws in order to ensure the implementation of laws
providing that they are not contrary to these laws and regulations.

Criminal liability of the President of the Republic Article 105

 Parliamentary Investigation may be requested claiming that the President of the Republic
commits a crime through a motion tabled by an absolute majority of the total number of members
of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The Assembly shall debate this request within one
month at the latest and may decide to open an investigation through a three-fifths majority in
secret ballot.
 Where a decision to launch an investigation is made, the investigation shall be conducted by a
committee of fifteen members, chosen by lot, for each political party in the Assembly. The
committee shall submit its report on the result of the investigation to the Office of the Speaker of
the Assembly within two months. In case the investigation is not completed within the time
allotted, the committee shall be granted a further and final period of one month.
 After discussing the Committee’s Report in the Plenary, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
may decide to refer the case to the Supreme Court with two-thirds majority of the total number of
members through secret ballot. The Supreme Court trial shall be concluded in three months, if the
trial is not completed within the time allotted, a further three months shall be granted for once,
and the trial shall absolutely be completed within that time.
 The term of office of the President of the Republic, who is convicted by the Supreme Court of a
crime that prevents from being elected, shall cease.

National Security Council

Commander-in-Chief: Article 117: President is the Commander-in-Chief of armed forces and is

responsible to the National Grand Assembly for the preparation of armed forces and security of the state.

 The Chief of the General Staff, appointed by the President of the Republic, is the commander of
the Armed Forces, and in time of war, exercises the duties of Commander-in-Chief on behalf of
the President of the Republic.

National Security Council (MGK):

NSC was the result of the military coup in 1960 and has been a part of the constitution since 1961. The
constitution of 1961 created a double headed political system: the civilian council of ministers co-existed
with the NSC. The role of NSC was further strengthened with the 1982 constitution adopted by the
military junta in the aftermath of the 1980 military coup before transferring powers to civilian politicians.
Formation under Article 118:
The National Security Council shall be composed of Vice-Presidents of the Republic, ministers of Justice,
National Defense, Internal Affairs, and Foreign Affairs, the Chief of the General Staff, the commanders of
the Land, Naval and Air Forces under the chairpersonship of the President of the Republic.
 President sets the agenda for the meeting of NSCon the advice of vice-president and Chief of the
General Staff.
 NSC may invite the concerned ministers to meetings as per the nature of matter and submit a
report to the President about the decisions taken and security policy of the state.

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 The President of the Republic shall evaluate decisions of the National Security Council
concerning the measures that it deems necessary for the preservation of the existence and
independence of the State.
 In the absence of president, the NSC shall convene under the leadership of the vice-president.
 The security policy of NSC is expressed in the National Security Policy Document commonly
known as “The red Book”, the most secret document in Turkey.
The Role of Military in Turkish Politics:
National Security Council is perceived to have institutionalized the Turkish military’s influence over
politics.
Background:
 Since Mustafa Kamal Ataturk founded the modern secular republic of Turkey in 1923, the
Turkish army has perceived itself as guardian of Kemalism, the Turkish nationalism and
ideology. The Military maintains an important degree of influence over Turkish politics and
decision making process and has intervened in politics.
 After the coups d' état in 1960, the Millî Birlik Komitesi (National Unity Committee) established
the Inner Service Act of the Turkish Armed Forces on 4 January 1961 to legitimize their military
interventions in politics.
 It assumed power for several periods in the latter half of 20th century like in 1960, 1971 and
1980. For example, when in November 2007 the issue of secularism was discussed, the army
clearly warned that the army is ready to intervene if the secular nature of the Turkish constitution
was compromised.
 In July 2016, a few rogue factions of the Turkish Armed Forces attempted to take over the
government, but Erdogan supporters and other loyal military units stopped the coup
attempt.[65]Many lives were lost and hundreds were injured. The parliament house and some
other buildings in Ankara and Istanbul were damaged. Thousands of military personnel have been
arrested and structure of the armed forces has been overhauled.

Reforms

The Turkish Constitutional Referendum of 2017

In the aftermath of a failed military coup attempt in July 2016, the Justice and Development Party AKP
with the support of The Nationalist Movement Party MHP decided to bring changes in the constitution. A
constitutional referendum was held throughout Turkey on 16 April 2017 on whether to approve 18
proposed amendments to the Turkish constitution brought forward by AKP. The current package
contains 18 measures that further revised or repealed 76 articles. After much controversy over the validity
and credibility of voting, certain amendments were made in the Turkish constitution.

On 10 December 2016, the AKP and MHP brought forward a total of 21 proposed amendments to the
constitution and began collecting signatures from MPs in order to begin the parliamentary procedures for
initiating a referendum. After Assembly Commission talks, 3 proposals were withdrawn, leaving 18
amendments remaining. Important proposed amendments are the following:

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 Article 75: the number of seats in the parliament was raised from 550 to 600. The office of
the Prime Minister would be abolished and the existing parliamentary system of government
would be replaced with an executive presidency and a presidential system.
 Article 77: Parliamentary terms are extended from four to five years. Parliamentary and
presidential elections will be held on the same day every five years, with presidential elections
going to a run-off if no candidate wins a simple majority in the first round.
 Article 104: The President becomes both the head of state and head of government, with the
power to appoint and sack ministers and Vice President. The president can issue decrees about
executive. If legislation makes a law about the same topic that President issued an executive
order, decree will become invalid and parliamentary law become valid. He or she will be given
sweeping new powers to appoint ministers, prepare the budget, choose the majority of senior
judges and enact certain laws by decree.
 The president alone will be able to announce a state of emergency and dismiss parliament.
 Article 125: The acts of the President are now subject to judicial review.
 Article 142: Military courts are abolished unless they are erected to investigate actions of soldiers
under conditions of war.
 Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on the same day every five years. The
president will be limited to two terms.
 Transfer of Powers of cabinet to President: Adaptation of several articles of the constitution
with other changes, mainly transferring executive powers of cabinet to President.
 the office of the Prime Minister would be abolished and the existing parliamentary system of
government would be replaced with an executive presidency and a presidential system.
The amendments need the support of 330 votes in the parliament for recommending them for referendum
and 367 for direct ratification while the AKP and MHP parties collectively had 348 MP’s. After the
parliamentary voting in January 2017, the amendments were put forward for referendum. After the “yes”
and “No” campaign and harsh criticism to the amendments, The referendum was held under a state of
emergency on April 16, 2017 with a little more than 51 percent of Turks voted in favor of the
executive presidency, with a turnout of over 85%.

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Constitution of India
History
The constitution of India in reality has a very short history in terms of Indian sovereignty but it is the
outcome of a long struggle for freedom first from Muslim Sultanate and Mughal Empire and then from
British occupation. The British rule made administrative reforms from time to time which have been
incorporated in Indian constitution up to some extent. The political resistance to British rule began in
1885 when Indian National Congress was formed which chiefly focused on integration locals into
administrative and policy making domains of the country.
The period between 1900 and 1920 was a radical and revolutionary period in Indian politics. The
formation of All India Muslim League, division Bengal province, granting of separate electorates to
Muslims provoked Indian Hindus which led to extremism and militant nationalism. The incident of
Jallianwala, non-cooperation movements, communal riots and protests dominated the scene.
The major contributor to Indian constitution during the colonial era is the India Act of 1935 and the
succeeding Congress Ministries which gave Indian Hindus an upper hand in the politics and
administration of the country over other communities. The British hold started weakening with the
increased communal disparities, WWII, and rising nationalism of Indian which resulted in the
independence of Pakistan and India from British colonialism. During the about 100 years of British
colonial era, continuous struggle was made to provide India with a balance and acceptable constitution
but the constitution making bodies badly failed due to communal gap.
Indian Independence Act
The Indian Independence Act was pass by British Parliament in July 1947 and received Royal assent on
18th July 1947 that established two independent Dominions: Pakistan and India. They were freed from
British sovereignty and the territory of India was divided among the two as per the majority of the
population. Major provisions of the Act are the following:
 New Dominions: Two Dominions were established Pakistan and India with their defined
territories. NWFP was to decide through a referendum on August 15th, 1947 whether to join
Pakistan of India. Some other princely states were also given choice for joining either of the
dominions.
 Governor General: the Act also provided that there shall be a Governor General to be appointed
by the British Majesty. As result Quid –Azam became first GG of Pakistan and Lord
Mountbatten of Indian dominion.
 Legislature: Till the dominions form their own constitution, the Act provided that the existing
separate constituent assemblies would act as the legislature of the dominions. The legislatures
were granted full autonomy of legislation for the concerned dominions. British acts would no
longer extend to the dominions.
 Temporary Provisions to the Government of each Dominion: Constituent assemblies of both
dominions were empowered to run the government with under the India Act of 1935 with the
required amendments and to frame the constitution for the dominions.
 Indian States and Tribal Areas: the sovereignty of British Crown over the princely states of
India lapsed with effect from 15th August, 1947. They were free to join either states. All
agreements and treaties of these states with British Crown also lapsed.
 Abolition of the Office of Secretary of State: the office of the secretary of state for India in
British Parliament was replaced with Secretary of Commonwealth relations for the dominions.
 British Monarch was no longer emperor of India.

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 Apart from these, provisions were made for the division of armed forces, protection of the rights
and privileges of Civil Services.

Features and Sources of Indian Constitution

The Constitution is remarkable for certain unique features of its own. Some of them can be studies under
the following headings.
Written, Lengthy and Detailed:
 Like US, Canada and France, India’s Constitution is Written.
 It is written elaborately which makes it the most voluminous constitution in the world.
 Every administrative and governance problem and even matters which are subject to conventions
in other countries have been put into black and white in India’s Constitution.
 It consists of 395 articles and 12 Schedules.
Extraordinary Bulk:
The constitution of India is an extraordinary bulk due to the following reasons:
 It was framed in the light of world’s all constitution in order to all possible defects and loopholes.
 The framers have followed the India Act 1935 in providing administrative details rather merely
providing the fundamental principles as in US.
 It provides details for the administration of both the Union government and the governments of
the states.
 The communal diversity and vastness of population of the country have also contributed to the
extraordinary bulk in the constitution.
 Diverse nature of the units in Indian Union also demands distinct treatment and provisions.
 Detailed provisions relating to the working of various institutions in order to avoid difficulties.
Rigid and Flexible:
Indian constitution is partly rigid and partly flexible. The procedure of amendment is neither easy like UK
nor rigid like US.
 Constitutional amendment can be initiated in either House of the Parliament.
 Absolute majority of total membership of each House voting separately and 2/3 majority of the
members present and voting can pass an amendment.
 Certain parts of the constitution can only be amended with subsequent ratification by legislatures
of at least half of the states.
Sovereign Democratic Republic:
The preamble to the constitution declares India to be sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic.
 To secure justice, social, economic and political interests, liberty of thought, expression, belief
and worship.
 Sovereign: India is now fully sovereign.
 Democratic means the real power emanates from people.
 Constitution introduces universal adult franchise to vote for the election of their representatives
for the Union Parliament and State Legislature.
 Republic means that the state is not headed by a King or Queen but the president indirectly
elected by the people.
Partly Federal and Partly Unitary:
The Constitution declares Bharat as the Union of States. All the subjects of administration have been
divided between the Union Government and State Government. There are three lists:

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 Union List: it contains exclusive jurisdiction of Indian Parliament.

 State List: It contains items of jurisdiction of state legislature.
 Concurrent List: items upon which both the Parliament and the State Legislature can make laws
concurrently.
 The Union and the States have their own Governments and Executive Heads: the Prime minister
and the chief minister respectively.
 Supreme Court has been set to settle disputes between the Union and the State.
 Although, India is Federal but the center is so strong that it possesses the quality of unitary
system.
 The power of the Union List is so wide that it can legislate on State List under certain
circumstances.
 Governor is appointed and dismissed by the President.
 The president can declare emergency and assume administration of the state himself.
 The parliament can by law change the territories of the states as it did under the State
Reorganization Act 1956, and most recently, by Abolishing Article 35A and 370 to change the
demography of Kashmir.
Parliamentary System of Government:
The constitution establishes parliamentary type of government both at Center and the Units.
 Although, president is elected indirectly and is head of the executive yet the real powers are
vested in the cabinet which is responsible to the Lok Sabha.
 In State, the governor is the executive head but the real powers are exercised by the Council of
Ministers which is responsible to the Legislative assembly.
 The President and the Governor are merely constitutional Heads.
 The parliamentary system has been borrowed from Great Britain because of its success and
Indians’ experience of India Act 1919 and 1935.
Secular State:
 The state gives single citizenship to all irrespective of religion, caste, colour, creed or sex.
 It confers upon every citizen to practice any religion he/she chooses.
 There is to be no ecclesiastical department of the state.
 The state has no official religion.
Single Citizenship:
Although, India has federal system yet unlike US single citizenship is provided to all citizens.
Directive Principles of States Policy:
It is another distinctive feature of Indian constitution. This feature has been taken from the Irish Free
State. Some of the principles are the following:
 Equitable distribution of wealth amongst all classes as to prevent its concentration in few hands.
 Provide adequate means of livelihood to all citizens.
 Prevention of cow slaughter.
 Promotion of health and strength of workers.
 Promotion of cottage industry, animal husbandry and scientific agriculture.
Although, these principles are not justiciable but the state should always strive to achieve these principles.
Establishment of a Welfare State:
The preamble along the Directive Principles hints at establishing the Welfare Socialist state in India.
Adoption of Unqualified Adult Franchise and Abolition of Communal Representation:

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 The constitution Article 326 provides for Universal adult suffrage without any qualification of
property, education etc. every citizen enjoys the right of vote at the age of 21.
 Separate electorates for communities were replaced with joint electorates.
Fundamental Rights:
 Like the constitution of US, the constitution of India possesses a separate chapter guaranteeing
Fundamental Rights to all the citizens.
 They are binding on the legislature as well as on the executive.
 If any of these rights is violated, the citizens have right to seek the protection of judiciary.
 Any legislation can be declared null and void if it violates any of the fundamental rights.
 As against the Directive Principle, Fundamental Rights are justiciable, safeguarded with
constitutional guarantees.
Adoption of Official Language:
 With multiple diverse cultural traditions and languages, it is essential to declare certain common
language as the national language. The constitution declares Hindi in the Devanagri Script as the
official language of the country.
 Besides that, states are authorized to adopt any regional languages for all or some official
purposes.
An Instrument of Social Change:
 The constitution has abolished the law of hateful system of untouchability.
 Social reformers, saints and especially Mahatma Gandhi played significant role in eradicating the
division of society into social classes.
 But the real change was brought by the constitution by declaring such system unlawful.
Territorial Integration of India:
 Another important feature of the Indian constitution is the integration of some 562 princely states
with the rest of India.
 Some of these states were merged with the adjoining provinces while some were brought under
the central government.
 The entire territory of India has been integrated and consolidated into a compact state for the first
time in the history of India.
 The Act of Reorganization of 1956 furthered this unification which divided the country into two
categories: the States and the Union Territories.
 The Native states now have ceased to exist as separate entities.
Compromised between Judicial Supremacy and Parliamentary Sovereignty:
 The constitution of India is a refined blending of the Judicial Supremacy and Parliamentary
Sovereignty.
 It avoids the super authority of Supreme Court of America and British Parliamentary Sovereignty.
 The Indian constitution authorizes the Supreme Court to declare an Act of parliament of State’s
legislature null and void id it contravenes a specific provision of the constitution or Fundamental
Right of the people.
 The Supreme Court does not have the power of the judicial review and cannot stand in judgment
over the sovereign will of the parliament representing the will of the entire community.
 Parliament is absolutely supreme in the sphere of legislation within the bounds of the constitution.
Accumulation of the Borrowed Wisdom of the World (A bag of Borrowings):

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 The framers of the Indian constitution borrowed suitable and tried principles of other
constitutions of the world.
 They did not want to frame a unique or original constitution but to frame a workable and good
constitution.
 Thus, parliamentary form of government has been adopted from England.
 The Supreme Court and chapter on Fundamental Rights show the influence of USA.
 The Directive Principles of State Policy has been taken from Irish State.
 The federation of India is set on the patterns of Canada where residuary powers are bestowed on
the center.
 The Government of India Act 1935 is the most important source of Indian constitution. It has also
borrowed a lot from the India Act of 1935. It is more of less a carbon copy of the Act. For
example, Article 156 of the Constitution regarding Center-State conflict is a ditto copy Section
107 of India Act 1935. Similarly, Article 352 and 353 are also reproduction of sections of India
Act of 1935. It said that “The Indian Constitution derive directly from the Act of 1925… many of
its provisions are copied textually.
Despite of the fact that Indian constitution has borrowed so many principles from other constitutions and
is sometimes called a bag of borrowings, yet it does embody many of the Gandhian principles and
aspirations of the Indian people

Directive Principles of State Policy

Directive Principles of States Policy:
It is another distinctive feature that form 4th part of Indian constitution that enumerates the Directive
Principles of State Policy. Sixteen Articles from Article 36 to 51 of the constitution deal with the
Directive Principles of the State. These principles are supposed to be the imperative basis of state policy.
It embodies the objectives which the state shall try to achieve and these principles tend to form the basis
of a welfare state. However, unlike Fundamental Rights, these principles are not justiciable, that means,
they cannot be claimed by citizens in courts or cannot be enforce by courts. They are merely directives
which the executive and legislature strive to follow. In fact, they are ambitions of the framers of the
constitution.
Sources of Directive Principles:
 This feature has been taken from the Irish Free State.
 They can also be traced back to French declaration regarding Rights of Man.
 American Declaration of Independence and Charter of United Nations might have also influenced
this Indian Constitution.
 The Directive Principles also represent the pattern of instrument of instruction provided in the
Government of India Act, 1935.
 Many of the Directive Principles are foreign borrowings but some of them are purely Ganddhian
and Regional, like setting up of village Panchayat, prohibition of cow slaughter and cottage
industry.
Some of the principles are the following:
 Equitable distribution of wealth amongst all classes as to prevent its concentration in few hands.
 Provide adequate means of livelihood to all citizens.
 Promotion of health and strength of workers.
 Fixation of equal pay for equal and similar work for both men and women.

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 Maintenance of and protection of health and strength of the working men and women.
 To raise the level of nutrition and standard of living.
 To provide employment to all the able-bodied citizens of India.
 The state shall promote welfare of people by providing justice, social, economic and political
equality and security.
Gandhian Principles:
 Prevention of cow slaughter.
 To provide compulsory and free education to all children below the age of fourteen.
 Establish village Panchayat.
 Prohibition of intoxicating drinks and drugs.
 Promotion of cottage industry, animal husbandry and scientific agriculture.
Miscellaneous
 Separation of judiciary from executive.
 To protect monuments and historical buildings.
 To secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout territory of India.
 To protect the environment and safeguard the forests and wild life.

Difference between Directive Principles and Fundamental Rights

 Directive Principles are not justiciable while fundamental rights are.
 Fundamental Rights are backed by legal sanction while Directive Principles are not enforceable
by courts. For example, if a citizen is unemployed, he/she cannot seek the protection of courts
despite of it being the part of Directive Principles.
 Directive Principles are at best a code of morality while Fundamental Rights are of legality.
 Fundamental rights form unchangeable part of the constitution while the Directive Principles first
provide aspirations to the policy makers and then gradually become into practice. E.g. Village
Panchayat functioning in practical in all villages.
Although, these principles are not justiciable but the state should always strive to achieve these principles.
Although, these principles have no legal sanction but they are very much valuable because are a standing
reminder to the government of the Union and the States that they should not do anything that violates the
spirit of these principles. These principles act as a constant guide in policy making and provide of hope
for establishing a Welfare state.

President of India
Method of Election:
 An electoral college composed of the elected Members of both Houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha,
Rajya Sabha) and the legislative assemblies of states (Vidhan Sabha) elects the President of India
indirectly. The Upper Houses of State legislature e.g. the legislative Councils are not allowed to
participate in the presidential election.
 President election is held by secret ballot in accordance with principle of proportional
representation by means of single transferable vote.
 Thus the people indirectly elect the president through their elected representatives. If the
president was elected by direct election it would have two complications: it is difficult to hold
election of such vast population and the president would not remain merely a constitutional head

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of the state then.

 The president must secure absolute majority in the vote casted to get elected.
 The elector casts his vote in the order of preferences against all the names of presidential
candidates printed on the ballot paper by putting I, II, III against the names on ballot paper.
 After voting, the counting begins with the first preference votes. If a person get absolute majority
of all the valid votes, he is elected and no further counting is required.
 If no candidate secures absolute majority, then counting of the second preference is held. The
candidate securing the least 2nd preference votes is considered as good as the first preference.
 If no candidate secures absolute number of votes, then the third preference of the candidates is
taken into consideration. The process goes on until the a candidate secures the required quota.
Eligibility for re-election (Article 57)— A person who holds, or who has held, office as President shall,
subject to the other provisions of this Constitution, be eligible for re-election to that office.
Qualifications for election as President.(Article 58)— (1) No person shall be eligible for election as
President unless he—
 (a) is a citizen of India,
 (b) has completed the age of thirty-five years, and
 (c) is qualified for election as a member of the House of the People.
 (2) A person shall not be eligible for election as President if he holds any office of profit under
the Government of India or the Government
Conditions of President's office.(Article 59)— (1) The President shall not be a member of either House of
Parliament or of a House of the Legislature of any State, and if a member of either House of Parliament or
of a House of the Legislature of any State be elected President, he shall be deemed to have vacated his
seat in that House on the date on which he enters upon his office as President.
Timeframe of Presidential Election:
 Presidential election takes place right after the general election, death, resignation, or removal of
the president.
 The presidential candidate deposits a sum of Rs. 2500 as security and there must be 10 electors as
sponsors and 10 as seconders.
Term of Office:
 The President holds office for a period of five years.
 He is eligible for re-election.
 He may be removed from the office for violation of the constitution before expiry of the term by
impeachment. Either of the House of Parliament by 2/3 majority may prefer charges for this
purpose. The other House investigates the charges and if established by 2/3 majority of the total
membership of the other House as well, the President is removed.
 The president may write resign before expiry of his office to the vice-president who
communicates it to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
 In case of death, removal or resignation of president, the vice-president officiates as the president
till the seat is filled by new election which must take place before expiry of 6 months.
Procedure for impeachment of the President.(Article 61)— (1) When a President is to be impeached for
violation of the Constitution, the charge shall be preferred by either House of Parliament.
 (2) No such charge shall be preferred unless—
 (a) the proposal to prefer such charge is contained in a resolution which has been moved after at
least fourteen days'notice in writing signed by not less than one-fourth of the total number of
members of the House has been given of their intention to move the resolution, and

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 (b) such resolution has been passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the total
membership of the House.
 (3) When a charge has been so preferred by either House of Parliament, the other House shall
investigate the charge or cause the charge to be investigated and the President shall have the right
to appear and to be represented at such investigation.
 (4) If as a result of the investigation a resolution is passed by a majority of not less than two-
thirds of the total membership of the House by which the charge was investigated or caused to be
investigated, declaring that the charge preferred against the President has been sustained, such
resolution shall have the effect of removing the President from his office as from the date on
which the resolution is so passed.
Powers and Functions of the President
The constitution confers extensive powers on the president of the Indian Republic.
Executive Powers:
 The president is the head of the state. He is the chief executive head of the Union Government.
All executive actions are taken in his name.
 He is the supreme commander of the Defense Forces of the Union.
 He has the power to take any military action in case of danger in anticipation of its subsequent
approval by Parliament.
 He makes all important appointments such as, Governors of the States, ambassadors and other
diplomatic representatives, chief justices and judges of the Supreme Court and of High Courts,
Attorney General, the Chairman and members of the Union Public Service Commission etc.
 He also makes appointment of the Prime Minister and on his advice, of other ministers of the
union government.
 The president administers the Union territories through his council of advisors partly elected and
partly nominated.
Legislative Powers:
The Union Legislature consists of the president and the two Houses of Parliament. Thus, president is the
integral part of the parliament.
 He summons, adjourns and prorogue both the Houses of the Parliament (Lok Sabha LH and
Rajya Sabha UH) and dissolve the Lok Sabha on the advice of the PM.
 He may summons a joint session of both the Houses when they disagree on a Bill.
 He nominates 12 members of the Rajya Sabha and 2 Anglo-Indians to the Lok Sabha.
 He opens the first session of the Parliament with his speech outlining the national and foreign
policy of his government and legislative program.
 He may address both the Houses separately or jointly.
 He may recommend a matter for consideration to both the Houses.
 All Bills passed by the parliament receive his assent.
 He may withhold his assent from a Bill except Money Bill. But if the same Bill is passed by
simple majority of both the Houses, the president cannot withhold is then for the second time.
 Certain bills also require his assent for introduction in parliament while other bills require is
assent after they are passed by the State Legislature. He may veto these bills and his veto is
absolute in this respect.
 The president can issue ordinances at any time when parliament is not in session. Such ordinances
have the same strength as an Act of parliament. The ordinance issue by the president must be

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placed before the parliament as soon as it meets. The ordinance ceases to operate six week after
the assembly of the parliament unless approved by the House in the meantime.
 The president also possesses the power of issuing ordinance not only in respect of the existing
laws, but also regarding new laws. While the president of US and Monarch Britain cannot
exercise such powers because they cannot touch new subjects. They can only issue ordinance in
the form of executive orders for filling the gaps in the existing laws.
Financial Powers of President:
 Before the beginning of the financial year, the president causes to lay before the parliament the
annual budget and the supplementary budget.
 No money Bill can e introduced in the parliament without his prior recommendation.
 He distributes the share of all income-tax receipts between the Centre and the States and allocates
to the States of Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa grants-in-aid in lieu of their share in the
export duty on jute.
 He also empowered to appoint Finance Commission for allocation of shares of the States in
regard to receipts from other taxes.
 The president also is empowered to create a Contingency Fund out of which he can make
advances to meet the unforeseen expenditures subject to the subsequent sanction of parliament.
Judicial Powers
 The president enjoys the power to grant pardon, reprieve or remission of punishment to any
convict, particularly punishment with death.
 He appoints judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court through consultation with judges of
the Supreme Court and High Courts.
 The president can refer any matter of constitutional law to the Supreme Court for advice.
 During financial emergency, the president may reduce the salaries of the Judges of the Supreme
Court and High Courts and of the Personnel of the Union Public Service Commission.
Emergency Powers:
The president has been giver a wide range of powers to meet emergencies. The Constitution divides the
emergencies into three kinds:
1. Emergency arising out of war, external aggression or armed rebellions.
2. Emergency arising out of the failure of the constitutional machinery in the states.
3. Emergency arising out of the threat to financial stability or credit of India.
The president is the sole judge to decide whether there is any emergency or not.
 The president has the power to declare emergency in case of imminent threat to the security of
the country.
 His decision of declaring emergency cannot be challenged in courts of law.
 The president issue direction to any State regarding the conduct of the executive business.
 The president can also modify the distribution of sources of revenue between the Union and the
States.
National Emergency:
 The president can also suspend the operation of Fundamental Rights and their constitutional
guarantees given in Article 19 and 32 during the emergency.
 The proclamation of the emergency needs to be approved by both of the Houses voting separately
within two months from the date of proclamation.

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 The constitution does not place any time limit for the emergency. It will continue till it is revoked
by subsequent proclamation. E.g. The president had declare emergency once in 1962 in wake up
of the China’s attack on India and lifted it in 1968. In 1975 emergency was declared due to
internal disturbance.

Constitutional Emergency:
 If the president is not satisfied with the government of a State himself or on the recommendation
of the Governor, he may assume to himself any or all functions of the government of the State or
of the governor of the State.
 He may dissolve State’s legislature and Council of Ministers but he cannot assume powers of
court. He may also suspend constitution related to any authority in the state.
 This type of emergency ceases to be effective after two months unless approved by the parliament
in meanwhile. It cannot be issued for more than six months but can be extended after six months
to a maximum of three years. Extension should be approved by the parliament.
Financial Emergency:
 If the president feels that there is threat to financial stability of the country or part of the country,
he may declare financial emergency.
 He may order reduction in salaries and allowances of all or any class serving in connection with
the affairs of the Union or State including judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts.
 Such emergency continue till 2 months unless approved by the parliament. It can be extended up
to six months till maximum of three years.
President and the Cabinet
The constitution provides that there shall be a council of Ministers headed by the PM to aid and advise the
president in the exercise of his functions. The president appoints the PM and PM appoints the ministers
on the advice of the president. The ministers hold the office during the pleasure of the president.
 Although, the constitution grant the president extensive powers but being the head of executive,
he surrenders his powers to a responsible government that is Council of Ministers.
 Thus the president becomes a nominal head of the executive where all powers are enjoyed by the
Council of Ministers but according to Article 78, the PM must keep the president informed about
the decisions of the government.
 If the president refuses to accept the advice of a ministry, the ministry has to resign and the
president has to find alternative ministry. But this may not be possible if the outgoing ministry
enjoys the command of the majority of members in the Lok Sabha.
Limitations on President:
 The president cannot handle the administration single handedly and thus will never disregard the
wishes of the ministers.
 Apart from that, the Parliament has the powers of impeachment of president for violation of
constitution that is an effective check against the dictatorial use of power by the president.
 Jawahar Lal Nehru said in the parliament that the president is “a constitutional president and that
he is bound to act according to the advice of the Cabinet. Therefore, the president cannot go
against the advice of the cabinet.
Influence of the President:
 The above limitations do not mean that the president has no influence or prestige. He is an elected
representative and enjoys greater popular faith than the nominal executive head like the King or

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Queen of England.
 He is the first citizen of India and his office carries great dignity.
 He is the head of a very strong Central Government and is more powerful than the American
President who is the head of a weak centre.
 He can use his discretionary powers in the appointment of PM. If no single party gets majority in
the Lok Sabha, in such situation the president can act on his own free will.
 He can also send messages to the parliament for enactment of some legislation, to reject Bills
outright and the power to put the decision of a minister before the meeting of cabinet as whole.
 He can dismiss the PM if in his opinion the PM has lost the support of the majority.
 He may not accept the advice of the PM to dissolve the Lok Sabha before its expiry if he thinks
the advice is unfair from national point of view.
 Therefore, the president is so powerful because of his powers of issuing ordinances, declaration
of emergency, suspension of autonomy of the States, suspension of Fundamental Rights, while
the only limitation against him is the impeachment.
In the words of Jawahar Lal Nehru, “the president enjoys no powers but he can exercise a lot of
influence.”

Indian Parliament: Lok Sabha (Lower House)

Introduction:

Lok Sabha is the Lower House of Indian Parliament. Its normal term is 5 years (Article 83) but the
president can dissolve is earlier. Its life can also be extended for not more than 6 months during
emergency.
Composition of Lok Sabha or of the H ouse of the People (Article 81)
The House of the People shall consist of—
 (a) Not more than 6[five hundred and thirty members]chosen by direct election from territorial
constituencies in the States, and
 (b)N ot more than 7[twenty members]to represent the U nion territories, chosen in such manner
as Parliament may by law provide.
 Each state is to be provided with seat in the H ouse on proportion to their population.
Qualification for membership of Parliament.— A person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill a seat
in Parliament unless he—
 (a) is a citizen of India, and makes and subscribes before some person authorised in that behalf by
the Election Commission an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in
the Third Schedule;]
 (b) is, in the case of a seat in the Council of States, not less than thirty years of age and, in the
case of a seat in the House of the People, not less than twenty-five years of age; and
 (c)Possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law
made by Parliament.
Article 85. Sessions of Parliament, prorogation and dissolution.— (1) The President shall from time to
time summon each House of Parliament to meet at such time and place as he thinks fit, but six months
shall not intervene between its last sitting in one session and the date appointed for its first sitting in the
next session.
 (2) The President may from time to time—
 (a) prorogue the Houses or either House;

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 (b)dissolve the H ouse of the People.]

Article 86. Right of President to address and send messages to Houses.—
 The President may address either House of Parliament or both Houses assembled together, and
for that purpose require the attendance of members.
 (2)The President may send messages to either H ouse of Parliament, whether with respect to a
Bill then pending in Parliament or otherwise, and a H ouse to which any message is so sent shall
with all convenient dispatch consider any matter required by the message to be taken into
consideration.
Article 93. The Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of the People.— The House of the People
shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the House to be respectively Speaker and Deputy
Speaker thereof and, so often as the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker becomes vacant, the House shall
choose another member to be Speaker or Deputy Speaker, as the case may be.
Article 94. Vacation and resignation of, and removal from, the offices of Speaker and Deputy
Speaker.— A member holding office as Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of the People—
 (a) shall vacate his office if he ceases to be a member of the House of the People;
 (b) may at any time, by writing under his hand addressed, if such member is the Speaker, to the
Deputy Speaker, and if such member is the Deputy Speaker, to the Speaker, resign his office; and
 (c)may be removed from his office by a resolution of the H ouse of the People passed by a
majority of all the then members of the H ouse:
Article 102. Disqualifications for membership.— (1) A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as,
and for being, a member of either House of Parliament—
 (a) if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State,
other than an office declared by Parliament by law not to disqualify its holder;]
 (b) if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court;
 (c) if he is an undischarged insolvent;
 (d) if he is not a citizen of India, or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign State, or
is under any acknowledgment of allegiance or adherence to a foreign State;
 (e)if he is so disqualified by or under any law made by Parliament.
Powers and Functions of the House of People/Lok Sabha:

Legislative Powers:
The Lok Sabha has vast legislative powers. They are the following:
 The House can make laws along the Rajya Sabha for the Union and the Concurrent List.
 In certain cases, it can also legislate for the subjects mentioned in the State List when authorized
by the Rajya Sabha.
 Its legislative powers increases immensely during the operation of a proclamation of emergency.
 During the national emergency, the House along Rajya Sabha can legislate on any subject in State
List.
Financial Powers:
The House has exclusive financial powers:
 Financial measures/Bills can only be initiated in Lok Sabha and not in Rajya Sabha.
 It is the custodian of the national purse.
 It passes the budget and determines how money is to be raised and spent.
 If Lok Sabha passes a money bill, it can only be delayed by the Rajya Sabha for 14 days.
 Rajya Sabha cannot amend or reject a money Bill against the wishes of the Lok Sabha.
Executive Powers:

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 The house enjoys control over the executive since the cabinet is responsible to it. The cabinet
continues in office as long as it has the confidence of the House.
 The cabinet can be thrown out of the office by the vote of no-confidence by the majority members
present and voting in the House. No confidence in the government can be indicated in the
following manners:
1. By passing a straight vote of no-confidence supported by the majority in the House.
2. By rejecting a government bill.
3. By passing an amendment to a government bill against the wishes of treasury benches.
4. By passing a token cut in the salaries of the ministers.
 The House also exercises control over the executive by moving questions (question executive
acts), supplementary questions (question the explanation of the executive) and adjournment
motions (to move a matter of urgent importance for discussion) e.g. riots, police firing etc. the
purpose of moving questions and moving adjournment is to bring into light the inefficiency and
mistakes in the policy of the executive.
Constitutional Powers:
 Lokh Sabha along the Rajya Sabha enjoys the power to amend the constitution. But this power is
limited because amendments must be passed by both houses separately, and amendments to
certain subjects must be ratified by at least half of the State Legislatures.
Electoral Powers:
 The elected members of the House participate in the election of the president and vice-president.
Judicial Powers:
Both the Houses of Indian Parliament have some indirect judicial powers.
 They can present a joint address to the president for the removal of judges of the Supreme Court
or s State Court.
 The House also has the power to initiate proceedings for the impeachment of the president.
Judicial Authority regarding it own Rules:
 It acts as a court for trial of persons who violate its rules, dignity and privileges. The speaker may
issue warrants of arrest of any person for such violation and orders his presence before the House.
 The decision of the House in this regard is final and cannot be questioned in any court.
Policy Statement:
 The government in this House makes all important policy statements:
Forum for Public Opinion:
 In Lok Sabha all problems faced by the country and the people are discussed at length.
 The discussion in the House gets publicity in press which forms public opinion by giving the
public first hand information. Thus the discussion is a great mass education.
Role in Emergency:
 The approval of the House is essential for the proclamation and extension of the emergency in the
state after it is declared by the president.

Rajya Sabha/ The Upper House of the Indian Parliament

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Introduction:
 Rajya Sabha is the upper Chamber of the Parliament.
 It is a federal chamber and provides representation to the federating units of the Indian Union. It
is indirectly elected on the basis of proportional representation by means of single transferable
vote.
Membership:
 The constitution has fixed the maximum limit of its membership at 250: 238 representing the
States and the Union Territories and 12 nominated by the president from Art, Science, literature
and social services.
 The current strength of the Rajya Subha is 244, out of which 12 are nominated and 232 are
elected from the States and the Union Territories.
 The representation to the Units is given the basis of their population which differs Rajya Sabha
from the senate of US and Pakistan where equal representation is given to the Federal Units.
Election:
 Besides the nominate members, other members of the Rajya Sabha are elected indirectly.
Members of Rajya Sabha representing the States are elected by the respective Legislative
Assemblies of the States.
 The members of Union Territories are elected through a special method. They are elected by the
electoral college as determined by the law.
Qualification:
 The candidates for election to the Rajya Sabha must be a citizen of India, must have completed
30 years age, and must be fit physically and mentally.
Life of Rajya Sabha:
 It is a permanent House not subject to dissolution.
 One third of its members retire after every two years.
 Every member enjoys six years term.
Presiding Officer:
 Vice-president is the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha. It elects one of its members as its
Deputy Chairman.
Powers and Functions of the rajya Sabha
Indian Parliament being Bicameral has weaker Upper House than the Lower House. It is neither as
powerful as the Senate in US nor as weak as the House of Lords in UK. It enjoys equal powers with Lok
Sabha in many legislative matters except for the financial Bills and control over the cabinet.
Legislative Powers:
 It enjoys co-equal and coordinate powers with the Lok Sabha in ordinary legislation.
 In case of disagreement, a joint meeting of both the Houses takes place and the decisions taken
by a majority vote of the total members present and voting is taken.
 This provision ensures the dominance of the Lok Sabha because of its double strength.
Financial Powers:
 Rajya Sabha has negligible authority in respect of Financial legislation.
 A money Bill can only initiate in the Lower House only and not in the Rajya Sabha.
 After passed by the Lower House, the Money Bill is submitted to the rajya Sabha for approval
which has the power to delay the Bill for maximum 14 days. The Bill get effect even if Rajya
Sabha does not approve is within the 14 days.

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 If Rajya Sabha makes amendments or rejects the Money Bill, the Lower House is free to reject its
recommendations and pass the Bill as per their wishes.
Judicial Powers:
 Along Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha can initiate, investigate and decide the impeachment charges
against the president.
 It also enjoys equal powers with Lok Sabha in passing joint resolution for the removal of judges
of the Supreme Court and High Courts and other high officials.
Constitutional Amendments:
 Rajya Sabha enjoys equal power with Lok Sabha in passing the Constitutional Amendment
because both the Houses must pass it separately.
Miscellaneous:
 Approval of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha is essential for the proclamation, continuation and
extension of emergency.
 It participates in the election of the president and vice-president along the Lok Sabha.
 It can authorize the Lok Sabha to legislate for the State-Subjects if it passes a resolution by 2/3
majority of its members and the matter in the State-List has acquired national importance.

Union Judiciary

Introduction:

Federalism is often described as legalism because powers are distributed between the Union and the Units
or between the Units which often give rise to conflict between the two. A powerful and independent
judiciary plays an important role in solving their disputes. Therefore, judiciary has central place in federal
constitution. The judiciary must be independent of executive or legislature. India being a federal state has
also given important place to her judiciary. The judiciary in India is the guarantor of constitution.
Appointment and Removal of Judges:
 Article 124 A: Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant
under his hand and seal 3[on the recommendation of the National Judicial Appointments
Commission referred to in article 124A]and shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty-five
years.
 All judges are appointed by the president after consultation with such judges of the SC and HC as
he may deem fit.
 In case of the appointment of a judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of India must
be consulted.
Eligibility of Judge of Supreme Court:
 A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court unless he is a
citizen of India and—
 has been for at least five years a Judge of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in
succession; or
 (b) has been for at least ten years an advocate of a High Court or of two or more such
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 (c) is, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist.

 (6) Every person appointed to be a Judge of the Supreme Court shall, before he enters upon his
office, make and subscribe before the President, or some person appointed in that behalf by him,
an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule.
Removal of the Judge:
 (4) A Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the
President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the
total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of
that House present and voting has been presented to the President in the same session for such
removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
 (7) No person who has held office as a Judge of the Supreme Court shall plead or act in any court
or before any authority within the territory of India.
124A. National Judicial Appointments Commission
.— (1) There shall be a Commission to be known as the National Judicial Appointments Commission
consisting of the following, namely:—
 (a) the Chief Justice of India, Chairperson, ex officio;
 (b) two other senior Judges of the Supreme Court next to the Chief Justice of India––Members, ex
officio;
 (c) the Union Minister in charge of Law and Justice––Member, ex officio;
 (d) two eminent persons to be nominated by the committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the
Chief Justice of India and the Leader of Opposition in the House of the People or where there is
no such Leader of Opposition, then, the Leader of single largest Opposition Party in the House of
the People––Members:
 Provided that one of the eminent person shall be nominated from amongst the persons belonging
to the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Minorities or Women:
 Provided further that an eminent person shall be nominated for a period of three years and shall
not be eligible for re-nomination.
 (2) No act or proceedings of the National Judicial Appointments Commission shall be questioned
or be invalidated merely on the ground of the existence of any vacancy or defect in the
constitution of the Commission.
124B. Functions of Commission.––It shall be the duty of the National Judicial Appointments
Commission to—
 (a) recommend persons for appointment as Chief Justice of India, Judges of the Supreme Court,
Chief Justices of High Courts and other Judges of High Courts;
 (b) recommend transfer of Chief Justices and other Judges of High Courts from one High Court to
any other High Court; and
 (c) ensure that the person recommended is of ability and integrity.
124C. Power of Parliament to make law.
 ––Parliament may, by law, regulate the procedure for the appointment of Chief Justice of India
and other Judges of the Supreme Court and Chief Justices and other Judges of High Courts and
empower the Commission to lay down by regulations the procedure for the discharge of its
functions, the manner of selection of persons for appointment and such other matters as may be
considered necessary by it.]
125. Salaries, etc., of Judges.— 1

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 [(1) There shall be paid to the Judges of the Supreme Court such salaries as may be determined
by Parliament by law and, until provision in that behalf is so made, such salaries as are specified
in the Second Schedule.]
 (2) Every Judge shall be entitled to such privileges and allowances and to such rights in respect of
leave of absence and pension as may from time to time be determined by or under law made by
Parliament and, until so determined, to such privileges, allowances and rights as are specified in
the Second Schedule:
 Provided that neither the privileges nor the allowances of a Judge nor his rights in respect of leave
of absence or pension shall be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment.
Supreme Court of India

Federal Court of India was first established in 1937 under the Government of India Act 1935. The new
status of Supreme Court of India was conferred upon it in 1950 under the Republican Constitution. The
Supreme Court is the Highest and Final judicial tribunal of India.
130. Seat of Supreme Court.— The Supreme Court shall sit in Delhi or in such other place or places, as
the Chief Justice of India may, with the approval of the President, from time to time, appoint.
Composition of Supreme Court:
 Originally the Supreme Court of India consisted of 8 judges including the Chief Justice.
Parliament can however by law increase of decrease the number of judges in the Supreme Court.
The current number of judges in Supreme Court is 17 excluding the Chief Justice.
 The constitution also provides for the appointment of one or more High Court or Retired judges
of Supreme Court as ad hoc judges when required.

Powers and Functions of the Supreme Court

131. Original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

— Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Supreme Court shall, to the exclusion of any other
court, have original jurisdiction in any dispute—
 (a) between the Government of India and one or more States; or
 (b) between the Government of India and any State or States on one side and one or more other
States on the other; or
 (c) between two or more States,
If and in so far as the dispute involves any question (whether of law or fact) on which the existence or
extent of a legal right depends:
 1[Provided that the said jurisdiction shall not extend to a dispute arising out of any treaty,
agreement, covenant, engagement, sanad or other similar instrument which, having been entered
into or executed before the commencement of this Constitution, continues in operation after such
commencement, or which provides that the said jurisdiction shall not extend to such a dispute.]
Appellate Jurisdiction:
 The Appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court extends to both criminal and civil cases.
 An appeal to the SC can be made in criminal cases in which a HC reverses the decision of the
lower courts.

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 Civil cases can also be made to the SC if the HC certifies that the case involves some substantial
point of constitutional law and that in the opinion of HC the question needs to be decided by the
SC.
138. Enlargement of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.— (1) The Supreme Court shall have such
further jurisdiction and powers with respect to any of the matters in the Union List as Parliament may by
law confer.
 (2) The Supreme Court shall have such further jurisdiction and powers with respect to any matter
as the Government of India and the Government of any State may by special agreement confer, if
Parliament by law provides for the exercise of such jurisdiction and powers by the Supreme
Court.
141. Law declared by Supreme Court to be binding on all courts.— The law declared by the Supreme
Court shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India.
143. Power of President to consult Supreme Court.— (1) If at any time it appears to the President that a
question of law or fact has arisen, or is likely to arise, which is of such a nature and of such public
importance that it is expedient to obtain the opinion of the Supreme Court upon it, he may refer the
question to that Court for consideration and the Court may, after such hearing as it thinks fit, report to the
President its opinion thereon.
Guardian of Fundamental Right:
 Under Articlle 32, the citizens are given the constitutional guarantee to approach the SC for the
enforcement of their Fundamental Rights. For example, in 1973, the SC declared certain laws and
ordinances as null and void, like nationalization of banks and abolition of Privy Purses.
Judicial Review:
The Supreme Court is the guardian of the constitution. It is the final interpreting body. The SC can
declare laws passed by the parliament and State Legislatures, orders and ordinances issued by the
executive ultra vires or void on the ground of unconstitutionality. But unlike US judicial review, Indian
SC can only check the laws for the process established by the law, while US SC also check its
reasonability apart from being constitutional. US SC is the super legislature or third chamber.
Indian SC only examines the constitutionality of the laws. If parliament or State legislature has made a
law within its constitutional power, it cannot be declared illegal, however unreasonable it may be.
Court of Record:
The SC is the Court of Record. Its decisions and proceedings are recorded for future references.
Its decisions are binding on all civil and judicial authorities in India.
Miscellaneous:
 It can also formulate rules for regulating its own practices and procedures with the approval of
president.
 It stands at the head of all courts and supervise their working.

Prime Minister of India

Introduction and Appointment of PM
 As per Article 75 (1), PM is appointed by the President of India.
 According to Article 74 (1) on Indian Constitution, PM is the head of the cabinet arch/Council of
Ministers and enjoys the position like English PM of “first among equals”.
 Article 53 clearly states that the PM as head of the Council of Ministers shall be under an
obligation to aid and advise the President in the exercise of his functions.

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 Theoretically, the President of India selects the PM. In reality, the President invites the leader of
the majority party to form the Council of Ministers. As per the Article 75, the President appoints
the Ministers on the advice of the PM. In selection of PM, the President must obviously be
restricted to the leader of the party in majority or person who is in a position to win the
confidence of the majority in the Lok Sabha.
 In case of no clear majority, the President may request the single largest party to form
government of make coalition government.
Powers and Functions of PM
PM of India exercises and enjoys vast powers to his advantage.
 PM is the head of government and President is the head of the State.
 All major appointments of the Union Government are virtually made by the PM.
 All the major decisions-making bodies like the Union Cabinet, Planning Commission, and
Cabinet Committees function under his supervision and direction.
 He is the leader of the cabinet. According to Article 74(1), “there shall be a Council of Ministers
with the PM at the head”.
 All the ministers revolve around him like the planets around the sun. his resignation is considered
the resignation of all ministers.
 He is a link between the president and the cabinet.
 Duties as defined in Article 78 are:
 To communicate to the president all the decisions of the Council of Ministers. The
president is bound to accept the decisions taken by the cabinet.
 To furnish such information relating to the administration of the affairs of the Union and
proposal for legislation as the president may call for.
 To submit a decision of minister for consideration of the Council of Ministers if the
president require it to.
 PM is the leader of the parliament. According to Article 85(b) “the President may from time to
time dissolve the House of People (Lok Sabha)” but as long as the PM and the Cabinet enjoys the
confidence of the majority in Lok Sabha, the President cannot dissolve the House.
 PM is considered as the spokesperson of the country in international relations.
 He is head of the National Development Council, National Integration Council, and Inter-state
Council.
 The constitution of India places the PM at the head of the Council of Ministers. Besides being the
leader of the majority party in Lok Sabha, he has the power to select other members of the
Council of Ministers and can advise the dismissal and reshuffle members of the cabinet. As per
Article 75 (2) ministers hold the office during the pleasure of the president. But the president is
bound to exercise his powers with the advice given by the PM. The PM is astonishingly
emerging the Powerful position on the Westministrial model.
Transformation of Parliamentary Government into Prime Ministerial Government
A great change has occurred in the relationship of cabinet and parliament, that parliamentary government
has been replaced by the Cabinet Government, and currently, the Cabinet government has changed into
Prime Ministerial Government.
 Studies show that the PM of India has been “Presidentialized”. The PM has undermined the
Position of the parliament and the whole government revolves around him.
 He makes and unmakes government.

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 The parliamentary elections are the elections of the PM.

 The PM guides, directs, controls, and co-ordinates the activities of the Ministers.
 He is the only link of communication between the cabinet and the president.
 President is the nominal head and PM is the real executive.
 He has the power of selection and rejection of the ministers.
 He advises the President regarding the summoning, proroguing of the session of the parliament.
 He has supervisory powers over all government department.
 He can recommend dissolution of Lok Sabha.
Therefore, it can be assumed that the PM in India is the most powerful figure and the whole Indian
Political system revolves around him.

There is No Such Thing as Indian Secularism

Introduction:
The 42nd amendment to the constitution of India inserted the word “Secular” into the preamble thus
making India a “Secular” Republic.
Merriam Webster dictionary defines secularism as “the belief that religion should not play a role in
government, education, or other public parts of society”. Secularism is the separation of religion and state.
It implies that state has no religion. But keeping in view the current social and political situation, can
India be called truly secular?
Theory Vs Reality (Pseudo-secularism)
In theory, India is a shining secular state but in reality the situation is different. In secularism, state does
not promote any religion or discriminate between the communities on the basis of religion but the
situation of India in reality is opposite to it because:
 Hinduism is given superior status over other religions.
 Hindus feel superiority over other communities of the state.
 State’s Intervention in religious affairs of minorities.
 Indian State’s “religious equidistance”, non-involvement, that means that state is neutral between
religions and religious communities.
Indian state is in fact the defender of the dharma for the following five reasons:
1. Constitutional Discrimination:
 Article 25 (2) of the constitution calls for providing “social welfare and reform and
throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of public character to all classes and
sections of Hindus.”. in her definition of Hindus includes a reference to persons
professing the Sikh, Jaina or Buddhist religion. Therefore, why a secular state should be
concerned with the social welfare of only one religion.
 The Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 applies to any person who is a Hindu by religion in any
of its form and development, who is Buddhist, Jain, or Sikh by religion and to any person
domiciled in the territories who is not Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew.
Therefore, the Marriage Act also tries to absorb other religions by undermining their distinct identity into
Hinduism.
 Article 290A of the constitution added in 1956 provides for Kerala state funds to be paid for the
upkeep of Hindu temples.
2. Legislative Discrimination:

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Although, freedom of religion is granted under the constitution’s Article 25 (1) but more than
seven states formulated anti-conversion legislation, severely restricting conversion from
Hinduism to other religions while facilitating conversion to Hinduism.
 In 1982, when some Dalits embraced Islam, Indira Gandhi characterized the conversion as a
threat to national security.
 Babri Masjid: It was under Congress Government of Nehru that Babri Masjid was locked up in
1949 by court order. It in 1992 during the Narasimha Rao that the Mosque was destroyed under
the nose of army, paramilitary and police. Recently, the Supreme Court of India decided in favour
of building Hindu temple in place of Babri Masjid amidst severe opposition from Muslims.
Employment Discrimination:
Article 16 (2) of the constitution prohibits discrimination in public employment on religious grounds. For
example, beneficiaries of Scheduled Castes’ reservation can only be Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists but not
Christians and Muslims. If the Scheduled Caste changes religion, he/she must forfeit the job, but if he/she
reverts to Hinduism, then he/she may resume the job.
Discrimination in Army:
The Indian army’s infantry regiments are still based on religion (Sikh regiment), or ethnicity (Gorkha) or
caste (Rajput) etc.
 A bearded Sikh can become Chief of Army Staff but a Muslim cannot sport beard in any of the
armed forces.
Cultural Discrimination:
 Ban on slaughter of Cow is one of the Gandhian Directive Principles which is sacred to the upper
Hindu castes but no to Muslims, Delits and Christians.
 Cow Lynching over cow slaughter is common.
 Official functions often commence with lighting lamps, breaking coconuts and recitation of
Slokas.
 A large stone image of a reclining Vishnu located at the entrance to the IGP’s headquarter in
Banglore is more fitting for a temple than a secular state’s police building.
 Every police station in west Bengal has a Kali temple but none has a masque in a state with 30%
Muslims.
 Students in schools in Gujarat and Maharashtra are forced to perform Surya namaskar against
their will.
 Text books are soaked with idioms, phrases, signs, symbols and icons of Hinduism to the
exclusion of material from other religions and distortion of history.
Religious Pogroms:
India experienced multiple state sponsored pogroms that of Sikhs in 1984 and of Muslims in 2002 in
Gujarat under the then high executive officials Rajiv Gandhi and Narender Modi respectively.
Different Laws for Hindus, Muslims and Christians:
Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Succession Act etc. while Muslims are covered with Muslim Personal Laws
and Christians are by Christian Personal Laws.

Recent Events and Incidents:

Changing Special Status of Kashmir:

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 Repealing of Article 35A and 370 in August 2019 to change the demographic status of Muslim
majority areas of Kashmir by allowing settlement of Non-Kashmiris into the valley. Only in June,
2020, 25000 Kashmir’s domiciles were issued to Non-Kashmiris.
Controversial Bills:
 The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a list of people who can prove they came to the state
by 24 March 1971, a day before neighbouring Bangladesh became an independent country. That
leaves thousands of Muslims in Assam at the mercy of a piece of paper to prove their identity.
The bill is also aimed that tens of thousands of Bengali Hindu migrants who were not included in
the NRC can still get citizenship to stay on in Assam state.
 Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) or Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB):The Indian
Parliament passed the CAA or CAB Bill that provides amnesty to religious minorities except
Muslims from the three neighboring countries. The bill provides citizenship to religious
minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan but Muslims from the same countries have
been exempted from the citizenship. Similarly, if it aims to protect the minorities rights, then it
should have included Rohinghya Muslims minority from Burma who are being killed and
dishonoured, through genocide.
 Delhi Clashes: The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) - which critics say is anti-Muslim - has
sparked massive protests since it was passed last year in 2019, and some of those have turned
violent. But the demonstrations in Delhi broke out in the last week of February 2020 have been
fatal, killing around 20 people in clashes between Muslims and Hindus RSS backed by police.
The clashes resulted in burning hundreds of Muslims houses, mosques shops and vehicles in the
Muslim majority area of Delhi.

Constitution of Russia Federation

Constitutional Background:
 The revolutionary movements began in Russia with the defeat of it in 1905 at the hands of Japan.
As a result of the defeat, the autocratic government of Nicholas II lost its prestige.

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 Demand for representative government and guarantee for the rights of people developed.
 First Duma: Czar was compelled to grant certain rights to the people and an elected Duma
(Parliament). The first Duma met in 1906 that demanded direct universal suffrage, full
parliamentary government, abolition of landlordism etc but it was abolished the same year.
 2nd Duma: The second Duma met in 1907 but was soon dissolved.
 3rd Duma: After the dissolution of the 2nd Duma, electoral system was radically revised so as to
include the representation of Landlords, and capitalists. Under the revised system, elections to the
Duma were held where the landlords and capitalists returned in majority. The Duma lasted for
five years.
 4th Duma: in 1912 the fourth Duma was elected which continued till 2017.
 WWI and the Tsarist Government: in 1914, the WWI broke where Russia fought on the side
of the Allies. The Tsarist armies suffered defeat after defeat. The forces were in miserable
conditions. Capitalists and landlords were making fortune out of the war. This situation aroused
hatred against the Tsarist government among the workers, peasants, soldiers and even the
capitalists.
 Revolution against the Tsars: On January 15, 1917, strikes erupted against the government. On
27th Feb, the troops refused to open fire on protestors and lined up with the people in revolt. The
workers and soldiers deposed Tsarist officials everywhere. The workers and soldiers established
the Soviets of Workers and Soldiers.
 Lenin of Bolshevik Party: Lenin jumped into the political arena in April 1917 and made a
desperate attempt in October 1917 to capture power. It was a successful attempt. The October
Revolution smashed capitalism and capitalists were deprived of their properties. All means of
production were brought under the collective ownership.
 First Soviet Government: The communist party Bolshevik under Lenin set up the First Soviet
Government. A constituent committee was formed to draft constitution for the areas know as
Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR).
 Formation of USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republic. As a result of the revolution of 1917,
many independent states had come into being which were once united under the Russian Empire.
In 1922, three territories namely Ukraine, White Russia and Transcaucasia joined the RSFSR in a
federal Union and thereby brought the USSR for the first time.
 First Constitution of Russian Federation: in July 1923 the Central Executive Committee of the
new federation drafted a new constitution which was enforced in 1924 which remained in force
till 1936. Socialist structure was established under the constitution which transformed the socio-
economic situation of the federation. Capitalism and landlordism were liquidated. Disruptive
forces were exterminated.
 Stalin Constitution of 1936: the Central Executive Committee in 1935 set up a Drafting
Committee with Stalin as its chairman. The Committee submitted its draft in 1936. This
constitution was enforced on December 5, 1936 which better known as the Stalin Constitution.
 In 1977, the Soviet people adopted a new constitution preserving the continuity of the constitution
of 1918, 1924 and 1936.

Salient Features of the Constitution of USSR Era (1977)

The constitution of the USSR was a novel experiment in the history of political and economic institution
of mankind. Its salient features are the following:

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Written Document:
 The constitution of USSR is a written constitution taking with possible details of administration.
 The Stalin Constitution had 13 chapters and 146 Articles, while the 1977 constitution adopted in
December 1977 had 174 Articles.
Rigidity of the Constitution:
 The constitution of USSR was rigid because the amendment to the constitution required 2/3
majority of the Supreme Union in each chamber. But in reality amendment was easy because of
the single communist party control.
Democratic Centralism:
 The organization and activity of the Soviet State of the whole people are based on democratic
centralism.
 The power of State vests in workers, peasants, and intellectuals.
 The economy is socialist where the community owns the means of production. The economy is
based on, “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”.
 Land has been collectivized except small pieces which individual farmers may own.
Right to Private Property:

 Article 9 of the Stalin Constitution allowed the right of having private property of non-productive
nature.
 Small pieces of property were allowed to peasants and handicraftsmen provided they operate it by
their own labour and are not pursued to exploit the labour of others.
 Article 10 allowed to have the property in the form of income, household furniture, utensils and
other articles of personal convenience.
Federal Type:
 The Russian Federation was a federation of 15 constituent units. The units are known as Union
Republics. Below them are 20 autonomous Republic and 8 autonomous regions and 10
autonomous areas.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Federal Types:
 The constitution could be amended by the federal parliament without the ratification of the units.
The latter could not propose an amendment.
 There was one budget for the whole country. The units could make their own budgets after they
are allocated their shares in the federal budget.
 The Presidium of the Russian Federation could suspend the decision and orders of the Council of
Ministers of Union Republics.
 The armed forces of the Union Republics are organized under the supervision of the federal
government.
 The Communist party controls the central and the Unit governments and in fact lays down the
policy at both levels.
 Weaknesses
 Every unit had its own constitution, though it must conform to that of the Republic Federation.
 The federal government had delegated and limited powers. Residuary powers lied with the Union
Republics.
 Every Union Republic could establish diplomatic relations with foreign states and could conclude
treaties.

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 Every unit could have its own military besides the armed forces of the Russian Federation.
Fundamental Rights:
 The Constitution embodied a unique list of fundamental rights.
 It for the first time declared the right to remunerative employment for the Soviet people.
 Under socialism, the problem of unemployment had been solved once and for all.
 The constitution granted right to choose one’s trade, profession, occupation or work suited to
one’s vocation, education, ability and training.
 It also provided the right of rest and leisure, the right to housing, the right to health, right to free
education etc.
Duties of Citizens:
 To abide by the constitution, observe the laws, to comply with a standard of social conduct
maintaining socialist discipline and safeguard the public, socialist property.
 Military service was an honoured duty of a Soviet citizen.
Responsible Executive:
 The Soviet Executive is parliamentary in character.
 The council of Minister is held responsible and accountable to the Supreme Soviet and its absence
to the presidium.
The Presidium:
 The Presidium was a unique innovation of the Soviet Constitution.
 It is elected by the Supreme Soviet and acts on its behalf when the latter is not in session.
 It consists of 39 members: 1 chairman, 1 vice-chairman, 15 vice-chairmen, 1 secretary and 21
ordinary members.
 It is the collegiate president of Russian Federation. This august body is vested with extensive
powers.
 It is the second highest and day-to-day working organ of the state.
 It supervised, controlled and directed the other organs of the state but its decrees are subject
ratification of the Supreme Soviet.
 It could suspend the orders and decisions of Ministers of the federal government and of the Union
Republics.
 It interpreted the laws of the Supreme Soviet.
Subordinate Position of Judiciary:
 Unlike US and India, the judiciary was subordinate agency of the Russian Federation.
 It could not sit in judgment over the laws passed by the Supreme Soviet.
 It had no powers of judicial review because the Supreme Soviet was the interpreting body of
constitution.
 The Supreme Soviet would elect the judges for a fixed period of four years.
Solution of Problem of Nationalities:
 The constitution provided full self-determination right to all socio-ethnic groups existing in the
Soviet Union.
 The constitution recognized 18 national languages.
 The units of the federation are organized on the basis of nationality.
The Soviet Political System:
 There are representative bodies elected by the people on the basis of adult franchise.

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 The entire administration is carried out by different Soviets from local Soviet to the Supreme
Soviet.
One Party Rule:
 The constitution declared the communist party as the leading and guiding force of society.
 The constitution also allowed the growth of cultural organizations, youth organizations and trade
unions but not other political parties. The communist party dominated all these organizations.
 It was a dictatorship of the communist party but Marxist defended it on the grounds that Russia
was then a classless society with no conflicting interests as is seen in a class-divided society
under capitalism.
Referendum and Initiative:
 The constitution provides for a nation-wide “poll” or referendum either on the initiative of the
Presidium or on the demand of one of the Union Republics. In this way people are given right in
certain cases to reject or adopt a bill or important issue.
Soviet System:
 Russian Federation is the organization of Soviets. Soviet means counsel or advice or meeting of
people.
 The organs of State Power in territories, Regions, Areas, Districts, Cities, and Rural localities—
are the Soviets of working people’s deputies. It means that the entire administration in the
Russian federation is conducted by the Soviets at different levels.
 After the Revolution, Lenin gave the slogan, “All power to the Soviets”.
 Soviets at every level enjoy full power of state administration and government authority of
dealing not only with petty problems of sanitation or education of the locality but also direct the
economic, cultural and political development in their respective areas. They maintain law and
order in the territory. They elect their executive committees which are responsible to them for
their activities. They set up departments for different administrative branches such as, education,
health, local industries, trade, law and order etc.
 The organization of Soviets is like a pyramid: on the top is Supreme Soviet which hierarchically
goes down to the village or factory Soviet.
 Labour Unions are organized in every factory or workhouse which are considered training
schools for communism. They work with the managers and party members for collective wages,
promotion of social and cultural activities among workers and to reach the target production as
prescribed in the five years plan.

The Constitution of Russian Federation (Russia)of 1993

Background:
It is an independent republic in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia, the world’s largest country by area.
Russia was once the largest and the most prominent republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR). In 1991 USSR broke apart and Russia became an independent country.
The USSR had a totalitarian system in which Communist Party leaders held political and economic
power. The state owned all companies and land and government controlled production of goods and other

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aspects of the economy. After the fall of Soviet Union in December 1991, Russia began transforming
itself into a more democratic society with an economic based on market mechanisms and principles.
Russia has made many successful changes: there have been free elections at all levels of government,
private ownership has been legalized, and large sections of the economy are now privately owned.
Composition of Russia:
 Administratively, Russia includes 21 Republic, 6 Territories known as Krays, 10 National Areas
called Okrugs, 49 Regions or Oblasts, 1 Autonomous Oblast and 2 Cities with federal status.
 The federal and largest city is Moscow.

The New Constitution of Russia/Post USSR Constitution

Background:
 During the Soviet era, power was concentrated in Communist Party. Federal institutions in
Moscow were much more powerful than the regional institutions of the 15 Republic.
 Russian Republic dominated the central party and government institutions but unlike other Soviet
Republics, Russian Republic did not have its own separate communist party.
RSFSR’s 1977 Constitution:
The RSFSR constitution became significant when the USSR collapsed because it had granted supremacy
to legislative branch over executive and there was no clear demarcation between executive and legislative
powers which became a problem.
New Constitution:
 The new constitution was ratified by referendum in December 1993 which is still in practice. It
resolved the problem between executive and legislative branches but increased the power of
presidency.
 It established democratic guidelines such as fixed term of office, electoral procedures and
universal suffrage for all citizens aged 18 or above. It also guarantees civil rights and rule of law.
Features of the Constitution
Written:
The Constitution is largely the creation of Russian president Boris Yaltsin. He was elected the first
president of RSFSR in June 1991 and retained the post till the USSR dissolved.
 The constitution has a preamble. There are two sections in the constitution: section one has 9
chapters and total 137 articles. Section two has only 9 articles which deal with the concluding and
transitional provisions.
Federal:
Article 5
 The Russian Federation shall consist of republics, krays, oblasts, cities of federal significance, an
autonomous oblast and autonomous okrugs, which shall have equal rights as constituent entities
of the Russian Federation.
 A republic (state) shall have its own constitution and legislation. A kray, oblast, city of federal
significance, autonomous oblast and autonomous okrug shall have its own charter and legislation.
 All constituent entities of the Russian Federation shall be equal with one another in relations with
federal State government bodies.
Rigid:
 The constitution is rigid because the amendment is first proposed
Secular:

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 Article 14 provides that Russian Federation shall be a secular state. Religious associations shall
be separated from the state and shall be equal before law.
Citizenship:
 Single citizenship is granted to all citizens of the Russian Federation with equal rights.
Presidential:
 Powers are concentrated in the executive branch which is headed by the president.
 President is directly elected by the people to a four year term and cannot serve more than two
consecutive terms.
 The president may be impeached by the Federal Legislature.
Republican:
 Article 1 says the Russian Federation shall be a democratic federal rule-of-law state with the
republican form of government. The names Russian Federation and Russia shall be equivalent.
Separation of Power:
 Article 10 separates power of the legislative, executive and judiciary branches. They shall be
independent of each other. The government is responsible to the President.
Social/Welfare State:
 Article 7 of the constitution says that the Russian Federation shall be a social state which shall
ensure a dignified life and free development of man.
 The state shall protect the work and health of the people, provide state support for family,
motherhood, fatherhood and childhood.
 Article 8 and 9 allow ownership of the business, natural resources and land etc.
Democratic:
 The constitution is democratic. Article 3 provides that the multinational people of the Russian
Federation shall be the vehicle of sovereignty and the only source of power in Russia.
 Referendum and free election shall be the supreme direct manifestation of the power of the
people.
Bicameral:
 The Federal Assembly is Russia’s bicameral national legislature: it is composed of an Upper
House called the Council of Federation and the Lower House called State Duma.
 The Council of Federation has 178 members, two representatives from each of the 89
administrative units which make up the Russian Federation. The local executive and legislative
heads of each unit serve as the representative for their unit.
 State Duma has 450 members. Voter elect half of the Duma members by casting a vote for a
specific party listed on the ballot: these 225 seats are distributed among the qualifying parties on
proportional basis. The other 225 members are individually elected from electoral districts
throughout the country. Each of Russia’s 89 constituents has at least one electoral district.
 Each party on the ballot needs 5% of the votes in order to gain representation in State Duma.
Human Rights:
 Article 2 provides that man, his rights and freedom shall be the supreme value. It shall be a duty
of the state to recognize, respect and protect the rights and liberties of man and citizen.
Multi-Party System:
 Article 13 says that ideological plurality shall b recognized in the Russian Federation. No
ideology may be instituted as a state-sponsored or mandatory ideology.

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 Political plurality and multiparty system shall be recognized in Russia. Public association shall
be equal before law.
Judiciary:
 The highest judicial body is the Constitutional Court, composed of 19 judges who are appointed
by the president and approved by the Council of Federation. The CC shall rule on the
constitutionality of the legislative and executive actions.
 Below the CC, is the Supreme Court and the Supreme Arbitration Court. The Supreme Court
rules on civil, criminal and administrative law.
 The Supreme Arbitration Court handles economic suits.

CHAPTER 5: THE FEDERAL ASSEMBLY

Article 94
The Federal Assembly - parliament of the Russian Federation shall be the representative
and legislative body of the Russian Federation.
Article 95
1. The Federal Assembly shall consist of two chambers - the Council of
Federation and the State Duma.
Council of Federation (The Upper House)
Size and Selection of Upper House:
 The Council of Federation shall include: two representatives from each constituent
entity of the Russian Federation - one from the legislative (representative) and one
from executive body of state government; representatives of the Russian Federation,
appointed by the President of the Russian Federation, the number of which shall not
be more than ten percent of the members of the Council of Federation -
representatives from legislative (representative) and executive bodies of state
government of constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
Term and Length:
 A member of the Council of Federation – a representative from legislative
(representative) or executive body of state government of a constituent entity of the
Russian Federation shall be vested with authority for the term of the relevant body of
state government of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation.
Removal of Individual Legislator:
 The President of the Russian Federation shall have no right during the first term of his
(her) presidency to dismiss a member of the Council of Federation - representative of
the Russian Federation who was appointed prior to his (her) entry into office, except
in instances where this is provided for by federal law.

State Duma (The Lower House)

Number of Members: The State Duma shall consist of 450 deputies.
Term and Length and Selection Article 96:
 The State Duma shall be elected for a term of five years.
Article 97
 Any citizen of the Russian Federation who has reached 21 years of age and who has the right to
participate in elections may be elected deputy of the State Duma.
 One and the same person may not be simultaneously a member of the Council of Federation and a
deputy of the State Duma. A deputy of the State Duma may not be a deputy of other

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representative State government bodies and local self-government bodies.

 Deputies of the State Duma shall work on a professional permanent basis. Deputies of the State
Duma may not be employed in State service or engage in other paid activities, except for teaching
and scientific and other creative work.
Immunity to Legislators: Article 98
 Members of the Council of Federation and deputies of the State Duma shall enjoy immunity
during the whole term of their office. They may not be detained, arrested or searched, except in
the event of detention at the scene of a crime.
Length and session of State Duma Article 99
 1. The Federal Assembly shall be a permanently functioning body.
 2. The State Duma shall convene its first session on the thirtieth day after election.
 The President of the Russian Federation may convene a session of the State Duma earlier than
this date.
 3. The first session of the State Duma shall be opened by the oldest deputy.
 4. From the moment that the State Duma of a new convocation begins to work the powers of the
State Duma of the previous convocation shall expire.
Chairman of State Duma:
The State Duma shall elect from among its members the Chairman of the State Duma and his (her)
deputies.
Chairman of the State Duma and his (her) deputies shall chair sessions and shall be in charge of the
internal routine of the chamber.

Powers and Functions/Jurisdiction of State Duma

Article 103
1. The following shall be within the jurisdiction of the State Duma:
 Consent to the appointment of the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation by the
President of the Russian Federation;
 Deciding the issue of confidence in the Government of the Russian Federation;
 Hearing annual reports from the Government of the Russian Federation on the results of its work,
including on issues raised by the State Duma;
 Appointment and dismissal of the Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation;
 Appointment and dismissal of the Chairman and half of the auditors of the Accounts Chamber;
 Appointment and dismissal of the Commissioner for Human Rights, who shall act according to
federal constitutional law;
 announcement of amnesty;
 Bringing charges against the President of the Russian Federation for his (her) impeachment;
 The State Duma shall adopt decrees on issues referred to its authority by the Constitution of the
Russian Federation.
 Decrees of the State Duma shall be adopted by a majority of the total number of deputies of the
State Duma, unless another procedure for adopting decisions is envisaged by the Constitution of
the Russian Federation.
Initiation of General Legislation: Article 104:
 The right of legislative initiative shall belong to the President of the Russian

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Federation, the Council of Federation, members of the Council of Federation, deputies of the State Duma,
the Government of the Russian Federation, an legislative (representative) bodies of constituent entities of
the Russian Federation. The right of legislative initiative shall also belong to the Constitutional Court of
the Russian Federation and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on issues within their
competence.
 Bills shall be submitted to the State Duma.
Legislation of Federal Laws Article 105:
1. Federal laws shall be adopted by the State Duma.
2. Federal laws shall be adopted by a majority of votes of the total number of deputies of the State
Duma, unless otherwise envisaged by the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
3. Federal laws adopted by the State Duma shall be submitted within five days for examination by
the Council of Federation.
4. A federal law shall be considered to have been approved by the Council of Federation if over a
half of the total number of members of that chamber have voted for it or if the Council of
Federation does not examine it within fourteen days. In the event that the Council of Federation
rejects a federal law, the chambers may set up a conciliatory commission to settle differences,
after which the federal law shall be reconsidered by the State Duma.
5. In the event that the State Duma disagrees with the decision of the Council of Federation a
federal law shall be considered to have been adopted if in the second vote not less than two thirds
of the total number of deputies of the State Duma has voted in favour of it.

Budget Bills Article 106:

Federal laws adopted by the State Duma on the following issues must compulsorily be examined by the
Council of Federation:
 the federal budget;
 Federal taxes and levies;
 Financial, currency, credit and customs regulation, money emission;
 Ratification and denunciation of international treaties of the Russian Federation;
 the status and protection of the State border of the Russian Federation;
 war and peace.
Approval of Laws by the President Article 107:
 An adopted federal law shall be submitted within five days to the President of the Russian
Federation for signing and promulgation.
 The President of the Russian Federation shall sign the federal law and promulgate it within
fourteen days.
 If the President of the Russian Federation rejects a federal law within fourteen days of receiving
it, the State Duma and the Council of Federation shall reconsider that law in accordance with the
procedure established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation. If upon reconsideration the
law is approved in the previously adopted wording by a majority of not less than two thirds of the
total number of members of the Council of Federation and of deputies of the State Duma, it must
be signed by the President within seven days and promulgated.
Supermajority Required for Legislation Article 108:
 Adoption of A federal constitutional law requires approval of ¾ majority of the total members of
the Council of Federation and 2/3 of the total members of the State Duma.

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 The Approved law shall be ratified by the president and promulgated within fourteen days.
Dismissal of the Legislature Article 109:
 The State Duma may be dissolved by the President of the Russian Federation in the cases
envisaged by Articles 111 and 117 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
 In the event that the State Duma is dissolved, the President of the Russian Federation shall
announce the date of elections so that a newly-elected State Duma may be convened not later than
four months after the dissolution.
 The State Duma may not be dissolved on the grounds envisaged in Article 117 of the Constitution
of the Russian Federation during the year following its election.
 The State Duma may not be dissolved from the moment that it brings charges against the
President of the Russian Federation until the Council of Federation adopts a decision on the issue.
Emergency Provisions:
 The State Duma may not be dissolved while a state of emergency or martial law is in effect on
the whole territory of the Russian Federation, or during the last six months of the term of office
of the President of the Russian Federation.

President of Russian Federation

Introduction
Article 80:
 The President of the Russian Federation shall be the Head of State.
 The President of the Russian Federation shall be the guarantor of the Constitution of the Russian
Federation and of human and civil rights and freedoms. He ensure sovereignty of the State and
integrity of government bodies.
 He determines the basic objectives of the internal and foreign policy of the State.
 The President of the Russian Federation, as the Head of State, shall represent the Russian
Federation within the country and in international relations.
Term and Selection Article 81:
 The President of the Russian Federation shall be elected for six years by citizens of the Russian
Federation on the basis of universal, equal, direct suffrage by secret ballot.
 Any citizen of the Russian Federation not younger than 35 years of age who has resided in the
Russian Federation on a permanent basis for not less than 10 years may be elected President of
the Russian Federation.
 One and the same person cannot hold the office of the President of the Russian Federation for
more than two terms running.
Powers and Functions of the President of Russian Federation Article 83:
Appointments:
 He shall with the consent of State Duma, appoint chairman of the Government of Russian
Federation.
 Shall have the right to chair meetings of the Government of the Russian Federation;
 Shall adopt decisions on the resignation of the Government of the Russian Federation;
 Shall nominate to the State Duma a candidate for the chairman of Central Bank and shall raise his
relieving to the State Duma.
 In accordance with the proposal of Chairman of Government, he shall appoint or relieve of their
posts deputy chairmen of the Federal Government of Russian Federation and Federal Ministers.

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 He shall propose to the Council of Federation candidates for the judges of Constitutional Court,
Supreme Court and other federal courts.
 He shall present to the Council of Federation candidates for Prosecutor Genera, Deputies of
Prosecutor General: their appointment as well as relieving.
 Shall appoint and dismiss the representatives of the Russian Federation in the Council of the
Federation;
 shall appoint and dismiss supreme commanders of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation;
 He shall appoint and recall Russian diplomats in foreign countries after consultation with
concerned committees.
Legislative and Executive Powers Article 84:
 He shall announce election to the State Duma in accordance with the constitution.
 Shall dissolve the State Duma in the cases and in accordance with the procedure provided for by
the Constitution of the Russian Federation;
 shall announce referendums in accordance with the procedure established by federal
constitutional law;
 shall submit draft laws to the State Duma.
 shall sign and promulgate federal laws;
 shall address the Federal Assembly with annual messages on the situation in the country and on
the basic objectives of the internal and foreign policy of the State.
Powers of President as Head of the Federation Article 85:
 He shall settle disputes between State government bodies of the Russian Federation and State
government bodies of constituent entities of the Russian Federation. In case of disagreement he
shall refer the dispute to the appropriate court.
 The president shall have the right to suspend acts of executive government bodies of constituents
of the Federation on the grounds of unconstitutionality, violation of International commitments
and civil rights.
Foreign Affairs Powers Article 86:
 shall direct the foreign policy of the Russian Federation;
 shall hold negotiations and sign international treaties of the Russian Federation;
Powers over Armed Forces and During Emergency Article 87:
 The President of the Russian Federation shall be the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed
Forces of the Russian Federation.
 In the event of aggression against the Russian Federation or of a direct threat of aggression, the
President of the Russian Federation shall introduce martial law on the territory of the Russian
Federation or on certain parts thereof and shall immediately inform the Council of Federation and
the State Duma of this.
Article 88:
 The President shall introduce a state of emergency on the territory of the Russian Federation or on
certain parts thereof and shall immediately inform the Council of Federation and the State Duma
of this in circumstances and in accordance with the constitution.
Article 89:
 Shall decide on issues of citizenship of the Russian Federation and of granting political asylum.
 Shall bestow State awards of the Russian Federation and confer honorary titles of the Russian
Federation and supreme military and supreme special titles;

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 Shall grant pardon.

Article 90:
 The president shall issue edicts and regulations which shall be binding on the entire territory of
the Russian Federation.
 Edicts and regulations of the President of the Russian Federation must not conflict with the
Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal laws.
Article 91
 The President of the Russian Federation shall have immunity.
Article 92:
 In all cases where the President of the Russian Federation is unable to fulfil his (her) duties, they
shall be temporarily delegated to the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation. The
Acting President of the Russian Federation shall not have the right to dissolve the State Duma,
call a referendum or to submit proposals for amendments to and the revision of the provisions of
the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
Impeachment of the President Article 93:
 The President of the Russian Federation may be impeached by the Council of Federation only on
the basis of charges of high treason or of another grave crime brought by the State Duma and
confirmed by a resolution of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.
 The decision of the State Duma to bring charges and the decision of the Council of Federation to
impeach the President must be adopted by two-thirds of votes of the total number of members of
each chamber on the initiative of not less than one third of deputies of the State Duma and on the
basis of a resolution of a special commission setup by the State Duma.
 The decision of the Council of Federation to impeach the President of the Russian Federation
must be adopted not later than three months after the State Duma brings charges against the
President. If a decision of the Council of Federation is not adopted within this time the charges
against the President shall be regarded as having been declined.

Local Self-Government of Russian Federation

Local self-government shall be recognized and guaranteed in the Russian Federation. It should operate
independently within the bounds of its authority. The bodies of local self-government shall not be part of
the state power bodies.
Russia is divided into 89 administrative Units: 21 Republic, 6 Territories, 10 autonomous national areas,
49 Blasts/Regions, 1 Autonomous region and 2 cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
Article 130:
 Local self-government shall be exercised by citizens by means of referendum, elections and other
forms of direct expression of their will, and through elected and other bodies of local self-
government.
Article 131:
Local self-government shall be determined by the population in rural and urban settlements in the light of
their local and historical traditions.
Functions of Local self-government:
Article 132
 Bodies of local self-government shall independently manage municipal property, form, approve
and implement the local budget, introduce local taxes and levies, ensure the preservation of public

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order, and resolve other issues of local importance.

 Bodies of local self-government may be vested by law with certain State powers and accordingly
receive material and financial resources which are necessary for their implementation. The
implementation of the vested power shall be controlled by the State.
Relation of Center and Republics:
 The constitution of 1993 grants greater autonomy to the Republics. The Republics have special
rights such as, the right to adopt their own anthem, flag, and limited constitution.
 The Republics pay fewer taxes to the central government.
 Some republics and other Units have treaties with the central government.
 The control administrative unit its own economic resources, subsidies and raising of local taxes
vary from area to area.
 Political and economic realities also influence the area’s relationship with the Federal
Government. Economically and politically powerful areas often secure good deals from the
central government.
Local Executive Officers:
 By 1997 all local chief executive officers were democratically elected and therefore, had
independent sources of power and legitimacy.
 They serve as the representative of their areas in the Council of Federation and therefore have
direct role in the central government.
Human Rights in the Russian Constitution
Chapter 2 articles 17 to 64 deal with the human rights in the Russian Constitution.
 Human rights are supreme.
 Rights are absolute and by birth. Human rights are inalienable and shall belong to everyone in the
Russian Federation.
 Dominance of rights: rights are given superiority over other laws.
 Human Equality: all people shall be equal before law regardless of race, sex, nationality,
language, origin, property or employment.
 Right to life: life is secured and any major punishment is in this connection is not allowed under
the law.
 Human honour and dignity: article 21 provides dignity to human beings in protection of the state.
 Right of Freedom: every citizen shall have right to freedom and inviolability. Arrest, detention
and keeping in custody shall only be done under the law.
 Privacy: Article 23 provides right to privacy to every citizen to personal and family secrets and to
protection of one’s honour and good name. Article 24 forbid publicizing of gathering, or using
information on the private life of any person without his/her consent.
 National identity: everyone shall determine and state his national identity and to use his native
language freely, choose education, training and creative work.
 Right of free movement: everyone lawfully staying in the territory of Russia shall have the right
to free movement and to choose the place of stay and residence.
 Religious Freedom: everyone has the freedom of conscience, religious worships, including right
to profess a religion individually or jointly with others.
 Freedom of Thought and speech: Article 29 says everyone shall have the right to freedom of
thought and speech. Propaganda and campaigning social, racial, national or religious hatred or
trouble is impermissible.

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 Right of Association: Article 31 allows public gatherings and association peacefully and without
weapons.
 Right of participation in State Administration: all citizens have the right to participate in state
affairs directly or indirectly through their representative.
 Right of approach to State Institutions: all citizens have the right to turn personally to or send
individual and collective petition to state bodies and bodies of local self-government.
 Economic Freedom: everyone shall have the right to use his/her abilities and property for
commercial or other economic purposes not prohibited by law.
 Private Property: everyone shall have the right to property in his/her own ownership. No one shall
be illogically deprived of his/her property except by law.
 Land as Private Ownership: citizens and their associations have the right to possess land in their
private ownership. They can manage and use natural resources provide it does not damage the
environment or violate the interests and rights of others.
 Right to Work: Article 37 says work shall be free. Everyone shall use his abilities freely. Forced
labour shall be prohibited. Remuneration without discrimination.
 State Protection of family: Motherhood and childhood and family shall be under the state
protection. Employable children 18 or above shall care for their non0employed parents.
 Social security: everyone shall be guaranteed social security in old age in case of disease, loss of
breadwinner etc. pension and social benefits shall be established by law.
 Right of Home: Article 40 provides that everyone shall have the right to a home. No one shall be
illogically deprived of a house. State bodies shall encourage home construction.
 Health: everyone shall have right to health care and medical assistance. Medical assistance shall
be made available by the state and municipal healthcare institutions to citizens free of charge.
 Protection from Pollution: everyone shall the right to favourable environment.
 Education: article 43 ensures education.
 Protection of Freedom: Article 45 ensures protection to liberties. State’s protection for human
rights and liberties in Russia shall be guaranteed.
 Protection of Rights through Courts: Actions of state organs, local self-government, public
associations and officials may be appealed against in court of law if they violate human right and
individual’s liberties.
 No Guilty without Proof: Guilt can only be charged on with proofs. The benefit of doubt shall be
interpreted in favour of the defendant.
 No Repeated Conviction: Article 50 prohibits repeated conviction.
 Compensation for Damage: article 53 says everyone shall the right to compensation by the state
for the damage caused by unlawful actions.
 Rights during emergency: In the conditions of a state of emergency, in order to ensure the safety
of citizens and the protection of the constitutional order and in accordance with federal
constitutional law, certain restrictions may be imposed on human rights and freedoms with an
indication of their limits and the period for which they have effect.
 T pay Taxes: Everyone shall pay lawful taxes and fees.
 Defense of State: Defense of the State shall be duty and obligation of the citizens of Russia.
 Full Rights after 18: After the age of 18, all citizens shall be recognized to be of legal age and
may independently exercise his rights and duties.
 Dual Citizenship: Article 62 allows dual citizenship to Russian citizens. Dual citizenship shall not
put down his/her ranks and liberties in Russia.

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 Political Asylum: Russian Federation shall grant asylum to foreign citizens and stateless citizens
in conformity with the recognized norms of the International laws.

German Constitution
Political Background:
Federal Republic of Germany is a major industrialized ntion in central Europe, a federal union of 16 states
(Landers).
 Germany has a long complex history and rich culture but it did not become a united nation until
1871. Bismarck a Prussian statesman united the German states into one unit in 1871. The
political structure of the second empire reflected Bismarck’s basic mistrust of democratic rule in
general and of various parties and groups in particular.
 William-II of SPD party won majority seats in the election of 1890 who wished to rule his own
right and to pursue a more aggressive foreign policy.
 WWI: Germany was the leading force against the Allied force in WWI in which Germany was
badly defeated. The Treaty of Versailles clipped Germany’s wings by imposing various

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restrictions including demilitarization, financial reparation to the Allied countries etc. Germany
was forced to surrender Alsace-Lorraine to France and West Prussia to Poland. Germany had to
surrender its coal, trains, merchant’s ships and navy. It had to admit responsibility for the war and
pay its total cost 30 Billion in Gold.
The Constitution of 1919:
 In February 1919 a national assembly led by the SPD formed a new constitution which was
adopted on July 31, 1919 transforming German Empire into a democratic republic, known as the
Weimar Republic.
 The Weimar Constitution provided all the fundamental and civil rights like universal suffrage,
freedom of speech and association etc but it was strongly criticized by the Nazis for humiliating
the country.
Hitler and National Socialism:
 As the political, social and economic situation worsened in post-war era, the Nazi leadership
exploited it and gained power. Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany in 1932. Hitler
suppressed all other political parties before the new election of March 1933 but Nazi received less
than 50 % votes but Hitler assumed control of the country.
 With the backing of prominent businessmen, Hitler was named chancellor on January 30, 1933.
Hitler created a new totalitarian, nationalist empire. By combining the extreme nationalism and
political authoritarianism, Nazis produced a fascist state.
 By 1938, Hitler had amassed the best-equipped, best-trained army in the world. All political
parties except Nazis were banned and strikes were forbidden.
WWII and Formation of German States:
 After facing the harsh humiliation of Versailles Germany started militarism and expansionism
under Nazis. Germany fought for long time during the WWII but on May 07, 1945, it presented
its unconditional surrender.
 At the Yalta Conference in February 1946, the Allies agreed to divide Germany into four military
zones: French in the southwest, British in the northwest, America in the south and Soviet in the
east.
 In 1945/46 all Nazis leaders were executed or imprisoned by an international tribunal. The
Federal Republic Germany (FRG) or West Germany was finally recognized on September 21,
1949. On October 7, 1949, the German Democratic Republic or East Germany was formed in the
Soviet zone.
 West German was given full independence membership in NATO in 1955. By 1960’s more than
one million people fled from East Germany to West Germany via West Berlin. The East Germany
built the Berlin Wall and closed borders to West Berlin.
Reunification of Germany:
 Rally at Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, the former East German government lifted travel
restrictions and emigration restrictions to the West. Within hours, thousands of Germans from
both sides flocked to the wall that had stood as a barrier between them for 28 years since it was
created by East Germany in 1961. The wall was dismantled by the citizens of both sides. On
November 9, 1989, the East German Government announced that the wall is no more functional.
 The reunification came about after the 1989 fall of the Communist East German Government. In
July 1990, both sides merged their financial systems. At the midnight on October 3, 1990, both
sides officially reunified after 45 years as separate nations.

Features of German Political System

Written:
 The constitution was created by a council composed of members of state legislature in 1948/49.
Approved by state legislature, US, UK and French occupation authorities, the constitution
declared West-Germany as parliamentary democracy and a federation of states.

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 The constitution was promulgated by the Parliamentary council on 23 March 1949 and amended
by the Unification Treaty of August 31, 1990. It has a preamble and 146 Articles.
Electoral Process Article 38:
 Any person who has attained the age of eighteen shall be entitled to vote; any person who has
attained the age of majority may be elected.
 Members of the German Bundestag shall be elected in general, direct, free, equal and secret
elections.
 Officials who are popularly elected include Bundestage deputies at the federal level, Landtag
representatives or senate members at the Land level and council members at the district and local
levels.
 Elections are held every four years at all levels. But elections for all these levels are not held
simultaneously as in the US rather are staggered.
 All elections are held on Sunday.
Democratic:
 Article 20 says “The Federal Republic of Germany is a democratic and social federal state”
 All state authority is derived from the people. It shall be exercised by the people through elections
and other votes and through specific legislative, executive and judicial bodies.
 All Germans shall have the right to resist any person seeking to abolish this constitutional order,
if no other remedy is available.
Republican
 The German constitution is republican. The Federal president, the head of state is elected for five
years term by the Federal Convention which consists of members of the Bundestag and equal
members from the State legislatures.
Bicameral Legislature:
 The constitution provides for a bicameral legislature: Bundestag (Federal Assembly) having 670
deputies; and the Bundesrat (Federal Council) having 69 delegates.
 Bundestag is elected by the people. Its members are normally about 670. One half are elected by
pluralities from single-member district, geographical areas that each has one representative. The
rest are elected by proportional system in which the ballots name only parties. A party must get at
least 5 % of the national popular vote for representation. The final distribution of each party’s
seats in the Bundestag is also adjusted in proportion to the total popular vote.
 The 69-members Bundesrat is appointed by 16 state governments. Representation is determined
by the population, with each state having no less than three and no more than six seats. This ratio
actually favours the smaller and the smallest states because it gives them a veto over any action
that requires a 2/3 majority such as constitutional amendments.
The Highest Court:
 The Federal Constitutional Court is the highest court in the country. It is the guardian of the
constitution.
Federal System:
 German federal system is different from US. German Federalism concentrates legislative powers
at the federal level and gives administrative and judicial powers at the state level.
 Each state has a popularly elected legislature which chooses a minister-president or a first mayor
to serve as chief executive.
 There is very little for the 16 states’ assemblies to legislate because the Basic Law subordinates
most state legislative powers to the federal government.
 The administration of all laws, including federal laws is almost exclusively in the hands of the
states.
 Bundesrat (Federal Council) is important German federal institution which is the representative of
the states and the federal government and has the final say in disputes between states or between
states and federal government.

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 The Bundesrat is the upper house of parliament but its members are state ministers or civil
servants and are not elected and are not elected: instead their respective state governments
appoint them.
Parliamentary:
 Germany has a parliamentary head of government or prime minister called the chancellor. The
chancellor is chosen by a majority of the popularly elected lower house of the parliament: The
Bundestag.
 The chancellor selects a cabinet of about 20 ministers from among the parties in the coalition.
 The chancellor can be removed from office only if the Bundestag elects a successor or when the
Bundestag itself is re-elected.
 The Chancellor is the real executive responsible to the legislature. He is to preside his/her cabinet
and the government is to introduce bill in the legislature.
Fundamental Rights:
 Article-1 to Article-12 of the constitution deal with the basic rights of the German people.
Amendments to the Constitution:
 Article-79 deals with the amendment procedure of the constitution. This Basic Law may be
amended only by a law expressly amending or supplementing its text. In the case of an
international treaty regarding a peace settlement, the preparation of a peace settlement, or the
phasing out of an occupation regime, or designed to promote the defence of the Federal Republic,
it shall be sufficient, for the purpose of making clear that the provisions of this Basic Law do not
preclude the conclusion and entry into force of the treaty, to add language to the Basic Law that
merely makes this clarification.
 Any such law shall be carried by two thirds of the Members of the Bundestag and two thirds of
the votes of the Bundesrat.
 Amendments to this Basic Law affecting the division of the Federation into Länder, their
participation on principle in the legislative process, or the principles laid down in Articles 1 and
20 shall be inadmissible.
European Union:
 Article-23 says to realize a unified Europe. Germany participate in the development of European
Union which is bound to democratic rule of law, social and federal principles as well as the
principle of protection of fundamental rights.

Basic Rights in the Constitution of Germany

Article-1 to Article-19 in Chapter-1 of the constitution are to describe basic rights of the people of
Germany.
 Human dignity is inviolable. To respect and protect it is the duty of all state authority.
 The German people therefore acknowledge inviolable and inalienable human rights as the basis of
every community, of peace and of justice in the world.
 The following basic rights shall bind the legislature, the executive and the judiciary as directly
applicable law.
Article-2: Personal Freedom:
 Every personal shall right to free personal development and right to life and physical integrity
which shall be inviolable unless it does not violate the rights of others.
Article-3: Equality before the law:
 All persons shall be equal before the law. Men and women shall have equal rights.
 No person should be favoured or disfavoured because of sex, parentage, race, language, homeland
or origin.
Article-4: Freedom of Faith and Conscience:
 Freedom of faith and of conscience, and freedom to profess a religious or philosophical creed,
shall be inviolable.

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 The undisturbed practice of religion shall be guaranteed.

Article-5: Freedom of Expression, Art and Science:
 Every person shall have the right freely to express and disseminate his opinions in speech, writing
and pictures, and to inform himself without hindrance from generally accessible sources.
Freedom of the press and freedom of reporting by means of broadcasts and films shall be
guaranteed. There shall be no censorship.
Article-6 Marriage and Family:
 Marriage and the family shall enjoy the special protection of the state.
 The care and upbringing of children is the natural right of parents and a duty primarily incumbent
upon them. The state shall watch over them in the performance of this duty.
Article-8 Freedom of Assembly:
 All Germans shall have the right to assemble peacefully and unarmed without prior notification
or permission.
Article-9 Freedom of Association:
 All Germans shall have the right to form corporations and other associations.
 The right to form associations to safeguard and improve working and economic conditions shall
be guaranteed to every individual and to every occupation or profession. Agreements that restrict
or seek to impair this right shall be null and void; measures directed to this end shall be unlawful.
Article-11 Freedom of Movement:
 All Germans shall have the right to move freely throughout the federal territory. This right may
be restricted only by or pursuant to a law
Article-12 Occupational Freedom:
 All Germans shall have the right freely to choose their occupation or profession, their place of
work and their place of training. The practice of an occupation or profession may be regulated by
or pursuant to a law.
 Forced labour may be imposed only on persons deprived of their liberty by the judgment of a
court.
Article-12A Compulsory Military and other Civilian Service:
 Men who have attained the age of eighteen may be required to serve in the Armed Forces, in the
Federal Border Police, or in a civil defence organisation.
 Any person who, on grounds of conscience, refuses to render military service involving the use of
arms may be required to perform alternative service.
Article-13 Inviolability of Home:
 The home is inviolable
 Searches may be authorised only by a judge or, when time is of the essence, by other authorities
designated by the laws, and may be carried out only in the manner therein prescribed.
Article-14: Property, Inheritance and Expropriation:
 Property and the right of inheritance shall be guaranteed. Their content and llimits shall be
defined by the laws.
 Property entails obligations. Its use shall also serve the public good.
 Expropriation shall only be permissible for the public good.
Article-16 Citizenship:
 No German shall be deprived of citizenship. Citizenship may be lost only pursuant to a law, and
against the will of the person affected only if he does not become stateless as a result.
Article-17 Right or Petition:
 Every person shall have the right individually or jointly with others to address written requests or
complaints to competent authorities and to the legislature.
Article-19: Restriction of Basic Rights in Specific instances:
 Insofar as, under this Basic Law, a basic right may be restricted by or pursuant to a law, such law
must apply generally and not merely to a single case. In addition, the law must specify the basic
right affected and the Article in which it appears.

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 In no case may the essence of a basic right be affected.

 The basic rights shall also apply to domestic artificial persons to the extent that the nature of such
rights permits.

The House of Representative/The Bundestag/Lower House

Introduction: Article 39:
 Any person who has attained the age of eighteen shall be entitled to vote; any person who has
attained the age of majority may be elected.
 Members of the German Bundestag shall be elected in general, direct, free, equal and secret
elections.
 Officials who are popularly elected include Bundestage deputies at the federal level.
 Elections are held every four years at all levels. But elections for all these levels are not held
simultaneously as in the US rather are staggered.
 All elections are held on Sunday.
 New elections shall be held no sooner than forty-six months and no later than forty-eight months
after the electoral term begins. If the Bundestag is dissolved, new elections shall be held within
sixty days.
 The Bundestag shall convene no later than the thirtieth day after the elections.
Representatives:
 Bundestag is elected by the people. Its members are normally about 670. One half are elected by
pluralities from single-member district, geographical areas that each has one representative. The
rest are elected by proportional system in which the ballots name only parties. A party must get at
least 5 % of the national popular vote for representation. The final distribution of each party’s
seats in the Bundestag is also adjusted in proportion to the total popular vote.

Powers and Functions:

Committee System:
Most of the legislative work in the Bundestag is the product of standing committees. Unlike US where the
majority party control and chairs committees, the German constitution allows apposition parties’ members
to chair the committees.
President of Bundestag Article 40:
 The Bundestag shall elect its President, Vice-Presidents and secretaries. It shall adopt rules of
procedure.
Article 41: Removal of Its Members:
 Scrutiny of elections shall be the responsibility of the Bundestag. It shall also decide whether a
Member has lost his seat.
 Complaints against such decisions of the Bundestag may be lodged with the Federal
Constitutional Court.
Article 43:
 The members of the Bundesrat and of the Federal Government as well as their representatives
may attend all sittings of the Bundestag and meetings of its committees. They shall have the right
to be heard at any time.
Article 44: [Committees of inquiry]
 The Bundestag shall have the right, and on the motion of one quarter of its Members the duty, to
establish a committee of inquiry, which shall take the requisite evidence at public hearings. The

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public may be excluded.

 Courts and administrative authorities shall be required to provide legal and administrative
assistance
Article 45: Committee on European Union:
 The Bundestag shall appoint a Committee on the Affairs of the European Union. It may authorise
the committee to exercise the rights of the Bundestag under Article 23 vis-à-vis the Federal
Government. It may also empower it to exercise the rights granted to the Bundestag under the
contractual foundations of the European Union.
Article 45a: [Committees on Foreign Affairs and Defence]
 1. The Bundestag shall appoint a Committee on Foreign Affairs and a Defence Committee.
 Petition committee to deal with complaints addressed to the Bundestag.
 Parliamentary Control panel committee: to scrutinize the intelligence activities of the federal
government.
Article 46: Immunities of members on the demand of Bundestag:
 Immunity from court proceedings.
 Immunity from arrest for offence
Law Making Process:
 Most legislations are initiated by the executive branch, the Bundestag considers the legislative
function its most important responsibility.
 Bundestag focuses on assessing and amending the government’s legislative programs. The
committees play important role in this process. The session provides a forum for members to
engage in public debate on legislative issues before them.
Executive:
 Selection of federal chancellor.
 Exercising oversight of the executive branch on issues of policy and routine administration. This
check on executive power is employed through binding legislation, public debate on government
policies, investigation, and direct questioning of the chancellor or cabinet officials in question
hour.
Miscellaneous:
The Bundestag elects its president, vice president, and secretaries.
It draws its rules of procedures.
The Bundesrat/ The Upper House/Senate
Article 50:
The Länder/states shall participate through the Bundesrat in the legislation and administration of the
Federation and in matters concerning the European Union.
Composition/Article 51:
 The Bundesrat shall consist of members of the Land governments.
 Each Land shall have at least three votes; Länder with more than two million inhabitants shall
have four, Länder with more than six million inhabitants five, and Länder with more than seven
million inhabitants six votes.
Article 52: [President - Decisions - Rules of procedure]
 The Bundesrat shall elect its President for one year.
 The President shall convene the Bundesrat. He shall be obliged to do so if the delegates of at least
two Länder or the Federal Government so demand.

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 Decisions of the Bundesrat shall require at least a majority of its votes. It shall adopt rules of
procedure. Its meetings shall be open to the public. The public may be excluded.
 For matters concerning the European Union the Bundesrat may establish a Chamber for European
Affairs, whose decisions shall be considered decisions of the Bundesrat;
Article 53: [Attendance of members of the Federal Government]
 The members of the Federal Government shall have the right, and on demand the duty, to
participate in meetings of the Bundesrat and of its committees
 The Bundesrat shall be kept informed by the Federal Government with regard to the conduct of
its affairs.

The Federal Government(Chancellor and Cabinet)

Article 62: [Composition]

 The Federal Government shall consist of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers.
Article 63: [Election of the Federal Chancellor]
 The Federal Chancellor shall be elected by the Bundestag without debate on the proposal of the
Federal President.
 The person who receives the votes of a majority of the Members of the Bundestag shall be
elected. The person elected shall be appointed by the Federal President.
 If the person proposed by the Federal President is not elected, the Bundestag may elect a Federal
Chancellor within fourteen days after the ballot by the votes of more than one half of its
Members.
 If no Federal Chancellor is elected within this period, a new election shall take place without
delay, in which the person who receives the largest number of votes shall be elected. If the person
elected receives the votes of a majority of the Members of the Bundestag, the Federal President
must appoint him within seven days after the election. If the person elected does not receive such
a majority, then within seven days the Federal President shall either appoint him or dissolve the
Bundestag.
Powers and Functions of Federal Government
Article 64: [Appointment and dismissal of Federal Ministers - Oath of office]
 Federal Ministers shall be appointed and dismissed by the Federal President upon the proposal of
the Federal Chancellor.
 On taking office the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers shall take the oath provided for
in Article 56 before the Bundestag.

Article 65: [Power to determine policy guidelines -Department and collegiate responsibility]
 The Federal Chancellor shall determine and be responsible for the general guidelines of policy.
 Within these limits each Federal Minister shall conduct the affairs of his department
independently and on his own responsibility.
 The Federal Government shall resolve differences of opinion between Federal Ministers.
 The Federal Chancellor shall conduct the proceedings of the Federal Government in accordance
with rules of procedure adopted by the Government and approved by the Federal President.
Article 65a: [Command of the Armed Forces]

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 Command of the Armed Forces shall be vested in the Federal Minister of Defence
Article 66: [Incompatibilities]
 Neither the Federal Chancellor nor a Federal Minister may hold any other salaried office, or
engage in any trade or profession, or belong to the management or, without the consent of the
Bundestag, to the supervisory board of an enterprise conducted for profit.
Removal of Cabinet or Chancellor:
Article 67: [Vote of no confidence]
 The Bundestag may express its lack of confidence in the Federal Chancellor only by electing a
successor by the vote of a majority of its Members and requesting the Federal President to
dismiss the Federal Chancellor. The Federal President must comply with the request and appoint
the person elected.
 Forty-eight hours shall elapse between the motion and the election.
Article 68: [Vote of confidence]
 If a motion of the Federal Chancellor for a vote of confidence is not supported by the majority of
the Members of the Bundestag, the Federal President, upon the proposal of the Federal
Chancellor, may dissolve the Bundestag within twenty-one days. The right of dissolution shall
lapse as soon as the Bundestag elects another Federal Chancellor by the vote of a majority of its
Members.
Article 69: [Deputy Federal Chancellor - Term of office]
 The Federal Chancellor shall appoint a Federal Minister as his deputy.
Removal of Cabinet:
 The tenure of office of the Federal Chancellor or of a Federal Minister shall end in any event
when a new Bundestag convenes; the tenure of office of a Federal Minister shall also end on any
other occasion on which the Federal Chancellor ceases to hold office.
 At the request of the Federal President the Federal Chancellor, or at the request of the Federal
Chancellor or of the Federal President a Federal Minister, shall be obliged to continue to manage
the affairs of his office until a successor is appointed.
Powers of Cabinet:
 The Federal Government, with the consent of the Bundesrat, may issue general administrative
rules.
 The Federal Government shall exercise oversight to ensure that the Länder execute federal laws
in accordance with the law. For this purpose the Federal Government may send commissioners to
the highest Land authorities and, with their consent or, where such consent is refused, with the
consent of the Bundesrat, also to subordinate authorities.
VII. Federal Legislation and Legislative Procedures
Article 70: [Division of powers between the Federation and the Länder]
 The Länder shall have the right to legislate insofar as this Basic Law does not confer legislative
power on the Federation.
 The division of authority between the Federation and the Länder shall be governed by the
provisions of this Basic Law concerning exclusive and concurrent legislative powers.
Article 73: [Matters under exclusive legislative power of the Federation]
The Federation shall have exclusive legislative power with respect to:
 foreign affairs and defence, including protection of the civilian population
 citizenship in the Federation;

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 Freedom of movement, passports, residency registration and identity cards, immigration,

emigration and extradition
 currency, money and coinage, weights and measures, and the determination of standards of time;
 the unity of the customs and trading area, treaties regarding commerce and navigation, the free
movement of goods, and the exchange of goods and payments with foreign countries, including
customs and border protection
 safeguarding German cultural assets against removal from the country;
 air transport;
 the operation of railways wholly or predominantly owned by the Federation (federal railways),
the construction, maintenance and operation of railroad lines belonging to federal railways, and
the levying of charges for the use of these lines;
 postal and telecommunications services;
 The legal relations of persons employed by the Federation and by federal corporations under
public law;
 industrial property rights, copyrights and publishing;
 cooperation between the Federation and the Länder concerning
 criminal police work,
 protection of the free democratic basic order, existence and security of the Federation or of a
Land (protection of the constitution), and
 protection against activities within the federal territory which, by the use of force or preparations
for the use of force, endanger the external interests of the Federal Republic of Germany,
 as well as the establishment of a Federal Criminal Police Office and international action to
combat crime;
 the law on weapons and explosives
Article 74: [Matters under concurrent legislative powers]
Concurrent legislative power shall extend to the following matters:
 civil law, criminal law, court organisation and procedure
 Registration of births, deaths and marriages;
 the law of association
 the law relating to residence and establishment of foreign nationals
 matters concerning refugees and expellees
 public welfare
 war damage and reparations;
 Labour law, including the organisation of enterprises, occupational health and safety, and
employment agencies, as well as social security, including unemployment insurance;
 The regulation of educational and training grants and the promotion of research.
 the transfer of land, natural resources, and means of production to public ownership or other
forms of public enterprise.
 Maritime and coastal shipping, as well as navigational aids, inland navigation, meteorological
services, sea routes, and inland waterways used for general traffic.
 Road traffic, motor transport, construction and maintenance of long-distance highways, as well as
the collection of tolls for the use of public highways by vehicles and the allocation of the revenue;
Apart from the above list, there are many other matters on the concurrent list like, hunting, land
distribution, regional planning, management of water resources etc.

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Article 79: [Amendment of the Basic Law]

 This Basic Law may be amended only by a law expressly amending or supplementing its text. In
the case of an international treaty regarding a peace settlement, the preparation of a peace
settlement, or the phasing out of an occupation regime, or designed to promote the defence of the
Federal Republic, it shall be sufficient, for the purpose of making clear that the provisions of this
Basic Law do not preclude the conclusion and entry into force of the treaty, to add language to the
Basic Law that merely makes this clarification.
 Any such law shall be carried by two thirds of the Members of the Bundestag and two thirds of
the votes of the Bundesrat
 Amendments to this Basic Law affecting the division of the Federation into Länder, their
participation on principle in the legislative process, or the principles laid down in Articles 1 and
20 shall be inadmissible.
German Judiciary
Article 92: [Court organisation)
The judicial power shall be vested in the judges; it shall be exercised by the Federal Constitutional Court,
by the federal courts provided for in this Basic Law, and by the courts of the Länder
Article 93: [Jurisdiction of the Federal Constitutional
Court]
The Federal Constitutional Court shall rule:
 On the interpretation of this Basic Law in the event of disputes concerning the extent of the rights
and duties of a supreme federal body or of other parties
 in the event of disagreements or doubts concerning the formal or substantive compatibility of
federal law or Land law with this Basic Law, or the compatibility of Land law with other federal
law, on application of the Federal Government, of a Land government, or of one fourth of the
Members of the Bundestag;
 in the event of disagreements concerning the rights and duties of the Federation and the Länder,
especially in the execution of federal law by the Länder and in the exercise of federal oversight;
 on other disputes involving public law between the Federation and the Länder, between different
Länder, or within a Land, unless there is recourse to another court.
 on constitutional complaints, which may be filed by any person alleging thatone of his basic
rights or one of his rights has been infringed by public authority.
 On constitutional complaints filed by municipalities or associations of municipalities on the
ground that their right to self-government under Article 28 has been infringed by a law.
 on constitutional complaints filed by associations concerning their non-recognition as political
parties for an election to the Bundestag;
 The Federal Constitutional Court shall also rule on such other matters as shall be assigned to it by
a federal law.
Article 94: [Composition of the Federal Constitutional Court]
 The Federal Constitutional Court shall consist of federal judges and other members. Half the
members of the Federal Constitutional Court shall be elected by the Bundestag and half by the
Bundesrat. They may not be members of the Bundestag, of the Bundesrat, of the Federal
Government, or of any of the corresponding bodies of a Land.

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 The organisation and procedure of the Federal Constitutional Court shall be regulated by a federal
law, which shall specify in which instances its decisions shall have the force of law.
Article 95: [Supreme federal courts]
 The Federation shall establish the Federal Court of Justice, the Federal Administrative Court, the
Federal Finance Court, the Federal Labour Court and the Federal Social Court as supreme courts
of ordinary, administrative, financial, labour and social jurisdiction.
 The judges of each of these courts shall be chosen jointly by the competent Federal Minister and a
committee for the selection of judges consisting of the competent Land ministers and an equal
number of members elected by the Bundestag
Article 96:
 With the consent of the Bundesrat, a federal law may provide that courts of the Länder shall
exercise federal jurisdiction over criminal proceedings in the following matters:
 genocide; crimes against humanity under international criminal law; war crimes; state security.
Article 97: [Judicial independence]
 Judges shall be independent and subject only to the law.
 Judges appointed permanently to full-time positions may be involuntarily dismissed, permanently
or temporarily suspended, transferred or retired before the expiration of their term of office only
by virtue of judicial decision and only for the reasons and in the manner specified by the laws.
The legislature may set age limits for the retirement of judges appointed for life. In the event of
changes in the structure of courts or in their districts, judges may be transferred to another court
or removed from office, provided they retain their full salary.
Article 98: [Legal status of judges - Impeachment]
 The legal status of federal judges shall be regulated by a special federal law.
 If a federal judge infringes the principles of this Basic Law or the constitutional order of a Land
in his official capacity or unofficially, the Federal Constitutional Court, upon application of the
Bundestag, may by a two-thirds majority order that the judge be transferred or retired. In the case
of an intentional infringement it may order him dismissed.
Article 100: [Concrete judicial review
 If a court concludes that a law on whose validity its decision depends is unconstitutional, the
proceedings shall be stayed, and a decision shall be obtained from the Land court with
jurisdiction over constitutional disputes where the constitution of a Land is held to be violated, or
from the Federal Constitutional Court where this Basic Law is held to be violated. This provision
shall also apply where the Basic Law is held to be violated by Land law and where a Land law is
held to be incompatible with a federal law.
 If the constitutional court of a Land, in interpreting this Basic Law, proposes to deviate from a
decision of the Federal Constitutional Court or of the constitutional court of another Land, it shall
obtain a decision from the Federal Constitutional Court.

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The constitution of 1956 of Pakistan:

Introduction:

The constituent assembly was set on 10 August 1947 and has been assigned with two functions i.e. to
draft the constitution for Pakistan and to Act as a Central Legislative Assembly. It got failed due the very
slow moving nature of the assembly. It was confined to the Objectives Resolution and the Basic Principle
Committee also got a cold reception upon the Parity Proposal. During the regime of Bogra, the progress
was made to the constitution to much extent but that also got failed due to the dissolution of the
Constituent Assembly by the then Governor General, Ghulam Muhammad. The governor general again
invited Muhammad Ali Bogra to form new government with some new ministries elected by the existed
constituent assembly. This assembly has produced a draft and presented on 8 January, 1956. On 29
February, 1956 it was recommended by the Cabinet and approval of the president was given on 2 March
1956 and finally enacted on 23 March 1956. After nine years of efforts, Pakistan succeeded to form a new
constitution for its people and the Country was declared ass “The Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”

The constitution of 1956 is lengthy due to the following reasons:

 It had an Islamic character and being an Islamic one, it had a long description of Islamic
principles.
 It has a federal character which is usually more complex.
 The relations between center and units were complicated and in need of lengthy description.
 Special provisions to be made for the tribal areas.
 Ordinary legislation had added to the constitution for which they have occupied 32 articles.
 Addition of the emergency provisions covering Part-IX of the constitution.
 Not only lengthy bills of rights were added but the Directive Principles were also added.

The parts which were included in the constitution are as follows:

I. Dealt with the republic and its VII. With property, contracts and suits.
territories. VIII. With elections.
II. With fundamental rights. IX. With the judiciary.
III. With the directive principles of state X. With the services of Pakistan.
policy. XI. Dealt with emergency provisions.
IV. With the federation. XII. With general provisions.
V. With the provinces. XIII. With temporary and transition
VI. With the relation between provinces and provisions.
federation.
There were six schedules incorporated in the constitution:

I. Dealt with the election of the president.

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II. With oath and affirmation.

III. With powers of supreme-court and remuneration of the judges.
IV. With the remunerations and privileges of the president, the speaker, the deputy speaker of the
national and provincial assemblies as well as the provincial governors.
V. With the lists of subjects for which either the federation or provinces or both concurrently would
be competent to legislate.
VI. With the election of the first president of the republic.

Features of the 1956 constitution: Pakistan that replaced the government of India Act 1935 by the
imposition of 1956 constitution. Main features of the constitution are following:

Enacted and lengthy:

 It was a bulky constitution from the very inception.

 It has 234 articles, 13 parts and 6 schedules enforced on 23 March 1956.
 It has a preamble which reflects the Islamic Provisions, democratic spirit, equality, freedom and
fundamental rights are enumerated in a very detail manner.
 These articles, schedules and parts deal with the election of the president, prime minister and
other ministers and division of the powers as well Judiciary.

Federal in structure:

 The 1956 constitution was Federal in character.

 There were two provinces i.e. West Pakistan and East Pakistan with their separate legislative
assemblies and executives.
 There were three lists on which the powers were divided between the center and the provinces i.e.
Central Legislative List, Provincial Legislative List and Concurrent List.
 Both the government can enact laws from the concurrent list of the constitution. In case of any
contradiction of the legislation between the center and provinces, the federal government decision
was preferred over the provinces.
 All the residuary powers were vested in the hands of the provinces.
 Article 129 of the constitution empowered the Chief Justice to form a Tribunal to make sure the
very differences between the center and the provinces.

Partially rigid:

 A partially rigid constitution is that which is neither too rigid like that of the USA and not so
much flexible like UK, but this was a balanced in method adopting for the amendment in it.
 Article-216 provides that 51% of the total members OR two-third of the present members of the
National Assembly can amend the constitution.
 The amendment would valid if the president signs it by the final approval.
 A strange thing here was that only two-third of the president and not the total members can
amend the constitution.
 Provincial assemblies were powerless in the amendment process.

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Parliamentary set-up:

 The 1956 constitution was also parliamentary in nature as that of the government of India act
1935.
 The prime minister could enjoy his office as long as the president gets pleasure of his duty and
performance. The cabinet was collective responsible to the national assembly. This system was
taken from the British system where the conventions have immense importance.
 Collective responsibility had been adopted in India, Sri Lanka, and Irish and in Pakistan too it
was adopted from these examples.
 A hot debate was there to adopt the parliamentary nature or not but finally they adopted it.
 The PM would nominate the ministers from the legislatures and minister could participate in the
legislation and debate.

Unicameral legislature:

 The nature of the legislature was unicameral. Although the federal character needs Bicameral
legislature, but this constitution had a unicameral one.
 The house was known as the National Assembly.
 Total numbers of seats were 300 half from each province and 10 seats for women.
 Five women from east on constituency based and five from west same as the east process.
 The national assembly members were to be elected by the people for a term of five years and it
could be dissolved earlier.

Independence of judiciary:

 Judiciary was kept independent and the appointments of the judges were to be done keeping in
view the constitutional experiences of the judges.
 There pa could not be reduced and the Supreme Court was in the apex pyramid of the judicial
system.

Principles of policy:

 Principles of policy providing guideline for future planning and policy formulation.
 These were the principles which kept the officials bound to perform their duties assigned to them.
 This system was taken from Irish constitution that the Pakistan will respect UN-charter, fraternal
and friendly relation with others, to strengthen bonds with nations, social and economic justice
and protection of the minorities etc.
 To provide the basic necessities to the Muslims to spend their live according the Islamic
principles.
 To discourage regionalism, dangerous for national integration and separation of judiciary and
executive and parity in civil services.

Islamic provisions:

 The name of the state was Islamic republic of Pakistan.

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 The constitution presents Islam as the synthesis of the modern needs and Islamic principles.
 The objective resolution was imparted as the preamble which consisted of Islamic principles.
 All sovereign powers belong to Allah and the rulers were to exercise those powers within the
limits prescribed by the Shariah.
 No law could be made against the Islamic provisions and all laws must bring in the conformity
with the Islamic based Shariah system.
 A sound and safe heavens must be provided to the Muslims to ensure their lives in accordance
with the Holy Qur’an.

Emergency provisions:

 This constitution empowers the president to declare a state of emergency overall in the country or
in a specific part of the country.
 Under article-191 the constitution said that if the president was satisfied with the grave situation
exited in the country, and the provincial assemblies were not in a position to tackle the issue, the
president has the power to declare emergency.
 Emergency in any province, the federal legislature is authorized to form laws for a province and
power of the provincial executive was to be used by the president or by the governor directed by
him.
 Under article-192 the emergency imposed in a specific province, the fundamental laws would be
set aside to fulfill the aims of emergency.

Fundamental rights:

 This constitution emphasized on the fundamental rights of the citizens more than the interim
constitution of the 1935.
 The supreme court of Pakistan has the authority to declare void the laws and executive orders
which are repugnant to the fundamental rights of the constitution.

Republican system:

 The head of the state was an elected president.

 The national assembly and provincial assemblies would elect him for the term of five years and
he could be re-elected.
 He could be impeached by the legislature.
 He could dissolve the national assembly and appoint new government on his own sweet will.
 If the post of the president may vacant in any case, the speaker (Maybe non-muslim) could ascend
the post temporarily.

Directive principles under the constitution of 1956:

The Basic Principles Committee had recommended the inclusion of the following directive principles;

 Steps should be taken to enable the Muslims to order their live in accordance with the Holy
Qur’an and Sunnah, the prohibition of drinking, gambling and prostitution.

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 The provision of food, housing, clothing, education and medical relief should be given t the
citizens of Pakistan.
 The improving of living standard, the prevention of the concentration of wealth and means of
production in the hands of a few and prevention of exploitation of workers and peasants.
 Abolition of illiteracy as soon as possible.
 Training and education for the population of different areas to enable them to participate fully in
forms of national activities.
 Discouragement of parochial, tribal and racial feelings among the Muslims.
 Strengthening of the bonds of unity among the Muslim states.
 Separation of judiciary from the executive.
 Promotion of peace and goodwill among the people of the world.
 Protection of all legitimate interests and rights of the minorities.
 Protection of young people, children and women against exploitation.
 To achieve parity in the representation of East Pakistan and West Pakistan in all sphere of federal
administration.
 To eliminate Riba as soon as possible.

Parliamentary system under 1956 constitution:

 The first constituent assembly decided to favor parliamentary system both in center and province
but there was a hot debate on the issue of adaptation of the form of government.
 There was opposition who holds that Pakistan is lack of two strong party system which is the
essence for the promotion of parliamentary system.
 Others whose tendency were to the Islamic type of government were also against the
parliamentary nature because they have argued that in the early ages of Islam there was a head of
state who controls everything and he can delegate his powers but not share the powers.
 There were vivid examples of the using of unconstitutional and undemocratic powers in the
constitutional developing era as has been shown in 1953 the dissolution of the Cabinet and in
1954 the dissolution of the constituent assembly even they have the confidence of the majority.
 Keeping in view the authoritarian use of force by the head of state, the draft presented by the
second constituent assembly had to be modified in some respect to the powers of president to
abstain the repetition of the history in constitutional development.
 That is why the parliamentary system was to implemented for the purpose that the real executive
powers to be vested in the hands of the Cabinet wholly responsible to the legislature.
 Hence, the partial head of the state is needed for the bridging the gap between the outgoing and
incoming officials.
 Most of the parliamentary systems are having separate head of the state acting on the advice of
the cabinet and performs ceremonial and formal functions of the office.

The president and the cabinet:

 The executive authority in the federation is vested in the hands of the president and was to be
exercise by them within the prescribed limits by the 1956 constitution.
 The president was to be a Muslim citizen and not less than the age of 40 years.

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 He was to be elected by an Electoral College comprised of national assemblies and provincial

assemblies for term of five years and no more than two terms.
 He can be impeached by the National assembly for his gross misconduct.
 The second constituent presented a draft for the Vice-President also but that was rejected and
explained that in the post of president becomes vacant, the speaker would perform presidential
functions until the new one is elected.
 The constitution also said about the Cabinet ministers headed by the prime minister and they
would assist the president on the performance of his functions but he could also use his
discretionary powers where he could.
 The constitution limited the discretionary powers of the president to the making of few non-
controversial appointments such as chairman and members of Federal Public Service
Commission.
 The most important function here was the appointment of the prime minister from a clear cut two
parties in the national assembly. But this function carries great importance when there is no clear
cut majority then the discretionary powers could be misused.
 To ensure the safeguard to the discretionary powers, the constitution provided article-50 and
limited the powers of appointment from outside, as happened in the constitutional development
era, the national assembly.
 The communication duty to the president was solely in the hands of the prime minister.
 The prime minster shall hold the office during the pleasure of the president but the president shall
not misuse his discretionary powers when prime minister had the majority of the parliament.
 Appointment functions: He had entrusted with multifarious functions as the appointments of the
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, judges of the Supreme and High Courts, the governor
generals of the provinces and attorney general were made by the president on the advice of the
cabinet.
 He would constitute the National Economic Council, National Finance Commission, Inter-
provincial Council, the commission for bringing the laws with the conformity of the Islam and the
Organization foe Islamic Research and Institution.
 He had also the powers of issuance of political or financial emergency and could suspend a
provincial government.
 The federal administration and the raise of the Naval, Air and Army forces were vested in the
hands of the president.
 Legislative functions: The legislative functions were, he could summon, prorogue and even
dissolve the national assembly on the advice of cabinet.
 He could address the national assembly and send messages to parliament.
 He possessed a little power of the veto on the laws made by the national assembly.
 When the national assembly was not in session, he would have the positive power to make laws
by ordinances which were to be laid before the national assembly and would cease to operate at
the expiry of six weeks from the next meeting of the national assembly.

The federal government:

 The federal structure was similar to that provided in the government of India Act 1935.
 Federalism in Pakistan had to make room for self-expression and self-support for the units.

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 The decentralization was allowed in the 1956 constitution which was unusual as in the other new
constitutions.
 The federal constitution in India had a strong tendency towards the Centralization of authority
and administration.
 The modern democratic government can hardly fulfill the wider objective of the society.
 In a modern complex society, the federal system could hardly be expected to work satisfactorily
and smoothly without the process of centralization. Yet the architects of the 1956 constitution
provided vast room for the decentralization in view of a number of powerful factors, political,
economic, psychological and working towards demands of the regional autonomy.
 The other hand, the risk was that the decentralize structure of a weak federation might afford
foothold for foreign intrigues and attacks.
 Parliament was given exclusive powers on the thirty-three subjects in 1956 constitution against
the 61 items in the government of India act 1935 and the provincial subjects had the powers on
ninety-four subjects in 1956 constitution against fifty-five under the government of India Act
1935.
 The concurrent list was included only 19 subjects having a short nature.

The Federal Legislature:

 Unlike other Federal constitution, the 1956 constitution was a unicameral in nature.
 The first conflict relating to the federal structure was the quantum of representation of the two
provinces in Pakistan.
 After the acute controversy it was decided that there should be parity of representation between
East and West Pakistan.
 The first constituent assembly proposed the second chamber in the federal which was difficult to
divide the representation and tougher to agree on the seats of representation. Bu in the second
chamber it was decided to have a single chamber in the federal for which it is made simpler to
have proper representation for both the provinces and here the West Pakistan provinces
amalgamated in a single unit.
 The parliament of 1956 was consisted of the President and one house, the National Assembly. It
has 300 members, half elected by constituencies in the East and half by the constituencies in the
West Pakistan. Ten additional seats were provided for women, five from East and five from West.
 In 1956 a bill was passed in haste where the merits of the bill were even not debated due to the
non-presenting nature of the bill in the National Assembly. The bill was about the electorate
system, whether it would be joint or separate electorate system. The bill provided for joint
electorate in the East and separate electorate in the West Pakistan.
 This was a ridiculous system ever have been thought about, which apparently failed and the
electoral law was changed and joint electorate system was prevailed throughout the country. But
the issue was alive till the abrogation of the 1956 constitution and it had great impacts on the
politics of Pakistan even today.
 Awami league and Pakistan National Congress had advocated the joint system while other parties
has opposed of this system.
 The president, ass noted earlier, can summon, prorogue and even dissolve the national assembly
on the advice of the Cabinet.
 Two sessions would be there each year and one session at least in Dhaka, East Pakistan’s capital.

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 Attorney general and minsters had the right to speak in the National assembly but had no right to
vote unless they were the member of the house. The president could send messages and address to
the parliament.
 The NA would chose the speaker and deputy speaker from its own members and they could be
removed by a resolution of the national assembly passed by the majority of the total membership.
 When the national assembly stood dissolved, the speaker could withhold office till the new
elected assembly enters into first session.

Provincial Governments and Legislatures:

 These were the small replicas of the national legislature.

 These were also unicameral legislatures and its members were to be elected directly by the people
and by universal adult franchise.
 The relationship between the provincial governors, provincial chief ministers and provincial
assembly were closely assembled as that of the president, prime minister and national assembly.
 The provincial governors could appoint and dismiss the provincial cabinet as the same in powers
that of the president in the center.
 Through the governors, the center could use and exercise the pressure on the provincial
legislature and cabinet and cabinet was solely responsible to the governor.

Distribution of Powers between the Center and Provinces

 The framers of the 2956 constitution had tended towards the decentralization of powers than
under the Government of India Act 1935.
 It was the duty of the center to protect the units from internal as well external aggression.
Although, the maintenance of law and order were the subjects of the provincial governments but
yet there is no possibility that the center could neglect the national peace and tranquility.
 Provincial governments were not allowed to flout the supreme law of the land.
 The federal could make laws from the federal and concurrent lists which would be applicable to
the provinces too and the provinces had to respect them.
 The federal can give directions to the provinces on the following matters;
 The construction and communication declared to be of national or military
importance.
 The measures to be taken for the railway protection within the province (although
railway was included in provincial list,)
 The manners in which the executive authority of the province was to be exercise
for the purpose of preventing any grave menace to the peace and tranquility or
economic life of Pakistan or any part thereof.
 The carrying into execution in the provinces of any act of Parliament in Part-II of
the concurrent list, such as measures to combat corruption or price control and
economic and social control.
 There was one important provision in the 1956 constitution which would enable the federal
government to delegate a provincial government as its agent. The president might, with the
consent of the provincial government, entrust either conditionally or unconditionally to that
government, or to its officers, functions regarding any matter to which the executive authority of

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the federation extended. The federal government did not have the officers in the provincial
government.

The judiciary:

 The immense measures had been taken for ensuring the real justice and in the unpolluted manner.
 The efficiency and independence of judiciary greatly dependent upon the appointment of the
judges, tenure and services and salary of the judges.
 To ensure the independence of judiciary both fundamental to western and Islamic view.
 Although judiciary in the constitution of 1956 was the successor of the federal court and more
powerful in the interim constitution in some respect.
 Judgment of the supreme-court was always binding on the judicial courts in Pakistan. As the
supreme tribunal is the sole judge of its jurisdiction and there was no judicial means of
challenging its exercise.
 It had given the task of interpreting the constitution and was given powers to adjudicate in any
conflict between federal and provincial governments and government of the provinces.
 The parliamentary system was adopted like that of the UK having the system of judicial review
adopted in the Australia, Canada and USA. The constitution was made the supreme law of the
land and anything against the constitution is an illegal act would be null and void.
 The judiciary could issue to any person in Pakistan the writ of Quo-Warranto, mandamus,
prohibition and habeas corpus.

Islamic provision:

 According to the constitution, Pakistan was declared as the Islamic Republic wherein all the
fundamental principles of justice, equality, tolerance and social tranquility.
 The Islamic provisions were contained in the directive principles of state policy which had not
have the force of law but were supposed to serve the guideline for the state authorities in the
formation of national policies.
 According to the directives principles, steps were to be taken for ensuring the Muslims to live
and direct their lives according to the principles of Holy Qur’an and Sunnah.
 The head of the state would be a Muslim president and in his absence the speaker of the
national assembly would perform his functions.
 The argument for the Muslim head of the state is that the foundation of Pakistan was on the
basis of the Islamic philosophy. It was further added that the real power was vested in the
Parliament; therefore, reservation of the presidency for a Muslim would not reduce the non-
muslims to a second class citizens.
 A more important Islamic provision was laid down that no law shall be enacted which is
repugnant to the injunction of Islam and laid down in the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah.
 Article-198 of the constitution says that the president should appoint within one year of the day
of commencement of the constitution a commission to report on the existing laws of the
constitution whether in conformity with the injunctions of Islam or not.

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Emergency provisions:

 In the government of India Act 1935, the federal structure was adopted for the first time in the sub
-continent and for the first time made elaborate provisions to deal with the emergency.
 Under article-191 of the constitution satisfied that the grave emergency existed in which the
security or economic life of Pakistan or any part thereof threatened by war or external aggression
or internal disturbances beyond the power of the provincial government to control, he could issue
a proclamation of emergency and which might also be issued before the occurrence of war.
 The effects of a proclamation under the article-191 included;
 The power of the parliament to make laws for the province in matters which were not
included in the federal or concurrent list, that is, it would have power to legislate even in
provincial matters.
 During a proclamation of emergency the federal executive authority had the power to
give directions to the provinces regarding in manner in which the executive authority of
the provinces were to be exercised.
 During a proclamation of emergency the president might issue order assuming himself or
directing the governor of the provinces to assume on his behalf, all or any power of the
provincial government or any organ of the provincial government except the provincial
legislature and judiciary. The president was also empowered to suspend in whole in part
of the operation of any provision of the constitution relating to anybody or authority in
the province except the High Court.

The constitution of 1962:

Introduction:

After two years of working, the constitution of 1956 had been abrogated by the then president Iskandar
Mirza and Martial Law was imposed. A commission related to the constitutional was constituted on 17
February 1960 the then General Ayub Khan, Chief Martial Law Administrator, under the chairmanship of
justice Shahabuddin. Two responsibilities were vested in the hands of this commission;

i) To examine and report the causes of failure of the constitution of 1956 and parliamentary
form of government in Pakistan.
ii) To submit constitutional proposals in the form of a report but keeping in view the desire of
the different section of population in the country.

The commission had issued nine thousands of English and nine thousands of Bengali and Urdu
questionnaires to the people of Pakistan to give their own understanding about the failure ofParliamentary
Democracy in Pakistan. The commission had received the response from 6269 people and the
commission had conducted the interviews in big cities and 560 people were interviewed.

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A) The contents of the report of the commission:

After the final evaluation of the peoples’ opinion then a draft was prepared by the commission for the
constitution on 6th May 1961 which included the following points due to which the constitution was
failed;

i) Lack of proper conducting of elections,

ii) Defects in the constitution,
iii) Undue interference of the head of the state in ministries arid political parties,
iv) Interference of the central government in the affairs of the provinces,
v) Lack of leadership and resultant lack of organization and discipline in political parties,
vi) Lack of character of the politicians and their undue interference in the administration.

The aforesaid points had been found by the commission for the failure of the parliamentary democracy.
They had presented their second task assigned to them, to draft a new constitution’s proposals. They had
presented the following proposals for the new constitution;

i) To control number of parties by restricting their number and requiring their registration.
ii) Incorporation of the British type of conventions in the constitution.
iii) Control on floor crossing.
iv) Control on ministerial day-to-day interference in administration.
v) Control of presidential intervention except emergency powers.

The suggestions for the outline of the constitution are the following;

 Presidential form of government:The commission opted for the USA model of presidential
system because only one person would be the head of the state and head of the government to
abolish the personality clashes between them as had been seen in the abrogated constitution.
 Federal system: During the visit to the East Pakistan, the commission felt great deprivation
there. They felt that they are treating as a colony of Pakistan. Being numerically superior to the
West Pakistan, they had got very little off their own shares.
 Bicameral legislature: Two houses would be there, the house of representative elected by the
population and for the term of four years and the upper house, the Senate elected for six years
having 48 members in which 40 members would be elected by an electoral college comprised of
both central lower house and both the provinces legislatures. And the 8 remaining members
would be nominated by the president.
 Electoral system: The commission opted for the restricted Democracy and right to vote was
suggested to be extended to the literate people and property holders. They opted for the direct
election of the president and legislature. The commission also suggested for the separate
electorate system and recommended active role of the political parties.
 Islamic provisions:They opted for the Islamic constitution that would ensure a progressive and
scientific society acceptable to minorities too. There would be an Islamic research council too.
 Independence of judiciary: the commission was headed by a very loyal ex-chief justice of the
supreme-court, justice Shahabuddin. He had a deep knowledge of the importance of the
independence of judiciary. The judiciary not only deals between man and man but it also deals
between individual and the state. Any act or order which is against the constitution or the rights of

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the people would be nullified by the judiciary.

 Basic Democracies: The commission suggested for the Basic Democracy in Pakistan to ensure
the gross root democracy or wider opportunity of mass participation in the political system of
state.

B) Committee of the presidential cabinet: On 7th May 1961, a committee of the cabinet in the
chairmanship of the foreign minister, Manzoor Qadir, consisting of the seven members was appointed by
the president. The committee was assigned the duty to evaluate and report and then to present their
opinion to cabinet. The report of the commission was discussed by the cabinet and the administrative
committee comprised of the secretaries.

C) Governors’ conference:A conference of the governors was held at Rawalpindi in October 1961. This
conference was about to review the proposals of the cabinet’s committee. The conference was attended by
the governors, central ministers and top officials. The report was evaluated and then two persons i.e.
Abdul Hamid and Manzoor Qadir were appointed to draw the constitution. The new constitution was
announced by the General Ayub Khan in a broadcast speech on 1st March 1962.

Features of the constitution of 1962: Following are the features of the constitution of 1962;

Written and enacted one:

 The constitutional committee and the subcommittee of the Cabinet proposed the constitution.
 It has 250 articles, 12 parts and five schedules implemented on 1 March, 1962.
 7 amendments had made in this constitution till the abrogation of 1962 constitution.

Presidential system:

 Unlike the constitution of 1956, it was presidential in character.

 It has some parliamentary character like the ministers can participate in the legislative business
and could control the legislation.
 The provincial ministers could attend the provincial legislatures and the president could reject a
particular legislation.
 The president have the executive as well as the legislative powers and established a sort of
Presidential Dictatorship and the reason for this was that immense powers had been vested to the
presidential candidate.
 As all powers were revolved around only a single person and that was the president and this was
named as semi-dictatorship OR civilian-dictatorship.
 The constitution actually provided civilian legal clothes to the military uniform.

Council of ministers:

 The president could appoint the ministers upon hiss sweat will. In-case of appointment from the
legislature, the candidature in the legislature would cease.
 The president was the boss of his council of ministers and was not bound to obey their advice.
 The ministers could participate in the legislative business and they were wholly responsible to
the president.

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 The president could remove them from office on his discretionary and without showing any
reason. In case of any serious crime committed by the minister, he would be dismissed by the
president for five years.

Partially rigid constitution:

 The members of the parliament could amend the constitution by two-third majority but prior
permission was necessary from the president of Pakistan.
 Although, the constitution was federal in character but the provincial ministers could not
participate in the amendment process.
 In case of any amendment in the boundaries of a province, were subject to the two-third majority
of the concern province.
 If the president could reject a bill passed by the legislature, the legislature could re-pass the bill
on three-fourth of the total members.

Federal form of structure:

 The constitution provided for the federal form of structure having two provinces and one federal
capital. Federation says that much importance will be given to the regional autonomy and
provinces but analysis of the Federal list seem that much powers had given to the federal.
 The constitution provided for a weak federation. The powers were divided in such a way that
central powers defined and the residuary powers (Undefined powers) were given to the
provinces. About forty-nine subjects were given to the federal and the head of the state was an
elected president with national mandate and empowered to supervise the provincial
administration.
 The president could interfere in the affairs of the provinces and in case of any clashes between
the governor and the Provincial Assemblies, the central legislature could settle the issue.

Unicameral legislature:

 Although, in the federal structure, the parliament must have two houses i.e. upper and lower
house. But in the 1962 constitution,, it had only one house.
 Article-19 provided that the central legislature would consist of President and national assembly.
 The national assembly had 156 members in which half members would to be elected by from the
East and half from the West Pakistan but three seats would be reserved for women in each unit.
 Like the constitution of 1956, the 1962 constitution had also given parity to both the provinces
and thus equality was ensured.
 The president could dissolve the national assembly but he could also quit his office.
 He could convene and prorogue the national assembly and could issue ordinances too.

Indirect electoral system:

 Unlike the constitution of 1956, the 1962 had adopted indirect electoral system.
 The president and the members of the legislature could be elected by the Basic Democrats.
 There were 80000 Basic Democrats in which half from the West and half from the East. This was
adopted on the grounds that the common citizens are not in position to elect the high officials.

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 Actually it was a stronger local government body in the country. It would elect the president and
the legislature of the country.
 The numbers of members were increased from 80000 to 120000 while amending the articl-155.

Islamic provisions:

 Sovereign powers belong to Allah and the people had to work in a democratic way.
 Name of the country was Republic of Pakistan but later on due the mass demonstration, the name
was changed to Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
 The office of the president was reserved for the Muslim citizens but not the speaker of the
national assembly. So in the absence of the president the speaker could enter the office of the
president till the new president is elected.

Fundamental rights:

 The original constitution was silent about the fundamental rights of the citizens, but through first
amendment, the constitution provided for the fundamental rights of the citizens.
 The judiciary was empowered to check and safeguard the fundamental rights of the constitution.
 The important rights were the security of life, safeguard from illegal arrest, prohibition of forced
labor, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of association and profession etc.

Independence of judiciary:

 The judiciary was given liberty in its sphere of work. Constitution had given safeguard to its
services.
 The judges were to be appointed by the judicial council of Pakistan.
 There was only one Supreme-court at the top and two high courts in two provinces.
 Through the first amendment, the rule of law was introduced in the country.

Republican system:

 The head of the state was an elected president elected for the term of five years by an electoral
college.
 The electoral-college was comprised of 120000 members and the president could be impeached
by the legislature.

Emergency powers:

 Article-30 of the constitution had given the powers of emergency imposition upon looking at the
grave situation for the national integrity, security and fear of aggression or any economic issues.
 President was bound to put the declaration of emergency before the national assembly.
 Through this power, he could interfere in the provincial managements and could suspend any part
of the constitution in the concern province with exception of High court of that province.

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Presidential form of government:

 The main emphasis in the 1962 constitution was the strong executive in the shape of president.
 The fundamentals of the system are enunciated below;
I. The president was elected independently of the legislature and had a direct mandate from
the electors to perform the executive functions of the government.
II. He was to the office for a fixed term of years and could not be removed by an adverse
vote in the legislature against any of his policies, but only by a special process of
impeachment.
III. The legislature was elected independently and had a fixed term of years.
IV. The legislature functioned independently of the executive and could not be dissolved by
the executive or president.
V. The legislature was the supreme law-making body of the country and no proposal could
become law until this body voted for that proposal.
VI. The judiciary was made responsible for the interpretation of laws and executive orders in
the light of principles embodied in the constitution.

There were many people who had in the opinion about the parliamentary system from East Pakistan,
especially Hussain Shaheed Suharwardy. But they yet enforced presidential form of government for two
reasons i.e. one, the presidential system had special advantage to offer to a nation which had recently
emerged out of a colonial past and was embarking upon an ambitious program of social reform and
economic development political unity. Two, the presidential system by giving executive authority to one
individual with a mandate from the entire nation, could facilitate the growth of unity in the country.

Powers of the president:

 Under this constitution, the president was the repository of all powers. It was generally said the
president is like the Clock-tower of Faisalabad where all the bazars are converged.
 Constitution provided that there would be a president elected through proper way emphasized in
the constitution.
 He has to be not less than 35 years of age and he must be a Muslim and qualified the election
for the national assembly. He was to be elected indirectly by an electoral college.
 The electoral-college had to elect the president consisting of 80000 electors initially and
enlarged later on to 120000 half from East and half from West.
 President could be impeached by the National Assembly by violating the constitution or for
grass misconduct. One-third of the national assembly had to give written notice to the speaker
of the national assembly for the removal of the president. The notice had to set out particulars
off the charges and had to be submitted by the speaker to the president of Pakistan.
 The president was responsible for the allocation and transaction of the business of the central
government and for establishing divisions of the government, he also had to specify the
manners in which the orders and instruments made in pursuance of the authority vested in him
should be expressed and authenticated.
 He had also conferred upon the foreign affairs, wars and military affairs. He had also the
powers of legislature and little powers of the judiciary related to pardoning of offenders.

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 He had also the powers of making key appointments i.e. governors, central ministers, auditor-
general, judges of the supreme court and high courts, the election commissioner, the council of
Islamic ideology, the national finance commission, the national economic council and the
attorney general among others.
 He had the powers to raise and maintain the defense services of Pakistan and to grant
commissions and appoint chief commander of those services and to determine their salaries and
allowances.
 The president could appoint his council of ministers who could assist him in his functions.
 Unlike the president in the constitution of 1956, the president of the 1962 constitution, he was
not bound to the advice of the cabinet and the ministers could enjoy the cabinet till his pleasure.
 The president had the powers to make and promulgate the ordinances which had the same force
of law as the acts of the central legislature.
 The president could promulgate the ordinance when the national assembly stood dissolve or
was in session and he was satisfied that circumstances existed which necessitated immediate
legislation. Such an ordinance to be kept in front of national assembly, if the national assembly
approved it, it could become the Act of central legislature and if disapproved, then it had to be
ceased after the prescribed period.

A centralized federal system:

 From the very start of the independence, there was a strong centralized government.
 The centralized government was becoming stronger and the regional feelings of frustration grew
up against the government.
 The government of India Act 1935 and the constitution of 1965 had made the center stronger
enough than provinces.
 The constitution of 1956 had consisted of the three lists relating to the division of powers.
 However, the 1962 constitution provided for much simpler way of distribution of powers under
which there was only one list of distributing the powers of national importance, all other subjects
were left to the provinces.
 The central government was given an overriding power related to the security of the country,
coordination between the provinces and center and the economic development.
 The center was empowered to make extra-territorial laws concerning the third list of the
constitution.
 The subjects given to the center were defense, external affairs, inter-provincial trade and
commerce, national economic planning and national economic coordination, currency, foreign
exchange and central banking, insurance, nuclear energy and mineral oil and natural gas, industry
owned wholly and partially by the central government or by a corporation set by the center,
preventive detention for reason concerned with the defense, external affairs and the security of
Pakistan. There were in all forty-nine subjects in the list of the central government.

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A unicameral legislature:

 The 1962 constitution, like that of the previous one, had unicameral nature. Although, the
federal system needs to have bicameral to serve as equal in units level.
 The central legislature was consisted one house and the president. It had 156 members on the
basis of parity in both units.
 There were 150 elected constituencies, half from west and half from the west. Six seats were
reserved for women three for East Pakistan and three for West Pakistan.
 In 1956 constitution, the term was ten years reserved for women but in 1962 there was no such
term for women reserved seats.
 Women could also contest general seats in the national assembly. Thus, female had double
franchise enjoyed in Pakistan.
 The members of the national assembly would have to be elected by the same pattern as was
emphasized for the election of the President, that is, indirect election by an electoral college.
 The disqualification of a member would lead to the prevention of membership in election for the
seat of national assembly.
 The president could summon and prorogue the national assembly. The speaker of the national
assembly could also summon a session by one-third of the members of house but after
summoning the session, only the speaker could prorogue it.
 If the position of president, speaker and deputy speaker were vacant, the chief justice of Pakistan
could summon the National Assembly.
 There had been two novel and interesting provisions were added in the 1962 constitution i.e.
instruction in law making and conduct of members. The speaker of the assembly was to make
such arrangements that it could ensure the members of the national assembly as the organ of the
state and their responsibilities in the house.
 Similarly, if the speaker of assembly felt any breach of law by the members of the assembly
regarding the conduct of members in such a way if that has been proved guilty, he could refer
the gross misconduct to the High Court if that is the member of the Provincial Assembly, and if
the member is related to the national assembly, he could refer to the supreme court. In case of
finding his misconduct, the court could cease his membership.

Governors and provincial legislature:

 The provincial legislatures and governors executives were small replicas of the national
legislature and executive.
 The provincial executive were directly under the control of the president inasmuch as the
provincial government, the head of the provincial executive was appointed by the by president
and held office till the pleasure of the president.
 The governor was not just a mere rubber stamp but he was the real executive authority in the
province. The provincial cabinet was responsible to the governor who could not appoint or
remove the provincial minister without the concurrence of the president.
 It was provided that the provincial governor could work in the direction of the president.
 The relation between the provincial cabinet and the governor and between the legislature and
cabinet was as that of the central legislature and the executive.
 The procedure for the dissolution of the provincial assembly was different than that of central.

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 In case of any conflict between the provincial government and provincial legislature, the conflict
would have to refer to the central legislature and if the central legislature decided in favor of the
governor and if the president concurred, the governor could dissolve the provincial legislature.
 The financial procedure was resembled that of the central legislature and the powers of the
provincial legislature in respect of money matters were similar curtailed.

An independent judiciary:

 When Ayub Khan imposed a constitution of 1962, there was much demand of the full restoration
of the judiciary’s jurisdiction.
 Shahabuddin commission stressed on the re-imposition of the independence of judiciary as it had
been since long in practice. However the recommendations of the Shahabuddin commission were
modified by the cabinet commission when giving final touch to the 1962 constitution.
 The security to the life and jobs of the judges were given but it was different than that of the 1956
constitution.
 Under the 1962 constitution, the president had to appoint a council, known as the Supreme
Judicial Council, consisting of the chief justice and two next senior judges of the supreme-court
and the chief justice of each High Court.
 If the president could have known that a judge may not perform his duties or having any gross
misconduct, the president could direct the Supreme Judicial Council to further the enquire
procedure for the concern judge.
 The judiciary had the power of interpreting the constitution, and any conflict between the central
government and provincial government or between the two provincial governments, the appellate
jurisdiction of the supreme-court provided that an appeal from judgment, decree, order or a
sentence, would lies as of right if the High-court should certify that the case involves a substantial
question of law as the interpretation of the constitution.
 The first amendment in the constitution of 1962, made in 1963, however, greatly changed the
position of the judiciary which vested full powers to pass judgments over the vires of the
legislature.
 Judicial control over the executive from the inception of the 1962 constitution had been fully
maintained.
 Thus the judiciary power were greatly valued and cherished under the 1962 constitution, though
the Latin names habeas corpus, mandamus, certiorari, and quo-Warrantohad not been
mentioned. The judge appointment, salaries, retirement age, appointment and other matters are
same as that of the 1956 constitution.

Election through the electoral college:

 As the constitution of 1962 had introduced the system of indirect electoral system not only for the
president but also for the national assembly ass well for the provincial assembly.
 The basic democrats that were to be constituted the electoral-college for the election of the
president and the national assembly.
 The basic democrats who were elected for the local self-government was called elector and
electors in both provinces constituted the electoral-college for five years. On the expiry of the
college, the Electoral Collegestood dissolved.

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 However, the function performed by the local government, elected by the electoral-college, could
not be disturbed with its dissolution.
 The qualification for the electoral-college is that a person may not be less than 25 years age.
 Indirect election of the president is not unusual in other countries. The constitution of India,
Germany and Italy and quite for a few more countries provide for the indirect election for the
presidency based on an electoral college consisting of central and provincial legislature. But it
must be borne in mind that in these countries the president is only a nominal head of the state
because of the parliamentary system and the real powers are vested in the hands of the prime
minister. While in Pakistan the constitution of 1962 was presidential and the total powers rests
with the president.

Islamic character of the constitution:

 The preamble of the constitution was so far resembled with that of the 1956 constitution.
 The preamble follow the objective resolution of the 1949 in laying emphasis on the principles of
democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice with the qualification of that these
principles should be observed as enunciated by Islam.
 Islamic provisions were continued in the Directive Principles in the constitution where it says that
the Muslims of Pakistan should be enabled individually and collectively to order their lives in
accordance with the fundamental principles and basic concepts of Islam and should be provided
with the basic necessity to them.
 Furthermore, it was laid in the principle of policy that the teaching of Qur’an and Islamiat to the
Muslims of Pakistan should be made compulsory.
 Unity and observances in Islamic moral standards would be promoted among the Muslims.
 Proper organization of Zakat, waqfs and masjid should be ensured. It was made sure that the
bonds with the Muslim countries would be strengthens.
 The head of the state would be Muslim. Under the 1956 constitution, the presidency was reserved
for Muslim and the same clause retained in 1962 constitution.
 Article-1 of the constitution designated Pakistan an Islamic republic. It was laid down that
Pakistan shall be a federal republic to be known as Islamic republic of Pakistan.
 The relevant clause of the new constitution said that it would be a Republic of Pakistan in which a
huge mass outraged and later was changed into the Islamic republic of Pakistan.
 Article-198 suggests that the president would appoint a commission who will check the laws and
bring them in conformity with the Qur’an and Sunnah and those which are made newly, would be
made under the jurisdiction of Islam and Sunnah.
 The constitution of 1963 provided for the Advisory Council of Islamic Ideology to be appointed
by the president not less than 5 members and not more than 12 members. While the members of
the council, the president has to look their Islamic character and understanding towards Islam.

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The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973:

Introduction:

The constitution of 1973 was adopted with the consensus of all political parties in the National Assembly.
Undoubtedly, no constitutional document can be described as perfect. It is always a product of
compromises among various political parties and forces present within the constitution-making body.
Nevertheless, the 1973 constitution embodied the best possible arrangement to accommodate the various
political parties, economic interests, political issues and parties’ manifesto. Pakistan People’s Party was
the largest majority political party in the National Assembly and the opposition was National Awami
Party in the National Assembly with a strong presence in the assemblies of the NWFP (KPK) and
Baluchistan. It championed the cause of provincial autonomy. NAP had another party in the support and
that was Jamiat I Ulemai Islam.

Now it was necessary to reach to a compromise between the Islamic and the socialist concept. PPP had
emerged the largest party because of the slogans it had risen in their manifesto i.e. Islam is our faith,
democracy is our politics and socialism is our economy. Respectively, the Islamic and socialism ethos
were satisfied in articl-2 and 3 in the constitution. Article-2 declared that Islam is our religion and article-
3 says that elimination of all sort of exploitation and equitable distribution of economic resources in
keeping the view of ability and work put in by individuals. Another sticky point was that the distribution
of powers between the president and prime minister, since the national consensus was arrived at the
elimination of the presidential system and to introduce a federal parliamentary form of government. The
real powers rest with the cabinet headed by the prime minister and president as the nominal head of state.

Features of the 1973 constitution:a constitution committee was appointed and an interim constitution on
12 April, 1972 was promulgated. After a year of debate in the National Assembly,, the consensus was
reached to frame a new constitution the proclamation of the new constitution of Pakistan was done on 14
August, 1973. Following are the main important features of the constitution of 1973..

Written and lengthy one:

 A written constitution is that which is officially available in the shape of black and white.
 It has 280 articles, 12 parts and 6 schedules.
 Twelve parts in the constitution are, i) its deals with the republics and its territories and other
introductory matters, ii) with fundamental rights and directive principles of policy, iii) with the
referendum, iv) with the provinces, v)with relation between the provinces and federation, vi) with
property, contracts and suits, vii) with judicature, viii) with election, ix) with the Islamic
provision, x) with emergency provisions, xi) with amendment of the constitution, xii) with
miscellaneous, temporary and transitional provisions.
 Sic schedules of the constitution are, i) deals with the laws constitutionally protected, ii) with the
election of the president, iii)with oaths and affirmation, iv) with legislative list, v) the powers of
the supreme-court and the remuneration of judges, vi) with the laws altered, repealed or
amended without the previous sanctions of the president.

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Partially rigid constitution:

 The constitution of Pakistan is neither too rigid like that of the USA constitution nor too flexible
like that of the British constitution.
 It is not flexible in the sense that it cannot be amended through simple majority. But may be
presented in any house but must be passed by two-third of the majority in both the houses.
 In multi-ethnic state there is in need of strong federation, in a strong federation the constitution
remains rigid but in Pakistan the process of amendment is partially rigid and this is one the
reasons why our political system never remains stable.

Parliamentary form of government:

 After a hot debate of one year on the adaptation of the form of government, the assembly arrived
at the consensus of adaptation of the parliamentary form of government.
 In this system the head of the government is prime minister and his cabinet.
 The cabinet ministers are taken from the national assembly but one-fourth (25%) must be taken
from the upper house, the senate.
 The executive remain in office as long as it enjoys the support of the majority.
 The prime minister in this system is the real executive authority and he can dissolve the national
assembly and maximum bills are presented by the ministers in the house.
 The cabinet is collectively responsible to the legislature.

Federation set-up:

 The constitution has provided for the federal form of government.

 It has been divided into four provinces and the provinces have been given their due authority.
 Powers have been shared between the center and provinces.
 The legislative powers have been divided into between the central government and the provincial
government. The constitution clearly divided the powers between the two in two lists i.e.
federallist and concurrent list and the residuary powers have been vested in to the hands of
provinces.
 Central legislative list have more and more powers and provincial autonomy is not according to
the needs. There is no need of separate list for the provinces but the center and provinces can
make laws from the concurrent list.
 If nay contradiction between the center and provincial legislature, law of the parliament will be
prior which reveals that federal system is nominal or symbolic.

Democratic set-up:

 The system provided in the 1973 constitution was Democratic.

 The national and provincial assemblies are elected by the people.
 These elected representatives are responsible before the people of Pakistan.
 Criticism and press are openly allowed in this system.
 They are elected for five years of terms and the senate is elected indirectly by the provincial
assemblies for six years of term of office.
 Criticism from opposition, media, press and public is allowed openly.

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Bicameral legislature:

 As the constitution provided for the federal system, it requires two houses in the parliament i.e.
National Assembly and Senate.
 The upper house is elected through proportional representation system by the provincial
assemblies for six years while half of them retire after ever three years. The life of the senate is
fixed while the lower house is elected directly by the people for five years of term and its life is
not fixed. It can be dissolved earlier by the prime minister.The upper house, in a federation, is
more powerful by in Pakistan the lower house is more powerful and this is the reason why the
federal structure is weak here.

Islamic nature of the constitution:

 In this constitution, there have been added certain articles related to Islam.
 The president and prime minster must be Muslim head of state and government.
 The official religion shall be Islam. Name of the state is Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
 No legislation against Islam and formation of the Islamic Council of Ideology, formation of
Federal Shariah Court and sovereignty belongs to Allah.
 Ahmadis have been declared minority of the state.

High treason:

 Artile-6 of the constitution provides that any person or group if tries to suspend or abrogate the
constitution, partially or totally by means of force, the parliament will advise severe punishment
for such a person or group of person..
 Under the 18th amendment, the courts have been prevented to legalize the suspension and
abrogation of the constitution.
 Through this way, the military intervention has been reduced up-to much extent.

Fundamental rights:

 The constitution enumerates nineteen basic rights for the citizens of Pakistan.
 It says that no any law shall be made by which are in contradiction with the rights and basic
provisions of the fundamental rights.
 Any violation of the list in the fundamental rights shall be brought in the notice of judiciary.

Republican system:

 The 1973 constitution is republican in its nature.

 The head of the state is elected for the term of five years elected by the parliament and provincial
assemblies.
 The president may be re-elected once only.
 The citizens have been given wide choice of electing their representatives, that is why it is called
republicanism.

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Principles of policy:

 Principles of policy are those guidelines which are to be kept in mind while governing the
country.
 Articles-29-40 deal with the principles of policy. All executive orders, legislation and policies
shall be made in accordance with these principles of policy.

Independence of judiciary:

 A rigid procedure for the appointment and removal of the judges has been made that it may
ensure the independence of judiciary.
 So the jobs of the judges have been secured through this way.
 The supreme-court protects the rights given in the constitution.
 Judges of the supreme-court and high-courts will not be pressurized while deciding the case.
 When a judge is appointed, he cannot be removed without a proper enquiry report of the supreme
judicial commission.

Amendment procedure:

 The original constitution says that an amendment bill may be presented at any house of the
parliament and after the approval of the two-third majority in both the houses and later on
approved by the president.
 If the second house suggest any change in the bill, the bill returns to the house where it was
originated, the house can make changes or can passes the bill without changed by the two-third of
the total number, the bill is send to the president for final approval and then an amendment is
done with the final signature of the president.

Parliamentary Form of Government:

 After the sad experience of the presidential form of government in the constitution of 1962,
Pakistan was ready to revert to the parliamentary form of government on the same pattern as like
the 1956 constitution.
 Serious resistance had come to Bhatto to the re-introduction of the parliamentary system.
 Nevertheless, Bhatto adopted parliamentary form of government primarily because his party had
committed itself to it in the general election of the 1970.
 Bhatto had succeeded in introducing changes in the in the parliamentary system tried to address
the following fears rooted in the constitutional and political experience in Pakistan.
I. The parliamentary system is vulnerable to frequent changes in the result
instability, insecurity and uncertainty.
II. President, under the system of parliamentary form, indulging in the partisan
politics and creates their influence and powers and thus weakening and

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undermining the government.

III. The political opposition act with irresponsibility and indulge in Byzantine
intrigues, thus rendering the government in power weak and ineffective.
IV. A powerful bureaucracy in cohorts with the president, army, and /or the
opposition could undermine a government.
V. All these factors aggravated when the party in power does not command a clear
majority and is dependent upon smaller parties or groups to keep itself in
power. This situation is ideal for manipulations and intrigues, whether they are
launched by the president, army, opposition, bureaucracy or small political
parties or groups.
 In brief, there was a task before the Bhatto government that how to make this government more
stable under the parliamentary system?They had taken the following steps to ensure stability;
a. The office of the prime minister was made extremely powerful and the office of the
president was made correspondingly weak, ineffective and dependent.The prime
minister was the sum of the cabinet and the president was less than a figurehead of
the state.The prime minister became the chief executive of the federation while the
president could not use his option of appointment of a single member of the national
assembly.The prime minister had to be elected immediately after the election of the
speaker and deputy speaker of the national assembly with the votes of the majority of
its membership. The president’s veto was completely done away with. He had to give
his assent on a bill within seven days, if he failed to do so the bill would
automatically become a law.
b. The procedure for the vote of no-confidence against the prime minister was made
difficult and cumbersome. A resolution for the vote of no confidence could not be
moved in the National Assembly unless, in that very resolution, the name of another
member of the national assembly was put forward as the successor. If the resolution
was passed by the majority of the total number of membership of the national
assembly, the president had to call the successor named in the resolution for the
prime minister post. However, for the first ten years, a provision was made which
will prevent floor-crossing to the effect that vote of a member, elected to the national
assembly as a candidate or nominee of a political party, in favor of the resolution
would be disregarded if the majority of the members of that political party in
National Assembly had cast the votes against such a resolution.

The President and the Cabinet:

 The president was reduced to a figurehead of the state under the new constitution.
 The executive authority of the federation was to be exercised in the name of the president by the
federal government consisting of prime minister and the federal ministers.
 The qualification for the office of the president as to be a Muslim and the age is 45 years.
 The president shall qualify to be elected as the member of the national assembly and he could be
elected by an electoral college comprising members of the parliament in joint sitting and in
accordance with the provisions of the second schedules.

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 His term of office was five years and no one could hold the office for more than two consecutive
terms. The president could resign or might, on charges of violation of the constitution or gross
misconduct or on the ground of physical or mental incapacity, be removed by the parliament in a
joint sitting by two-third of the majority of the total membership of parliament.
 The president was to act in accordance with the prime minister which was binding him.
 However, the prime minister has to keep the president aware of the national and foreign policy
and on all legislative proposals that the federal government intended to bring before the
parliament.
 The prime minister and federal ministers are collectively responsible to the parliament.
 Federal ministers and ministers of state to be taken from the parliament and were appointed by
the prime minister.
 It is noticeable that there have been such changes occurred in the parliamentary system.
 In the new constitution the word Cabinet was carefully avoided and instead of this, the words
federal government OR prime minister and federal ministers were used.
 Theoretically, the parliamentary system postulates the collective responsibility of cabinet and the
prime minister was the parcel of the cabinet, but in this system the prime minister was made
much powerful and became the boss of the cabinet as being the chief executive of the country.
 Another departure from the parliamentary system was that of the appointment of the ministers by
the prime minister and not by the president.
 Generally, in parliamentary democracies, ministers are appointed by the president though on the
recommendation and nomination of the prime minister.
 The president, subject to the advice of the prime minister, was entrusted to the appointment of
the key positions as that of the appointment of the chief justice and judges of the supreme-court
and high-courts, the governors of the provinces, chief of staff of the armed forces, attorney
general, chief election commissioner, auditor-general and chairman and members of the Islamic
Ideology Council were to be made by the president.

The Federal form of Government:

 Another basic feature was the federal form government like the previous constitutions.
 A clear distribution of powers between the federal and provincial governments was provided and
the principle of decentralization was accepted.
 As for the distribution of the legislative powers are concerned between the federal and provinces,
the powers were enumerated in two lists i.e. federal list and concurrent list.
 The power of federal laws extended to the whole part of the state and even for extra-territorial
operations.
 The powers of the provinces extended to only that province and thereof.
 The subjects given to the federal were the foreign relations to other countries as defense,
currency, citizenship, foreign and inter-provincial trade and commerce, census, leisure, taxes and
duties of excise and customs, copyright, trade mark and design etc.
 The federal legislative list have two parts i.e. Part-I had fifty-nine items and part-ii had eight.
 The concurrent list have forty-seven items and was justified on the grounds that there were certain
matters which could not be given exclusively either to the center or to the provinces, because an
occasion might arise when it would be desirable and necessary to deal with these matters on a

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national level.
 The list dealt with such matters and civil and criminal law, marriage and divorce, adoption,
arbitration, corruption, bankruptcy and transfer of property and registration, preventive detention,
arms and explosive, drugs, population planning and other matters of common interests.
 There was no separate list for provinces but they can make laws on the residuary subjects that are
enumerated in either federal or concurrent list.

The Federal Legislature(The Parliament):

 Unlike the constitutions of 1956 and 1962, the constitution of 1973 provided for the bicameral
legislature. Not only from the standpoint of the representation of the units carries vital role of
upper chamber, but the system of checks and balances have weightage in this system.
 It has a restraining and a sobering effect on the other chamber.
 The 1973 constitution was distinguishable from the other two constitutions on two respects, i) the
federation now had four provinces or federating units rather than the earlier two and, ii) the
principle of parity had ceased to be effective.
 Thus in the chamber of the people (National Assembly) where the representation is made on
population basis, the small provinces like Baluchistan would be meagerly represented.
 Therefore, the upper house could be meant for checks and balances.
 Providing the equal representation regardless of population and their size, the smaller provinces
have wider voice in the national affairs.
 The upper house would become a bulwark for the protection of the smaller provinces against the
brute majority command by the larger provinces in the lower house.
 The unicameral legislature would necessarily result in the exploitation in the lower house by the
larger province i.e. Punjab.
 Membership to the national assembly was to be elected under an electoral system to be provided
for the parliament.
 The matters to be decided regarding the elections included allocation of seats, delimitation of
constituencies, preparations of the electoral rolls, the conduct of elections and election petition
and matters relating to corrupt practices in the elections and so on.
 A person was entitled to vote for the national and provincial assembly if he was a citizen of
Pakistan, not less than eighteen years old, had not been declared by the court unsound or
incapable of mind and his name is appeared in the electoral roll.
 No one was allowed to be a member of both the houses of parliament simultaneously.
 The senate was to consist of sixty-three members of whom fourteen were to be elected from each
province by the members of the provincial assembly of that province in accordance with the
system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote. Five members were to
be elected by the National Assembly members from the federally administered tribal areas and
two from the capital territory in a manner prescribed by the president.
 The senate was meant to be a permanent body and not subject to the dissolution. The term of its
office is to be four years and half of them were to be retired after two years. The senate also has
to elect their chairman and deputy chairman like that of the National Assembly. Their term of
office was to be two years from the date of assumption of office.

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 The president empowered to summon and prorogue the parliament. Federal ministers and attorney
general has the right to participate and speak in the National Assembly or senate.
 The money bills could only originate in the national assembly and if passed, that could be
presented in front of the president for assent, without transmission to the senate.
 If the question arose as to whether the bill is a money bill or not, the decision of the speaker of the
National Assembly will be final.

Provincial Governments and Legislature:

 The provincial legislatures and executives were small replicas of the institutions at the national
level. The provincial legislature remained unicameral and directly elected by the people under the
electoral law common for federal and provincial legislatures.
 The relationship between the provincial governor, chief minister and provincial assembly closely
linked together ass that in the center between president, prime minister and parliament.
 A chief minister was to be elected by the provincial assembly in the same manner in which the
prime minister was to be elected by the national assembly.
 The chief minister and provincial ministers are collectively responsible before the provincial
assembly concerned which could be dissolved by the governor on the advice of chief minister.
 The procedure of the vote of no-confidence was the same as that of the prime minister, meaning
thereby that a successor had to be named in a resolution for a vote of no-confidence.
 The governor did not have the power to veto any bill passed by the assembly and had to sign it
within seven days, otherwise it would have been deemed to be assented.
 Governors could dissolve provincial assembly but on the advice of the chief minister.
 The governor continues to be an appointee of the president and an agent of the central
government which could exercise pressure in the provincial politics through the governors.

Distribution of Powers and Relations between Center and Provinces:

 Administrative relations between the center and provinces are at the same lines as that of the
previous constitutions.
 The federal system showed a mark tendency towards centralized control and authority.
 It was the constitutional duty of the federal government to protect each province against external
aggression and internal disturbances to ensure that the government of each province was carried
on in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.
 A provincial government was obliged to exercise its executive authority in such a way as to
ensure compliance with the acts of parliament and existing laws applying to that province.
 The federal government was entitled to give directions to a province with regard to the duties of
the provincial authority and was further entitled to give directions to a province in the following
matters, i) as to the construction and maintenance of communication declared to be of national or
strategic importance, ii) as to the manner in which the executive authority of the province was to
be exercised for the purpose of preventing any grave menace to the peace and tranquility in
economic life of Pakistan or any part thereof.

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 There was on important provision in the constitution which would enable the federal government
to delegate the power to the provincial governments as its agents. The federal government might,
with the consent of the provincial government, entrust either conditionally or unconditionally to
that government, with the consent of the federal government, was also empowered to entrust,
either conditionally or unconditionally, some of its executive functions to the federal governments
or to its officers.
 The center was the power to levy custom duties, export duties, excise duty, corporation tax, taxes
on income other than agriculture income, estate and succession duties regarding property other
than agricultural land, tax on the capital value of the assets exclusive of agriculture land, taxes on
goods and passengers and taxes on oil, mineral and natural gas.
 The principles source of income for the provinces were land revenue and taxes on agricultural
land, taxes on land and buildings, taxes on mineral rights subject to the federal list, excise on
alcohol and drugs, taxes on electricity, taxes on vehicles and advertisements, animal, boats, on
professions and trades and on luxurious.

The judiciary:
 The provisions laid in the new constitution relating to the judiciary were on the same line as that
of the previous constitution.
 However, an effort was made to regulate and confine the powers and jurisdiction of the superior
courts. It was clearly stated that no court should have any jurisdiction except that which was
conferred or would be conferred in future, on it by the constitution or under any law.
 Thus the courts could not assume unto themselves any jurisdiction or powers which were not
expressly conferred on them by the constitution or a law.
 This provision was clearly meant to whittle down the concept of inherent powers and jurisdiction
of the superior courts.
 The supreme-court continued to be the apex court in the country.
 The law which it would lay down shall be binding on all the courts in Pakistan.
 All executive and judicial authorities in the country would act in aid of the supreme-court and all
directions, orders, decrees or writ issued by the court were to be executed as if they issued by the
High-Courts of the appropriate province.
 The supreme-court was entrusted with the powers of the interpretation of the constitution.
 It was especially given the powers to adjudicate in any dispute between the two or more
governments, which term included the federal government and the provincial government.
 The supreme-court has also the appellate jurisdiction both criminal as well as civil over the
judgments, decrees, final orders and sentences passed by the High Courts.
 It has the advisory jurisdiction on any question of law that the president might consider of public
importance and referred it to the supreme-court.
 The 1973 constitution for the first time provided for the administrative courts and tribunals to be
set up for the civil servants in relation to the matter of their terms and conditions including
disciplinary matters.
 The supreme-court may consist of one chief justice and many of the judges as determined by the
Act of parliament or might be fixed by the president.

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 The chief justice shall be appointed by the president and other judges would be appointed by the
president too but on the consultation of the chief justice.
 The qualification for the supreme-court judge was to be a five years standing judge in the High
Court or fifteen years standing advocate of the High Court.
 The retirement age of the judge of the supreme-court was fixed at 65 years age and he was
qualified for pleading and acting before any court or authority in Pakistan.
 Any judge could be removed by the president on the report of Supreme Judicial Council narrated
that a judge is incapable of being performing his duties of his office or had been guilty of gross
misconduct. The Supreme Judicial Council of Pakistan would consist of Chief Justice of Pakistan
and other two senior most judges of the High Court and two senior most chief justices of the High
courts.

Islamic provisions:
 It was declared that the state religion of Pakistan will be Islam.
 The Islamic way of life would be promoted and such steps shall be taken like zakat, auqaf, and
masjids should be created.
 Strengthening of bonds with the Muslim world was another principle of policy.
 The head of the state, the president, shall be a Muslim head of the state.
 The prime minister was also required to be a Muslim head of the government and a member of
the National Assembly.
 An important provision was declared that “No law shall be made in contradiction with the Islamic
injunctions and Holy Qur’an. The rest of the laws already made must be bought in conformity
with the principles of Islam and Holy Qur’an.
 The president would appoint within ninety days of the commencement of the constitution a
Council of Islamic Ideology to make recommendation to parliament and provincial assemblies for
bringing the existing laws and made new laws within the injunctions of Islamic principles.

Emergency provisions:
 Under article-232, if the president was satisfied that a grave emergency existed in which the
security of Pakistan or any part thereof was threatened by war or external aggression or by
internal disturbances beyond the powers of the provincial government to control, he could issue a
proclamation of emergency.
 The effects of the proclamation of the emergency under article -232 are as under, i) The
parliament has the power to make laws for a province on those subjects which were not included
in the federal or concurrent lists, that is the parliament would have to legislate even in provincial
matters. ii) The federal executive authority has the power to give direction to a province
as to the manner in which the executive authority of the province would be exercised. iii) The
federal government might issue an order assuming unto itself, or directing the governor of a
province to assume on its behalf, all or any powers of provincial governments or any function of
the provincial government except that of the provincial assembly. The federal government also
empowered to suspend in whole or any part the operation of any provision of the constitution
relating to anybody or authority in the province.

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 There was also a provision for the proclamation of emergency due to the breakdown of the
constitutional machinery in a province.
 If the president, on the receipt of a report from the governor of a province, was satisfied that the
situation had arisen in which the government of the province could not be carried on in
accordance with the provisions of the constitution he could, by proclamation, assume to himself,
or direct the governor to assume on his behalf, all or any of the functions or powers of the
provincial government of any organ or body of the provincial government except the provincial
assembly, and the parliament might be authorized to exercise the powers of the provincial
assembly.
 The president could also suspend the operation of any provisions of the constitution relating to
anybody or authority in the province.
 The president during a proclamation under this Article was empowered to authorize expenditure
from the provincial consolidated fund anticipation of approval by the parliament joint sitting.

The 8th Amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan:

Introduction to 8th amendment background:

The general elections to the National and Provincial assemblies held in February 1985 on non-party basis.
No political party was allowed to nominate the candidates in the elections. Before the parliament could
meet on 23 March 1985, the constitution was comprehensively amended through a president’s order,
known as the Revival of the constitution of 1973 Order (RCO) on 2 March 1985. The RCO made the
fundamental alterations in the constitution and made significant departure from its original premises and
concepts. As many as 65 articles had been amended/ omitted/ modified/ varied/ deleted/ added/
substituted.RCO can be regarded as part of the 8th Amendment with its justification and without the RCO
the 8th amendment would have less importance and significance and cannot be comprehend, appreciated
and analyzed.

Revival of the Constitution Order (RCO) Main Features: Important changes brought about by the
RCO are briefly enumerated below;

1) Articl-2A was inserted, making the objective resolution substantiate and effective part of the
constitution. It has also been the preamble of 1956 and 1962 constitutions.
2) The electoral-college for the election of the office of the president was modified so as to
compromise both houses of parliament and all four provincial assemblies.
3) The president was supposed to act on the advice of the cabinet, the prime minister or the
appropriate ministers.
4) The president was empowered to dissolve the National Assembly on his discretion. On such
dissolution the new elections to be called within hundred days.
5) On the dissolution of the national assembly the president could direct the prime minister to act in
the office till the new prime minister assume the office.
6) The seats reserved for women were increased from 10 to 20 seats.
7) The number of members was raised from 63 to 87 with five seats for technocrats, Ulema or
professionals. The members of the seats in the federally administered tribal areas were increased
from 5 to 8 and seats for federal capital were increased from 2 to 3.

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8) The period of time provided for the president about the assent of the bill was raised from 7 to 45
days which he could resend the bill and ask for reconsideration of the bill. He had the power of
the veto on a bill but can be overridden by two-third majority of both the houses of the parliament
in a joint session.
9) The president at his discretion could appoint any member from the parliament to be prime
minister who could command the confidence of the majority in the parliament. The president
could not remove him until the president might not be satisfied that the prime minister could not
hold the confidence of the majority.
10) Federal ministers and state ministers were to be appointed by the president on the advice of the
prime minister.
11) Procedure for passing the motion of vote of no-confidence against the prime minister was altered
and the successor name suggestion was also omitted.
12) The provision for the amendment to the constitution was modified and under the new provision,
an amendment to the constitution could only be passed by a majority of two-third of the total
members of the parliament and senate and by in absolute majority in all four provincial
assemblies. The procedure was further modified by the president’s order 20 of 1985, where the
requirement of laying the amendment bill before the provincial assemblies was dispensed with
except where such amendment had the effect of altering the limits of a province. In such a case
the concern assembly had to pass the amendment by two-third of its total membership.
13) The governor was supposed to act on the advice of the cabinet or the chief minister, or
appropriate minister, but he could require the cabinet to reconsider the advice.
14) The period provided to the governor for the assent of the bill was increased from 7 to 45 days.
15) The governor could appoint a minister from the provincial assembly to be a chief minister having
the opinion that it would have the confidence of the majority.
16) Provincial ministers could be appointed by the governor amongst the members of the provincial
assembly on the advice of the chief minister.
17) Procedure for the motion of vote of no-confidence against the chief minister was altered and
requirement for the successor chief minister name was also omitted.
18) The number of general constituencies (for Muslims) of the national assembly was raised from 200
to 207. In addition, ten seats were reserved for the minorities where in 4th amendment the seats for
the minorities were 6.
19) The seats in the provincial assemblies for minorities of Baluchistan were 3, NWFP 3, Punjab 8,
and Sindh 9.
20) Separate electorate was provided to the minorities and recognized constitutionally for the first
time. Zia had introduced but that was Representation of the People Act 1976.
21) The RCO introduced the office of the adviser to the prime minister. The president could appoint
up to five members as the advisers of the prime minister, on the advice of the prime minister.
However, these advisers could not participate in the procedures of the parliament in either house.
22) The executive authority of the federation would vest to the president which should be exercised
by him, in accordance with the constitution. This was a clear departure from the original scheme
of the constitution which provided that the executive authority shall be used by the name of the
president by the federal government consisting of prime minister and the federal minister which
should act through the prime minister who was the chief executive of the federation. Thus, the
president was given the preponderant position over the prime minster.

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23) The supreme-court was empowered to transfer any pending case from any High court to another
High Court.
24) It was provided for the first time that the president could ask any of the judges of supreme-court
to act as the chief justice of the High Court. This provision of the RCO had ever since used
wrong. At various points, at least five judges of the supreme-court was asked as acting chief
justice of the Lahore High Court and Sindh High Court.
25) The president was empowered to discretionary powers to appoint the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of
Staff Committee, and chief of naval army and air staff. This was very important power given to
the president by the PCO.
26) All martial law regulations, martial law orders, laws formed during the martial law regime and
acts and orders made thereunder were validated under article-270-A.
27) Appointment of the governors was left in the discretionary of the president.
28) A national security council to be constituted under article-152-A which was to include the
president, the prime minster,, the chairman of the senate, the chairman of the joint chief of staff
Committee, and the chiefs of the three armed forces.
 Zia had made the sweeping changes in the constitution before reviving it. Amendments were
made in the constitution before the nomination of the prime minister and prior to the formation of
the civilian government. Zia had hold referendum in 1984 to legalize his presidency for five
years. Zia considered the powers of the president under the advice of the prime minister as
contempt of the president. Therefore, he made himself more powerful and the governor by
appointment of the Prime minister and chief minister by the governor, as the governor was under
the control of the president.
 The civilian government, who were in the shades of martial law, was less than civilian
government and more like martial law. The president appointed the prime minister from the Sindh
as hand-picked on 23 March 1985. The speaker, Khwaja Safdar, was defeated by a young MNA
from Southern Punjab namely Fakhar Imam. Lieutenant-general, Ghulam Jilani Khan, appointed
a young MPA came from an industrialist family, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, as chief
minister of the largest province. Another hand-picked was from the Sindh who was serving as a
Judge of High Court and made him chief minister of the province who later on resign from the
post and elected as a member of the Sindh provincial assembly. During this period Junijo had
firm his position and prestige.
 Civilian government was running day-to-day affairs of the state. There was evidently no
justification for continuation of Martial Law. Junijo had promised the nation that he would lift
Martial Law and restore the constitution of 1973. This was not easy to come by. Zia, by then, had
assumed the office for five years as a result of the referendum of the 1984 and was no hurry to lift
martial law, certainly he could continue to enjoy the preponderant position and sweeping powers,
and that all the laws, regulations and orders of the martial law were protected and validated.in a
nutshell, Zia wanted the National Assembly and Civilian government formed under Junijo to
accept his constitutional package of the RCO (Revival of the Constitution Order.)
 It was inn these circumstances that the constitutional bill (Eighth Amendment) was moved.
Although, this bill had not brought changes as the RCO had brought but yet it had altered,
omitted, modified and added up to 18 articles. Their cumulative effect was to reduce the powers
of the president and increase the powers of the prime minister and cabinet. While the powers of
the president were not curtailed in Martial Law terms, the enactment of the 8th amendment led the

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way to the lifting of Martial Law.

Certain material modifications brought by the 8th amendment are discussed below:

The president was required to act on the advice of the prime minister or cabinet, but not the
appropriate minister. The president could require the prime minister or cabinet to reconsider such
advice given to him.
The period which was given to the president for the assent of the bill was reduced from 45 days to
30 days, but the rest of the RCO provisions were remained the same.
The president retained the power to dissolve the national assembly at his discretion, but this
power was conditional. The condition was if the national assembly could not carry in accordance
with the constitution and an appeal to the electorate became necessary.
The president retained the power of appointment at his discretion chiefs of armed forces and the
chief election commission.
The power of the president t appoint the prime minister was limited to five years where after the
expiry date, the president would require that he would ask the person having the majority of the
national assembly.
The president retained the power to appoint the governors of the provinces but in consultation
with the prime minister.
The power of the governor to appoint the chief minister was limited to 3 years, after which date
the governor was required to appoint such a person having the majority confidence in the
provincial assembly to be the chief minister.
The governor could also dissolve the provincial assembly at his discretion but subject to the
previous approval of the president.
Article-152-A regarding the establishment of the National Security Council was omitted.
Article-270-A regarding the validation of the laws, acts and orders of Martial law regime was
extended to cover more cases. The word validation was replaced by the word affirmation. In
addition, the president’s orders, ordinances, martial regulations, martial law orders, referendum
order, RCO and other constitutional amendments by Zia from time to time were affirmed and
validated.

Conclusion:

The newly formed civilian government was a kind of capitulation or at least a compromise to get Martial
Law lifted. Zia took the advantage of the Junijo’s government, made all orders and ordinances legal on
the addition of the words affirmation and validation. He made himself powerful to dissolve the National
Assembly and the appointment of the caretaker government. However, the 8th amendment balance the
power in the latter’s favor while making the office of the president a fulcrum of power. The 8th
amendment reduced the status of the prime minster making him subservient to the desire of the former.
Removing the excessive powers of the prime minister in the original 1973 constitution, the amendment
grafted presidential ‘discretion’ without the protection of the system of Checks and Balances. Popular
parliamentary democracy changed into military dictatorship and Zia made himself above the parameters
of the constitution and unaccountable to the people.After having a deal between the parliament and a
civilian government by way off 8th amendment, and after having secure the ultimate powers and
validating all martial law regulations taken under Zia regime, the Martial Law was lifted December 30,

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1985.

The 17th Amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan:

Introduction:

The opposition in the parliament was at loggerheads with Musharraf after the October election 2002. The
national assembly which should have met after the notification of the results and was delayed and met on
16 November 2002, that is, 36 days after the elections. The senate elections were scheduled on 12
November was delayed till February 2003. A dispute occurred on 16 November 2002, when the
opposition members took strong exception to take oath under the LFO. They made it clear that they were
taking oath under the constitution as it stood on 12 October 1999. The presiding officer of the oath taking
session, Illahi Bux Soomro, assured the members that the copy of the constitution under which he was
administering the oath did not include the LFO. Similarly, opposition members of the senate, when they
took oath in 12 March 2003, made it clear that they were taking oath under the constitution as it existed
prior to the 12 October 1999.s

The members of the opposition in the parliament kept protesting against the LFO and no serious business
could be transacted for more than a year. They kept thumping their desks and raised slogans in the
parliament. Government had tried twice to conclude the situation with peaceful settlement but that proved
useless. On 24 December 2003, the PML (Q) and its allies signed the agreement with the MMA on a
constitutional amendment package. The agreement was reached on the following seven points.

1) Three years extension in retirement age of the judges of the superior courts would be
withdrawn.
2) The National Security Council will be deleted from the constitution and would be constituted
under an ordinary act of parliament.
3) The discretionary power of the president to dissolve the national assembly under articl-58 (2)(b)
and similar power of the governors to dissolve the provincial assemblies under article 112(2)(b)
would be referable to the supreme court within fifteen days of such an exercise.
4) The laws regarding the local governments and the police, which had been protected under the
sixth schedule to the constitution, would be deleted from the sixth schedule after six years.
5) Musharraf would seek a vote of confidence from the parliament and the four provincial
assemblies.
6) The president would be required to consult the prime minister in the matter of appointment of
the chiefs of the armed forces though such consultation would not be binding upon him.
7) Musharraf would give up the office of the chief of army staff by 31 December 2004.

The government moved the constitutional bill (seventeenth Amendment) on 26 December 2003in the
national assembly.Despite an agreement with MMA the opposition still had objections regarding the bill
and finally an agreement was reached for the second time and a revised bill was presented on29
December 20003 and the bill was passed by the majority number of the parliament by 248 votes out of
342 total.

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The seventeenth Amendment Act made amendments in the following articles of the constitution;

1) Article-41 (The election of the president) was amended. It adds a proviso to a paragraph (b) in
clause (7) to the effect that the disqualification incurred by an MNA for holding another office
of profit would become effective on 32 December 2004. However, there was no paragraph (b) in
the constitution. It was introduced by the LFO clause (8) was added to article-41, which
provides endorsement only of Musharraf’s election as a president. Clause (9) was added to
article-41 which authorizes the chief election commissioner to regulate and conduct the
proceedings for vote of confidence for Musharraf and to count the votes cast during such
proceedings. The clauses (8) and (9) are transitional provisions and have already become dead
letter.
2) In article-58, a new clause (3) has been added to provide for reference to the supreme-court for
reference to the supreme-court within 15 days of dissolution of the National Assembly under
article 58(2)(b) the sub clause of (b) of clause (2) of the 58 article was deleted by the thirteenth
amendment act 1997. It was reinserted in the LFO 2002. An identical amendment has also been
made in article 112 (Dissolution of the provincial assemblies by the governor, which was also
deleted by the thirteenth amendment Act 1997.
3) Article-152 A (National Security Council) was deleted. However, this article did not exist in the
constitution and was only added by the LFO.
4) Article-179 purports to substitute new text in the article. The new text (Retiring age of the
supreme-court judges) was already there in the constitution before it was changed by the LFO.
This amendment erases changes in the constitution deemed to have been affected by the LFO
whereby the judges’ retirement age was raised by three years.
5) The substitution of article-195 (Retiring age of the High Court judges) is similar to that of the
substitution in article-179.
6) Article-268 lists the enactment that cannot be amendment or even discussed in the parliament or
the provincial assemblies without the prior approval of the president. Before the LFO was
issued, 24 laws listed in the sixth schedule were so protected. The LFO added eleven more laws
to the list. The 17th amendment act reduces the protection to the provincial local government
ordinances and the police order to six years.
7) Article-270AA, inserted by LFO, was replaced with a new text. It affirms and validated the
amendments made by the LFO in the constitution. It also validated the laws made from 12
October 1999 onward as having been validly made or accord affirmation, adoption and
declaration by the competent authority. Under the article-270AA, all the orders, proceedings
taken, orders, appointments made and acts done by any authority are validated and affirmed.

The LFO had amended and added 29 articles in the constitution out of which 20 have been left untouched
by the 17th amendment. Only the provisions of nine articles namely 41, 58, 112, 152A, 179, 195, 243, 268
and 270AA have been amended/deleted/substituted by the 17th amendment. Thus the LFO was deemed to
have been a part of the constitution which was a clear negation of the stance of MMA for more than a
year.

18th amendment to the constitution:

Introduction:

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In the very inception of the 2010, there were judicial crises in the constitution of Pakistan. When the
serious judicial crises in the country when Asif Ali Zardari notified the chief justice of Lahore high court,
Khwaja Muhammad Sharif, to be a judge of the supreme court. While another notification was issued in
which it was notified that the senior-most judge of the Lahore high court, Mian Saqib Nisar, to be the
chief justice of Lahore high court. The chief justice of the Lahore high court, Iftikhar Muhammad
Chaudry, objected on these appointments and told that the constitution provides for the consultation of the
chief justice in the appointment of the judges and CJ while these are not consulted by the president. He
recommended that the chief justice Sharif to continue the office in Lahore high court and Mian Saqib
Nisar as the judge of the supreme-court. Later on, the prime-minister Gillani went to the court to meet the
chief justice Iftikhar Chaudry which brought down the temperature of the confrontation between the
Executive and Judiciary. However the government succumbed to the pressure of the judiciary and bow
down to the judiciary and accepted the recommendations of the chief justice to appoint Mian Saqib Nisar
as the judge of the supreme-court. Since another vacant position in the supreme-court which was filled by
another judge of the Lahore high court, Asif Saeed Khosa.

The 18th Amendment:

The previously by gone, dictators have distorted the original shape of the constitution of 1973 time to
time. Musharraf and Zia Ul Haq have made the 8th and 17th amendments through which the constitution
was radically changed. The Zardari government aimed at restoring the original constitutional shape by
passing the 18th amendment bill in the parliament. In pursuance of the motion passed in both the houses,
the speaker had intended to form a Special Committee of the Parliament on Constitutional Reforms
consisting of 27 members and Mian Raza Rabbani as the head of the committee was elected on 25 June
2009. The special committee had asked from its members to submit their recommendations for the
amendments in the constitution by 19 August 2009. The committee also invited
proposals/recommendations and amendments in the constitution from public at large by 10 August 2009
and they had received 982 proposals from public in this process.

The parliamentary committee kept in view the following amongst the other criterion;

1) Transparency in the constitution.

2) Minimizing individual’s discretion.
3) Strengthening parliament and provincial assemblies.
4) Provincial autonomy.
5) Independence of judiciary.
6) Further strengthening the fundamental rights.
7) The question of merit.
8) Good governance.
9) Strengthening of institutions.

Total numbers of 77 meetings were held and one meeting was at least 5 hours which means that total 385
hours had in meetings. The amendment bill was prepared by the parliamentary committee and passed by
both the house in the parliament by more than two-third majority of each house. It received the assent of
the president on 19 April 2010 and thus became the constitution act (18th Amendment) 2010. The
committee proposed a total number of 97 articles which have been
amended/modified/deleted/added/substituted and omitted in the constitution while Third, fourth, sixth

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and seventh schedules of the constitution were also modified, amended, varied and omitted or annexed.
In this way the most comprehensive amendment was made to the constitution of Pakistan since its
inception.

The salient features of the 18th amendment are as under:

1) The Legal Framework Order, 2002 and its various amendments in 2002 were declared to have
been without lawful authority and of no legal effect and thereof stood repealed.
2) The constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003 was repealed.
3) The North West Frontier Province was renamed as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
4) The definition “High treason” under article-6 was constituted to include ‘suspension’ or ‘holding
an abeyance’ of the constitution in addition to ‘abrogation’ or ‘subversion’ as acts of high treason.
Even ‘attempt’ or ‘conspiracy’ against it will be considered as ‘high treason’. Not only ‘abettors’
but also ‘collaborator’ would be guilty of high treason. Most significantly clause(2) to article-6
has been added to postulate that an act of high treason would not be validated by any court
including the supreme-court ad high court.
5) Fundamental rights were included such as; i) article-10A was added which provides for free fair
and trail and due process in criminal trails or determination of civil rights and obligations. ii)
article-19A was added extending the right to every citizen to have access to the information in all
matters of public importance subject to reasonable restriction. iii) article-25A was added obliging
the state to provide free and compulsory education to all children between five and sixteen years
of age.
6) Article-58 was substituted omitting clause (b) which empowered the president to dissolve the
national assembly in his discretion.
7) The strength of Senate was increased from 100 to 104, adding 4 non-muslim seats, one from each
province.
8) Articl-62 and 63 pertaining to the qualification of the members of the parliament respectively
were substituted restating nearly all the previous contents of these articles.
9) The power to remove a person from membership of a house in the national assembly or provincial
assembly has been conferred on the party head as with the substitution of Article-63A instead of
parliamentary leader in the concerned house as was the case before the substitution of the article-
63A. In this way the party head if he not the member of any house i.e. national and provincial
assemblies, the party head was empowered to remove a member from the house. This case was
excluded from three occasions i.e. i) election of the prime minister or chief minister, ii) vote of
confidence or no-confidence, iii) money bill or constitution amendment bill.
10) Article 70 regarding introduction and passing of bills in the parliament was substituted. If there is
any differences arise on the bill in the house, the bill will be referred to the joint sitting of both the
houses and can be passed by the majority of the members.
11) The president can, under article-72 withhold his assent on a bill passed by both the houses of the
parliament and can send it back to the house for the reconsideration within ten days.
12) Ordinance making power of the president and governors under article 89 and 128 respectively
amended. An ordinance passed by the president or governor could be extended to by a resolution
of a house of the parliament for a further period of 120 days.
13) Under article-91 restriction of two terms of the office of the prime minister was removed. Cabinet
was hold collectively responsible.

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14) Another progressive step was the reduction of the cabinet size, federal as well as provincial.
Article-92 says the strength of the cabinet including ministries of state would not exceed 11% of
the total membership of the parliament.
15) Under articl-100 the attorney general was prohibited from engaging in private practice.
16) The speaker of the provincial assembly can act as the governor general in case of his absence
from Pakistan.
17) Clause (b) of the article 112 which empowered the governor to dissolve the provincial assembly,
subject to prior approval of the president, in his discretion was omitted.
18) Since the concurrent Legislative list in the fourth schedule of the constitution would be omitted
under this amendment, the subject for the legislation was bifurcated between the parliament and
the provincial assemblies.
19) Article 143 was substituted which provides for the federal laws would prevail over the provincial
laws if they are on the same subject.
20) The Council of Common Interest was empowered by amendment to article 154 by providing that
it would be constituted within 30 days of a prime minister taking oath of his office. CCI would
have a permanent secretariat and would meet once in 90 days.
21) In order to strengthen the provincial autonomy in financial terms, certain measures have been
adopted under the 18th amendment which includes the following, i) the federal government would
have to consult the provincial government before constructing a hydro-electric power plant in the
province (article-157). ii) the share of a province in any award of National Finance Commission
would not be less than the share of the province on the previous award (article-160). iii) both the
federal and provincial finance ministers would be monitoring the implementation of the award of
NFC (artivle-160). iv) the net proceeds of federal excise duty on oil and natural gas and royalty
collected by the federal government on natural gas would be paid to the province in which well-
head of oil or natural gas are situated (article-161). V) the mineral oil and natural gas within a
province or the territorial adjacent thereto would vest jointly and equally in that province and the
federal government (article-172).
22) Provinces have been authorized to raise domestic or international loans on the security of the
provincial consolidated fund within the limits and conditions specified by the National Economic
Council.
23) A High Court for Islamabad Capital Territory was to be established under article-175 of the
amended constitution.
24) A new procedure for the appointment of the judges of the supreme-court and High-courts was
prescribed under the newly added article-175A reproduced below; appointment of the judges to
the supreme-court, high courts and federal Shariah court under the article-175A;
i) There shall be a judicial commission of Pakistan, hereinafter this article referred to the
commission, for appointment of the judges of the supreme-court, high court and federal
shariah court.
ii) For appointment of the judges of the supreme-court, the commission shall consist of,
chief justice of Pakistan, two senior most judges of the supreme-court, a former chief
justice or judge of the supreme-court of Pakistan, federal minister for law and justice,
attorney general of Pakistan, a senior advocate of the supreme-court of Pakistan.
iii) The president of Pakistan shall appoint the most senior judge of the supreme-court as the
chief justice of Pakistan.

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iv) The commission may make its rules regulating its procedure.
v) For the appointment of the judges of the high court, the commission in clause (2) shall
also include the following namely, the most senior judge of the high court, the provincial
minister for law and justice, a senior advocate nominated by the provincial Bar Council,
which provides that for the appointment of the chief justice of high court, the most senior
judge of the court shall be substituted by the former chief justice or former judge of the
court, to be nominated as the chief justice of Pakistan in the consultation with the two
members of the commission in clause (2).
vi) For the appointment of the judges of the Islamabad high court the commission in clause
(2) shall also include the following namely, chief justice of the Islamabad high court, the
most senior judge of that high court, and provides for the initial appointment of the
judges of the Islamabad high court, the chief justice of the four provinces high courts
shall also be members of the commission.
vii) For the appointment of the judges of the federal Shariah court, the commission in clause
(2) shall also include the chief justice of federal Shariah court and the most senior judge
of that court as its members. Provides that appointment of chief justice of federal Shariah
court the provisos to clause (5) shall mutatis, mutandis apply.
25) The minimum age for the appointment as the judges of the high courts under article-193 was
raised from forty-five years and would be deemed to be so from 21 august 2002.
26) Article-209 has been amended empowering the supreme judicial council to take notice of the case
of a judge who is incapable of performing the duties of his office by reason of physical or mental
incapacity or has been guilty of misconduct.
27) Article-224 was amended and certain substantial changes were brought about. On the completion
of the term of an assembly, national or provincial, the elections to the assembly would be held
within sixty days of such expiry. A new procedure for the appointment of the caretaker
government was adopted. The president would appoint the caretaker prime minister and a
caretaker cabinet with the consultation of prime minister and the leader of the opposition in the
outgoing of national assembly.
28) All elections to be held on the basis of secret ballot except prime minister and chief minister.
29) In respect to the emergency proclamation under article-232, it has been provided that in case of
imposition of the emergency in a province which is beyond the control of the provincial
government, a resolution from the house would be required.
30) Article-243 was substituted which provides that the federal government to have control and
command of the armed forces with the president as the supreme commander. The appointment of
all the chief of armed forces would be made by the president on the advice of the prime minister.
By amendment in article-270A, the name of and reference to General Zia Ul Haq was deleted.
31) The objective resolution which was made ‘annex’ to the constitution under the 8th amendment in
1985, the word ‘freely’ in respect of practice and propagation of religion was deliberately omitted
by General Zia Ul Haq. The credit goes to the 18th amendment that the word ‘freely’ was inserted
in accordance with the original Objectives Resolution.
32) The concurrent Legislative list including 47 entities was omitted. However, some of its entities
(10of them) like the electricity, major ports, census, legal, medical and other professions and inter
-provincial matters etc were added to part II of the Federal Legislative List.

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Pre-Partition Political Development

Charter Act 1813:
 This act proclaimed the sovereignty of British over India, declared the authority of the Crown and
restricted the monopoly of the East India Company.
India Act 1853:
 This act further decreased the authority of the Company.
India Act of 2nd August 1857:
 This act ended the control of the Company and appointed secretary of the state for India in British
Parliament to assume the control of the India as British colony.
 Act of India of 1858 was amended and Governor General of India and Governors of provinces
and other British officials were empowered to assume the control of the colony.
Indian Council Act 1861:
Government Act of India 1857 was concerned with the business of government of India and had no
provisions for the administrative setup in India. Therefore, Indian Council Act was passed in 1861 that
provided:
 Council of Governor General had five members: 3 by secretary of the State and two by the
Crown.
 Governor General was empowered to nominate six to 12 members to his council for making laws.
 GG was also empowered to make, repeal, or amend laws for Indian subjects.
 Provisions for the Governor of the presidencies to frame laws for respective presidencies.
 GG could make new provinces, alter provincial boundaries.
 High Courts in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were established.
 Dewany and Faujdari Adawlat were abolished.
Indian Council Act 1892:
The 1861 Act was amended which provided:
 The number of members of GG was raised from 6 and 12 to 10 and 20.
 Additional members opened way for Indian residents to get appointed into the Council of GG and
of Presidencies.
Muslim Victimization in Government Offices:
 In Calcutta Bar, out of 240 pleaders there was only one Muslim till 1868.
 No Muslim was raised to the High Court Judge.
 Government gazette officers in Bengal, there were on 92 Muslims out of 1338.
 In 1878, only 57 Muslims were graduates as compared to 3155 Hindus Graduates.
Minto-Morley Reforms:
Background:
 Establishment of Indian National Congress in 1885 by the initiative of Allen Octavian Hume.
 Partition of Bengal in 1905 embittered relation between Muslims and Hindus. Bengal included
the present Bihar and Orissa which was difficult to be administered.
 Shimla Deputation: Declaration led by Agha khan in 1906 presented their demands to Viceroy
Lord Minto who assured them for granting separate electorates in future reforms.

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 Muslims Demanded for separate electorates at all levels of government because under joint
franchise 14% Muslims could not secure a single seat in government offices.
 All India Muslim League was founded in Dhaka in 1906.
Minto-Morley Reforms:
 By 1909 political awakening and demand of greater participation in government had increased.
 One reason for such awakening was Japan victory in Russo-Japan war 1904-5. Indian too could
become great nation.
 Demand of political participation also came as a result of Lord Curzon Viceroy 1899-1905 who
disregarded Indians in government affairs.
 Lord Minto disclosed Indian participation in legislative Council in 1907.
 In Dec 1904 Secretary of State Morley presented the Bill in UK parliament which was passed in
1909 as Indian Council Act and is known as Minto-Morey Reforms.
The Act changed the size of GG Council:
 Indians became entitled to nomination or election.
 Functions of legislative Council increased: matters of general public interests could be discussed
now.
 Muslims were given the right of separate electorates.
 Indirect elections were introduced which is:
People elected Local Bodies. LB elected Electoral College. Electoral College elected members of
provincial legislature. They elected members of Imperial legislature.
 But these reforms led to confusion and criticism and crises erupted in India.
 The British government was compelled by Hindus to cancel partition of Bengal in 1911.
Lucknow Pact 1916 and Montague-Chelmsford Report:
 Congress and Muslim League got together to demand self-government for Indians.
 Congress ratified demand of Separate electorates for Muslims.
 Secretary of State Edwin Montague and Viceroy Lord Chelmsford jointly prepared report on
Indian constitutional reforms known as Montague-Chelmsford Report published in 1918.
 The report identified four objectives:
1. Popular control to local bodies.
2. Steps towards responsible government in provinces.
3. More representatives in Indian legislative council.
4. Relaxation in the control of Secretary of State and parliament over government of India.
The Government of India Act 1919:
 Montague introduced the Bill in the House of Commons in June 1919.
 It promised reforms after the end of WWI to Indians.
 The Bill was passed by British Parliament on 18Dec, 1919.
Provisions of the Bill:
 Secretary of State to be paid out of British Revenue. SS continued to possess and exercise the
powers of superintendence, direction and control over the affairs of India.
 GG was obliged to carry out the orders of SS.
 Bicameral legislature was introduced replacing the Imperial Council.
 Two Houses: Central Legislative Assembly and Council of State.
 Direct elections for both Houses were introduced though the franchise was very limited.

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 The Central Legislature was empowered to make laws for all of British India, for Indian Subjects
wherever they might be and for all persons employed in defense forces. It could lso amend or
repeal laws for time being in force.
Powers of Governor General:
 Duration for Council Legislature was 3 years and for Council of State 5 years which could be
extended by GG.
 GG could summon or dissolve the Houses. He could also address both the houses.
 Central Legislature could legislate for all Indian subjects with prior sanction from SS.
 GG would introduce bills on revenue, foreign affairs, religion and maintenance of land, air, and
naval forces.
 GG could issue ordinance for 6 months.
 GG could veto Bill passed by Central Legislature.
 The Central Legislature required prior sanction of GG to introduce Bills on public debt, pubic
revenue, religions and religious rites, foreign affairs, amending or repealing laws or ordinances
passed by the GG.
 Crown could disallow bills passed by Indian legislature or ordinances of GG.
Diarchy in the Provinces:
 Partially responsible government in the form of Diarchy was introduced in provinces where
executive powers were divided into two parts: one was responsible to Central legislature while
the other to British Parliament through the channel of Governor of provinces and Governor
General.
 Departments such as education, local self-government, public health, public works, industries,
and so on known as transferred subjects were allocated to ministers who were elected members of
the Provincial Legislature.
 Department such as, police, administration, finance, land revenue administration, irrigation and
canal described as reserved subjects were headed by nominated officials generally ICS officers
(Indian Civil Servants) taken from the executive council of Governor who were responsible only
to governor.
 The transferred departments were also indirectly controlled by the reserved departments because
they depended on reserved departments for financing.
 The Governor headed both reserved and transferred departments and could easily override the
decisions of ministers or members of his executive council.
 There wasn’t any principle of cabinet or collective responsibility in the working of the provinces.
 The Diarchy system which operated from 1921 to 1937 had many drawbacks: the division of
administration into two parts in the same province was contrary to the principle of efficient
administration. The division of subjects into reserved and transferred subjects was confusing.
There was a deep chasm between the ministers who were the representatives of people and the
members of executive council who were mostly bureaucrats.
Central and Provincial Legislature and their Powers:
 Two separate lists under the Act were introduced: one contained Central Subjects and the other
contained Provincial Subjects.
 Central Legislative List included: defense, foreign and political relationship, public debt, tariffs
and customs, posts, currency, coinage, communication and commerce etc.

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 The Provincial list included: self-government, health, education, sanitation, irrigation, agriculture,
etc.
 There was no concurrent list.
 GG would decide which subject belonged to which domain.
 Under the Act of 1919, the Central Legislature had to chambers: Council of State and the
Legislative Assembly.
 Council of the State was composed of 60 members, 34 elected and 26 nominated.
 Only those paying Rs. 5000 land revenue or Rs. 1000 income tax could cast votes.
 The Legislative Assembly, the Lower House, had 145 members: 26 officials, 14 nominated non-
officials and 105 elected.
 Central Legislative could make laws for all Indian subjects and servants of Crown in British
India.
 It could not make any law affecting powers of SS and GG.
 It could not make laws affecting public debt, religious rites, armed forces and foreign relations.
 Provincial legislatures were all unicameral.

Political Developments from 1919 to 1935

 Pasing of the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act in 1919 based on the Report of the
Rowlatt Committee which provided:
 Speedy trial, no right of appeal. Despite of opposition from non-official and elected members,
only official members passed it.
 Jinnah resigned form Central Legislature as protest.
 Gandhi launched Satyagraha movement and called for strikes against the Act.
 Violence prevailed, killing by police firing increased.
 13th April 1919 Army commander, Brigadier General Dyer ordered open fire on a public meeting
at Jallianwala Bagh Amritsar killing 400 and wounding 1200 people.
 Martial law was imposed in various districts of Punjab.
 Satyagraha was called off.
Khilafat Movement:
 In order to get the favour of Indian Muslim in WWI, the British PM Loyd George promised
Indian Muslims that Turkey will not be deprived of its land, Thrace and Asia Minor after WWI.
 After the war, Thrace was given to Greece, and Asia territories were divided among Britain and
France.
 As a reaction to Britain breaking her own promise, Ali brothers, Maulana Muhammad Ali and
Shaukat Ali launched the Khilafat Movement.
 Gandhi also joined them.
 The movement came to an end in 1923 when Mustafa Kamal Ataturk seized power and expelled
Britain and France from the Thrace and Asia Minor.
 Kamal Ataturk also abolished the Khilafat in Turkey and established secular, republic
government in Turkey.
The Simmon Commission:
 In September 1925 resolution in Central Assembly advising British Government to make
fundamental changes in the constitution to establish fully responsible government in India.

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In Nov, 1927 British appointed a commission composed of English men headed by Sir John
Simmon.
 The commission was asked to report on establishing the principles of responsible government and
extension or modification of the existing system under the 1919 Act.
 The commission was boycotted in India condemning it for the exclusion of Indians from it.
Recommendations of the Commission:
 It proposed federal form of government with unitary system.
 Diarchy to be abolished and provincial administration to be entrusted to minister.
 Each province to be given legislative of its own and representation in the center to be expanded.
 Central legislative to be based on federal principle.
 All-India federation would be set-up.

Nehru Report:
 All parties’ conference was caked after boycotting the report to form a proposed constitution in
Bombay in May 1928 headed by Pudith Motilal Nehru.
 The report of all-parties conference known as Nehru Report was published.
 It proposed a fully responsible government in Center as well as in provinces.
 Autonomy of provinces.
 Bicameral system in Center.
 Proportional representation to provinces in center.
 Election of members through joint franchise, non-communal and adult franchise. .
 Seats in both Houses proportion to the population of provinces.
 Money bill was given to House of Representatives.
 Governor General was to be appointed by British government and to be paid out of Indian
Revenue.
 GG will appoint PM.
 Executive will advise GG.
 GG will appoint ministers on advice of PM.
 Governor will act on the advice of Provincial executive council.
 It proposed for joint electorates with reserved seat for minorities.
 New provinces to be established on the basis of languages.
 Nehru Report was accepted by All-Parties conference held in Lucknow on 28th Aug, 1928.
 A large section of Muslim league rejected it.
 Indian National Congress accepted it on 31th Dec, 1928.
Jinnah Fourteen Points:
 In March 1929 Muslim League held its meeting in Delhi.
 Jinnah presented his fourteen points and recommended:
 Federal form with autonomy to provinces.
 Adequate and effective representation of minorities.
 Muslim representation should not be less than 1/3 of the total representation.
 Separate electorates for Muslims.
 Territorial redistribution should not affect Muslim majority in Punjab, Bengal and NWFP.
 Religious liberty.
 No bill will take place if ¾ of any community of that place opposes it.

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 Sindh should be separated from Bombay.

 Reforms in NWFP.
 Quota for all minorities in civil services.
 Safeguard of Muslim culture.
 No cabinet with 1/3 Muslim ministers.
Communal Award and Poona Pact:
 Communal Award was presented on 26th Aug, 1932 after the failure of the three Round Table
Conferences.
 It aimed at representation for communities in India.
 Separate Communal electorates for Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians were proposed.
 Gandhi warned Secretary of State Samuel Hoare about separate electorates in a letter in March
1932.
 Due to Hunger protest, Gandhi’s condition got bad. The Award was modified through mutual
agreement that is called Poona Pact in Sep, 1932.
 Under this pact, seats were reserved for depressed classes.
 Depressed groups will have representation in the central legislation through joint electorates.
 18% seats were reserved for minorities.
The Government of India Act 1935
 White paper in March 1933 issued by British Parliament that says there would be Diarchy in
center and responsible government in provinces.
 A Joint Select committee of the British Parliament was formed in April 1933 to report on
government proposal contained in the White Paper. The committee submitted its report in Dec,
1934. Many changes in the structure of the federal and provincial legislatures and other matters
were recommended in the report.
 In the light of the committee’s report, a bill was drafted which was passed by both the Houses of
British parliament by July 1935 and received Royal assent in Aug, 1935 which is called the
Government of India Act 1935.
Major themes of the Act:
 The major focus of the Act was based on autonomy of provinces and the powers of their
legislature to make legislature almost wholly elective
 to introduce the principle of a cabinet system at the provincial level
 and to enlarge participation of Indians in the government at the center.
The Government of India Act 1935:
The Act was a comprehensive statute running into 321 sections and two schedules. It was a
comprehensive written constitution given to India by its colonial masters.
Features of the Act:
 The polity of India was reconstituted on Federal basis, with unitary system.
 The provincial governments would derive their powers by devolution from the central
government and discharge their functions under the superintendence, direction and control of
Governor General and ultimately the Secretary of State for India.
 Partial responsibility in the form of diarchy was introduced in the center.
 The provinces were granted autonomy and responsible governments.
 Governor General of India and Governor of provinces were given extensive powers.

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 New institutions like Federal Courts, Federal Railway Authority, the Revenue Bank of India and
the Public Service Commissions for the federation and provinces were created under the Act.
 Burma was separated from India.
 The Act described the method for state to join the federation. It defined the jurisdiction of the
federation for accession of the state. The Crown could refuse accession of the state if it was not
consistent with the scheme of the federation. Once a state acceded, it could not secede from the
federation.
 The areas of federal jurisdiction extended to the whole of British India included the state which
had acceded.
 The subjects were divided into three fold: the provincial list, the federal list and the concurrent
list.
 In case of conflict and inconsistency, the federal law prevailed in respect of concurrent list.
Federal Executive:
The federal authority and power was vested in the Governor General as a representative of the Crown.
The Crown had the authority to direct or restrict the authority of the GG. The executive authority of the
federation included:

 Matters with respect to which the federal legislature had power to make laws;
 Raising in British India on behalf of the Crown naval, military and air forces and the governance
of the king’s forces borne on the Indian establishment.
 Exercise of such rights, authority and jurisdiction as were exercisable by the Crown by treaty,
grant, usage, and sufferance or otherwise in and in relation to the tribal areas.
Executive Functions of federation and responsibilities of Governor General
 The GG as head of the federal executive had supreme command of the military, naval and air
forces in India.
 The federal government was not concerned with the powers of Crown in its relation with the
Indian states. These were exercised by her Majesty’s representatives appointed for the purpose.
 The Act established diarchy at the center. Administrative functions with respect to defence,
ecclesiastic affairs, foreign relations and tribal areas were to be exercised by the GG at his
discretion. The GG was also empowered to appoint councilors not exceeding three in number for
his assistance who would be responsible to the GG alone.
 All other powers were to be exercised by the GG with the help and advice of the council
ministers. The number of ministers was not to exceed ten. Ministers were to be chosen by the GG
from amongst the members of the federal legislature to hold office during his tenure.
 The GG at his discretion might preside at meetings of the Council of Ministers.
 The ministers could not advice the GG on matters at GG’s discretion, in cases where the GG was
empowered to exercise his individual judgment and powers entrusted to GG in the discharge of
his special responsibilities.
 Special responsibilities of GG included: prevention of any grave menace, safeguarding financial
stability of India, safeguarding interests of minorities, safeguarding interests of civil servants,
securing imports to India from UK and Burma, protection of Indian states and their rulers etc. all
executive action of the federal government was expressed to be taken in the name of the GG.
Federal Legislature:
 The Federal legislature was to be bicameral and consisted of King/Queen represented by GG.

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 It had two chambers: the Council of State (Upper House) and the House of Assembly (The Lower
House).
 The Council of State was to consist of 156 members of British Indians and not more than 104
representatives of Indian states. Out of the 156 seats, 150 were to be allocated to be allocated to
Governors’ provinces and chief commissioners’ provinces. 6 seats were to be filled by GG at his
discretion.
 The council of state was to be permanent body, not subject to dissolution, but 1/3 of its members
were to retire every third year.
 The House of Assembly was to consist of 250 representatives of British India and not more than
125 representatives of Indian States. The life of the House of Assembly was five years, unless
sooner dissolved.
 The GG could his discretion time to time summon, prorogue, and address the chamber, send
message or dissolve the chamber.
 The Council of State and the House of Assembly had to chose president and speaker respectively
to preside over these chambers.
 Bills other than Financial Bills could originate in either chamber. In case of disagreement
between the two chambers on a bill, the GG could summon a joint sitting of both the chambers
for the purpose of deliberating and voting on the Bill.
 After the Bill is passed by both the chambers, it is forwarded to the GG who may give his assent
in the name of His Majesty, withhold his assent, return it for reconsiderations etc at his discretion.
 GG would present annual budget in both the chambers in the start of the financial year. GG could
decide on the expenditure of the revenue at his discretion.
 The Federal legislature had no authority to make laws affecting the sovereign of Royal Family,
the succession of Crown, the sovereignty of dominion, the law of British nationality, the army
acts. No federal law was valid that contravened the provisions of the India Act of 1935.
 The GG could issue ordinances having the same force and effect as of Federal legislature. The
ordinance could remain in force for maximum of six months that could be extended by a
subsequent ordinance for more six months. The ordinance like other legislation was subject to
King/Queen’s assent.
 The GG was also empowered to make laws in the form of GG’s Acts in certain circumstances.
 Under the Act, a Federal Court was to be established that was to be the interpreter and guarantor
of the constitution. The court was to consist of a Chief Justice and six judges appointed by the
King and will remain in office till the age of 65.

Provincial Governments:
With the separation of Orissa from Bihar and Sindh from Bombay, and the severance of Burma form
British India, there were 11 Governor’s provinces. The Crown could create a new province, increase the
area of a province or diminish the area of a province.
 The executive authority of a province was similar to that at the center. It was exercised on behalf
of the Crown by a governor.
 The Governor received his appointment from the King and was responsible to the Governor
General.
 The Governor was final and the validity of anything done by the G could not be called into
question.

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 The governor could act with the help and on the advice of the council of ministers who were
chosen and summoned by the Governor and could hold office at his pleasure. The Governor could
preside over the meetings of the council of ministers.
 The Governor could use his discretionary powers on the directives of the GG.
 The Governor was entrusted with the responsibilities of preventing any grave menace, safeguard
interests of minorities, secure peace and governance etc.
Provincial Legislature:
In every province, there was to be a legislature consisting of the King represented by the Governor and
one or two chambers. In six provinces, there was bicameral legislature while in the rest of five it was
unicameral.
 Representation in each legislative Assembly of each province was based mainly on the allocation
of seats to various communities.
 There were separate electorates for Muslins, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Englo-Indians and
Europeans.
 The life of the Assembly was five years. A member could not hold offices in center and province
at the same time.
 All Bills passed in by the provincial legislatures were to be presented to the Governor who was
empowered to use his discretion to give his assent in the name of the King, withhold the bill, or
return it for reconsiderations or reserve it for the considerations of the GG.
 The King could disallow a bill even after the assent of Governor or Governor General.
 No financial Bill could be introduced or moved except on the recommendations of the Governor.
 The Governor like GG could promulgate ordinances at any time at his discretion or individual
judgment to make laws in the form of Governor’s Act.
Overall the Governors of provinces were extremely powerful with extensive discretionary powers
which had restricted provincial autonomy.

Formation of Ministries/ Congress Ministries

The Provincial part of the India Act 1935 came into force on April 1t, 1937.
 In provincial elections Congress won majority seats in 8 provinces. At first, Congress refused to
form government in the provinces, but later they were assured that Governors would not use their
discretionary powers so Congress formed governments in the provinces.
 Muslim League could only secure 51 out of 482 reserved seats for Muslims.
 Muslim League wanted to join Congress ministries but Congress demanded it to cease the party
as a separate group in legislature and join Congress which Muslim League refused.
 These Ministries functioned from July 1937 to October 1939.
 In Sep, 1939 WWII broke out and British declared war on Germany.
 Governor General declared India s Britain’s Ally without consultation with the legislatures.
 Congress as a protest resigned from the ministries. No one could replace Congress ministries;
therefore, Governors suspended the constitution and took the charge of administration.
 The Defence of India Rules Act was in force throughout India till the end of the WWII.
Cripps Mission
 Cripps Mission on March 23-1942 was rejected by both the parties.
Quit India Resolution by Gandhi:
 Presence of Britain in India in India is an invitation to Japan.

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 Transfer of power to Congress was demanded.

 Congress Committee in a meeting on 8th August 1942 passed Quit India Resolution.
 Gandhi called it open rebellion against British. All Congress leadership was arrested. Protests
broke out throughout India.
 To the fear of Hindu Raj, Jinnah transformed the slogan of Quit India into Divide and Quit.
Election to Provincial and Central Legislatures 1945-46
 WWII ended with Japan surrendering on 15th August, 1945.
 Labour Party got majority in UK.
 British consistently favoured India as one unit. This idea was put to test in the general election to
both legislatures in the winter of 1955/46.
 Both the parties started to struggle for majority because the future of political settlement will be
based on the outcomes of the results of the election.
 League won all Muslim seats in center and 446 of 495 in provinces.
 Congress did similar in Hindu constituencies.
The Cabinet Mission Plan 1946
 On February 9th, 1946, British government sent a special mission consisting of 3 cabinet ministers
and Viceroy Lord Wavel who arrived to India on March 24, 1946.
 Congress wanted a single constituent Assembly to draw up the constitution.
 League demanded to constitute the six provinces into a sovereign independent state of Pakistan
and that two separate constitution making bodies be set up.
 Both parties rejected each other’s proposals in May 1946.
 On May 16, 1946, the cabinet Mission and Viceroy published their own version of the plan. They
reserved the idea of one unit and rejected the proposal of two sovereign states in India.
 The cabinet proposal divided India into 3 zones: A, B,C.
 B: consisted of Punjab, Sindh, NWFP.
 C: consisted of Bengal and Assam.
 A: Consisted of the rest of India.
 The representatives of these zones and princely states would assemble to make the constitution.
 Constitution of Union and of groups would contain provision whereby any province by a majority
vote of its assembly.
 Interim government representing the major parties to be formed.
 Both parties accepted the plan, but Gandhi’s announcement to participate in the constituent and
with its majority would modify the cabinet plan as it thought best.
 Muslim league had only accepted the plan as original and any modification may jeopardize
Muslims’ interest under Hindu Raj.
Direct Action Plan and the Interim Government
 Failure of the Cabinet Mission Plan was a breach of promise to Muslims.
 Viceory changed the number of Muslims and Hindus members in the interim government from
five each congress and Muslim League and two others to 6 congress, five Muslim League and 3
others.
 Nehru faith was also challenged that the big probability is that there will be no grouping.
Direct Action Plan Aug, 16th, 1946.
 As a result of breach of promise with Muslims regarding representation in the Interim
government in Cabinet Mission, the League withdrew its acceptance of the proposal of cabinet

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mission, called on all Muslims to renounce their titles, and decided on a campaign of Direct
Action to achieve Pakistan and get rid of slavery under the British.
 This was the only step with League to get rid of British and avoid Hindu Raj.
 16th Aug was fixed as Direct Action Day when Hindu-Muslim communal riots broke out in
Calcutta killing 4000, in Bihar killing 5000 and about 50000 homeless people became refuges in
East Bengal.
 On Aug 24th, 1946, Congress withdrew its objection to interim government and joined interim
government. All members of the Viceroy’s council were taken from congress. Congress’
government in Center did not do anything to stop communal riots.
 Muslims’ interests suffered due to no representation in the center.
 Finally, League decided join the interim government and in October five League’s members led
by Liaqat Ali Khan entered the interim government.
The Constituent Assembly:
 Election to the constituent assembly had taken place in July 1946: out of 296 members, Congress
and its allies secured 212 seats and the League 73 seats.
 The Assembly met for the first time in Delhi in December 1946.
 Muslims League refused to participate in its deliberations. Jinnah and Gandhi were invited to
London to reconcile the conflicting interpretation of Mission Plan.
 Meanwhile Congress was proceeding with constitution-making in the absence of the League and
on 22th January 1947, the Objective Resolution was passed.
 The Resolution proclaimed an independent federal republic.
 On 31th January 1947, League passed a resolution against the constitution-making proceeding in
the absence of League and condemned Congress for its own interpretation of the Mission Plan.
 The rules of procedure of Objective Resolution of January 22, had been a violation of the
direction in the Mission Plan because it envisaged that central constitution was not to be
considered until the provincial and regional groups constitutions had been settled.
 League therefore called upon British to declare the Mission failed.
British PM Clement Attlee’s Announcement:
 On Feb 20, 1947 Attlee declared that government of Britain would grant full self-government to
India by June 1948 at the latest.
 Till that preparatory measures are to be taken to give effect to granting powers to Indians. The
British government would negotiate with representatives of those whom the powers would be
transferred. The future of the princely states would also be decided.
 It was also announce that Lord Mountbatten was to succeed Lord Wavell as the Viceroy of India
who would be entrusted with the task of transferring the powers in Indian hands.
The Mountbatten Plan or 3 June Plan:
 Lord Mountbatten arrived at New Delhi on 24th March, 1947 and declared completion of transfer
of power within few months in consultation with Indian leaders.
 Situation in India: On his arrival the central cabinet was so much divided, in Punjab the
Unionist government was tottering under League’s attacks, in NWFP there was League civil
disobedience campaign. There were fierce communal clashes all over the country. Private armies
were being formed for final struggle for power. Civil services were divided on communal lines.
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 Mountbatten started talks with leaders of different communities and tried to persuade Jinnah to
join the Constituent Assembly but was of no use because Jinnah knew it was submission to brute
majority of League 73 to Congress of 199.
 Mountbatten with consultation with hid Hindu advisor V.P Menon prepared the final draft of
transfer of power which was only revealed to Nehru. The League and its leaders were not taken
into confidence at the time of making the plan.
 On June 3, 1947, the British government accepted the principle of the partition of India and
undertook to hand over dominion status to the successor governments on 15th Aug with the
implicit right to secede from the Commonwealth.
 The Mountbatten Plan did not elaborate any constitutional proposals. It outlined the procedure to
ascertain the wishes of the people of those areas in which the majority of representatives
boycotted the Constituent Assembly and whether their constitution should be made by the
existing constituent assembly of by a new and separate assembly. In other words to determine
whether they wished to join Pakistan or not.
 Division of Punjab and Bengal: In Bengal, Punjab and Sindh the choice was left to the members
of the provincial legislative assemblies but the assemblies of Punjab and Bengal would meet in
two parts: one representing Muslims majority districts and other representing Hindu majority
districts. Each part would vote separately to decide whether or not the province should be
partitioned and if so which Constituent Assembly the areas represented should join. If majority of
both parts decided to remain united, the vote of the whole would be taken so. If in nay part the
verdict went in favour of partition, the province would be provisionally divided into Muslim
majority and Non-Muslim majority districts. A boundary commission would then demarcate the
boundaries of both parts.
 NWFP: there was a problem in NWFP because it was a Muslim majority province with
Congress ministry in power. The decision of joining India or Pakistan could not be entrusted to
the assembly because Hindus and Sikhs had 12 seats out fifty who were only representing 8% of
the total population of the province. Therefore, referendum was to be held to decide the accession
to India or Pakistan.
 Bengal: If partition is decided in Bengal, a similar referendum would be held in Muslim majority
districts to determine the wishes of the people.
 The Plan: Mountbatten’s Plan concluded that legislation would be introduced in the current
session of British parliament to decide the transfer of power either to one or two dominion. It
soon became known that 15th Aug, 1947 was the date of transfer of power.
 Both Congress and League accepted the Plan. The Muslim majority parts of India decided in
favour of Pakistan. By the end of June, the procedure for deciding on the unity or partition of
Bengal and Punjab had been worked out, in each case it had resulted in a verdict in favour of
partition. Referendum in NWFP decided in favour of Pakistan.
 Division Bengal and Punjab: in both provinces Muslims majority was 55 and 57% respectively
and should have joined Pakistan as whole but the Lahore Resolution had created vagueness which
led to the partition of the provinces. Mountbatten mentioned the phrase from The Lahore
Resolution to League leaders that says” areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority
as in north-western and eastern zones of India”
Indian Independence Bill:

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Within one month the Indian Independence Bill was drafted, referred to the Viceroy who discussed it with
Congress and League leaders. It was introduced in British parliament on 4July, 1947. On July 18th, the
Bill received Royal assent and on the day after the Indian Independence Act was passed. The legal birth
of the new dominions was marked by the splitting of the interim government in New Delhi into two
groups, representing the two successor government.
Indian Independence Act 1947:
The Indian Independence Act was passed by British Parliament in July 1947 and received Royal assent on
18th July 1947 that established two independent Dominions: Pakistan and India w.e.f 15th Aug, 1947. It
was enacted to give effect to the Mountbatten Plan of 3 June 1947. They were freed from British
sovereignty and the territory of India was divided among the two as per the majority of the population.
Major provisions of the Act are the following:
 New Dominions: Two Dominions were established Pakistan and India with their defined
territories. NWFP was to decide through a referendum on August 15th, 1947 whether to join
Pakistan or India. Some other princely states were also given choice for joining either of the
dominions.
 Governor General: the Act also provided that there shall be a Governor General to be appointed
by the British Majesty. As result Quid –Azam became first GG of Pakistan and Lord
Mountbatten of Indian dominion.
 Legislature: Till the dominions form their own constitution, the Act provided that the existing
separate constituent assemblies would act as the legislature of the dominions. The legislatures
were granted full autonomy of legislation for the concerned dominions. British acts would no
longer extend to the dominions.
 Temporary Provisions to the Government of each Dominion: Constituent assemblies of both
dominions were empowered to run the government under the India Act of 1935 with the required
amendments and to frame the new constitution for the dominions.
 Indian States and Tribal Areas: the sovereignty of British Crown over the princely states of
India lapsed with effect from 15th August, 1947. They were free to join either states. All
agreements and treaties of these states with British Crown also lapsed.
 Abolition of the Office of Secretary of State: the office of the secretary of state for India in
British Parliament was replaced with Secretary of Commonwealth relations for the dominions.
 British Monarch was no longer emperor of India.
 Armed forces were divided between the two dominions. British forces in India were not to from
part of the Indian forces on or after 15th August 1947.
 The Province of Bengal as constituted under the Act of 1935 ceased to exist and was replaced
with two provinces of East Bengal and West Bengal.
 The province of Punjab also ceased to exist as under the Act of 1935 and was replaced with West
Punjab and East Punjab.
 Apart from these, provisions were made for the division of armed forces, protection of the rights
and privileges of Civil Services.
Princely States:
 The Indian Independence Act terminated all treaties between British government and the Indian
states. Mountbatten in a conference on June 4, 1947 said that the Indian states had been
independent in treaty relation with the British and would assume an independent status and were
free to choose to join one Constituent Assembly or the other or make some other arrangements.

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 There were 562 states throughout British India. Pakistan was contiguous with only fourteen
which included the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The rest were geographically linked with Indian
Union.
 Congress was in favour of blending the state into either of the dominions while League wanted to
let the states free and they would decide for themselves.
 Conflict: there was a real conflict of interest over the two largest states: Kashmir and Hyderabad.
Kashmir contiguous to Pakistan had Muslim majority and a Hindu ruler. Hyderabad contiguous to
India had Hindu majority and Muslim ruler. India wanted to hold both the states. Kashmir was an
integral part of the Muslim concept of Pakistan while Hyderabad was ruled by Muslim dynasty
from the times of Mughal Empire.
 Mountbatten’s Diplomacy: Although VP Menon secretary to concerned depppartment, and
Sardar Patel the Minister in charge drew up an instrument of accession of defence, external affairs
and communication and Sardar Patel assured the Princes that their states would be autonomous
but for the three above. But the real credit for maneuvering them into signing the instrument of
accession goes to Mountbatten’s diplomacy. He addressed the Chamber of Princes on 25th July
1947 in his capacity as Crown representative and gave reception on 28th July. On both occasions
he advised, canvassed and persuaded the Princes to sign the instrument of accession in favour of
the dominion of India. In very disputed case of accession he threw his weight in favour of India.
He also played major role in occupation of Jammu and Kashmir by Indian Forces.

Objective Resolution
The first significant step toward the framing of constitution by the Constituent Assembly was taken in
March 1949 when it passed a resolution on the aims and objectives of the constitution which is popularly
known as the Objective Resolution.
It is important because it brought out the political philosophy of the government of Pakistan. It was
moved by Liaqat Ali Khan on March 7, 1949.
Major Features of the Objective Resolution:
 Sovereignty over the universe belongs to Allah and the authority granted to the people is a sacred
trust of Allah.
 State will exercise its powers through the chosen representatives.
 Principles of democracy, freedom, justice as enunciated by Islam shall be observed,
 Muslims shall be enabled to live life in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah.
 Provision for minorities to freely practice and profess religion, develop their culture in Pakistan
territories.
 Fundamental Rights: equality of status, of opportunity, and before law, social economic and
political justice, and freedom of expression shall be guaranteed.
 Safeguard of legitimate interests of minorities.
 Independence of judiciary.
 Integrity and sovereignty of state shall be safeguarded.
 People to attain prosperity and contribute towards international peace and progress.
Observations of Non-Muslims:
Prem Hari Barma and Sris Chandra Chattopadhyaya proposed that the Motion be circulated for eleciting
public opinion thereon by the 30 April, 1949 but Liaqat Ali khan opposed the motion which was put to
vote that very day, 7 March and defeated.

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Proposed Amendments of the Non-Muslims:

 Omission of the paragraph regarding the sovereignty of Allah over the entire universe.
 The words “the authority which He has delegated to the state of Pakistan” the state of Pakistan be
substituted with “People of Pakistan”.
 The paragraph beginning with the “Sovereignty over the entire universe… the words “within the
limits prescribed by Him”, be omitted.
 The word “Democratic should be inserted after independent in the phrase, “to frame constitution
for the sovereign independent state of Pakistan wherein the principle of the state is government of
the people, for the people and by the people.
 The phrase “the state shall exercise its powers and authority… be substituted with “wherein the
elected representatives of the people-in whom shall be centered and in whom shall belong
legislative as well as executive authority— shall exercise their powers through such persons as are
by law authorized to do so.
 In the sentence “principles of democracy as enunciated by Islam… ” the phrase” as enunciated by
Islam” shall be omitted or the words “as by other religions” may be inserted.
 In the sentence describing the principles of democracy enunciated by Islam, the phrase, “and not
inconsistent with the Charter of the Fundamental Human Rights of the UNO” be inserted.
 The sentence that says that “wherein the Muslims shall be enabled to live life… ” the word Non-
Muslims” may be added.
 Instead of “principles set by Quran and Sunnah” the phrase “and other religions” be added.
 Safeguard of rights of minorities and other depressed classes was also proposed.

Debate on Religious Minorities:

Birat Chandra Mandal’s speech”
 Nowhere in the world religious Ulema, Bishops or Pandit make the constitution on their religious
grounds. Constitutions are made on economic thinking of the political people. Jinnah said that
Pakistan will be a secular state. He had never said that the principles of the constitution shall be
based on Islam. Religion is individual’s private belief while state has no religion.
Bupendra Kumar Datta said:
 That you cripple reason, surb criticism, you become absolute in matter of religion.
Mian Muhammad Iftikharuddin said:
 We should base our constitution on real democratic principles.
Maulana Shabir Ahmad Usmani supported the Resolution:
 Islam is not a private affair having no bearing upon social or political relation of human beings.
Islam is a complete code of life.
Sardar Abdur Rab Khan Nishtar closest associate of Jinnah supported the Resolution and said:
 Our religion govern not only our relation with God, but also our activities in either sphere of life.
Divorce of religion from politics has never been envisaged by Jinnah.
Therefore all the amendments presented by the Non-Muslim representatives were rejected through voting
10 go 21 on March 12.
The main Resolution was place before the Constituent Assembly and was adopted.
Criticism of the Resolution:
 There was division on the Resolution along communal lines. Muslim representatives voted
against the amendments while the Non-Muslim voted for the amendments.

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 It saw the seeds of suspicion, alienation, and distrust among minorities against the majority.
 Some of the amendments were reasonable and should have been accepted.

International Relations Part

Post Cold War:
End of History, Clash of Civilizations
It is said, “Liberal democracy is the best form of government ever practiced”.
Why?
How?
Where has this notion come from?
Books –provoked controversy and debate.
 End of History and the Last Man. (1992)

 The Clash of Civilizations and The Remaking of The World Order. (1996)
“End of History”by Francis Fukuyama
Cold War –was a war between;
Capitalism VS Communism
Fukuyama claims,
“end of the cold war is not just an end of an era rather the end of history in itself”.
 End of History He asserts;
“The liberal democracy as a form of government has won over other ideologies/forms of governments
–in such a way that it is the only legitimate ideology left in the world”.
“The end point of mankind’s ideological evolution and promotion of democracy as the final form of
human thinking”.
 This intellectual triumph, which cannot be improved.
 Other ideologies, such as monarchy, fascism, Nazism, Socialism, and communism, proved
limited and could not stand against democracy.

The West is superior and it has won… permanently.

 He argues, liberal democracy is final truth, which cannot be perfected.
 Liberal democracy supports capitalism.
 End of history paved the way for globalization.
Fukuyama’s thesis cleared the ideological ground for the globalization to go uncontested.
Philosophical Basis of the Thesis
 Fukuyama borrowed this thought from the philosophy of Hegel, Marx, and Nietzsche.

Hegel’s Dialectic Process;

 “a process through which the contradiction between a dominant truth (thesis) and its opposite
(antithesis) are reconciled to produce a higher truth (synthesis)”.
 For FF, history is a dialectic process with a beginning, middle, and end.
 This process continues until ‘all flaws are addressed’.
(Think about your essay practice –refinement)

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Hegelian Dialectical Process

 History progresses by refining the contradictions in ideas.

 In 1806, Hegel made the claim that French revolution marked the end of history and end point is
liberal state.
 The Revolution brought democracy.
Practical Basis
 Since then, numerous ideologies came to oppose the basic principles of liberal democracy.
1. Fascism
2. Socialism
3. Communism
4. Nationalism
5. Ethnocentrism
6. Religious fundamentalism
 Yet none of these have been able to survive the historical process.
Thesis concludes;
 History has “ended” on the levels of ideas.
 There is no room for improving the principles of Liberal democracy nor for questioning it.
 All states will become democratic as final solution.
 FF suggests, conflict will continue between democracies and non-democracies.

Criticism
 Benjamin Barber, How a country’s (US) victory can be termed as end of history?world still has
conflicts, terrorism, power politics, and religious terrorism, and now Arab Spring.
 John Dunn “the worst sort of American undergraduate term-paper.”
 Fareed Zakaria, after 9/11, declared “surely the End of the End of History.”
Clash of Civilizations?A next Pattern of conflict

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Thesis …
 Fundamental source of conflict will not be ideological but cultural.
“The fault lines between the civilizations will be the battle lines of the future.”
 After 1648, the wars were fought between kings for territory.
 After French Revolution, wars changed from kings to between people.
 After Russian Revolution 1917, it turned into ideological wars, e.g. Fascism, Nazism,
communism, and democracy.
 These all conflicts were between Western civilization.
 After Cold War international politics moved out of West to other civilizations.
Why Civilizations will Clash?
 First;because all civilizations are different from others, in history, culture, tradition, and religion.
 Second;civilizational consciousness and awareness about others. US behaviour to Japan and
Canada… .based on history.
 Third;globalization weakened longstanding identities and nation state.
 Religion has arrived to fill this gap in its fundamentalist form, with young educated class to un-
secularize the world.
 Fourth: West is at the peak of power and rest is returning to their roots, e.g. “Asianization” in
Japan, “Hinduization” of India, “re-Islamization” of Middle East and “Russianization”.
 Previously elite of non-West was more western –Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, but now
indigenization and de-westernization is on the rise.
 Fifth;cultural characteristics are uncompromising than ideological and economic, e.g. Russian
cannot become Chechen.
 A person can be a half Asian half British but cannot be half catholic and half Muslim.
 Finally: economic regionalism is on the rise and it will further reinforce civilizational
consciousness. ASEAN, EU, GCC.
 People define their identity in ethnic and religious terms with “US”Vs. “Them”relation.
 They use US for fellow religious/ethnic people and Them for people of other religion or
ethnicity.
 West promotes democracy to maintain dominance and counter other civilizations.

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West versus the Rest:

 West powerful than others.
 West Faces no economic challenge … but now China.
 Financial and security issues are dealt by USA with France & UK… in UNSC & IMF.
 Western civilization has become universal civilization.
Thesis concludes;
 Political, economic, and security institutions will be with in civilization than across civilizations.
OIC. GCC, EU, NATO, ECO etc.
 Violent conflicts between groups and civilization will be frequent, 9/11, 7/7, Charlie Hebdo, Paris
Attacks.
 It will make “The West and the Rest”
 Central focus of conflict will be Chinese Islamic cooperation against the West.

Nationalism and Globalization

Nationalism:
 What is Hindu nationalism and Indian Nationalism?
 What is Pashtoon/Punjabi Nationalism and Pakistani Nationalism?
 What is ‘White’ Racism and American Nationalism?
 “Let us make America Great again”, Trump
Definition of Nation:
A large body of people united by common history, culture, language, and inhabiting a particular state or
territory.
Nationalism:
 Nationalism argues that the individual’s loyalty to the nation-state surpass other individual or
group loyalty.
 Devotion to the national interest, unity & independence.
 Nationalism promotes one’s own ideology against others.
Nationalism in the eyes of scholars:
 Arnold Toynbee, A negative force, and it will disappear and replaced by internationalism.
 Karl Marx, Nationalism a temporary phase and it would vanish.
 A. Einstein, Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.'
 Allama Iqbal, Muslims would gain freedom under western nation state –then they will move
towards a supranational community “Ummah”.
Waves of Nationalism:
 Wave –1: Began after French revolution stretched up to WWI.
 Wave –2: From the end of WWII ended up in 1970s and led to the decolonization of most of the
developing countries.
 Wave -3: Rise of ethno-national movements during 1970s till today. Mao, Mahajir, Kurd,
Tamil etc.
Nationalism as Ideology:
 As an ideology it is expressed through ethnicity.
 Ethnic Nationalism is characterized by common ancestry.
 It implies as stronger and perhaps more intense sense of distinctiveness.
Nationalism as Identity:

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 Nationalism helps to claim recognition and superiority.

 People express the identification with their state.
 It is based on shared national identity that has roots in culture, language.
Nationalism in Europe:
Carleton Hayes lists three causes;
1- Lack of Religion – Nationalism replaced religion.
2 - Socio-economic Changes;
I. Democracy
II. Urbanization, emergence of middle class with the interest to control the direction of the
govts.
3 –Encouragement by politicians.
I. Military, Pol Parties, revolutionary individuals.
Nationalism: Critical Analysis:
 Nationalism is often said to be a reactionary than a progressive ideology.
Why Reactionary?
 This is sometimes the result of societal change, with a desire to return to previous times.
(Germany, Italy, Russia under Putin, Turkey under Erdogan)
Roots of Nationalism:
 Nationalism is as old as human kind … Spartans Athenians, Persians, Arabism.
 After1648, French attacks gave rise to nationalism in Germany, Italy, Russia, and Spain.
18th century Nationalism:
 US & French revolutions brought liberal nationalism.
19 century Nationalism:
th

 During this era … Bismarck (1815-1898), of Germany became the flag bearer of German
Nationalism.
 He dominated European politics during (1860-1890).
20th century Nationalism:
 After WWI many nations were not happy with the borders … so they aspired to reshape the
territories by using Nationalism. (Germany, Italy) .
Salient Features of Nationalism:
 Self image,
 Right of self Determination
 Militarism
 Patriotism
 Racism
Merits of Nationalism:
 Promotes the emotions of independence.
 Promotes healthy competition.
 Gave charismatic leaders to the world - Syed Ahmed Khan, M Ali Johar, Atta Turk, Ghandi,
Nehru, Hitler, Tito, and Mussolini.
 Serves as very important psychological function.
 Acts as an expression of identity.
 It acts as a force standing against occupation.
Demerits of Nationalism:

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 Threat to others, it promotes national interest at the expense of others.

 Promotes racism, ethnocentrism, and hatred –that may lead to wars.
 Threat to the multi-ethnic societies –leads to separation.
 Promotes imperialism (expansionist nationalism)
 Infuses sense of superiority … . German race, and white race etc.
 Gives rise to the separatism … Sri Lanka, Bengalis, Tamils in India.
 Nationalism, even when it avoids military confrontation, may serve as an obstacle to cooperation
on international issues - be this trade, migration, the environment.
Methods of promoting Nationalism:
 Schools and Books,
 National anthems,
 Wars,
 History glorification,
 Propaganda,
 We can do it - self belief,
 ‘Avenge pearl harbour’ type publications.
 “Atoot-Ang”, “Shah Ragh phrases”.
Nationalism and IR:
 Provides legitimacy –in the name of national interest.
 Nationalism made Self-determination popular.
 Stimulant for re-drawing of the borders. (Germany)
 Nationalism has been a source of conflict, and war.

Muslims’ Nationalism in India

Introduction:
Nationalism is a sentiment, consciousness, a sympathy which binds a group of people together. It is the
desire of a group of individuals to live together and if necessary to die together.
Nationalism is:
 A sentiment when it is a love for soil, race or language.
 It is a myth when it is a mystical devotion to a vague social whole.
 It is a dogma when it is the belief that nationalism is an end in itself and individuals exclusively
live for the nation.
 It is a doctrine when a nation considers itself dominant or strives to achieve that status.
Binding Features of Nationalism:

 Common group feelings,

 The love for fellow nationals.
 Common hostility.
 Common territory possessed.
 Common sovereign government or the desire for it
 The existence of common moral, social or economic institutions.
 Possession of common cultural characteristics, such as language, customs, manners, literature, art,
music and folk-lore.
 Common religion

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 Common history or origin.

 Common character shared by the national group.
 Common pride in national achievements and common sorrow in national tragedies.
 Simple devotion to the nation (my country).
 The hope that the nation will one day be great.
Evolution of Nationalism:
Nationalism evolves out of four bases:
1. Emotional Basis: Oneness, love for fellow nationals and hostility to other groups.
2. Political and social apparatus: territory, sovereignty and social ideas.
3. Spiritual Equipment: culture, religion, history and character.
4. Sentiment of Nationalism: Pride in historical achievements in past, devotion to national cause in
present and hope for greatness in future.
Historical Factors of Muslims Nationalism in India:
 Muhammad Bin Qasim in 8th century opened the way for Muslims into India but it was not till the
end of the 12th century that Qutbuddin Aibak established the first proper Muslim empire in India
when he found the slave dynasty.
 After much ups and downs between Muslims and Hindu, Babar, a head of Chaghtai Turks,
crashing Ibrahim Lodhi the last representative of Delhi Sultanate in 1526 and then the Rajputs at
Khanua in 1527 found the so-called Mughal empire in India.
 India got peace, glory and fame during Mughal empire.
 Muslims’ culture flooded the Hindu land. Islamic form of architecture mingled with the Hindu
tradition. Persian became the language of court which later gave way to Urdu.
 Fall of India into British hands and maltreatment of Muslims in the hands of British and Hindus
after the War of Independence of 1857.
Aligarh Movement:
After losing the power, Muslim realized with the anguish of bitterness that they were nothing but a weak,
powerless, supine minority. This was the first casting of the seeds of nationalism, the first awakening to
the need of solidarity.
Two agents cause a political phenomenon: Circumstance and Personality. In case of India:
 Circumstance was Muslims miserable condition as a supine minority.
 Personality: Sir Syed Ahmad Khan who awakened Muslims from their slumber. His services can
be divided into three aspects:
1. To maintain Muslims’ loyalty to British.
2. To enable Muslims to compete with Hindus through modern education.
3. To keep Muslims aloof from politics
 Essay on the Causes of Indian Revolt 1858 which attributed the mutiny to British
ignorance of the Indian mind.
 The Loyal Muhammdans of India: he defended the Muslims against the British charge of
disloyalty.
 He preached loyalty to British in order to wipe off the stigma of Muslims instigation of
the mutiny. To make British realize that Muslims are not their enemies.
 He opposed the introduction of parliamentary institution that would make Muslim a
minority and also opposed the recruitment of Indians to public service by open
competition because Muslims were not in a position to compete Hindus and would

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remain deprived of high position in public services.

 He advocated a Muslim-British rapprochement for political and strategic reasons.
 His second slogan was “Devote yourself to education” that is your only salvation. Good
education was the only key to political and economic progress.
 In 1875, he established the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh with money
collected through mendicant tours, begging letters etc.
 When in 1885, Indian National Congress was founded, he strictly prohibited Muslims to
participate in political movements. He said that even if he heard that the Viceroy, the
Secretary of State and the whole House of Commons had declared for the Congress, he
would remain firmly opposed to it.
 He was termed anti-democratic, anti-nationalist and pro-imperialist.
 Aligarh movement counteracted the narratives of the half-educated Mulla by explaining
the fundamental principles of Islam.
 In 1867 the Urdu-Hindi controversy compelled him to introduce his two nation theory.
Hindus’ Hostile Behaviour towards Muslims:
 Division of Bengal and Hindus’ Opposition: On 16th October 1905 Lord Curzon implemented
partition of Bengal with the dividing line between the Hindu West and the Muslim East. Eastern
Bengal and Assam had a population of 31 million with 18 million Muslims and 12 Million
Hindus. West Bengal was left with 54 million population 42 Million Hindus and 9 million
Muslims. In 1908 Hindus’ agitation against the partition of Bengal made Muslims realize that
Hindus and Congress were as Anti-Muslims as they were Anti-British.
Establishment of All India Muslim League:
 Simla deputation on October 1, 1906 demanded separate electorates for Muslims which was
promised by the Viceroy in coming reforms.
 Establishment of All India Muslim League in December 1906 as a result of Sir Syed belief in
Muslim separateness, the Hindus’ character of the Indian National Congress, the agitation against
the partition of Bengal and Mulims’ desire to have their exclusive electorates.
 Annulment of the partition of Bengal in December 1911.
 Nehru Report abolished separate electorate for Muslims and recommended sovereign
system/Hindu Raj in August 1928 that united the split Muslim League oppose the Report in 1929
with the ripened Muslim nationalism.
 Allama Iqbal’s speech in the Al-Abad strengthened Muslim nationalism.
 Round Table Conferences: in first Round Table Conference in 1930-31 the Congress was
absent because it insisted that the conference must not discuss whether Indians should or should
not receive responsible self-government.
 2nd Round Table Conference: Gandhi refused to consider any compromise until the Muslims
accepted the Nehru Report in its totality while Muslims insisted on residual power with the
provinces, separate electorate, separation of Sindh from Bombay, full autonomy for NWFP,
reforms in Baluchistan, and special Muslim weight age in all political bodies.
 Chaudhry Rehmad Ali’s Booklet: In 1933 Rehmat Ali published his booklet “Now or Never”
where is used the word Pakistan for the first time.
 Indian Act of 1935: Muslims rejected it and declared it similar to Hindu Raj because a strong
center meant increase in Hindu strength. Muslim later accepted the Act on one condition that it
would safeguard their rights and would avoid Hindu Raj in case of British withdrawal.

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 Congress Ministries in 1937: Congress won mahority in 8 provinces in the provincial elections
of 1937 under the Act of 1935. Congress ministries were responsible to Congress rather than to
legislatures. Congress refused to share power with the Muslims. Congress even demanded to
abolish Muslim League and merge into Congress. All headmasters of schools were instructed to
order the students to worship Puja ke Jawe Gandhi’s portrait. Cow protection, theory of
Satyagraha and Bande Mataram. When Congress’s ministries resigned en bloc in Octobber 1939,
Jinnah called upon the people to observe a Deliverance Day on 22nd December to mark the end of
the tyranny and oppression.
Territorial Nationalism:
 Allam Iqbal’s famous speech in December 1930 in Al-Abad: “I would like to see the Punjab,
NWFP, Sindh and Balochistan amalgamated into a single state, self-government within the
British Empire or without the British Empire. The formation of a consolidated North-west Indian
Muslim state appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims at least of North West India.”
 Pakistan Resolution 1940: on 24 March 1940 Pakistan Resolution was approved that rejected
the 1935 Act. Here came the demand for a separate country for Muslims to blend areas where
Muslims were in majority should be grouped to constitute Independent states.
 With Pakistan Resolution Muslim nationalism had come to full maturity.
 Muslim nationalism came in 1942 when the British War Cabinet accepted in principle the Idea of
Pakistan in the Draft Declaration brought by Sir Stafford Cripps to India on 30th March 1942. It
contained a provision whereby any province could stay out of the proposed Indian Union with the
right of forming its own independent government.
 Failure of Cripps Mission and Gandhi’s movement of “Quit India” that was as anti-Muslim as it
was anti-British. Jinnah replaced the slogan with “Divide India and Quite”.
 In 1942-1944 Congress leadership was in prison and Muslim League built itself into a powerful
party. Majority of Muslims now associated themselves with Pakistan now.
 Jinnah-Gandhi Talk: Release of Gandhi in 1944 and negotiation with Muslim League. Jinnah-
Gandhi talk in Bombay in Sep, 1944 but failed because Gandhi wanted creation of Pakistan after
British withdrawal through open plebiscite in Muslim majority areas. With this meeting Jinnah
became the sole representative of Muslims and Muslims got confidence.
 Simla conference: In the Conference with Viceroy Lord Wavel fro formation of executive
council Jinnah demanded Muslim-Hindu parity and nomination of all Muslim councillors.
Congress accepted the demand of Hindu-Muslim parity that was a remarkable development that
envisaged the two Nation Theory.
 Later Jinnah demanded recognition of Pakistan because only parity between Muslims and Hindus
will still keep them minority and the idea of Pakistan would go into a cold storage.
 It was a race for succession of India after British withdrawal.
 General Elections 1945/46: League manifesto was: League is the sole representative of all
Muslims and creation of Pakistan is the only solution of the problem.
 Congress stood for united India and claimed representation of all India.
 League succeeded in almost all Muslims’ seats in center and provinces that resulted in division of
two nationalities in India.
 Cabinet Mission in March 1946 ruled out Pakistan.
 Hindu-Muslim communal riots broke out in Calcutta killing 4000, in Bihar killing 5000 and about
50000 homeless people became refuges in East Bengal.

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 In April and May 1947, Lord Mountbatten came to the conclusion that division was unavoidable
and the partition plan was made public on June 3, 1947.

Globalization
"A global era requires global engagement.“ Kofi Annan, 1999.
Definitions of globalization:
 Globalization— simply the widening, deepening, and speeding up of worldwide
interconnectedness.
 Globalization is the increasing interdependence, integration and interaction among people and
corporations in various location around the world.
 Although geography and distance still matter, but globalization is time-space compression.
Globalization by scholars:
 ‘The intensification of worldwide relations by linking distant localities in such a way that local
happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa.’ Giddens
 ‘The integration of the world-economy.’ Gilpin
 ‘De- territoriatization — or supra-territorial relations between people.’ Scholte
 ‘time-space compression.’ Harvey
Sceptical View of Globalization:
 The bulk of int. economic and political activity is concentrated within the group (OECD).
 Security competition, conflicts, and wars are still blazing.
Globalization is at best a self-serving myth which reinforces Western and particularly US hegemony in
world politics????
Engines of Globalization:
 Technological –communication & information revolutions.
 Economics - markets and capitalism.
 Political - Financial institutions, IMF WB MNCs.
Three Waves of Globalization:
 First, the age of discovery 1450-1850 European expansion and conquest.
 Second, 1850-1945 major expansion in the spread of European empires/colonization.
 Third, 1960 onward.
 From industrial revolution to the microchip/satellite are icons of a globalized world order.
Redundant concepts of globalization:
Internationalization
 This term refers to growing interdependence between countries.
 From this perspective, a more global world is one where more messages, ideas, merchandise,
investments, and people go cross borders.

Liberalization
 In this case, globalization denotes - removing barriers on movements of resources for creating an
‘open’ and ‘borderless’ world economy.
 This notion describes - globalization occurs as authorities reduce or abolish trade barriers,
foreign-exchange restrictions, capital controls, and visa requirements.

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Universalization
 Globalization is described as a process of spreading various products and experiences to people at
all inhabited parts of the earth. e, g. Technology transfer, Democracy promotion.
 On these lines, ‘global’ means ‘worldwide’ and ‘everywhere’.
 Universalization of everything, ideas, ideologies, and products.
Westernization
 Universalization of social structures of modernity capitalism, industrialism, rationalism,
urbanism, individualism, etc. are spread across the world.
 Globalization understood in this way is equal to colonization, Americanisation and
‘Westoxification’.
 These critics view globalization is a hegemonic tool, an ideology of supposed progress that
ensures subordination by the West of the rest.
Globalization at different levels:
 Various types of global connectivity across a variety of human activities.
 Economic
 Social
 Political
 Cultural
Economic Globalization
 Increasing economic interconnectivity.
 International division of labor… .?
 Rising volume of capital flows.
Capital remains concentrated among the wealthiest nations
 Economic interdependence is related to more peaceful relations.
Politics and Globalization
 States are less able to control social and economic events within their territory.
 Global/regional decision-making bodies (UN, EU, ASEAN, BRICs, etc.) are rising in importance.
 Non-state actors have gained power.

Technology and globalization

 Increases access to information, but…
Access is unevenly distributed (WikiLeaks, spying)
 Has made it easier to seek out like-minded voices and avoid opposing views. (human rights
activists + fb + twitter).
 Facilitated transportation and communication.
 Makes surveillance and control easier.
Cultural Globalization
 Increases exposure to foreign ideas & practices.
 Cultural exports are disproportionately from western countries to the rest of the world particularly
the U.S. (American Dream)
 Some ethnic and religious groups feel culturally threatened by globalization
 Has resulted in a sharp increase in reactionary “nationalist” and “fanatical” groups… … revolt
against modernity, says West.
Key Players of Globalization:

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 Multinational Corporations carrying out businesses across the globe.

 WTO, through which Int. trade agreements are negotiated and enforced
 World Bank and IMF that gives financial assistance emergency and long term developmental.
Effects of Globalization:
 A force of good - has potential for generating wealth and improving living standards.
 The benefits of trade, investment, and technological innovation are distributed.
 Increased standards of living, Access to new markets
 Decreased employment.
 According to int. trade union movement “things are getting worse for the majority of the
population”.
 Increased the gap between the rich and poor.
Globalization’s Impact on the Government:
Positive
 Increase economic development by expanding infrastructure.
 Transfer of modern management techniques
 Greater interdependence among business partners
Negative
 MNC’s power increases.
 Competition results in too many concessions.
 Privatization, pressure to reduce social benefits (subsidies).
 Undermines state authority.
Impacts on the labour:
Positive
 Increased job opportunities.
 Upgraded quality of education.
 Increased training.
Negative
 Job displacement Loss of industries
 Lowered labour standards
 Lowered wages because of competition
 Decreased union power diminished social contract
Sides of the Globalization:
Bright Side
 Countries do what they can do best.
 Globalization gives you larger market.
 Consumers also profit from globalization, cheaper products, new products in no time.
Dark Side
 Causes unemployment in industrialised countries.
 Environmental problems, deforestation, pollutions, global warming, climate change.
Manifestations of globalization :
Communications
 •Post
 •Telecommunications / Mass media
Culture

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 Involves a complex mix of homogeneity.

Travel
 Migration has become a major global issue.
 Pilgrims
 Tourism, Business travellers
 Schengen Visa, or visa free entry
Production
 Trans-world production chains.
 Global sourcing of inputs.
Markets
 Global products/Global marketing and sales strategies
Money
 Global currencies / Bank cards with access to global ATM networks.
 Global credit cards, Digital cash in electronic valets
Finance
 Foreign exchange markets.
 Banking (deposits, payments and loans).
 Securities markets / Insurance business.
Organizations
 Global commercial enterprises.
 Global governance agencies.
 Global civil society associations.
Military
 Intercontinental weapons
 Global campaigns
Ecology
 Global atmosphere - climate change, ozone depletion, radioactive fallout, acid rain.
Health
 Global communicable diseases.
 Global aspects of diet, drug use etc.
 Global campaigns of health improvement.
Law
 •Global rules and regulations –Int. Law
 •Trans-world networks of lawyers and police
 •ICJ
Consciousness
 •Conceptions of the planet as a single place
 •Global symbols
 •Global events
 •Trans-world solidarities
Globalization in everyday life:
 Internet
 Facebook
 Twitter

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 Email
 Skype
 Smart phones

Local Government System in Pakistan

Democratization:

Democratization has become a central concept introduced by the donor countries and
international financial institutions in the developing world in both reality and international donor
thinking, democratic decentralisation has also taken on increased importance.

Democratic Decentralization

Democratic decentralisation is defined as a strategy that brings service delivery closer to

consumers, improves the responsiveness of the central government to public demands, improves
the efficiency and quality of public services and empowers lower units to become more involved.
Most important decentralization is administrative and fiscal decentralization.

Types of LG:

 Local Government: Administration of local areas by appointed bureaucrats.

 Democratic Self-Government: the administration of local areas through the elected
representative which is the essential demand of democracy in modern state system.

Functions of LG:

 Planning, development and maintenance of roads, bridges, streetlights, drainage etc.

 Providing protection against stray animal and animal trespasses.
 Maintaining health facilities at local levels like hospitals, BHUs, Rural Health Centers,
Family Welfare Clinics.
 Ensuring cleanliness by collecting and deposing waste material, ensuring sanitation.
 Registration of birth, death, and marriages.
 Civil defense, slaughter houses, fire fighting services, water supply and drainage.
 Maintenance of parks, trees, gardens and forests.
 Facilitating education adult and primary.
 Organizing cultural exhibition, shows, fairs etc.

Sources of Income:

 Fee on birth, death, and marriage registration.

 Tax on immovable property.
 Tax on buildings and lands.

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 Advertisement, billboards.
 Cinema, theatre, and shows,
 Tax on vehicles and tolls on roads, bridges etc.
 Fees for granting license, permits, and other sanctions.
 Fees on parking, slaughter houses, fisheries.
 Grants from provincial or federal government.

Provision in Constitution:

Article 140-A, which was added to the constitution as part of the 18th Amendment essentially
lays out the generic principle of local government. It says, “Each province shall, by law,
establish a local government system and devolve political, administrative and financial
responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of the local governments”.

Local Governance System in Pakistan

Pakistan is a federal parliamentary state with a three-tier governance structure. It consists of the
central government (comprising of the national assembly and the Senate), provincial
governments, and local governments. A village comprising of approximately 404.68 hectares of
land is the basic unit of administration at the local level. A collection of villages forms a union
council. Similarly, a group of union councils creates a Tehsil (town) council, and collection of
Tehsils councils forms a district council.

Background:

Pakistan inherited the local government model established by the British colonial powers. In the
beginning Local government members were not elected, and in cases where elections were held,
they took place through limited franchise. The state was highly centralised and dominated by the
civil and military bureaucracy.

Local Governments during 1959-71 and 1977-88

The Basic Democratic Ordinance: the first extensive local government system was introduced
in 1958 when the military assumed power through the military coup of General Ayub Khan. The
Basic Democracies Ordinance 1959 established the new local governments. It came into effect
on 27th October 1959. According to Ayub, Western democracy could not prevail in Paksistan
because the country was not prepared for that yet. Therefore, we have to work out a plan based
on the realities of our own environment. Ayub Khan dissolved the higher-tier of elected
governments in 1959 and revived local governments as the only representative tier of the
government. The objective was to control the centre and cultivate pro-military leadership at the
local level.

Municipal Administration Ordinance: Later General Ayub introduced the Municipal

Administration Ordinance 1960, which comprised a hierarchical system of four linked tiers. The

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lowest tier was union councils consisting of elected members. The union council members
elected the chairman from amongst themselves (Batool 2014). The higher tiers of local
government had some members elected indirectly by these directly elected members and some
official members nominated by the government.

Nature of Basic Democracies:

 Pyramidal: BD was a pyramidal plan enabling the people to elect directly to local
councils men they knew who in turn would elect the upper tiers of the administration.
There were altogether 80000 Basic Democrats elected on the basis of adult franchise.
 It begins from below: the system would not be foisted upon the people from above;
instead it would work from below gradually going to the top.
 To elect Neighbor: the people would not have to go far from their neighborhood to elect
their representatives.
 Non-Party: the system would be free from party intrigues and political pressure.

Structure of Basic Democracies/Tiers of BD:

Under the BD system the following councils were constituted:

 A union Council for a number of contiguous villages in rural areas and a Town
Committee for each town. Union Council was the most important administrative unit of
BD covering a group of villages with total population of ten to fifteen thousand people. A
group of 1000 to 1500 people was represented by one member elected on the basis of
adult franchise.
 A Thana Council for each Thana (Sub-district) in East Pakistan and a Tehsil (Sub-
Division) Council in West Pakistan.
 District Council for district excluding urban areas.
 Municipal Committee for a city.
 Divisional Council for a civil division.
 Two provincial Development Advisory Councils for East and West Pakistan respectively.

Function of Lower Tier Union Councils:

 Promotion and development of cooperative movement, village industries, forests,

livestock, and fisheries.
 Adoption of measures for increasing food production.
 The provision and maintenance of wells, water-pumps, tanks and other works for the
supply of water.
 The provision of maintenance of public streets, relief for widows, orphans, the poor and
those in distress.
 The provision of first-aid centers and of libraries and reading rooms.
 Aid in the promotion of education and many other social and economic activities.

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2nd Tier of BD Thana or Tehsil Council:

 These bodies were to coordinate the activities of the Union Council and Town
Committees in their respective areas and provide a forum for the discussion of mutual
problems.

3rd Tier of BD District Council:

 The scope of this body was divided into two parts: function which it would have to
undertake compulsory and those which it might perform voluntarily.
 Functions include: maintenance of primary schools, libraries, reading rooms; the
adoption of measures for increased production of foods and for improved breeds of catle
and promotion of village aid, the cooperative movement and village industry. The
maintenance and improvement of roads, culverts and bridges.
 Optional or Volunteer Functions: education, social and economic welfare and public
works and health.

4th Tier the Divisional Council:

 Functions: its functions included the co-ordination of the work of local councils,
municipal bodies, cantonment boards and the formulation of development schemes of
importance to the Division. The review of progress and considerations of problems.

5th and last Tier, Development Advisory Council for East and West Pakistan:

 These two bodies ceased to function with the introduction of the 1962 constitution when
provincial legislatures elected by the people through Basic Democracies came into
existence.

The most controversial aspect of Basic Democracies included in 1962 constitution was that the
lowest tiers, the union councilors were designated as the Electoral College and were empowered
to elect the president and members of provincial and central assemblies.

Overall, following colonial legacy, local governments were controlled by the bureaucracy.
Deputy Commissioners and Commissioners chief bureaucrats at the district and the division level
respectively had the power to annul any proceedings or decisions taken by the local councils.

Structure of People’s Local Government System of Bhutto.

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Local
G overnm
ent
Rural Areas U rban Areas

D istrict M unicipal
Council Corporation

H alqa M unicipal
Committees
Council

Town
D ehi Council
CO mmittees

LG in Bhutto era provided representation to minorities, peasants, women, and workers in local
councils.

Zia Local Government System:

After a short democratic term under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (1972-77), the military once again got
control of state power through General Zia-ul-Haq’s military coup in 1977and ousted the
government of late Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (the founding father of Pakistan Peoples
Party). Local governments were revived and reformed, and the Local Government Ordinance
1979 was enacted that remained operational until 2000 in Pakistan. Local governments were
introduced in the absence of national or provincial governments under the direct control of the
military. Local government elections were held on a non-party basis in all provinces in Pakistan.

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Local
G overnm
ent
Rural Areas U rban Areas

M unicipal
D istrict Corporation
Council wards

M unicipal
H alqa Committees
Council wards

Town
D ehi Council CO mmittees
wards

General Musharraf’s Local Government System

General Musharraf’s introduced a new local government system, through Local Government
Ordinance (LGO) 2001. Previously the powers of the local governments were somewhat limited,
and most of the functions were carried out by provincial line departments (a de-concentrated
bureaucratic tier that did not report directly to the provincial elected representatives).

The major distinction of the Local Government Ordinance (LGO) 2001 compared to previous
ordinances was that it overcame the urban-rural divide and established the local government at
three levels: Union Council, Tehsil Council, and District Council. The Union was the core unit
and the Union Nazims (mayor), and Naib Nazims (deputy mayor) were directly elected by the
voters and became members of the District and Tehsil Councils, respectively (Batool 2014). The
LGO removed the previously existing hierarchical relationship between the local and provincial
governments.

This new system of Local Government was installed on August 14, 2001, after holding of
elections. Direct elections on non-party basis were held in five phases for members of Union
Councils, Union Nazims, and Naib Union Nazims during 2000 thru to 2001. On the basis of
these direct elections, indirect elections were held in July-August 2001 for Zila Nazims and Naib
Zila Nazims and also for Tehsil-Town Nazims and Naib Nazims. In order to attract people
towards electoral politics, the minimum age for local government elections was lowered from 21
to 18 years. One-third seats were reserved for women.

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Structure of the LG in Musharaf Era:

The new System provided a three-tier Local Government structure:

 The District Government

 The Tehsil Government
 The Union Administration
The District Government
The District Government consisted of the Zila Nazim and District Administration. The District
Administration consisted of district offices including sub-offices at Tehsil level, who were to be
responsible to the District Nazim assisted by the District Coordination Officer. The District
Coordination Officer was appointed by the Provincial Government and was the coordinating
head of the District Administration. The Zila Nazim was accountable to the people through the
elected members of the Zila Council. A Zila Council consisted of all Union Nazims in the
District, which consisted of members elected on the reserved seats. These seats were reserved for
women, peasants, workers, and minority community. The Zila Council had its Secretariat under
the Naib Zila Nazim and had a separate budget allocation. Adequate checks and balances were
introduced in the System.
The new System also efficiently addressed the specific needs and problems of large cities. The
District Government was responsible to the people and the Provincial Government for
improvement of governance and delivery of services.

Tehsil Administration

The middle tier, the Tehsil, had Tehsil Municipal Administration headed by the Tehsil Nazim.
Tehsil Municipal Administration consisted of a Tehsil Nazim, Tehsil Municipal Officer, Tehsil
Officers, Chief Officers and other officials of the Local Council Service and officials of the
offices entrusted to the Tehsil Municipal Administration. The Tehsil Municipal Administration
was entrusted with the functions of administration, finances, and management of the offices of
Local Government and Rural Development, and numerous other subjects at the regional,
Divisional, District, Tehsil and lower levels.
Union Administration

The lowest tier, the Union Administration was a corporate body covering the rural as well as
urban areas across the whole District. It consisted of Union Nazim, Naib Union Nazim and three
Union Secretaries and other auxiliary staff.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

The Union Nazim was the head of the Union Administration and the Naib Union Nazim acted as
deputy to the Union Nazim during his temporary absence. The Union Secretaries coordinated
and facilitated in community development, functioning of the Union Committees and delivery of
municipal services under the supervision of Union Nazim.

Financial Support to LG:

The Government allocated Rupees 32 billion to the Local Government in 2002. The funds were
deposited in the account of the District Government. The District Government further distributed
these funds to Tehsil and Unions. In addition to the fiscal transfers from the Province, the Local
Governments were authorized to generate money from their own sources by levying certain
taxes, fees, user charges, etc.

For the first time, Musharraf also introduced the Provincial Finance Commission to provide an
institutional framework to allocate resources between provinces and local governments.
Previously only National finance commission existed to provide an institutional framework for
resource allocation between federal government and provinces.

Features of Musharaf LG:

The main purpose of introducing the Local Government System was to empower the people at
the grassroots level and to transfer power from the elite to the masses. This system of grassroots
democracy envisaged yielding new political leaders. Unlike previous local government systems,
Musharraf devolved administrative, financial and development powers to the elected officials in
the local councils and all the government departments became accountable to the District
Council. The devolution abandoned the Deputy Commissioners’ rule, and their successors in
office, the District Coordination Officers (DCOs), were subordinated to the District Nazims
legally and administratively.

Another distinctive feature of the LGOs 2001 was that it allocated 33 per cent reserved seats for
women.

The LGO 2001 also introduced District Monitoring Committees to monitor the work of
government departments, Citizens Community Boards to empower citizens to participate in
designing and overseeing development projects, and Citizen Police Liaison Committees for
promoting the rule of law and protection of civil rights

Musharraf also followed the legacy of previous military regimes and conducted local
government elections on the non-party basis,

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

Limitations of Mushaaraf’s LG:

Though Musharraf gave a short-term constitutional status to the local government up till 2009
through a Presidential Order (i.e., up till 2009 no government could dissolve local governments
formed by Musharraf); the local governments were still not given a constitutional status
permanently. Local governments suffer from the fact that their existence is not constitutionally
ordained and they are a mere extension of the provincial government. In the Constitution, the
allocations of the functions of the federal and provincial governments are clearly specified
whereas the existence of local government is not formally embodied in the Constitution.
Moreover, financial, technical, and bureaucratic constraints plus limited revenue (merely 5 per
cent of revenue generated by the government) cause the poor and almost non-existent local
government for most of the time.

Also, though unlike previous military regimes, much fiscal decentralisation was carried out, the
planning of the budget remained in the hands of the bureaucracy. The District Coordination
Officers (DCOs) and other bureaucrats appointed by the provincial governments prepared the
budget proposals, and the district Nazim could propose the prepared budget to the council for
approval.

End of LG under Musharaf:

This system operated till 2004, when Musharraf held provincial and national assembly elections.
The elections brought to power the provincial and national level elites, who were (feudally)
arrayed against the local body notables previously elected under the Devolution Plan. Instead of
remaining committed to the local bodies formed by him, Gen. Musharraf in a sense abandoned
them. The local bodies were sacrificed to the provincial and national elites elected in the 2002
general elections; obviously Gen Musharraf like other Pakistani military rulers before him, used
LG Reforms for political bene t so as to remain in power rather than assist the development of
the country.

2013 Local Government System:

In accordance with the 18th amendment, the Balochistan provincial government passed in 2010
and all the other three provinces in 2013 passed their respective Local Government Acts. One
striking feature of all the provincial Acts is that none of them devolved sufficient functions and
powers to the LG and all the provincial governments retained the authority to suspend and
remove the heads of the elected LG. further, the funds of the LG were to be managed by the
Finance department and finance minister of the province.

Structure of the LG:

 All Acts provided for LG election on party basis.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan had union councils and district councils in rural areas and
union councils/committees and municipal committees in urban areas.

Terms, Election Process and Limitation of LG under 2013 Acts:

 Punjab provided for five years term, Sindh and Balochistan for four years and KP for
three years.
 Punjab provided for direct election of chairman and vice-chairman of the union councils.
Sindh envisaged for indirect election for chairman and vice-chairman or union council
from a panel of nine councilors elected to the general and reserved seats. In both Sindh
and Punjab the heads of the District councils would be chosen indirectly through an
electoral college comprised of all members of the respective council.

KP LG Act 2013:

Local Bodies in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

There are three tiers of local government in Urban Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The Neighborhood
Council is the lowest tier in urban areas, the Town Council is the second and the City District
Council Peshawar is the highest. In rural KPK, local bodies are divided into the same three tiers
with different names. The lowest tier is the Village Council, then the Tehsil Council, and the
highest tier is the District Council.

 The KP LG Act provided for Tehsil council and village council in rural areas and
neighbour councils in urban areas.
 KP provides for direct election to all general and reserved seats in the village and
neighbour councils.
 In KP the reserved seats for women, peasants, youth and minorities would be filled
through proportional representation by political parties on the basis of the number of
seats won.
DISTRICT GOVERNMENT:
 Composition of District Government.---(1) In every district, there shall be a district
government which shall consist of a district council and district administration made up
of the devolved offices.
 Executive Authority of district government shall vest in Nazim, district council and
he/she shall be responsible to ensure that the business of the district government is carried
out in accordance with this Act and other laws for the time being in force.
 The district government shall be responsible to the people and the Government for
improvement of governance and delivery of services within the ambit of authority
devolved to it.
 Functions and Powers of the Nazim, District Council: To provide Guidance, vision
and direction for district wide development functioning. Ensure implantation of devolved
functions. To oversee formulation and execution of development plan. Cal for quarterly
reports from government departments. Inspect tehsil municipal administration, village
councils and neighbour councils.
Authority and responsibility of District Government.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

---(1) The authority of district government shall comprise the operation, management and control
of offices of the departments which are devolved to it; provided that district government shall
exercise such authority in accordance with general policy of Government.

Personal responsibility of Nazim, District Council.---

Nazim District Council, shall be personally responsible for any loss flowing from decisions made
by him personally or under his directions in violation of this Act or any other law for the time
being in force and for any expenditure incurred without lawful authority.
16. Disciplinary powers of the Nazim, District Council.---Nazim District
Council shall have powers to take disciplinary action against functionaries in district government
under efficiency and disciplinary rules prescribed in this regard.
Clear Function of all Local Bodies:
• The powers of various entities under LG like the District Councils, City Municipal
administration, Tehsil Municipal administration, Neighborhood Councils and Village Councils
have been clearly laid down to prevent ambiguity and will assist in the ef cient performance of
LG and delivery of public services.
•Chapter II to VII of the LG Act 2013 lays down the powers of all the Local Bodies at different
levels.
Devolution of Departments to LG from Provincial Government:

it shifts many of the departmental services to the district. They are listed in the First Schedule of
the Act. It takes away 23 departmental responsibilities from the provincial executive, and places
them with the respective district councils. They include, amongst other:

 Primary and secondary education and vocational education

 Basic and rural health and child and mother care
 Hospitals other than district hospitals since the latter are associated with medical colleges
which is a provincial matter
 Agriculture
 Rural development communication and works
Mechanism for Controlling LB:
 LG remain under the control of the provincial government. This is achieved by the
creation of a powerful Local Government Commission
 It is composed of 7 members; 5 of them, i.e the majority, are members of the provincial
legislature; only one member represents the LBs while 2 are civil society experts/
technocrats.
 The LB Commission is a powerful oversight body and could initiate inspections/enquiries
on the direction of the Chief Minister, by itself or on a reference made by a Nazim. This body
has been provided the powers of a court to conduct its proceedings and to ensure compliance.
 57 (2) of the LG Act 2013 allows the government to provide guidelines and advice to
Nazim District Council for achieving goals of policy and for promoting economic, social
and environmental security of the province.
 S. 58 permits the Chief Minister or an officer specially authorized by him to issue
directives to a Nazim and if he fails to implement them then authorizes the Chief
Secretary to take such action as the situation may require.
 Under S. 59 the Chief Minister is empowered to remove a Nazim from office for non-
compliance of the executive instructions of the government.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 Under S. 60, the Chief Minister can suspend the order of the head of a local body, if it is
not in conformity with the law or is against public interest or he may refer the matter to
the Local Government Commission for inquiry and after getting its recommendation,
quash the order of the local council.
 In the same manner, the Nazim tehsil council will monitor and improve the level of
services provided to the people.22 If the Chief Minister is dissatisfied, he can refer the
matter to the Local Government Commission for enquiry and action against the
defaulting Nazim, (S. 61).


Financial Provision in KP LG Act 2013:

One of the criticism against the previous 2001 LG Ordinance was the paucity of development
funds available for the LG bodies. The total funds provided for development were about Rs. 800
million. These had to cater for the budgets of 26 districts, 55 Tehsil Municipal Administrations,
and 987 union Councils. When the available funds were sub-divided none except Peshawar
received Rs. 100 million or more. This resulted in an absurdly low level of development and
sparse provision for new infrastructure in the health and education sectors. Most of the demands
thus remained unful lled and caused criticism of the incumbent governments; further loosening
the bonds between the citizens and the state.19
•This issue has been addressed to an extent under the LGA 2013, it stipulates in S. 53 (a) that the
share of the LG bodies from the provincial development budget shall be 30% of the total. It
would mean a transfer of at least Rs 50 billion in 2014- 15 from the province’s development
budget, which is a huge improvement over the past.

Challenges to LG Act 2013:

Existence of DDAC: there is patronage invol ved for the MPA which they exercise through the
institution of the District Devel
opment Advisory Committee (DDAC). This is a l egally instituted
committee (under the DDAC Act 1989),and al lmembers of a district el
ected to the provincial
assembl y are its members. They receive enormous amount of budgetary allocations.23 Despite
the creation of l ocalgovernment structures,DDACs have continued to function whil e there is
LG. It is chiefl y due to the weakness of provincialgovernment against this very powerful
legislator’sl obby that the DDACs exist.

Giving Budgetary Power to Deputy Commissioner: Under the new set of practices
introduced by the government,wide LGA 2013,the Deputy Commissioner who may bel ong
either to the federalor provincialel ite civilservice is being designated as the principalpl anning
officer for al
lplanning and devel opment initiatives. Devel opment funds in a district wil
lbe kept in
a SpecialDesignated Account (SDA)and this account wil lbe managed by the DC. Under the
draft Rul es of Business,that are being examined presentl y,the Deputy Commissioner wil lalso
be the principalaccounting officer rather than the secretary of the district councilthat wil llikely
remain the responsibil ity of the additionaldirector localgovernment.

Causes of Failure of Local Government System in Pakistan:

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

 Lack of constitutional protection put local governments vulnerable to the whims of other
tiers of government to suspend local government heads, make changes at their will or
abandon them altogether in the long run.
 the colonial policy of the urban-rural divide. Ayub khan increased the share of
development funding for rural areas compared to the past because he was relying on
significant political support in these regions
 The system of non-party elections for local governments introduced by Ayub Khan and
Zia-ul-Haq had a long-lasting impact on Pakistani politics. The candidates could not
mobilise people on party bases and consequently relied on their clans and castes to
support them in local government elections. Consequently, local government elections
led to politics based on clan and caste loyalties and significantly segregated population on
clan and caste lines.
 LG used for Legitimizing Military Rule: During military rule, when initially the
legislatures stand abolished, a partnership is created between the military and the (LG)
elite to gain grass-root legitimacy by the former. After a while, facing potential political
anonymity, the upper level elites accept military rule. This causes a shift in the military’s
support of LG when the higher level political elite begins to join the bandwagon of a
military ruler; be it Gen. Ayub Khan (1958- 68), Gen Zia (1977-88) or Gen Musharraf
(1999-2008). Later the upper level political elite creates internal contradictions and
provocations that leads to, 1) subordination of local government and devolution, 2) rise in
influence of assembly members and finally this tension develops into a political crisis
which ends with the exit of the military dictator. Normally fresh elections follow and the
cycle is repeated again. In all this, the elites are giving priority to personal enrichment.
The democratically elected governments that came into power as a result of general
elections in 2008, set aside Gen Musharraf’s reforms on 20th Feb, 2010, and reversed the
Devolution Plan reverting to the previous LG system prior to the reforms of Gen.
Musharraf.11
 LG, a Colonial Legacy: Pakistan inherited its legal framework and practices governing
(LG) from the British. The latter being a colonial power was more interested in
maintaining control rather than being overly concerned with community satisfaction or
democratization of communities. They encouraged LG in urban areas so that the residents
could share the cost of services. However, development, the budget and provision of
services were kept under state control. After Independence in 1947, this state of affairs
underwent some change however, unlike India that went full speed ahead with
developing local government, Pakistan on the other hand witnessed the government’s
wish to focus more on control rather than encourage the growth of LG for reasons
mentioned earlier.
 Center-Provincial Tussle: There remained a struggle between center and provinces
since British colonial era. The same cause communal riots during colonial era, the same
remained after independence and cause separation of East Pakistan, the same is causing

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discontent in Baluchistan and KP. 18th amendment was a good step at decentralizing the
power and reducing federal interference in provincial matter through concurrent list.
Provinces got autonomy from federal through 18th amendment but are reluctant to
devolve power to Local Representatives themselves.

Punjab Local Government Act 2019

Governor Chaudhry Sarwar on Saturday May 5th, 2019 signed the Punjab Local Government Bill 2019
following approval with a majority vote in the Punjab Assembly early this week.

It would be a five-tier local government system, which will include

a city district government, followed by a district council
government, a tehsil and town administration and lastly, a village
and neighbourhood council.

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Ahmad Khan from Malakand (MA Political Science Gold Medalist)

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