Constitutionalism

Consitutionalism is a non-quadrant ideology that can be defined either as a political system based on the constitution and constitutional methods of governance or as the mechanism of state power limited by the constitution.

According to Gerhard Casper: "Constitutionalism has both descriptive and prescriptive connotations. Used descriptively, it refers chiefly to the historical struggle for constitutional recognition of the people's right to 'consent' and certain other rights, freedoms, and privileges. Used prescriptively, its meaning incorporates those features of government seen as the essential elements of the... Constitution".

History
Constitutionalism has its origins in the ancient Greek constitutions of centuries before our era, which are known only from the works of Aristotle. During the period of the Principate, together with the acts of the Roman Senate, imperial prescriptions of various kinds appeared, which were called constitutions (constitutio ediktum, mandatum, decretum, rescriptum). Their content and place in the development of the legal system of Rome is of interest primarily as a stepping stone into the etymology of the concept.

Relationships
WIP

Further Information

 * Constitutionalism
 * Magna Carta