Features of the Constitutional Government

The Contitutional government is also known as limited government, the government exercise power enshrined to them by the constitution and the government’s actions or powers are limited by the constitution. For example, Malaysia, United States of America and United Kingdom are constitutional governments.

The four features of a constitutional government are:

(i)   1. The Constitution – as the government run according to the provisions and principles of the constitution, the powers and actions of government are limited. But at the same time, the constitution ensure the individual rights and liberties of the people are well protected. The constitution can only be amending according to certain established procedures, the government can not amend the Constitution easily, and only the Legislature has the authority to amend the Constitution to ensure the fair rules of law in the country are well protected. Any action by the government that is not parallel to the provision of the Constitution is considered illegal and invalid.

(ii2.  Exist of the system of check and balance among the three branches of the government, as the powers and roles of each branch are well separated and enshrined in the constitution, they should practice their power abide by the constitution, at the same time scrutinize the other branches’ decisions or actions. The powers to govern the country are shared between these three branches of government. This will ensure the balance of the government machinery and avoid conflicts and disputes among the branches, also limits absolute power to make tyranny and dictatorship of either branches of government impossible. 

(iii3. Practice of popular sovereignty in the country as the government is formed by election and with the consent of the electoral, and the government are governed by the provisions of the constitution or the rule of law. The representatives are either elected or appointed to represent the people in the country. The Constitution enshrines the rights of the individual in relation to the government, ensure the rights and liberties of the people are well protected and not abused by the government; the people also have the rights to vote for their preferred representatives to represent them in the government.

(iv4.  Equality before the law as the rulers as well as the citizens are subject to the same law and the constitution, the citizen can challenge the government’s action in an independent court when the citizen found the government has abused its authority. According to the Constitution, the law and the judges must treat everyone in the country with the same laws, rule s and regulations, regardless of their gender, social class, ethnic religion and etc.