La tapisserie de Bayeux

In the [Bayeux] system, the President of the Republic... ... would be... the effective head ofgovernment and administration, while the President of the Council would, on the other hand, bereduced to the role of a proxy holder, a trusted man, a spokesman vis- -vis Parliament... I would addthat, for a Chief Executive thus conceived, the expansion of the Electoral College would not beenough. Since all sovereignty necessarily emanates from the people, it would be necessary to go downto the source of sovereignty, i.e. to posit the election of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage...This is the logical conclusion of the system; this would also be the only way to establi

Constitutionalism

- Definition : Practice and method whereby limits on governmental powers are established and maintained

Limit of governmental powers in modern states (public vs. private spheres)

-How : By laying out the most important norms, listing the rights and duties of rulers/governed

- Constitutionalism rests on a dichotomy between public/private spheres which permitted liberal democracies to flourish

- Individuals’ private spheres are shielded from governmental interference. Breaches can be redressed through legal mechanisms.

- Constraining political powers requires :

-positing that rulers exercise governmental powers in the name of the common good and (US Declaration preamble)

- Devising normal mechanisms to circumscribe powers within legal bounds (judicial review to prevent a branch from overreaching and striking down unconstitutional laws).

- Constitutionalism rests on 2 core legal tenets :

- 1. Constitutional law can only be created by norms adopted under more stringent formal requirements than ordinary laws

- 2. Constitutional law translates important political and moral norms into legal ones.

- Origins : Ancient, medieval law knew of no such dichotomy (public=/private spheres) Benjamin Constant

- Constitutionalism originates in the wake of the US, Fr Rev

→ Need to fix in a written document the most important rules in order to determine the rights/duties of the rulers and the governed

-Modern Constitutionalism posits the need for judicial review of statues

- Authritarian regimes limits that dichotomy

- Totalitarian one negate it altogether (H. Arendt, R.Aron)

5 core features of totalitarian politics

1. Emerges in monopolistic-party regimes

2. Abides by an ideology, undisputed and becomes State’s official truth

3. State has monopoly in the use of force and means of persuasion (media)

4. Businesses and professions are subjugated to the State and tainted by the official truth

5. Everything becomes State action, which justifies repressing

R.Aron

Liberalism : “Doctrine that first emerged in 2nd half of 17th argued for limitation of the powers of the gov through law and ultimately constit, creating institutions protecting the rights of individuals living under their jurisdiction → Fukuyama

→ Constitutionalism helps maintain a liberal democracy by upholding the public/private dichotomy through Constitutional review of Statues where needed. Constitutionalism and Liberalism go hand-in-hand. Constitution doesn’t grant untrammeled power to democratic majorities.

Rule of law :

Origins : Concept of Rechtsstaat that emerged in the 2nd half of the 19th → Constit courts emerged

Human rights secured in International treaties (ECHR, ICCPR) and gradually enforced by national and or International Courts

Definition ; The gov itself is bound by the law, arbitrariness is discarded > legal system in which the people have knowledge of when/how coercive government powers are exercised

Applications : Norms must be precise, provide for legal

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