“A government of laws, not of men”

how the U.S. Constitution provides for “a government of laws.”

The idea behind this statement is to ensure that the American ideal of individual freedom will be better ensured and protected by the rule of law than by the rule of men. As such the US Constitution, at the basis of the US legislative system should ensure that lows governed the people and not any men, being a providential leader or an assembly or some part of the social corpus. We can retrieve the same willingness in protecting citizens by legal guarantees and legal limitations of powers, in the check and balance system and the separation of powers, as well as the specific role of the Supreme Court, that I will developed in the second section. The choice of the US founders was to ensure this prevalence of the individual and inalienable rights of the citizens, reflected in laws that put those rights above the powers of any rulers and any form of government. This hierarchy shaped the structure and social rules of the American society, different from previous forms of republics and democracies where the relations where defined by men and institutions of power and not by laws.

which feature of the Constitution is most important in providing for “a government of laws.”

In our view the role and powers of Supreme Court within the judicial branch is the highest feature that institutes a government of laws; the role and power of the Supreme Court and the judicial branch of the federal government is briefly described in Article III of the Constitution, but it is in practice along the years, by its judgments and statements that the Court has enforced its role . The Supreme Court has two fundamental roles: to interpret all congressional enactments brought before it in proper cases and to examine federal and state laws and executive actions to determine their conformity to the U.S. Constitution. The greatest achievement in the system is these decisions, being against or in favour of the local laws, are not confined to the specific cases, but are intended to guide legislators and executive powers; shaping the interpretation and development of the US legal corpus and legislative framework. This, among other sources, flowered the American Constitution and the parliamentary democracy that we enjoy today. Meanwhile the Supreme Court, as all parts of the institutional architecture of check and balances, has many constitutional limitations on its powers, this to ensure no interference with the two other branches that could involve it in political disputes and weaken its role of supreme ruler , and to ensure we live under a government of laws and not a government of judges. We could note that along the years, and aside of the constitutional built-in limitation features, a self-imposed restriction prevails with rare exceptions. As the final arbiter of the US Constitution, the Supreme Court is charged to ensure the American people benefit from equal justice under law and acts as both guardian and interpreter of the Constitution. As such the Supreme Court only judge on major constitutional matters and issues, those ones that could shape and influence on a long term the framework of US laws, and to the safety and wellness of the US citizens.

On the American Constitution

Partager cet article