Constitutional institution

A constitutional institution, constitutional body or constitutional organ is a government institution created by a constitution. As these institutions derives its powers, duties and responsibilities directly from the constitution, which is harder to be amended by legislature compared to sub-constitutional laws, their status is rather more stable and independent than institutions created by sub-constitutional laws.

Role of the constitutional institutions inside government reflects each constitution's national context and identity. For example, according to the German constitution, only five institutions are regarded as constitutional institutions (German: Verfassungorgane) in German federal government, reflecting classic structure for separation of powers; 'Bundesrat' and 'Bundestag' of German legislature, President and Cabinet of German executive, and Federal Constitutional Court of German judiciary.[1]

However, modern constitution such as South African constitution creates various government institutions directly by itself, which has similar role as independent agency in classic government structure. This so called 'Chapter nine institutions' of South Africa are explained as constitutional attempt to guarantee accountability of government, yet there are also worries as these new 'constitutionally independent' agencies can create tensions inside separation of powers between traditional branches and institutions of South African government.[2] These modern independent agencies created directly by constitution sometimes fails to achieve its expected role, as their level of institutional independence varies according to specific political situations.[3]

Examples of constitutional institutions

See also

Notes and References
  1. While judicial administration matters of other Federal courts are overseen by Ministry of Justice, only Federal Constitutional Court enjoys institutional autonomy and independence from other constitutional institutions in German government. See "Quint, Peter E. "Leading a Constitutional Court: Perspectives from the Federal Republic of Germany." University of Pennsylvania Law Review, vol. 154, no. 6, 2006, pp. 1867–69".
  2. "Klug, Heinz. "Accountability and the Role of Independent Constitutional Institutions in South Africa's Post-Apartheid Constitutions." New York Law School Law Review, vol. 60, no. 1, 2015-2016, pp. 154-155, 161-163".
  3. For example, Election Commission of Malaysia is often criticized for failure to achieve independent and neutral role as constitutional institution. See "Shah, Dian A H. "The Malaysian Election Commission: Navigating Electoral Authoritarianism and Political Change." Asian Journal of Comparative Law, vol. 16, no. S1, 2021, pp. S116".


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