The Constitution Is: Definition, Function, Purpose, Type, Scope and History

The Constitution Is: Definition, Function, Purpose, Type, Scope and History – What is meant by a constitution? On this occasion About the knowledge.co.id will discuss whether it is the constitution and the things that surround it. Let's look at the discussion together in the article below to better understand it.

The Constitution Is: Definition, Function, Purpose, Type, Scope and History

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A country or government must have a constitution or constitution, one of which is the place where the country stands firmly. Because without a constitution a country has no guidelines.

In the constitutional system of the Republic of Indonesia, the constitution is defined as the Constitution. The Constitution can be interpreted as the basic regulations and which contain the main provisions and become a source of legislation.

The constitution is the entire set of rules, both written and unwritten, that regulate in a binding manner the way a government is organized in a state society. The constitution is a norm pattern of politics and laws formed in the government of the State are usually codified as written documents. This law does not regulate detailed situations, but only lays out the principles that form the basis for other regulations.

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Definition of the Constitution According to Experts

Following are some definitions of constitution according to experts, including the following:

Elizabeth. C. Wade

The constitution is a text that describes the framework and main tasks of a government agency in a country and determines the guiding principles for the body's work.

KC. Wheare

The constitution is the entire state administration system in a remote area in the form of a collection of styles that form and manage the state government

Herman heller

Herman Heller, the constitution has a greater meaning than the Basic Law. The constitution is not only juridical though also sociological and political.

Herman Heller divides the constitution into three senses, namely:

• A sociological political constitution, namely a constitution that reflects the political life of the population.
• The constitution is juristic, that is, the constitution is a unitary rule that lives in society.
• Constitutions that are political in nature, namely constitutions written in one of the texts as laws.

VOIR. strong

According to CF. Solid, the constitution is a set of foundations based on the impact of government, the rights that are governed, and the relationships between the two that are regulated.

Sri Soemantri

The constitution is a text that contains a state building and the foundations of the state government system.

Richard S. Kay

The constitution is the implementation of the rules of law or the rule of law in the relationship between society and government. Constitutionalism creates a situation that can foster a sense of security because there are limits on government powers that have been required beforehand.

Cart T. Friedrich

The constitution is a set of activities created by the name of the people, but subject to some restrictions and hope to be ensure that the powers desired for the government are not misused by the people assigned to it Reign.

Cf. strong

The constitution is a set of principles that regulate, determine the government and its powers, the rights of the governed, then also the relationship between the government and the governed.

Chairul Anwar

The constitution is the primary laws regarding government in a country with its fundamental values.

Lord James Brice

The constitution is the framework of society in the world of politics which is governed by law, where the law determines together various institutions that have recognized functions and rights.

Miriam Budiardjo

The constitution is a charter stating the ideals of a nation and the basic organization of one of the nations. It contains the main and primary regulations relating to the division of powers, ideals of the state, state ideology, laws, sovereignty of political articles, economy and others etc.

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Constitutional Functions

• Limiting the power of the government so as not to act arbitrarily so that the rights of citizens are protected and channeled (constitutionalism).
• As a birth certificate of a country (a birth certificate of a new state).
• As the highest source of law.
• As a means of limiting power.
• As a national identity and symbol.
• Protector of human rights and freedoms of citizens of a country.
• Means of engineering and community renewal (social engineering or social reform).
• Means of community control (social control).
• Unifying symbolic function (symbol of unity).
• Symbolic function as the center of the ceremony (center of ceremony)
• The symbolic function of reference to the identity and greatness of the nation (identity of nation).

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Constitutional Purpose

• Limiting the power of the ruler so as not to act arbitrarily means without limiting the power of the ruler, the constitution is not about running well and it is possible that the power of the ruler will be rampant and can be detrimental many people.
• Protecting human rights means that every ruler has the right to respect the human rights of other congregations and the right to get legal protection in exercising his rights.
• Guidelines for administering the state means that without the presence of guidelines for the state constitution, kindertageseinrichtung will not stand firmly.

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Types of Constitutions

There are several types of constitutions, including the following:

Written and Unwritten

• A written constitution is a constitution in the form of a document that has a "special sanctity" in the formulation process. A written constitution is also an instrument which the drafters prepare for all possibilities that are felt to occur in its implementation.
• An unwritten constitution is a constitution that is more developed on the basis of mores than written law. An unwritten constitution in its formulation does not require a long process, for example in determining a quorum, model changes (amendments or renewals), and procedures for changes (referendums, conventions, or the establishment of a special institution).

Flexible and Rigid

• A constitution that can be changed or amended without special procedures is said to be a flexible constitution.
• Constitutions that require special procedures for changes or amendments are rigid constitutions.

High-Degrees and Not High-Degrees

• A high degree constitution is a constitution that has the highest position in the state. When viewed in terms of its form, this constitution is above other statutory regulations. Likewise, the conditions for changing it are very severe.
• An unequal constitution is a constitution that does not have a position and degree like a high degree constitution. The requirements needed to amend this type of constitution are the same as those required to amend other regulations at the level of law.

Union and Unity

• If the form of a country is a union, then a power-sharing system will be obtained between the government of the union state and the state government. This power-sharing system is regulated in the constitution.
• In a unified state the division of powers is not found, because all of its powers are concentrated in the central government as stipulated in the constitution.

Presidential system of government and Parliamentary system of government

According to C.F. Strong, there are two kinds of presidential governments in the countries of the world today with the following main characteristics:

• The president is not elected by the legislature, but is elected directly by the people or by the electorate, such as the United States and Indonesia
• The president does not include the holder of legislative power
• The president cannot dissolve legislative power holders and cannot order elections to be held
• Constitutions that regulate some of the above characteristics can be classified into presidential government system constitutions.

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Scope of the Constitution

In various literature on constitutional law and political science, the scope of democratic constitutionalism includes:

• Power is subject to law
• Guarantee and protection of human rights.
• Free and independent judiciary.
• Public accountability or accountability to the people as the main joints of the principle of people's sovereignty.

History of the Birth of the Constitution in Indonesia

During the Dutch colonial period, Indonesia was part of the Dutch kingdom. The term used at that time was "grondwet". With these provisions, all laws are determined through one of the channels, namely "wet" (law) or "algemeen maatregel van bestuur" (decree of the Dutch king).

In 1855, there was a "Reegering Sreglement" which created "Indische Staatsregeling" which included 4 various laws, namely:

wet – algemeen maatregel van bestuur

Ordonnantie – regeerings verordening

During the Japanese occupation from March 1942 to August 17 1945, the Indonesian constitutional system was not much different from the Dutch colonial period. Among other things, the Governor General was replaced by Gun-Sei kan, the Ministry of Justice was changed to Sihoo-bu.

One day after the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, a 1945 law was promulgated. This preparation had been tried since the end of May 1945.

By PPPKI (Committee for Preparatory Investigation of Indonesian Independence) guided by a Doctor. K. R. Q Radjiman Wedioningrat.

After the defeat of Japan from its allies in World War II, the Netherlands tried to return to Indonesian territory with NICA (Netherlands Civil Affairs). As a result, some areas in Indonesia were given the status of a State of a federal state, namely the Netherlands.

After that, on November 17, 1945, the initial negotiations between Indonesia and the Netherlands took place by Van Mook and Sutan Syahrir led by British General Christison who created nothing.

Followed by the Linggarjati agreement on March 25, 1947, which essentially consisted of:

The Dutch government acknowledged that the Government of the Republic of Indonesia had de facto control over Java, Madura and Sumatra.

The two governments will collaborate for a short time to form a sovereign and democratic federation, named the United Republic of Indonesia.

Continued with Military Aggression I, Renville Agreement, and Military Aggression II by the Netherlands. Until its conclusion on January 28, 1949, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution which contained:

So that a “cessation of fire” is carried out immediately.

Release the leaders of the Republic of Indonesia.

But this matter could not be ignored. Until the conclusion that the KMB took place on August 13, 1949 in The Hague. Not long after that, Indonesia became a Unitary State. After that, the UUDS 1950 appeared. Until the conclusion changed to the 1945 Constitution.

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Process of Amending the Indonesian Constitution

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In the history of Indonesian state administration, there are four types of laws that have been in force, namely:

• Period 18 August 1945-27 December 1949

When the Republic of Indonesia was proclaimed on August 17, 1945, the new Republic did not yet have a constitution. A day later, on August 18, 1945, the draft law was ratified by PPKI as the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia after going through several processes.

• Period 27 December 1949-17 August 1950

The journey of the new state of the Republic of Indonesia never escaped the undermining of the Dutch who wanted to return to power in Indonesia. As a result, the Dutch tried to establish countries such as the state of East Sumatra, the state of East Indonesia, the state of East Java, and so on.

In line with these Dutch efforts, the 1st Dutch aggression occurred in 1947 and 2nd aggression in 1948. And this resulted in the holding of the KMB which gave birth to the United States of Indonesia.

So the Constitution, which should apply to the entire Indonesian state, only applies to the United Republic of Indonesia.

• Period 17 August 1950-5 July 1959

The federal period of the 1949 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia is a temporary change, because actually the Indonesian nation has been since 17 August 1945 wanted unity, so the United States of Indonesia did not last long because of the merger with the Republic Indonesia.

This resulted in the authority of the government of the Republic of Indonesia being reduced, finally an agreement was reached to re-establish the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

For a unitary state to be established, it is clear that a new constitution is needed and for this purpose a joint committee has been formed drew up a draft constitution which was approved on 12 August 1950 by the central national committee working body and by the Council Representatives of the People and the Senate of the United States of Indonesia on 14 August 1950 and the new constitution came into effect on 17 August 1950.

• Period 5 July 1959-present

Through a presidential decree of July 5, 1959, the 1945 Constitution was reinstated. And the change in the Old Order Provisional People's Consultative Assembly during the 1959-1965 period to become the New Order Provisional People's Consultative Assembly.

The change was made because the Old Order Provisional People's Consultative Assembly was deemed not to reflect the pure and consistent implementation of the 1945 Constitution.

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History of the Development of the Constitution

The constitution began to be known in historical records, namely since the time of the Greeks who had several sets of laws (such as law books in 624-404 BC).

Athens had no less than 11 constitutions, while Aristotle himself managed to collect as many as 158 constitutions from several countries. At that time the description of "constitution" was just a collection of rules and routine customs.

In line with the passage of time, during the time of the Roman Empire the interpretation of the constitution (constitutionnes) faced a change in meaning;

it is a collection of terms and regulations made by emperors, statements and comments by jurists, statesmen, and local customs and traditions, not just laws. The Constitution of Rome had a considerable influence until the Middle Ages which inspired the growing understanding of Representative Democracy and Nationalism. This understanding is the forerunner to the emergence of modern constitutionalism.

Then in the VII century (classical era) the Medina charter or the Medina Constitution was born. The Medina Charter which was built in the early Islamic classical period (622 Meters) is the basic provisions of the governance of life together in Medina which was occupied by various groups and circles: Jews, Christians, Muslims and others other.

The Medina Constitution contains the right to freedom of belief, freedom of comment, social obligations as well as controlling legal interests.

The Medina Constitution is a form of the initial constitution in the world that already contains modules like the constitution modern and has preceded other constitutions in laying the foundation for the recognition of human rights man.

In the second half of the XVII century, the English nobility won the court revolution (The Glorious Revolution) has ended the absolutism of the king's power and replaced it with a parliamentary system as a holder sovereignty.

The end of this revolution was the declaration of independence of the 12 British colonies in 1776, by establishing a constitution as the foundation of a sovereign country.

In 1789 a revolution broke out in France, signaled by tensions among the people and the disruption of national security stability. Social instability in France gave rise to the need for a constitution (constituante).

Until September 14, 1791 was recorded as the acceptance of the original European constitution by Louis XVI. Since this incident, most of the countries in the world, both monarchies and republics, a unitary or federal state, by basing its constitutional principles on support constitution.

In France, the novel by J. J. Rousseau, Du Contract Social, who said "humans are born in conditions of freedom and are equal in their rights". Instead the law is an expression of the universal will (of the people).

Rousseau's thoughts deeply animate the rights and freedoms of the people (De Declaration des Droit d I' Homme et du Citoyen), because it was this declaration that inspired the creation of the French Constitution (1791) specifically concerning human rights. After this incident, the constitution emerged in a written form pioneered by America.

This American-style written constitution was later followed by various countries in Europe, such as Spain (1812), Norway (1814), the Netherlands (1815).

The thing that needs to be noted is that the constitution at that time had not become a meaningful basic law. The constitution as the Constitution, or often called the "Modern Constitution" just emerged to coincide with the growth of the representative democracy system.

Representative democracy appears as fulfilling the people's need for a representative body (legislature). This institution is used as a legislator to reduce and prevent the domination of kings. It is this alibi that places the written constitution as a basic law that is bigger than the king.

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