TYPES OF CONSTITUTION

Detailed below are the types of constitution that can be found over the world;
http://penalysis.com/types-of-constitution/

A. WRITTEN CONSTITUTION
A constitution is said to be written if the fundamental rules / laws and principles concerning the organization

of government can be found in a single document. Examples of countries operating written constitution are
USA, Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Sierra-Leone.

ADVANTAGES OF A WRITTEN CONSTITUTION

1) It can be obtained and consulted as a single document.
2) It has easy reference in case of disputes.
3) Lawyers and laymen can get hold of it and read it in order to know their duties and rights.
4) It removes ambiguity normally experienced with unwritten constitution.
5) It makes it easy to ascertain the constitutional acts of rulers.
6) It helps to remove the dictatorial tendencies of the rulers.
7) It reduces the rate of disputes among organs of government since their functions are clearly stated.
8) It ensures stability.

DISADVANTAGES OF A WRITTEN CONSTITUTION

1) They are mostly rigid and creates problems of amendment.
2) It may lead to constant disaffection if it does not favour some sections of the country.
3) Unless frequently amended, it will not meet both the present and future needs.
4) It may lead to constant litigation since it is easy to obtain and consult.
5) Frequent declaration of actions of government as unconstitutional acts will lead to delay in government
functions.
6) It is not fit for all types of government e.g. unitary system of government.

B. UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION
An unwritten constitution refers to when the whole body of fundamental laws, customs, conventions,

principles, rules and regulations to which a particular government of a country operates are not written or
codified in a single document. Britain and New Zealand are good examples of countries that have unwritten
constitution.

ADVANTAGES OF UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION

1) It has high degree of flexibility which can easily adapt to a countrys changing social, political and economic
situations.
2) It makes for easy and quick decisions.
3) It does not pose problems of amendment.
4) Unwritten constitution develops from many years of practical experiences of the people and government of a
country.
5) It eliminates many areas of disputes due to the fact that it is not codified in one document.
6) It meets both the present needs and future needs of a country.
7) It does not lead to constant litigation.
DISADVANTAGES OF UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION

1) It is prone to abuse by the government and individuals, since the laws are not codified in one document.
2) It can encourage dictatorship.
3) It does not create room for individuals to know their duties and rights.
4) It is surrounded with ambiguities.
5) It does not suit a federal system of government.
6) It does not make for easy reference in case of disputes.
7) It does not prevent violation of rights.

C. RIGID CONSTITUTION
A rigid constitution may be defined as that constitution which cannot be amended or changed so easily

because of its special stringent and cumbersome procedures of amendment. Rigid constitutions are normally
written constitutions but not all sections of a written constitution are difficult to amend. USA, Australia, France,
Canada, Switzerland, Ghana, Nigeria, Serra Leone, Gambia etc. have rigid constitution.

ADVANTAGES OF RIGID CONSTITUTION

1) It guarantees careful consideration before its amendment.
2) It prevents dictatorial leaders from amending the constitution to serve their dictatorial interest.
3) It protects the interest of the minority groups.
4) It ensures political stability in a country because no one section can amend the constitution to its favour.
5) It allays fears of ethnic domination by the majority groups.
6) It makes for smooth change of government and ensures continuity of the system of government adopted.
7) It removes constitutional ambiguities.

DISADVANTAGES OF RIGID CONSTITUTION

1) Its amendment and change is cumbersome.
2) Its inflexibility makes it difficult to take quick action in times of emergency.
3) It does not suit the changing social, economic and political situation of a country.
4) It will be very expensive, time consuming and energy consuming in conducting referendum for the changing
or amending a rigid constitution.

D. FLEXIBLE CONSTITUTION
A flexible constitution may be defined as that constitution which can be amended or changed so easily

without stringent and cumbersome procedures of amendment. It can be amended with the same procedure used
in making ordinary laws. It requires simple majority for amendment. Britain, Italy, New Zealand, Ghana are
examples of countries that have flexible constitutions.

ADVANTAGES OF FLEXIBLE CONSTITUTION

1) It is easy to amend.
2) It allows for quick action due to its flexibility.
3) Its flexibility does not call for revolution or violent change.
4) Its amendment is less costly, not time and energy consuming.
5) It suits the changing social, economic and political situations of a country.

DISADVANTAGES OF FLEXIBLE CONSTITUTION

1) It can be amended in a hasty and thoughtless manner.
2) It encourages dictatorship.
3) It does not ensure political stability because one section of the country can amend it to its favour.
4) It does not suit a federal system of government where there is division of powers among different units.
5) It does not adequately protect the interest of the minority groups in a multi-ethnic domination.
6) It does not allay fear of ethnic domination.

E. FEDERAL CONSTITUTION
A federal constitution refers to one in which government powers that exist in the country are shared between

a central government that represent the whole country and government of component regions or states.
Examples of countries with federal constitutions are USA, Nigeria, Federal Republic of Germany, Brazil,
Switzerland, Australia, Yugoslavia, India etc.

ADVANTAGES OF FEDERAL CONSTITUTION

1) It unites people of different political, social, geographical, cultural, religions, historical and linguistic
origin together.
2) It maintains the independence and autonomous of the component units (regions or states).
3) It prevents monopoly of power in a country as it shared powers between the central and state government.
4) It protects the interest of the minority groups.
5) It guarantees strong security in a country that adopts it.
6) It makes room for wider representation of the people.
7) It allays fear of external aggression.
8) It prevents ethnic domination by majority groups over the minority groups.
9) It encourages healthy competition among different ethnic groups which leads to rapid economic growth of
the country.
10) Division of powers and duplication of offices leads to creation of employment opportunities.

DISADVANTAGES OF FEDERAL CONSTITUTION

1) It leads to increase in government expenditure.

2) It increase sectional consciousness which does not guarantee peace and unity in a country.
3) It encourages secession or break up of the country.
4) It leads to dissipation of time, energy and resources in unnecessary rivalry among different governments.
5) Political rivalry among different governments leads to political instability.
6) Inflation of population census figures.
7) Creates problem in the sharing of the national wealth of the country among different component regions or
states.

F. UNITARY CONSTITUTION

A unitary constitution refers to one that concentrates government powers and authority in a single central
government or legislature. Local, regional or state government that exist in a country that adopts unitary
constitution are the creation of the central government for administrative convenience. Countries with unitary
constitution include, Britain, Italy, France, Belgium, New Zealand, Sweden, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia,
Ethiopia, Togo, Cameroon etc.

ADVANTAGES OF UNITARY CONSTITUTION

1) It is flexible and can easily be amended.
2) Its flexibility allows for quick decision and action to be taken in a time of emergency.
3) It adapts easily to the changing and prevailing conditions in a country.
4) It is less expensive to operate.
5) It creates good atmosphere for internal stability.
6) It encourages rapid economic growth in the country.
7) It fosters national unity.
8) It avoids waste of both human and material resources as a result of non-duplication of governments.
9) Non division of powers and authority makes central government stronger.

DISADVANTAGES OF UNITARY CONSTITUTION

1) Its amendment can be done in a haste and thoughtless manner since it is flexible.
2) It encourages emergence of dictatorship as a result of concentration of governmental powers in a single
authority.
3) It can lead to ethnic domination of the minority by the majority.
4) It is not a suitable constitution for a multi-ethnic nation.
5) A unitary constitution does not guarantee the fundamental rights of the citizens because, the constitution is
not supreme but the legislature.
6) It is not suitable for a country with large geographical area, large population, diverse languages, culture and
customs.
7) Monopoly of power by the central government may lead to threat of secession by some sections of the
country.
8) It does not create room for wider representation of people in the government.

G. CONFEDERAL CONSTITUTION
This is a constitution in which almost all major powers and functions of government are reserved

exclusively for the component states, the national or central government only hold power in areas such as
common currency, defence and foreign affairs. The constitution reserves powers for the central government in
only certain matters that affect all the unions or autonomous states involved. It makes the component states very
powerful while the central government becomes weak. Even the component states are free to secede when any
of them wishes to do so.

ADVANTAGES OF CONFEDERAL CONSTITUTION

1) The union is voluntary. No member state was forced to be member of the union.
2) The component states have total control over their internal affairs.
3) Obedience to one government. Citizens have to obey only one government that is their own state
government.
4) Consensus: Actions are taken by member states based on consensus earlier reached.
5) Expansion of markets: Markets of member states are expanded to accommodate goods and services from
member states.

DISADVANTAGES OF CONFEDERAL CONSTITUTION

1) It generates political instability because the union is loose.
2) The right of the member states to secede can destabilize and break the union.
3) The spirit of nationality is out of question in s confederation as citizens own more allegiance to the
component states.
4) Policies discussed may not be effectively carried out in their respective states.
5) There is no effective central authority.