Author: The Mandamus

I. The Centrality of Interpretation in Constitutional Law and its Defining Debate A constitution serves as a nation’s foundational legal and political charter. It is a set of fundamental rules that are binding on every institution and citizen, delineating the structure of government, outlining political principles, and defining the rights of individuals.1 This document is a singular form of law, distinguished by its durability and the difficulty of its amendment, requiring supermajority support or other rigorous processes.1 Beyond its function as a legal instrument that upholds the rule of law and constrains arbitrary power, a constitution is also a social…

Part I: The Interwar Period (1919-1939): The Crisis of Liberal Constitutionalism 1.1 Introduction: A New Constitutional Order and Its Immediate Discontents The conclusion of the First World War was hailed as a monumental triumph for liberal democracy. The victorious powers—Britain, France, and the United States—embodied a new global order, their success seemingly vindicating the principles of self-determination and popular governance.1 This optimism fueled a wave of constitution-making, as new republics emerged from the ashes of old monarchies across Europe. Newly formed states such as Germany, Poland, Finland, Estonia, and Czechoslovakia adopted modern, democratic constitutions, often incorporating progressive elements like universal…

Introduction: The Dawn of Modern Constitutionalism The French Revolution of 1789 was not merely a political upheaval; it was a foundational moment for modern constitutional theory, a violent crucible from which emerged core legal principles that would reshape global governance. The revolutionary process sought to dismantle the absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime and build a new state on the bedrock of Enlightenment philosophy. This endeavor introduced and enshrined in its early legal documents concepts such as popular sovereignty, the inalienable rights of man, and the formal separation of powers.1 The Revolution’s legal influence was not a simple, linear export…

I. Introduction: The Unlikely Blueprint of Liberty The Magna Carta, or “Great Charter of Freedoms,” stands as a foundational document in the history of Anglo-American jurisprudence. Issued in June 1215 on the fields of Runnymede, near the River Thames, it was the product of a severe political crisis.1 Faced with a rebellion by powerful feudal barons, King John of England was compelled to affix his royal seal to a charter that formally recognized their traditional legal rights.2 The document, which contained 63 chapters written in Latin on a piece of parchment, was fundamentally a feudal accord.4 Its primary purpose was…

Introduction The accountability of the executive branch is a foundational principle of modern democratic governance. While nations worldwide subscribe to this ideal, the constitutional architectures designed to achieve it vary dramatically. At the heart of this variation are two dominant models: the presidential system and the parliamentary system. The central inquiry of this analysis is to compare and contrast how these distinct constitutional blueprints—grounded in the principles of separation of powers and fusion of powers, respectively—provide for the oversight and accountability of the head of government. This report will argue that while both systems are fundamentally designed to prevent the…

Executive Summary Bangladesh, a nation founded on the principles of nationalism and unity, adopted a unitary state structure in direct response to the failed federal experiment it experienced as East Pakistan. This historical context provides a critical foundation for its constitutional design. The current system, as defined by its 1972 Constitution, concentrates supreme power in the central government and has been credited with preserving national cohesion. However, this same centralization has created significant governance challenges, including a lack of local autonomy, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and a substantial disconnect between the administration and the needs of its diverse population. The judiciary is…