Lecture 1 - Concept of State and Government PDF

CONCEPT OF STATE, GOVERNMENT, AND CONSTITUTION State  A community of persons, more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion of territory, having a government of their own to which the great body of inhabitants render obedience, and enjoyin...

CONCEPT OF STATE, GOVERNMENT, AND CONSTITUTION State  A community of persons, more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion of territory, having a government of their own to which the great body of inhabitants render obedience, and enjoying freedom from external control. Elements of State People This refers to the inhabitants living with in the state. Without people there can be no functionaries to govern and no subjects to be governed. Ideally, it should be neither too small nor too large: small enough to be well-governed and large enough to be self- suffi cing. Elements of State Territory It includes not only a fi xed portion of land over which jurisdiction of the state extends (territorial domain), but also the rivers and lakes, a certain area of the sea which abuts upon its coast and the air space above it. The domain of the state may be described as terrestrial, fl uvial, maritime, and aerial. Elements of State Governmen t The agency through which the will of the state is formulated, expressed, and carried out. The ordinary citizens of a country may be part of the state, but are not part of government. Elements of State Sovereignty The supreme power of the state to command and enforce obedience to its will from people with in its jurisdiction, to have freedom from foreign control. State Distinguished from Nation The state is a political concept, while nation is an ethnic concept. A nation is a group of people bound together by certain characteristics such as common social origin, language, customs, and traditions, and who believe that they are one and distinct from others. The term is more strictly synonymous with “people”. State Distinguished from Nation A state is not subject to external control while nation may or may not be independent from external control. A single state may consist of one or more nations or people and conversely, a single nation may be made up of several states. State Distinguished from Government The government is the only agency through which the state expresses its will. A state cannot exist without a government, but it is possible to have a government without a state. Purpose and Necessity of Government Advancement of the public welfare Constituent function – protection of the society and its members, the security of persons and property, the administration of justice, the preservation of state from external danger, dealings of the state with foreign powers. Ministrant function – the advancement of the physical, social, and cultural well-being of the people. Purpose and Necessity of Government Consequence of absence Without an organized structure of government: anarchy and disorder, a general feeling of fear and insecurity will prevail in the society, progress and development will not be possible, values taken from granted in a free modern society such as truth, freedom, justice, equality, rule of law, and human dignity can never be enjoyed. Constitution The body of rules and principles in accordance with which powers of sovereignty are regularly exercised. A written instrument by which the fundamental powers of the government are established, limited, and defined. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/ Nature and Purpose of Constitution Serves as the supreme or fundamental law It speaks for the entire people from which it derives its claim to obedience. It is the law to which all other laws shall conform and in accordance with which all private rights must be determined and all public authority administered. It is the test of legality of all governmental actions, whether proceeding from the highest offi cial or lowest functionary. Nature and Purpose of Constitution Establishes basic framework and underlying principles of government The purpose of the constitution is to prescribe the permanent framework of the system of the government and to assign different department or branches, their respective powers and duties, and to establish certain basic principles on which the government is founded. Nature and Purpose of Constitution Establishes basic framework and underlying principles of government It is primarily designed to preserve and protect the rights of individuals against the arbitrary actions of those in authority. Its function is not to legislate in detail but to set limits on otherwise unlimited power of the legislature. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx_2SVm9Jgo It's time to draw borders on the Arctic Ocean