What is a Constitution?

There is a constitution in every country to guide the government and to govern the people. Both the government and people are bound to obey it. 

The constitution contains provisions relating to the powers and duties of government, the relations between government and people and the rights and duties of people.

This helps in maintaining discipline in the society, makes government responsible and makes people aware that the government belongs to them. The views of some eminent scholars about constitution have been given below. 

1. Aristotle says, "Constitution is the way of life the state has chosen for itself." 
2. According to Dicey, the constitution is a combination of those rules which, directly or indirectly, influence the distribution and use of sovereign power. 
3. Woolsey has observed that the constitution is "the collection of principles according to which the powers of the government, the rights of the governed, and the relations between the two are adjusted." 
4. According to Bryce, "the constitution of a state consists of those of its rules or laws which determine the form of its government and the respective rights and duties of it towards the citizens and of the citizens towards the government." 
5. Gettel has said that the constitution consists of those basic principles which determine the form of the state. 
6. K. C. Wheare observes, "The constitution is that body of rules which regulates the ends for which and the organs through which governmental power is exercised." 
7. Gilchrist says, the constitution consists of "that body of rules or laws, written or unwritten, which determine the organization of the government, the distribution of powers to various organs of the government and the general principle on which these powers are to be exercised. 

The constitution is the most important legal document of the country. It helps maintain law and order in the country. Without a constitution, there will be anarchy in the state or country. 

Jellinek has argued that in the absence of constitution, every individual, every institution and even the government itself will ignore law and as a result, there will be 'reign of anarchy.'