... of government within a state. It establishes the bodies and institutions which form part of that system, it provides for the powers which they are to exercise, it determines how they are to interact and co-exist with one another and perhaps most importantly of all, it is concerned with the relationship between government and the individual. A more complex set of ideas is revealed in an older definition given by Thomas Paine defines a constitution as: 'A constitution is not the act of government, but of a people constituting a government, and a government without a constitution is power without right... A constitution is a thing antecedent to a government; and a government is only the creature of a constitution'. [1972, Pt II, p 93] Most countries in the world have a written constitution, usually drawn up at a time of great political upheaval such as defeat in war, following a civil ...

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