BharatNotes Constituent Power
noun (uncountable; constitutional law term)Usage in a UPSC answer
The Supreme Court's Basic Structure doctrine fundamentally redefined constituent power by holding that Article 368 does not confer on Parliament an unlimited power to destroy the constitutional identity it was created to amend.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
constituent (noun/adjective), constitute (verb), constitution (noun), constitutional (adjective), constitutionalism (noun)
Root
Latin constituere (to set up, to establish) ← con- (together) + statuere (to set up, to stand) + Latin potere (to be able)
Etymology
The theoretical distinction between constituent and constituted powers was systematised by French Abbé Sieyès in Qu'est-ce que le Tiers-État? (1789). The Latin roots constituere and potestas (power) underpin both the English and French constitutional vocabulary.
Memory Hook
CONSTITUENT is 'one who constitutes or creates'. CONSTITUENT POWER is the creator's power — the power to write the rulebook itself, not just play by its rules.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
The power to make or amend the Constitution itself, as distinct from the ordinary power to make laws under it. This distinction carries most GS2 answers on amendment and the basic structure: Parliament exercising constituent power still cannot destroy the Constitution's basic features. Keep it separate from sovereignty, which is about ultimate authority rather than the specific competence to constitute.
Don’t Confuse It With
Constituent power creates or amends the Constitution. Legislative power makes laws under it. Constituted power is the authority that the Constitution confers on organs of State. The Constituent Assembly exercised original constituent power; Parliament exercises derived constituent power under the amending procedure.
Hindi Meaning
संविधान निर्मात्री शक्ति (samvidhān nirmātrī shakti) or संविधायी शक्ति (samvidhāyī shakti).
Common Questions
- What is constituent power?
- The power to frame or amend a constitution, as opposed to the ordinary legislative power to make laws under that constitution.
- Is Parliament's amending power the same as constituent power?
- Parliament exercises a derived constituent power when it amends the Constitution, but it remains subject to limits, and cannot alter the Constitution's basic structure.
Tip: press Alt+S to hear pronunciation
