Constituent Power

noun (uncountable; constitutional law term)

/kənˈstɪtjʊənt ˈpaʊə/

The supreme authority to frame, adopt, or amend a constitution, as distinguished from the ordinary legislative or constituted powers created by the constitution. The Constituent Assembly of India (1946–1949) exercised original constituent power to enact the Constitution. Article 368 confers a derivative constituent power on Parliament to amend the Constitution, but this power is subject to the Basic Structure doctrine laid down in Kesavananda Bharati (1973).

✍️ 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

foundational poweroriginal powerpouvoir constituantamending authority

Antonyms

constituted powerdelegated powerordinary legislative power

🌱 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.

⚖️ Polity & Constitution 📖 Seen in: Preamble of the Indian Constitution

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