The Constitution is the foundation of a country’s political system, laying out the rules for how government works and protecting citizens’ rights. It sets up a legislative, executive, and judicial branch with a system of checks and balances that limits the power of the majority. It also guarantees various individual liberties, such as freedom of religion and speech, and sets up a peaceful transfer of political authority over time.
The framers of the Constitution intended to limit the power of the federal government by establishing a system of checks and balances. They also included protections for personal liberty, such as a prohibition on ex post facto laws (punishing conduct that was not illegal at the time it was performed) and bills of attainder, which single out individuals or groups for punishment. In addition, the “full faith and credit” clause requires states to recognise public acts, records, and court proceedings of other states.
These principles of constitutional design are widely applied across the world, and it is not by accident that codified constitutions tend to have similar elements. However, the legitimacy of a constitution can depend on the process by which it is adopted and the historical context in which it was written. In the long run, the effectiveness of a constitution can be undermined if it is too tightly defined and inflexible. As a result, many codified constitutions are amended over time to reflect changing societal needs. This is known as a constitutional reform.