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Detailed below are the types of constitution that can be found over the world;
http://penalysis.com/types-of-constitution/
A. WRITTEN CONSTITUTION
A constitution is said to be written if the fundamental rules / laws and principles concerning the organization
of government can be found in a single document. Examples of countries operating written constitution are
USA, Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Sierra-Leone.
B. UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION
An unwritten constitution refers to when the whole body of fundamental laws, customs, conventions,
principles, rules and regulations to which a particular government of a country operates are not written or
codified in a single document. Britain and New Zealand are good examples of countries that have unwritten
constitution.
1) It has high degree of flexibility which can easily adapt to a countrys changing social, political and economic
situations.
2) It makes for easy and quick decisions.
3) It does not pose problems of amendment.
4) Unwritten constitution develops from many years of practical experiences of the people and government of a
country.
5) It eliminates many areas of disputes due to the fact that it is not codified in one document.
6) It meets both the present needs and future needs of a country.
7) It does not lead to constant litigation.
DISADVANTAGES OF UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION
1) It is prone to abuse by the government and individuals, since the laws are not codified in one document.
2) It can encourage dictatorship.
3) It does not create room for individuals to know their duties and rights.
4) It is surrounded with ambiguities.
5) It does not suit a federal system of government.
6) It does not make for easy reference in case of disputes.
7) It does not prevent violation of rights.
C. RIGID CONSTITUTION
A rigid constitution may be defined as that constitution which cannot be amended or changed so easily
because of its special stringent and cumbersome procedures of amendment. Rigid constitutions are normally
written constitutions but not all sections of a written constitution are difficult to amend. USA, Australia, France,
Canada, Switzerland, Ghana, Nigeria, Serra Leone, Gambia etc. have rigid constitution.
D. FLEXIBLE CONSTITUTION
A flexible constitution may be defined as that constitution which can be amended or changed so easily
without stringent and cumbersome procedures of amendment. It can be amended with the same procedure used
in making ordinary laws. It requires simple majority for amendment. Britain, Italy, New Zealand, Ghana are
examples of countries that have flexible constitutions.
E. FEDERAL CONSTITUTION
A federal constitution refers to one in which government powers that exist in the country are shared between
a central government that represent the whole country and government of component regions or states.
Examples of countries with federal constitutions are USA, Nigeria, Federal Republic of Germany, Brazil,
Switzerland, Australia, Yugoslavia, India etc.
F. UNITARY CONSTITUTION
A unitary constitution refers to one that concentrates government powers and authority in a single central
government or legislature. Local, regional or state government that exist in a country that adopts unitary
constitution are the creation of the central government for administrative convenience. Countries with unitary
constitution include, Britain, Italy, France, Belgium, New Zealand, Sweden, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia,
Ethiopia, Togo, Cameroon etc.
G. CONFEDERAL CONSTITUTION
This is a constitution in which almost all major powers and functions of government are reserved
exclusively for the component states, the national or central government only hold power in areas such as
common currency, defence and foreign affairs. The constitution reserves powers for the central government in
only certain matters that affect all the unions or autonomous states involved. It makes the component states very
powerful while the central government becomes weak. Even the component states are free to secede when any
of them wishes to do so.