A constitutional institution, constitutional body or constitutional organ is a government institution created by a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

. As these institutions derives its powers, duties and responsibilities directly from the constitution, which is harder to be amended by

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

compared to sub-constitutional laws, their status is rather more stable and independent than institutions created by sub-constitutional laws. Role of the constitutional institutions inside government reflects each constitution's national context and identity. For example, according to the

German constitution The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The West German Constitution was approved in Bonn on 8 May 1949 an ...

, only five institutions are regarded as constitutional institutions (german: Verfassungorgane) in German federal government, reflecting classic structure for

separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...

; ' Bundesrat' and '

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Common ...

' of German legislature,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and Cabinet of German executive, and

Federal Constitutional Court The Federal Constitutional Court (german: link=no, Bundesverfassungsgericht ; abbreviated: ) is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law () of Germany. Since its in ...

of German judiciary. However, modern constitution such as

South African constitution The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Gover ...

creates various government institutions directly by itself, which has similar role as

independent agency A regulatory agency (regulatory body, regulator) or independent agency (independent regulatory agency) is a government authority that is responsible for exercising autonomous dominion over some area of human activity in a licensing and regulati ...

in classic government structure. This so called ' Chapter nine institutions' of South Africa are explained as constitutional attempt to guarantee accountability of government, yet there are also worries as these new 'constitutionally independent' agencies can create tensions inside separation of powers between traditional branches and institutions of South African government. These modern independent agencies created directly by constitution sometimes fails to achieve its expected role, as their level of institutional independence varies according to specific political situations.For example, Election Commission of Malaysia is often criticized for failure to achieve independent and neutral role as constitutional institution. See

Examples of constitutional institutions

Constitutional body (India) In India, a Constitutional body is a body or institute established by the Constitution of India. They can only be created or changed by passing a constitutional amendment bill, rather than an Act of Parliament. The members of Constituent Assembl ...

* Constitutional institutions (Italy) **

Institutions of constitutional importance (Italy) The institutions of constitutional importance of the Italian Republic ( it, organi di rilievo costituzionale della Repubblica Italiana) are those institutions which are mentioned by the Constitution of Italy, but are not directly defined by it. C ...

* Chapter nine institutions (

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

) *

Constitutional organizations of Thailand The constitutional organizations of Thailand ( th, องค์กรตามรัฐธรรมนูญ; ) are executive branch agencies of the Government of Thailand, that exist and function outside the Cabinet Ministries of Thailand. Most ...

Notes and References

Constitutions Government agencies by type {{constitution-stub

Examples of constitutional institutions

See also

Notes and References