Constitutionalism

Salus populi suprema lex (The welfare of the people is the supreme law). Although the intention behind this term is the good of the people, it has been time and again used by the perpetrators of power for justifying their unconstitutional and illegitimate actions and laws.
The concept of constitutionalism is the doctrine which governs the legitimacy of government action. A power may be exercised on legal authority; however that fact is not necessarily determinative of whether or not the action was constitutional. [1]
Constitutionalism suggests the limitation of power, the separation of power and the doctrine of responsible accountable government. Before discussing how an action or law can be legal yet unconstitutional, let us first understand their meaning. According to the Black’s Legal Dictionary, the word ‘legal’ may be defined as ‘1. Conforming to the law; 2.Created by the law’ and ‘unconstitutional’ means ‘conflicting with a provision of the constitution or funda...