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https://gg.govt.nz/role/constofnz/intro https://gg.govt.nz/role/constofnz/intro

by devoply 10y ago

disordinary 10y ago
There is no formal document called the constitution of NZ. What we have is an "uncodified constitution" which means that while there is no formal constitution there is an informal one made up of a number of laws, treaties (most noticeably the Treaty of Waitangi), precedents, and pretty much habits which give us our sovereignty and rights. According to Wikipedia the only countries without a constitution are NZ, the UK, Saudi Arabia, and perhaps Isreal. So it seems that it's not important whether or not you have a constitution, what is important is simply how accountable the people hold the government. An interesting fact, which illustrates the point, is that there are laws which state that Te Reo (Maori) and NZ Sign Language are both official languages of NZ (along with regional languages on some of the other Islands) there is no corresponding law for English, yet most of the country speaks it and all laws are drafted in it (along with Te Reo).
- devoply 10y ago
  My point was not that you need a written document called a constitution, merely what the document above states: "A constitution is about public power, the power of the state. It describes and establishes the major institutions of government, states their principal powers, and regulates the exercise of those powers in a broad way. While all constitutions have these general characteristics, each constitution is affected by the national character of the state it services." In the US it's a written document and it's held sacred by most Americans. But you don't need that, just what is mentioned above which I quoted. In either case it's a covenant with the government which limits the power of the government and protects the rights of people. You need that and you also need a lack of corruption, which in general terms means the government abides by the constitution. If you have these two things than the common man can expect to be treated a certain way by the government regardless of any of his or her affiliations and so on.
  - disordinary 10y ago
    Well, I don't understand what your initial point is because every country has a constitution then - including Russia. The difference between is that in New Zealand the "constitution" is fluid and is very easy to change because it's simply laws. This is way off topic, but I think holding the constitution as some sort of semi-religious document is actually a bad thing, for instance the right to bear arms is seen by the rest of the world as quite odd and very scary. If people weren't so fervent about the document you can look at it objectively and make the required changes to reflect the times.

https://gg.govt.nz/role/constofnz/intro https://gg.govt.nz/role/constofnz/intro

by devoply 10y ago

https://gg.govt.nz/role/constofnz/intro https://gg.govt.nz/role/constofnz/intro

There is no formal document called the constitution of NZ. What we have is an "uncodified constitution" which means that while there is no formal constitution there is an informal one made up of a number of laws, treaties (most noticeably the Treaty of Waitangi), precedents, and pretty much habits which give us our sovereignty and rights. According to Wikipedia the only countries without a constitution are NZ, the UK, Saudi Arabia, and perhaps Isreal. So it seems that it's not important whether or not you have a constitution, what is important is simply how accountable the people hold the government. An interesting fact, which illustrates the point, is that there are laws which state that Te Reo (Maori) and NZ Sign Language are both official languages of NZ (along with regional languages on some of the other Islands) there is no corresponding law for English, yet most of the country speaks it and all laws are drafted in it (along with Te Reo).

devoply 10y ago
My point was not that you need a written document called a constitution, merely what the document above states: "A constitution is about public power, the power of the state. It describes and establishes the major institutions of government, states their principal powers, and regulates the exercise of those powers in a broad way. While all constitutions have these general characteristics, each constitution is affected by the national character of the state it services." In the US it's a written document and it's held sacred by most Americans. But you don't need that, just what is mentioned above which I quoted. In either case it's a covenant with the government which limits the power of the government and protects the rights of people. You need that and you also need a lack of corruption, which in general terms means the government abides by the constitution. If you have these two things than the common man can expect to be treated a certain way by the government regardless of any of his or her affiliations and so on.
- disordinary 10y ago
  Well, I don't understand what your initial point is because every country has a constitution then - including Russia. The difference between is that in New Zealand the "constitution" is fluid and is very easy to change because it's simply laws. This is way off topic, but I think holding the constitution as some sort of semi-religious document is actually a bad thing, for instance the right to bear arms is seen by the rest of the world as quite odd and very scary. If people weren't so fervent about the document you can look at it objectively and make the required changes to reflect the times.