General Introduction to the Constitutions of Five Western Countries

Author: Zhao Baoyun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: In the contemporary society where socialist and capitalist systems coexist, as China adheres to the Four Cardinal Principles and maintains the basic policy of reform and opening-up, especially in the historical context of China's implementation of opening-up, in order to uphold and develop the socialist system, it is necessary to critically study the capitalist system. The constitution of capitalist countries serves as the legal basis for regulating their fundamental systems. To conduct a deeper theoretical study of the fundamental capitalist system, it is essential to research capitalist constitutions. Based on this understanding, the author has conducted a critical study of the capitalist system, including research on capitalist constitutions, and the book presented to the readers is a preliminary research outcome of the author's critical study of capitalist constitutions.
From a historical perspective, capitalist constitutions have existed for over 300 years. During this period, the majority of capitalist countries have enacted multiple constitutions. In terms of the current state of capitalist constitutions, there are over 100 in force. It can be said that the research content of capitalist constitutions is extremely broad. However, it should be noted that among the numerous capitalist constitutions, those of five countries—United States, United Kingdom, France, Japan, and Germany—are considered typical both historically and in the contemporary capitalist constitutional landscape. Studying these five constitutions allows tracing the historical origins of capitalist constitutions, understanding the general trajectory of their development, and grasping the current state of contemporary capitalist constitutions. It covers both codified and uncodified capitalist constitutions.
For this reason, among the numerous capitalist constitutions, this book selects the constitutions of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Japan, and Germany as the research subjects, aiming to provide readers with general research methods and fundamental theories to understand and study the entire capitalist constitutional system, grasp the general overview of its development, and clarify the essence of capitalist constitutions.
The constitutions of the five Western countries differ significantly in terms of constitutional structure, development methods, fundamental principles, and current constitutional systems, among other aspects.
In terms of constitutional structure, the British constitution remains an "unwritten constitution" (also known as an "uncodified constitution") to this day, while the constitutions of the United States, France, Japan, and Germany are codified constitutions.
Regarding constitutional development methods, the United States, after enacting its constitution in 1787, has not drafted a new one but has adopted the continuous addition of constitutional amendments to realize the development of its constitution. In contrast, France, Germany, and Japan have achieved the development of their constitutions through the abolition of the original constitution and the drafting of a new one as history progresses. Among these, France has enacted 11 constitutions (excluding 4 constitutional amendments) in over 200 years.
As for the capitalist constitutional principles established in their constitutions, the United States Constitution's principles of separation of powers and fundamental rights of citizens are generally recognized constitutional principles in most contemporary capitalist constitutions. In contrast, Japan's current constitution establishes the unique constitutional principle of "pacifism."
In terms of the state of government prescribed by their current constitutions, the United States practices a presidential system, while the United Kingdom, Japan, and Germany adopt a parliamentary system. France, however, has a mixed presidential-parliamentary system with composite features.
It can be said that among the constitutions of the five Western countries, there are both general contents with commonalities and special contents with individual characteristics.