On the Constitutional Process Concept Stages Role in Creation of the Modern States

Abstract

The constitutional process is viewed as a complex phenomenon of legal life. In its broad interpretation the term Constitutional Process is the history of constitutionalism (constitutional reforms, the change of constitutions) in a particular country, in a narrow one – the totality of the stages of the life cycle of a single Constitution in their natural sequence, the history of a concrete Constitution. The history of constitutionalism in Russia presented in a concise form is linked to the goals and the procedure of the adoption of Russian constitutions. The study of the procedural aspects allowed the author to form the conceptual apparatus of the constitutional process, to identify and describe, also in a graphic form, the main stages of the life cycle of a single Constitution, to show the discrete nature of the modernization of existing legal constitutions and their shifts and the continuous nature of the development of a real (actual, non-formal, unwritten) constitution as a result of free folk art. Seven differences between the legal and actual constitutions have been identified and described, as well as the stimulating role of the actual constitution for the development of the legal Constitution and constitutional reforms. The article discusses the role of the constitutional process in the creation of modern States, legal and social conditions for a stable and long existence of the legal Constitution, the reasons for the emergence of new constitutions and their implementation in Russia, permissible limits of amendments to the current legal Constitution, and finally, how the problem of constitutional crises in developing countries may be solved under the auspices of the United Nations.