The Movement for Revision of the California Constitution: the State Constitutional Commission

1931 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-342
Author(s):  
Charles Aikin

The constitution of California—filling one hundred and sixty-five pages of fine print—has been the object of so much criticism, and even ridicule, that the people of the state are fairly well agreed that it ought to be given an overhauling. As to the nature and extent, as well as the method, of the proposed reconstruction, there is, however, little or no harmony of view. The fact that the state electorate has on a number of occasions declined to sanction the calling of a constitutional convention does not indicate that it is content to leave things as they are. But what, it is asked, might such an assembly do? Should it tamper with those sections dealing with the initiative, referendum, or recall, its work would come to nothing. Should it impair the powers of the railroad commission, or abolish the judicial,council, or set up a new basis of taxation, or lessen the independence of the regents of the state university, or raise the salaries of legislative and executive officials, or take any one of a dozen other courses of action, large sections of the electorate would oppose the revised instrument. It is a fairly safe assumption that a constituent assembly that radically revised the present constitution would see its work discarded by the people. Therefore, since a constitutional convention could do nothing effective, why waste money on a futile adventure?Since the adoption of the present constitution in 1879, there has been no studied revision. Californians have changed the instrument when and as they have seen fit, acting largely on proposals of the legislature. They have followed no systematic plan; yet in most instances they have acted wisely. Piecemeal, sporadic, and unscientific modifications are not likely to produce a document of sufficient symmetry of form to be admired; nevertheless, the government thus established may prove quite workable, and, as American state governments go, highly successful.

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-283
Author(s):  
Subhendu Ranjan Raj

Development process in Odisha (before 2011 Orissa) may have led to progress but has also resulted in large-scale dispossession of land, homesteads, forests and also denial of livelihood and human rights. In Odisha as the requirements of development increase, the arena of contestation between the state/corporate entities and the people has correspondingly multiplied because the paradigm of contemporary model of growth is not sustainable and leads to irreparable ecological/environmental costs. It has engendered many people’s movements. Struggles in rural Odisha have increasingly focused on proactively stopping of projects, mining, forcible land, forest and water acquisition fallouts from government/corporate sector. Contemporaneously, such people’s movements are happening in Kashipur, Kalinga Nagar, Jagatsinghpur, Lanjigarh, etc. They have not gained much success in achieving their objectives. However, the people’s movement of Baliapal in Odisha is acknowledged as a success. It stopped the central and state governments from bulldozing resistance to set up a National Missile Testing Range in an agriculturally rich area in the mid-1980s by displacing some lakhs of people of their land, homesteads, agricultural production, forests and entitlements. A sustained struggle for 12 years against the state by using Gandhian methods of peaceful civil disobedience movement ultimately won and the government was forced to abandon its project. As uneven growth strategies sharpen, the threats to people’s human rights, natural resources, ecology and subsistence are deepening. Peaceful and non-violent protest movements like Baliapal may be emulated in the years ahead.


1973 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. J. Sharpe

In his celebrated study of American democracy written in 1888, Lord Bryce reserved his most condemnatory reflections for city government and in a muchquoted passage asserted: ‘There is no denying that the government of cities is the one conspicuous failure of the United States. The deficiencies of the National government tell but little for evil on the welfare of the people. The faults of the State governments are insignificant compared with the extravagance, corruption and mismanagement which mark the administration of most of the great cities'sangeetha.


rahatulquloob ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 24-39
Author(s):  
Muhammad Essa ◽  
Dr. Ammanullah Khan

Pakistan after independence faced many problems ranging from the settlement of refugees to the fragile economy and unsteady defence. One of the major issues was the framing of constitution as immediately after separation from India, Pakistan faced a severe challenge of unity. Pakistan was a diverse country with two geographically separated wings, different cultures, divergent languages and separate provinces. The Constituent Assembly which was set up under Indian Independence Act 1947 faced this huge responsibility to provide a document on which the country could be run. Regarding character of the state of Pakistan; the religio-political Parties, Jamiat Ulama-i-Islam (JUI) and Jamat-i-Islami (JI) argued that Pakistan means the land of pure; therefore, in order to bring purity, Pakistan should be made an Islamic state. In it, the affairs of the government should be run according to Quran and Sunnah. In this way the constitution of this newly created state of Muslims should be Islamic in its nature. The rationale put forward was twofold i.e. they (Muslims) achieved Pakistan in the name of Islam and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, had promised that an Islamic system would be introduced in the newly established state. Secondly, according to them, Islam provides a complete code of life and it had laid basic principles in each aspect of life including the basic guidance for formulating an Islamic Constitution. This article deals with the theoretical and practical aspects of the Islamic Constitution propounded by the scholars of JUI, JI and comparative analysis has been drawn in this regard.


Author(s):  
Shankar Chatterjee

<div><p><em>Unemployment is a serious issue in India as well as in all the states as many youths are having educational qualifications but not skills as a sequel they are not employable. In view of this, the Government of India has set up Ministry of Skill Development And Entrepreneurship in recent years.  The Ministry is responsible for co-ordination of all skill development efforts across the country, removal of disconnect between demand and supply of skilled manpower, building the vocational and technical training framework, skill up-gradation, building of new skills, and innovative thinking not only for existing jobs but also jobs that are to be created. Like other State Governments, the Government of Karnataka has taken initiative to set up the Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood Department to address skilling issues in the State. The Department came into existence in September 2016 to embark on a formidable journey of skilling youth of the state and make them employable.</em></p><p><em>The goal of the skill development in Karnataka is to impart skills annually to 13.4 lakh workforce and new entrants who desire to achieve sustainable livelihood either through wage employment or self-employment. Policy will focus primarily on young persons of 16 to 35 years of age for the period from 2016 to 2030. In this research paper few important initiatives are highlighted</em>.</p></div>


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-328
Author(s):  
Fathul Aminudin Aziz

Fines are sanctions or punishments that are applied in the form of the obligation to pay a sum of money imposed on the denial of a number of agreements previously agreed upon. There is debate over the status of fines in Islamic law. Some argue that fines may not be used, and some argue that they may be used. In the context of fines for delays in payment of taxes, in fiqh law it can be analogous to ta'zir bi al-tamlīk (punishment for ownership). This can be justified if the tax obligations have met the requirements. Whereas according to Islamic teachings, fines can be categorized as acts in order to obey government orders as taught in the hadith, and in order to contribute to the realization of mutual benefit in the life of the state. As for the amount of the fine, the government cannot arbitrarily determine fines that are too large to burden the people. Penalties are applied as a message of reprimand and as a means to cover the lack of the state budget.


Author(s):  
Akil Ibrahim Al-Zuhari

The article defines the features of the process of forming the research tradition of studying the institute of parliamentarism as a mechanism for the formation of democracy. It is established that parliamentarism acts as one of the varieties of the regime of functioning of the state, to which the independence of the representative body from the people is inherent, its actual primacy in the state mechanism, the division of functions between the legislative and executive branches of government, the responsibility and accountability of the government to the parliament. It is justified that, in addition to the regime that fully meets the stated requirements of classical parliamentarism, there are regimes that can be characterized as limited parliamentary regimes. The conclusions point out that parliamentarism does not necessarily lead to a democracy regime. At the first stage of development of statehood, it functions for a long time in the absence of many attributes of democracy, but at the present stage, without parliamentarism, democracy will be substantially limited. Modern researchers of parliamentarism recognize that this institution is undergoing changes with the development of the processes of democracy and democratization. This is what produces different approaches to its definition. However, most scientists under classical parliamentarianism understand such a system, which is based on the balance of power. This approach seeks to justify limiting the rights of parliament and strengthening executive power. Keywords: Parliamentarism, research strategy, theory of parliamentarism, types of parliamentarism


Author(s):  
Rajendra Baikady ◽  
Cheng Shengli ◽  
Gao Jianguo

This article reports on the result of an exploratory qualitative study with in-depth interviews conducted with postgraduate students in Chinese universities. The data were collected from five schools of social work, covering three provincial-level administrative regions of Beijing, Shanghai and Shandong. The principal aim of this article is to understand the development of social work and student perspectives on the government’s role in social work development and the function of social work in China. The study shows that Chinese social work is still developing, and the expansion and function of social work education and practice is mandated by the state. Despite a robust authoritarian hold by the government, the study finds hope among the graduate students about the mission and future of social work in China.


Author(s):  
Carlos FERNÁNDEZ DE CASADEVANTE ROMANÍ

LABURPENA: Lan honek Bidasoan eta Higerreko badian arrantzatzeari buruzko 1959ko uztailaren 14ko Espainiaren eta Frantziaren arteko hitzarmenaren konstituzio-kontrakotasuna aztertzen du, Espainiari dagokionez. Hitzarmen horrek, hain zuzen ere, espazio horietako ibai-arrantza, itsaski-bilketa eta akuikultura arautzen ditu, bai eta horietan egindako arau-hausteen ikuskapena eta zehapena ere, eta konstituzioa onartu eta ia berrogei urtera, ez du zuzenketarik izan araudi berrira egokitzeko. Hau da, alor horietan eta ur horietan Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoak duen eskumen esklusibora egokitu gabe dago oraindik. Arazo hori konpontzeko, bi aukera proposatzen dira: Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoaren organo eskudunek konstituzio-kontrakotasuneko errekurtsoa jartzea, edo Estatuko Gobernuari Hitzarmena eguneratzeko eskatzea, hitzarmenei eta nazioarteko beste akordio batzuei buruzko azaroaren 27ko 25/2014 Legearen 49., 50. eta 51. artikuluetan xedatutako prozedurak erabiliz. Izan ere, prozedura horietan autonomien parte-hartzea aurreikusten da. RESUMEN: El trabajo aborda la inconstitucionalidad, en lo que a España se refiere, del Convenio hispano-francés de 14 de julio de 1959, relativo a la pesca en el Bidasoa y Bahía de Higuer; tratado que regula la pesca fluvial, el marisqueo y la acuicultura en esos espacios, así como la inspección y sanción de las infracciones al mismo, pero que casi cuarenta años después del vigente bloque de constitucionalidad no ha sido enmendado para adaptarlo al mismo. Esto es, a la competencia exclusiva de la Comunidad Autónoma Vasca en esas materias y en esas aguas. Para corregir esta anomalía se propone que los órganos competentes de la Comunidad Autónoma Vasca soliciten al Gobierno del Estado la enmienda del Convenio en el marco de los procedimientos instaurados por los arts. 49, 50 y 51 de la Ley 25/2014, de 27 de noviembre, de Tratados y otros acuerdos internacionales; procedimientos que contemplan la participación autonómica. ABSTRACT: The article deals with the unconstitutionality, as far as Spain is concerned, of the Spanish-French Convention of July 14, 1959, concerning fishing in the Bidasoa and Higuer Bay; treaty ruling river fishing, shellfish and aquaculture in these waters as well as inspection and punishment of violations of it. Nevertheless, nearly forty years after the current block of constitutionality it has not been adapted to it; this is the exclusive competence of the Basque Autonomous Community in these areas and in those waters. To correct this anomaly the request by the competent bodies of the Basque Autonomous Community for the amendment of the Convention to the Government of the State in the framework of the procedures set up buy articles 49, 50 and 51 of the Law 27/2014, of 27 November, of treaties and other international agreements; procedures including regional participation, is proposed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-99
Author(s):  
Munandzirul Amin

Democracy provides a place for us to learn to live with the enemy because only democracy allows tension and paradox, which comes from freedom, to occur in society. In contrast to the New Order era, we can now enjoy freedom of opinion and association. This freedom can in turn produce tension. The relationship between elements of society with one another, or the relationship between the state and elements of society, can be tense because of differences in interests in regulating social and political order. Meanwhile, Indonesian society witnessed the paradox which also originated from freedom. This, for example, is shown by the emergence of intolerant groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia (HTI). Even organizations such as HTI are of the view that democracy is not in accordance with the teachings of Islam in terms of sovereignty in the hands of the people, what should determine that is the preogrative right of Allah SWT. The government in the view of HTI only implements sharia and determines administrative technical issues.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Oman Sukmana

The domination of the state (government) and Corporate (PT LBI) in the oil and gas resource management lead Lapindo mudflow disaster that caused misery to the people. This study aims to assess the forms of domination and injustice by the state (government) and the corporation in the case of Lapindo mudflow disaster, and how Lapindo mudflow disaster victims negotiate (resist) against the state (government) and corporations in an effort to fight for their rights. This study used a qualitative approach with case study. Subjects and informantsresearch include: (1) Lapindo mudflow disaster victims; (2) group coordinator of Lapindo mudflow disaster victims; (3) Public figures Siring village, Tanggulangin, Renokenongo, Jabon, and Jatirejo, Porong district, Sidoarjo; (4) Representation of the corporation (PT. LBI); and (5) Representation of BPLS. The data collection process using the in-deepth interviews, observation, focus group discussions, and review documents. Stage processing and data analysis includes the coding process, memoing, and concept mapping. The results showed that the government (the state) and the corporation (PT LBI) action dominating the oil and gas resource management in the area of Porong district, Sidoarjo regency, East Java, resulting misery for the victims (people). Forms of injustice felt by residents Lapindo mudflow disaster victims not only related to the issue of compensation for land and building assets alone, but more than that, including various dimensions. Through a variety of collective action, such as demonstrations and negotiations, Lapindo mudflow disaster victims filed various charges, such as demands for payment of compensation for land and building assets destroyed.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document