Back Konstitutionelle Republik German República constitucional Spanish République constitutionnelle French Konstitucionāla republika Latvian/Lettish Republik berperlembagaan Malay Konstitusjonell republikk NB República constitucional Portuguese آئيني جمھوريت Sindhi Anayasal cumhuriyet Turkish Cộng hòa lập hiến Vietnamese
A constitutional republic is a state where the chief executive and representatives are elected, and the rules are set down in a written constitution.
The head of state (president) and other representatives are elected but they do not have uncontrolled power. What their power is limited to is written in the constitution. If there is dispute about what the constitution means, this is decided by a court system that is independent from the representatives.
In recent public discourse, "constitutional republic" is sometimes used in contrast with the term "democracy." In fact, a constitutional republic is a form of representative democracy.
Constitutional republics usually have a separation of powers. The separation of powers means that no single officeholder gets unlimited power. John Adams said that a constitutional republic was "a government of laws, and not of men".[1]
This is meant to be a safeguard against tyranny. No office holder can get to a position of absolute power. However, some have argued that a constitution can be written in such a way that it lets tyranny arise, and that a constitution is therefore not a fail proof safeguard against tyranny.[2]
Aristotle was the first to write about the idea in his works on politics.
Constitutional monarchies are a special case; even though the monarch is not elected, the people still elect other governing bodies. A constitution may limit the power of the monarch.