Nature of the State

In most countries, The Constitution is the Supreme Law. No laws, people or structures exceed the authority of the Constitution. Laws, actions, and powers cannot be valid if they contradict or are inconsistent with the provisions of The Constitution. In some countries, however, the Constitution is not the supreme legal instrument. That authority, instead, rests with the elected Parliament, granting law-makers tremendous powers to pass laws that may, in fact, be in contradiction to a less authoritative Constitution.

As African States progressively gained independence from colonial rule, they established themselves as Constitutional Democracies, guided by the rule of law as outlined in a Constitution that confirms and protects the rights of all citizens, through whom the representative government of each country is elected.