CONSTITUTION AND CONSTITUTIONALISM 377
(2) to enforce the law and (3) to interpret the law and the rights claimed by the citizens against the State. If it is a composite State, i.e., a Federal State, then the scope of Constitutional Law would, in addition to those matters, include matters pertaining to the inter-relations between the Central Polity and the other polities making up the Federation, legal, executive and financial.
Given the scope what is the place of Constitutional Law in legal jurisprudence ? Prof. Holland calls it a part of the Public Law of the country. No one can deny that this is the correct view. His reasoning logically leads to that conclusion. Law as an enforceable rule of conduct relates to rights. When it relates to rights as between the citizens of the same State it is called Municipal Law. When it relates to two different States, it is called International Law. The Municipal Law of a State falls into two categories. One is called the Private Law and the other is called Public Law. Rights which may be enforced by one citizen against another fall under what is called Private Law. Rights which the State asserts against citizens to enforce against itself fall under what is called Public Law. Similarly in a federal organization the rights which the Centre has against the States necessarily belong to the field of Public Law. On no view they can be deemed to fall under Private Law.
In so far as Constitutional Law deals with the rights claimed by the State against another State or by the State against the citizens and the rights claimed by the citizens against the State, Constitutional Law must be admitted as a branch of Public Law. This explanation of the nature and scope of Constitional Law will justify why only certain heads have been selected for discussion and exposition. They are selected because their discussion offers the best method of exposing the Constitution as a part of the Public Law of India and bringing to light its special features.
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