Session 2

European institutions and comparative international systems - 1

European inst. and comp. inter. systems – How law is made

Definitions
 A State is a sovereign organized political community under one
Government. It is an entity that meets the following:
o A permanent population
o A defined territory
o A government capable of maintaining effective control over the
corresponding territory and of conducting international relations
with other States
 State legitimacy is derived from the belief that a certain group has been
placed in power in a legal manner, and that their actions are justifiable
according to a specific code of written laws.
 The social contract is an implicit agreement among the members of a
society to cooperate for social benefits, for example by sacrificing some
individual freedom for state protection.
 Electoral systems are a set of rules that determines how elections and
referendums are conducted and how their results are determined.
 A constitution are the fundamental rights of citizens.

Concepts
The Social Contract
 Legitimate political authority comes only from a social contract agreed
upon by all citizens for their mutual preservation.
State of nature The Social Contract
Physical freedom and no restraint on We place restraints on our behaviour,
our behaviour to live in a community
 By giving up our physical freedom, we gain the civil freedom of being
able to think rationally. Check on our impulses and desires, and thus
learn to think morally.
Social contract  Civil Society  rational thinking  moral thinking
 The sovereign expresses the general will that aims for the common good
o Authority over matters of public concern = absolute authority
 Session 2
European institutions and comparative international systems - 2

Law Process
 Law making as a process start with elections, in which the will of an
individual is converted into collective will.
 Voting right is fundamental for a democracy
 Political parties structure democracy
 Recent rise of populism and crisis of the traditional system
o Due to change in communication
 A state also needs:
o A government to exercise executive power
o A judiciary to enforce legislation
 Limits of power - Montesquieu
o Keeping the three branches separate
 Executive, legislative and judicial
o Each branch is given certain power