Constitutionalization of the Opposition in Political Systems of European States

Abstract

Political science literature distinguishes two forms of institutionalization of the opposition – political (indirect) institutionalization and legal (direct) institutionalization. The first is based on the assumption that the opposition i san integral part of the Political system, which results from the basic constitutional rules, a catalog of civil rights or electoral law, while the second relies on placing a phrase reffering to “opposition” in a specific legal act: resolution, law or constitution. This article focuses just on the second form of institutionalization of the opposition, or more precisely, on its constitutionalization. The aim of the author of the study was to examine the scale of this phenomenon in the political systems of European states, as well as to present the context in which constitution-makers refer to the “opposition” in the content of the constitution, and what are the differences in this scope. The analysis embranced the constitutions of all European states, therefore the research kept comprehensive character. Among the used methods were: the method of content analysis and the comparative method, and the source base – apart from the constitutions – included: monographs, collective studies, scientific articles and other legal acts. Research has shown that the constitutionalization of political opposition is a rare phenomenon in Europe, encompassing only a few states. Those who decided to do it, differ the methods and solutions used for this purpose.