The 1964 Constitution Is In Fact A Replica Of The 1961 Constitution With Sovereignty Added On To What Extent Is This Statement Correct Term paper

While the free essays can give you inspiration for writing, they cannot be used 'as is' because they will not meet your assignment's requirements. If you are in a time crunch, then you need a custom written term paper on your subject ( the 1964 constitution is in fact a replica of the 1961 constitution with sovereignty added on to what extent is this statement correct )
Here you can hire an independent writer/researcher to custom write you an authentic essay to your specifications that will pass any plagiarism test (e.g. Turnitin). Waste no more time!

The Independence Constitution of Malta of 1964 established Malta as a liberal parliamentary democracy. It safeguarded the fundamental human rights of citizens, and promised a separation between the executive, judicial and legislative powers, with regular elections founded on universal suffrage. Malta still had the three organs of the State even before independence. The present constitution was developed through constitutional history and its evolution.

The constitutions of Malta fell under three main categories. These were:

a) those over which the British possessed total power;

b) the intermediate genres of constitutions (1921-1947), where we had self-government (the 1961 constitution was very similar to these constitutions);

c) the Independence Constitution of 1964.

On the 27th July 1960 the Secretary of State for the Colonies declared to the House of Commons the wish of Her Majesty’s Government to reinstate representative government in Malta and declare that it was now time to work out a new constitution where elections could be held as soon as it was established. He also notified the House of the appointment of a Constitutional Commission, under the chairmanship of Sir Hilary Blood, to devise thorough constitutional schemes after consultation with representatives of the Maltese people and local interests. The Commissioners presented their report on the 5th day of December 1960. The report was published on the 8th day of March 1961. That same day, the Secretary of State declared to the House of Commons that Her Majesty’s Government had taken a decision. The Commissioner’s constitutional recommendations to be the basis for the subsequent Malta constitution were to be granted.


The 1961 Constitution was also known as the Blood constitution. It was enclosed in the Malta (Constitution) Order in Council 1961 and it was completed on the 24th day of October of that same year. This constitution is found within the publication of the Supplement of the Government Gazette of the 31st October 1961 (No. 11,346). The statement that the Order makes provision for a new constitution where Malta is given self-government is found on the final page of the Order in Council.

The 1961 constitution provided the backbone for our Independence Constitution. A date was provided to guarantee this legal continuity. An indispensable characteristic of this constitution is the substitution of the diarchic system, which was no longer practicable, by system of only one Government, the Government of Malta, with full legislative and executive powers.

At that time Malta was still a colony and responsibility for defence and external affairs were referred to Her Majesty’s Government. There was a clear indication that the road towards independence continued and now was at a highly developed stage. The status of independence was nearing. It is imperative to recognise that this constitution established most of the features of the 1964 Constitution. The British recognised Malta as a State (Section 2: 1961 Constitution) – “The State of Malta”.

Another important characteristic of this constitution is an innovative introduction of a chapter covering the safeguarding of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Individual which can be located in Articles 5-17 of the 1961 Constitution. This is fairly significant because Fundamental Human Rights are a protection for the individual from the State. In the 1961 Constitution, Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms are found in Chapter 4. The protection of freedom of movement was introduced only in the 1964 constitution. The declaration of rights of the inhabitants of the island of Malta and Gozo dated 15th June 1802 gives a collective declaration of rights.

The 1961 Constitution gave birth to what is recognised as Parliament in the 1964 Independence Constitution. The Cabinet had the general direction and management of the Government of...

The rest of the paper is available free of charge to our registered users. The registration process just couldn't be easier. Log in or register now. It is all free!
You should cite this paper as follows:

MLA Style
. EssayMania.com. Retrieved on 25 May, 2012 from
    <http://essaymania.com/64089/-the-1964-constitution-is-in-fact-a-replica-of-the-1961-constitution-with-sovereignty-added-on-to-what-extent-is-this-statement-correct->

More College Papers

Abortion essay
Should Late-Term Abortion Be Banned? One of the most ethical controversial issues been debated now in United States is whether late- term abortion should be banned or not. Most people argued that it is proper to ban late-term abortion. They believe that it is un-ethical and a murder of an unborn ch

The Miranda Debate essay
The Miranda Debate Miranda is one of the best-known cases in the history of the Supreme Court. It represents the Court's determination to treat even the lowliest of criminals with the same dignity and respect as the wealthiest celebrity. This case established the Fifth Amendment right of the accuse

Technology Is Changing The Way We Listen To Music essay
Jason Nikouyeh Professor Willis English 111, Section 133 4 November 1999 Technology is Changing the Way We Listen to Music Downloading MP3s from the Internet should be made legal. An MP3 is a near CD quality digital recording of a musical piece that is compressed so it can be distributed thr