Unitary System of Government

Unitary System of Government

A Unitary government is a government where all powers are concentrated in a single central government, which does not share power with any other body in the country, but delegates powers to regional and local governments and other subordinate bodies. All government powers are concentrated in the central or national government as the only source of authority from which power emanates. A country operating a unitary system of government usually adopts a unitary constitution. The constitution though supreme, is usually flexible and not rigid, as the government has power to amend as may be necessary.

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1. Attempts at Defining the Rule of Law-Supremacy of the Law
2. Basis and Justification of Federalism
3. CHARACTERISTICS OF A FEDERAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
4. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
5. Colonial Period in Nigeria – 1951-1953-The MaCpherson Constitution 1951-The Lyttleton Constitution, 1954
6. Constitution as a Social Contract
7. Constitutional Forms
8. Definition of the Concept Called Separation of Powers
9. Enforcement of Rights and Protection
10. Equality before the Law

There is no constitutional sharing and division of powers between the central government and the regional governments or local authorities. Usually there is no constitutional conflict between the central government and its subordinate regional or local district authorities, which are created for administrative purposes and are an extension of the national government. The national government can alter the powers and boundaries of the various constituent parts of the country and there may be no need for separate parliaments in the constituent parts of the country.

The central parliament often has parliamentary supremacy to make laws for the country. A unitary system usually has a strong and powerful central government. The people usually owe allegiance to only one government, that is, the central government. Examples of countries operating a unitary system of government are the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Italy, Gambia, Liberia, Cameroon, Ethiopia, etc. The reasons why different countries adopt a unitary system of government may vary slightly from one country to another. However, the common reasons include: the small land area or small size of the country, the homogenous nature of the people of the country and the absence of serious tribal differences among them. Others are absence of the fear of domination of the minority by the majority tribes, possession of a common language and culture which bind the people together in unity, absence of marked economic inequalities among the different peoples or regions that make up the country and thus lack of fear of economic domination of one people by another, absence of minority people who may be afraid of a majority tribe dominating the strong central government that does not share power with any other tier of government under the constitution, the need for cohesion of the country and to build strong solidarity and loyalty in the people to the national government, encourage patriotism and promote national unity instead of tribalism, sectionalism, stateism, etc, which often mark federalism