Lawyers' paradise
Topic: Making of the Constitution: Constituent Assembly, Sources and Salient Features · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
"Lawyers' paradise" is a criticism linked to Ivor Jennings (1953). It says the Constitution is so long and full of legal detail that it suits lawyers best. Lawyers would earn their living interpreting it, and its many detailed clauses would invite court cases. The usual reply is that detail is a safeguard in a new democracy. When rules are written down clearly, those in power have less room to abuse them.
Example
Many countries leave the rules for bodies such as the Election Commission and the public service commissions to ordinary laws. India's Constitution sets them out itself. Critics say this kind of detail gives more grounds for court cases. Supporters say it protects these bodies from being changed easily by a passing majority.
Don't confuse with
- Carbon copy of the 1935 Act: that criticism is about where the detail came from, which was colonial law. "Lawyers' paradise" is about what the detail leads to: interpretation and court cases.
Related concepts
- Borrowed constitution
- Carbon copy of the 1935 Act
- Criticism of the Constituent Assembly as unrepresentative