Journal of Constitutional Law (Dec 2021)
The Issue of Unamendable Norm in the First Constitution of Georgia
Abstract
The 1918 Act of Independence of Georgia is the first act of constitutional significance, which defined the Democratic Republic as a form of the political structure in Georgia. The main factors that led to the change in Georgia’s traditional form of monarchical government were the fear of restoring the monarchy itself and the need to shift to a form of state governance that would establish the principle of public representation in the governmental system and would ensure the realization of the idea that the people are the government’s source of authority. It is noteworthy that this choice was solid and acknowledged by the political authorities, which is confirmed by the recognition and assurance of the Democratic Republic as an immutable form of the Georgian political structure in the 1921 Constitution of Georgia. The purpose of this article is to discuss the form of the political structure of the state defined by the First Constitution of Georgia, to assess of the major normative features of the constitutional norm and to analyze of the determinants of the establishment of the Democratic Republic as a permanent and an immutable norm of the Constitution. The paper discusses the political and legal preconditions, goals, and the legal nature of the establishment of a democratic republic as an immutable norm. As regards to the immutable norms a parallel is drawn between modern states’ constitutions and the corresponding conclusions are presented in article.
