(R)EVOLUTION OF THE IDEA OF CONSTITUTIONAL RULE

Abstract

The basic idea of constitutionalism is the ideal of constitutionally limited authority. However, through the longest period of human civilization as a form of government appears monarchy which was based on the postulates of the Divine origin of both the government and the ruler and his undeniable and unlimited power. The evolution of the idea of citizens as the original bearers of sovereign authority and the need of government constraints evolved gradually, especially during the Middle Ages, to bring about the true revolution with the enlightenment of the 18th century when it became the theoretical and positive legal basis of contemporary democratic constitutions. In this (r)evolutionary emergence, the Declaration of Independence of the United States from 1776 and the Declaration of the Rights of Human and Citizen of 1789 played a crucial role as the crown of the struggle for equality and freedom of citizens on the universal values of natural law.