Constitutionality is the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or guidelines set forth in the applicable
constitution. An act (or
statute) which is enacted as
law either by the council of a
city or
county, by the legislature of a
state or
province, or by a national
legislature, may be declared
unconstitutional. When the proper court determines that the act in question conflicts with the constitution, it finds that law unconstitutional and declares it void in whole or in part. This is called
judicial review. The portion of the law that is declared void is considered to be
struck down, or the entire statute is considered to be struck from the statute books.
Depending on the type of legal system, a statute may be declared unconstitutional by any court or only by special Constitutional courts which have the authority to rule on the validity of a statute.
In some countries, not having a formal written constitution, the legislature may create any law for any purpose and there is no provision for a law to be declared unconstitutional.
A constitutional violation is thus somewhat different from the breaking of a normal law, both in terms of seriousness and punishment. Declaring a law unconstitutional does not result in the punishment of those who passed it down.
