Editing Constitutionality (section)

== Applicability ==
An act or [[statute]] enacted as [[law]] either by a national [[legislature]] or by a subordinate-level legislature such as that of a [[state (administrative division)|state]] or [[province]] may be declared unconstitutional.

However, governments do not only create laws but also enforce the laws set forth in the document defining the government, which is the constitution. 

When the proper court determines that a legislative act or law conflicts with the constitution, it finds that law unconstitutional and declares it void in whole or in part. 

Depending on the type of legal system, a statute may be declared unconstitutional by any court or only by special [[constitution#constitutional courts|constitutional courts]] with authority to rule on the validity of a statute.

In some countries, the legislature may create any law for any purpose, and there is no provision for courts to declare a law unconstitutional. That can occur either because the country has [[Uncodified constitution|no codified constitution]] that laws must conform to like in the [[United Kingdom]] and [[New Zealand]] or because the constitution is codified, but no court has the authority to strike down laws on the basis of it like in the [[Netherlands]] and [[Switzerland]]. There may be other remedies however, such as how Swiss voters can, [[Voting in Switzerland|by plebiscite]], void federal legislation by petitioning for a direct vote of the citizenry as to whether the law should be upheld or not.

In many jurisdictions, the [[supreme court]] or [[constitutional court]] is the final legal arbiter that renders an opinion on whether a law or an action of a government official is constitutional. Constitutions define the powers of government, Thus, national constitutions typically apply only to government actions. Only governments can then violate the nation's constitution, but there are exceptions.