By Khushi Agarwal
Introduction
We live in a society that is governed by law. Every country has its own rules and procedures that bind its citizens and prescribe them to do or not to do something. Many a times these rules and procedures are in the form of Constitution.
Most of the countries have their own written constitution such as Constitution of India and Constitution of USA. But besides having the constitution, many countries also have different Acts such as India have Companies Act, 2013, Indian evidence Act, 1872, etc. which also binds its citizens.
Often times we hear that a person has been charged under Section 302 for murder or that someone has committed the offence of rape under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code. We also hear that people are filing a petition in the Supreme Court for violating Article 21 of the constitution or someone saying that I have freedom of speech and expression under Article 19.
We very frequently listen these two words, Article and Section. One must wonder that is there any difference between the two or are they the same thing.
Thus, this article covers the basic difference between and Article and a Section.
What is an Article?
Article refers to the different separate and written instruments which may be within a constitution, statute or contract which is further divided under sections. When any important fundamental document is drafted which may be the grundnorm of the country or system, then the divisions of it are mostly referred to as Articles.
For example, Constitution of India is first divided into Parts and then the Parts are divided into Articles. That is the reason, we listen that Article 14 being violated and not Section 14.
International conventions, United Nations charter and Constitution of countries often use Articles and not Sections although there is not any compulsion to it.
What is a Section?
Sections refer to the sub-divisions in a statute, textbook or legal code. They are the sub-divisions of Articles and collectively form Articles.
Sections are generally used in the Acts such as Negotiable Instruments Act or any other act rather than being used in Constitutions. As soon as any Bill receives the consent of the President, it becomes the Act and that Act which is binding on all the citizens of the country is divided into sub-divisions known as Sections.
What is the need of Articles and Sections?
In our books we find that all the matter is being divided into different chapters and the chapters are further being divided into sub points. This is done to separate different topics and to make things more clear.
Similar is the case with constitution and Acts. In order to differentiate one topic from another and to make the enforceability of the laws easier, the content of these Acts and Constitution are being divided into Articles and Sections.
For example, India has a longest written constitution. Suppose if all the matter would have been written in the form of a paragraph, hardly anyone would have read the whole constitution and we today would not have been able to differentiate between our fundamental rights and duties. Also, enforceability of that constitution would have been so difficult.
Therefore, in order to avoid all these problems, constitution has been divided into parts and Articles. Now we know that if someone has violated our right to privacy, he/she can be held liable under Article 21 of Part III of the constitution which talks about Right to Life.
Therefore, to make things easier and clear, there is a need of Articles and Sections. Every Article or Section talks about one topic only and defines it in depth.
Difference between Article and Section
- Often Article is being understood as a wider term whereas Section is understood as a narrower one. Sections are often the sub-divisions of the Articles and collectively form Article. Therefore, Articles are the combination of Sections.
For example, in Constitution of USA, many Sections together form one Article. Hence, Article is a wider term and includes many different Sections.
- Articles are mostly but not compulsorily used in Constitution whereas Sections are being used in Acts. For example, Indian Contract Act, 1872 is divided into 266 Sections and each Section defining different topic.
- Article is independent, that is, it is mostly self-explanatory. We are not required to refer to any other Article or Section in order to understand anyone Article. But this is not the case with Section.
- Sections are not independent, that is they are inter-related. One Section relates to another and in order to understand any one section we may need to first understand other section. For example, in order to understand Section 13 of the Partnership Act, we have to first understand Partnership under Section 4.
But in order to understand Article 19 of the Constitution, we may not be required to first understand Article 14 or any other Article.
- All Articles may or may not include Sections but Sections can never include Articles.
Is there any similarity between the two?
Both Articles and Sections are created for the same purpose and that is to part a big content into small divisions. There is no rule that Articles cannot be used in Acts or Sections cannot be used in Constitution.
Both can be used in place of each other. For example, in Constitution of United States of America, the matter is being divided into Articles and then the Articles are being divided into Sections. Therefore, Sections are also being used in the Constitution.
Conclusion
Therefore, although the Article is considered as a wider term and a collection of several sections, they both are made for the same purpose, that is, to divide the content into small divisions based to their topics.
Articles are self-contained compositions and therefore, differ from Sections. As there is no rule, any word can be used anywhere, that is, Articles can be used in Acts and Sections can also be used in Constitution.
However, if we see it from Indian perspective, whenever we are referring to the Constitution of India, we must use the word Article as our Constitution is being into Articles and not Sections.
Whereas, whenever we are referring to any separate act which is binding on the citizens of the country, we should use the word Section as all the Acts of India contains Section rather than Article.