A constitution is a system for governance, often codified as a written document, that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity. In Law, codification is the process of collecting and restating the law of a Jurisdiction in certain areas usually by subject forming a Legal code. In the case of countries, this term refers specifically to a national constitution defining the fundamental political principles, and establishing the structure, procedures, powers and duties, of a government. Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Power is a measure of a person's ability to control the environment around them including the behavior of other people Duty (from "due" that which is owing O Fr deu did past participle of devoir Lat For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. Most national constitutions also guarantee certain rights to the people. A right is a legal or moral Entitlement or Permission. Rights are of vital importance in theories of Justice and deontological ethics Historically, before the evolution of modern-style, codified national constitutions, the term constitution could be applied to any important law that governed the functioning of a government. Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society

Constitutions concern different kinds of political organizations. Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions They are found extensively in regional government, at supranational (e. Supranationalism is a method of decision-making in political communities wherein power is democratically entrusted to independent experienced appointed personalities or to representatives g. European Union), Federal (e. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in A federation ( Latin: foedus, covenant is a union comprising a number of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central ("federal" g. United States Constitution), state or provincial (e. The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme Law of the United States. A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. g. Constitution of Maryland), and sub-national levels. The current Constitution of the State of Maryland, which was ratified by the people of the state on September 18, 1867, forms the Basic law for the Examples of administrative divisions English terms In many of the following terms corresponding to British cultural influence areas of relatively low mean population They are also found in many political groups, such as political parties, pressure groups, and trade unions. A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral An interest group (also advocacy group, lobby group, pressure group or special interest group) is an organized collection of people who seek A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming

Non-political entities, whether incorporated or not, also have constitutions. A constitution is the set of Regulations which govern the conduct of non-political entities whether Incorporated or not These include corporations and voluntary associations. A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business A voluntary association or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, unincorporated association, or just an association) is a group

Etymology

The term constitution comes from Latin, referring to issuing any important law, usually by the Roman emperor. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Later, the term was widely used in canon law to indicate certain relevant decisions, mainly from the Pope. Canon law is internal ecclesiastical law governing the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Anglican Communion of churches History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and

General features

Generally, all constitutions confer specific powers to an organization on the condition that it abides by this constitution or charter limitation.

The Latin term ultra vires describes activities of officials within an organization or polity that fall outside the constitutional or statutory authority of those officials. Ultra vires is a Latin phrase that literally means "beyond the powers" For example, a students' union may be prohibited as an organization from engaging in activities not concerning students; if the union becomes involved in non-student activities these activities are considered ultra vires of the union's charter, and nobody would be compelled by the charter to follow them. A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, or guild of students is a Student Organization An example from the constitutional law of nation-states would be a provincial government in a federal state trying to legislate in an area exclusively enumerated to the federal government in the constitution, such as ratifying a treaty. Ultra vires gives a legal justification for the forced cessation of such action, which might be enforced by the people with the support of a decision of the judiciary, in a case of judicial review. In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State Judicial review is the power of the courts to annul the acts of the executive and/or the legislative power where it finds them incompatible with a higher norm A violation of rights by an official would be ultra vires because a (constitutional) right is a restriction on the powers of government, and therefore that official would be exercising powers he doesn't have.

When an official act is unconstitutional, i. e. it is not a power granted to the government by the Constitution, that act is null and void, and the nullification is ab initio, that is, from inception, not from the date of the finding. Ab Initio Software Corporation was founded in the mid 1990's by the former CEO of Thinking Machines Corporation Sheryl Handler, and several other former employees It was never "law", even though, if it had been a statute or statutory provision, it might have been adopted according to the procedures for adopting legislation. Sometimes the problem is not that a statute is unconstitutional, but the application of it is, on a particular occasion, and a court may decide that while there are ways it could be applied that are constitutional, that instance was not allowed or legitimate. In such a case, only the application may be ruled unconstitutional. Historically, the remedy for such violations have been petitions for common law writs, such as quo warranto. In Law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial Jurisdiction. Quo warranto ( Medieval Latin for "by what warrant?" is one of the Prerogative writs that requires the person to whom it is directed to show what

History and development

Excavations in modern-day Iraq by Ernest de Sarzec in 1877 found evidence of the earliest known code of justice, issued by the Sumerian king Urukagina of Lagash ca 2300 BC. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. Ernest Choquin de Sarzec (1832-1901 was a French archaeologist to whom is attributed the discovery of the civilization of ancient Sumer. Sumer ( Sumerian: sux-Latn [[Ki (earth ki]]-[[EN (cuneiform en]]-'''ĝir15''', Akkadian: Šumeru; possibly Biblical Shinar Urukagina (reigned ca 2380 BC &ndash 2360 BC, Short chronology) alternately rendered as Uruinimgina or Irikagina, was a ruler Lagash ( is modern Tell al-Hiba, Iraq. Located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk Perhaps the earliest prototype for a law of government, this document itself has not yet been discovered; however it is known that it allowed some rights to his citizens. For example, it is known that it relieved tax for widows and orphans, and protected the poor from the usury of the rich. Usury (ˈjuːʒəri comes from the Medieval Latin usuria, "interest" or "excessive interest" from the Latin usura "interest"

Detail from Hammurabi's stele shows him receiving the laws of Babylon from the seated sun deity. Hammurabi ( Akkadian from Amorite ˤAmmurāpi, "the kinsman is a healer" from ˤAmmu, "paternal kinsman" and Rāpi A stele (from Greek:, stēlē, ˈstiːli plural stelae,, stēlai, ˈstiːlaɪ also found Latinised singular stela

After that, many governments ruled by special codes of written laws. The oldest such document still known to exist seems to be the Code of Ur-Nammu of Ur (ca 2050 BC). The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known tablet containing a Law code surviving today Ur ( Sumerian:urim; Akkadian: ?) is modern Tell el-Mukayyar, Iraq, and was a city in ancient Sumer. Some of the better-known ancient law codes include the code of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin, the code of Hammurabi of Babylonia, the Hittite code, the Assyrian code, Mosaic law, and the Cyrus cylinder by Cyrus the Great of Persia. Lipit-Ishtar (Lipit-Eshtar was the fifth ruler of the first dynasty of Isin, and ruled from around 1934 BCE to 1924 BCE Isin (modern Ishan al-Bahriyat was a city of lower Mesopotamia, which flourished during the 20th century BC. The Code of Hammurabi ( Codex Hammurabi) is the best-preserved ancient Law code, created ca Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital The Hittite laws have been preserved on a number of Hittite cuneiform tablets found at Hattusa ( CTH 291-292 listing 200 laws Assyrian law was very similar to Sumerian and Babylonian law, however notably more brutal than its predecessors Halakha ( הלכה; alternative transliterations include Halocho and Halacha) is the collective body of Jewish Religious law The Cyrus cylinder, also known as the Cyrus the Great cylinder, is a document issued by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great in the form of a clay The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia

In 621 BC, a scribe named Draco wrote the laws of the city-state of Athens; and being quite cruel, this code prescribed the death penalty for any offence. Draco (ˈdreɪkoʊ from Greek, drákɔːn was the first legislator of ancient Athens, Greece, 7th century BC. A city-state is a Region controlled exclusively by a City, usually having Sovereignty. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. In 594 BC, Solon, the ruler of Athens, created the new Solonian Constitution. Solon ( ancient Greek:, c 638 BC&ndash558 BC was an Athenian Statesman, Lawmaker and Lyric poet. The Solonian Constitution was created by Solon in the early 6th century BC. It eased the burden of the workers, however it made the ruling class to be determined by wealth, rather than by birth. Cleisthenes again reformed the Athenian constitution and set it on a democratic footing in 508 BC. Cleisthenes (Κλεισθένης also Clisthenes or Kleisthenes) was a noble Athenian of the Alcmaeonid family

Aristotle (ca 350 BC) was one of the first in recorded history to make a formal distinction between ordinary law and constitutional law, establishing ideas of constitution and constitutionalism, and attempting to classify different forms of constitutional government. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. For the revolt in Brazil, see Constitutionalist Revolution. The term Constitutionalism is a word with a variety of meanings The most basic definition he used to describe a constitution in general terms was "the arrangement of the offices in a state". In his works Constitution of Athens, Politics, and Nicomachean Ethics he explores different constitutions of his day, including those of Athens, Sparta, and Carthage. The Constitution of the Athenians (or Athenaion Politeia, or The Athenian constitution) is the name of either of two texts from Classical antiquity one Aristotle's Politics ( Greek Πολιτικά is a work of Political philosophy. Nicomachean Ethics (sometimes spelled "Nichomachean" or Ta Ethika, is a work by Aristotle on Virtue and Moral character which Carthage (Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Carthago from the Phoenician קרת חדשת phn-Latn Qart-ḥadašt meaning new town) refers He classified both what he regarded as good and bad constitutions, and came to the conclusion that the best constitution was a mixed system, including monarchic, aristocratic, and democratic elements. He also distinguished between citizens, who had the exclusive opportunity to participate in the state, and non-citizens and slaves who did not.

The Romans first codified their constitution in 449 BC as the Twelve Tables. The Law of the Twelve Tables ( Lex Duodecim Tabularum, more informally simply Duodecim Tabulae) was the ancient Legislation that stood at the foundation They operated under a series of laws that were added from time to time, but Roman law was never reorganised into a single code until the Codex Theodosianus (AD 438); later, in the Eastern Empire the Codex repetitæ prælectionis (A. Roman law is the legal system of Ancient Rome. As used in the West the term commonly refers to legal developments prior to the Roman/Byzantine state's adopting The Codex Theodosianus ( Book of Theodosius) was a compilation of the laws of the Roman Empire under the Christian emperors since 312 The Corpus Juris Civilis ("Body of Civil Law" is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in Jurisprudence, issued from 529 D. 534) was highly influential throughout Europe. This was followed in the east by the Ecloga of Leo III the Isaurian (740) and the Basilica of Basil I (878). Leo III the Isaurian ' or the Syrian ' ( Greek: Λέων Γ΄ Leōn III) (c For the Russian ruler see Basil I of Russia Basil I, called the Macedonian ( Greek: Βασίλειος Α΄ο Μακεδών

The Edicts of Ashoka established constitutional principles for that 3^rd century BCE Maurya king's rule in Ancient India. The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of 33 inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls made by the Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan The 3rd century BC started the first day of 300 BC and ended the last day of 201 BC The Maurya Empire ( 322 – 185 BCE) ruled by the Mauryan dynasty was a geographically extensive and powerful political and military

Many of the Germanic peoples that filled the power vacuum left by the Western Roman Empire in the Early Middle Ages codified their laws. The Early Middle Ages is a period in the History of Europe following the fall of the Western Roman Empire spanning roughly five centuries from AD 500 One of the first of these Germanic law codes to be written was the Visigothic Code of Euric (471). Several Latin Law codes of the Germanic peoples written in the Early Middle Ages (also known as leges barbarorum Euric, also known as Evaric Erwig or Eurico in Spanish and Portuguese (c This was followed by the Lex Burgundionum, applying separate codes for Germans and for Romans; the Pactus Alamannorum; and the Salic Law of the Franks, all written soon after 500. The Lex Burgundionum ( Burgundian Laws, also lex gundobada or loi gombette) refers to the Law code of the Burgundians, probably The terms Lex Alamannorum and Pactus Alamannorum refer to two early medieval Law codes of the Alamanni. Salic law ( Lat Lex Salica) was an important body of traditional Law codified for governing the Salian Franks in the Early Middle Ages The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group In 506, the Breviarum or "Lex Romana" of Alaric II, king of the Visigoths, adopted and consolidated the Codex Theodosianus together with assorted earlier Roman laws. The Breviary of Alaric ( Breviarium Alaricianum or Lex Romana Visigothorum) is a collection of Roman law, compiled by order of Alaric II, Alaric II, also known as Alarik Alarich and Alarico in Spanish and Portuguese or Alaricus in Latin (d Systems that appeared somewhat later include the Edictum Rothari of the Lombards (643), the Lex Visigothorum (654), the Lex Alamannorum (730) and the Lex Frisionum (ca 785). The Edictum Rothari (also Edictus Rothari or Edictum Rotharis) was the first written compilation of Lombard Law, codified and promulgated The Lombards ( Latin Langobardi, whence the alternative names Langobards and Longobards) were a Germanic people originally from The Visigothic Code ( Latin, Forum Iudicum or Liber Judiciorum; Spanish, Libro de los Juicios) comprises a set Lex Frisionum, the "Law Code of the Frisians" was recorded in Latin during the reign of Charlemagne, after the year 785, when the Frankish conquest

Japan's Seventeen-article constitution written in 604, reportedly by Prince Shōtoku, is an early example of a constitution in Asian political history. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. The Seventeen-article constitution (十七条憲法 Jūshichijō kenpō) is a document originating in 604 and said to be authored by Prince Shōtoku. also known as, was a Regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan. Influenced by Buddhist teachings, the document focuses more on social morality than institutions of government per se and remains a notable early attempt at a government constitution. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Another is the Constitution of Medina, drafted by the prophet of Islam, Muhammad, in 622. The Constitution of Medina, also known as the Charter of Medina, was drafted by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in 622 For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics It is said to be one of the earliest constitutions which guarantees basic rights to religions and adherents as well as reinforcing a judiciary process regarding the rules of warfare, tax and civil disputes.

The Gayanashagowa, or 'oral' constitution of the Iroquois nation, has been estimated to date from between 1090 and 1150, and is also thought by some to have provided a partial inspiration for the US Constitution. Gayanashagowa or the Great Law of Peace of the Iroquois (or Haudenosaunee Six Nations is the oral constitution that created the Iroquois Confederacy. The Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the "League of Peace and Power" the "Five Nations" the "Six Nations" or the "People of the Longhouse

In England, Henry I's proclamation of the Charter of Liberties in 1100 bound the king for the first time in his treatment of the clergy and the nobility. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Henry I (c 1068/1069 – 1 December 1135) was the fourth son of William I the Conqueror, the first King of England after the Norman The Charter of Liberties, also called the Coronation Charter, was a written proclamation by Henry I of England, issued upon his ascension to the throne in This idea was extended and refined by the English barony when they forced King John to sign Magna Carta in 1215. John (24 December 1167 &ndash 19 October 1216 reigned as a King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death Magna Carta ( Latin for Great Charter, literally " Great Paper " also called Magna Carta Libertatum ( Great Charter of Freedoms The most important single article of the Magna Carta, related to "habeas corpus", provided that the king was not permitted to imprison, outlaw, exile or kill anyone at a whim — there must be due process of law first. Habeas corpus (ˈheɪbiəs ˈkɔɹpəs ( Latin: command that you have the body is the name of a legal action or Writ, through which a person can seek relief Due process (more fully due process of law) is the principle that a person has a right to receive notice and be heard in an orderly proceeding in order to protect his or her This article, Article 39, of the Magna Carta read:

No free man shall be arrested, or imprisoned, or deprived of his property, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any way destroyed, nor shall we go against him or send against him, unless by legal judgement of his peers, or by the law of the land.

Constitution of May 3, 1791 (painting by Jan Matejko, 1891). The Constitution of May 3 1791 (Konstytucja Trzeciego Maja Gegužės trečiosios konstitucija Канстытуцыя трэцьега траўня is generally recognized as Jan Matejko ( (also known as Jan Mateyko; June 24 1838 Free City of Kraków; - November 1 1893 Kraków) was a Polish painter Polish King Stanisław August (left, in regal ermine-trimmed cloak), enters St. John's Cathedral, where Sejm deputies will swear to uphold the new Constitution; in background, Warsaw's Royal Castle, where the Constitution has just been adopted. The Polish people, or Poles, (Polacy) are a Western Slavic Ethnic group of Central Europe, living predominantly in Poland. Stanisław II August Poniatowski (born Count Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; January 17 1732 – February 12 1798 was the last King Chamber of deputies is the name given to a legislative body such as the Lower house of a Bicameral legislature or can refer to a Unicameral legislature The Royal Castle in Warsaw (Zamek Królewski w Warszawie is a Royal palace and official residence of the Polish monarchs, located at the Plac Zamkowy in

This provision became the cornerstone of English liberty after that point. The social contract in the original case was between the king and the nobility, but was gradually extended to all of the people. Social contract describes a broad class of republican theories whose subjects are implied agreements by which people form Nations and maintain a Social order It led to the system of Constitutional Monarchy, with further reforms shifting the balance of power from the monarchy and nobility to the House of Commons. A constitutional monarchy, or a limited monarchy, is a form of Constitutional Government, wherein either an elected or hereditary Monarch is The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords

Between 1220 and 1230, a Saxon administrator, Eike von Repgow, composed the Sachsenspiegel, which became the supreme law used in parts of Germany as late as 1900. The Free State of Saxony (Freistaat Sachsen ˈzaksən Swobodny Stat Sakska is the easternmost federal state of Germany. Eike von Repgow (Repchowe Repichowe Repkow (* c 1180; † c 1235) from Repgow now Reppichau in Saxony-Anhalt) was a medieval German administrator The Sachsenspiegel (lit "Saxon mirror" Low German: Sassenspegel, Middle Low German: Sassen Speyghel

In 1236, Sundiata Keita presented an oral constitution federating the Mali Empire, called the Kouroukan Fouga. Sundiata Keita or Sundjata Keyita or Mari Djata I (c 1217 - c The Mali Empire or Manding Empire or Manden Kurufa was a Medieval West African civilization of the Mandinka from c The Kouroukan Fouga or Kurukan Fuga was the Constitution of the Mali Empire (1235-1645

Meanwhile, around 1240, the Coptic Egyptian Christian writer, 'Abul Fada'il Ibn al-'Assal, wrote the Fetha Negest in Arabic. A Copt ( Coptic: ouRemenkīmi enEkhristianos, literally Egyptian Christian) is a native Egyptian Christian. The Fetha Negest ( Ge'ez: ፍትሐ ነገሥት fitḥa nagaśt, "Law of the Kings" is a Legal code compiled around 1240 by the Coptic Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language 'Ibn al-Assal took his laws partly from apostolic writings and Mosaic law, and partly from the former Byzantine codes. There are a few historical records claiming that this law code was translated into Ge'ez and entered Ethiopia around 1450 in the reign of Zara Yaqob. Ge'ez (ግዕዝ, ɡɨʕɨz also transliterated Gi'iz, and referred to as Ethiopic) is an ancient South Semitic Language Zar'a Ya`qob or Zera Yacob ( Ge'ez ዘርአያዕቆብ zar'ā yāʿiqōb "Seed of Jacob" modern Even so, its first recorded use in the function of a constitution (supreme law of the land) is with Sarsa Dengel beginning in 1563. Sarsa Dengel ( Ge'ez ሠረጸ ድንግል śarṣa dingil, Amh The Fetha Negest remained the supreme law in Ethiopia until 1931, when a modern-style Constitution was first granted by Emperor Haile Selassie I. Haile Selassie I ( Ge'ez: am ኃይለ፡ ሥላሴ "Power of the Trinity " 23 July 1892 &ndash 27 August 1975 born Tafari Makonnen, was

Stefan Dušan, Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, made and enforced Dušan's Code in Serbia, in two state congresses: in 1349 in Skopje and in 1354 in Serres. Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( c.1308 – 20 December 1355) called Silni ("the Mighty" was the King of Serbia (from Dušan's Code ( Modern Serbian: Душанов законик Dušanov zakonik) is a legal code one of two the most significant cultural-historical monuments of Serbia (Србија Srbija) officially the Republic of Serbia (Република Србија Republika Srbija) is a Landlocked Country Skopje (Скопје; Shkup or Shkupi is the Capital and largest city in the Republic of Macedonia, with more than a quarter of the population Sérres or Sérrhae ( Greek: Σέρρες older form Σέρραι is a city in Macedonia, Greece.

In China, the Hongwu Emperor created and refined a document he called Ancestral Injunctions (first published in 1375, revised twice more before his death in 1398). China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Early life Zhu Yuanzhang was born in 1328 in Pei County Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province as the youngest of four sons These rules served in a very real sense as a constitution for the Ming Dynasty for the next 250 years. The Ming Dynasty ( or Empire of the Great Ming ( was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol -led

The earliest written constitution still governing a sovereign nation today may be that of San Marino. The Most Serene Republic of San Marino (Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino is a country in the Apennine Mountains. The Leges Statutae Republicae Sancti Marini was written in Latin and consists of six books. The Constitution of San Marino is distributed over a number of legislative instruments of which the most significant are the Statutes of 1600 and the Declaration of Citizen Rights The first book, with 62 articles, establishes councils, courts, various executive officers and the powers assigned to them. The remaining books cover criminal and civil law, judicial procedures and remedies. Written in 1600, the document was based upon the Statuti Comunali (Town Statute) of 1300, itself influenced by the Codex Justinianus, and it remains in force today.

In 1639, the Colony of Connecticut adopted the Fundamental Orders, which is considered the first North American constitution, and is the basis for every new Connecticut constitution since, and is also the reason for Connecticut's nickname, the Constitution State. The Colony of Connecticut was an English colony that became the U The Fundamental Orders were adopted by the Connecticut Colony council on January 14 1638 OS ( January 24 1639 NS Connecticut ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. Connecticut ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America.

The Corsican Constitution of 1755 and the Swedish Constitution of 1772 were the first post-Enlightenment constitutions in Europe. The first Corsican Constitution was drawn for the short-lived Corsican Republic, established in 1755 and in force until the Annexation of Corsica by Sweden's Constitution of 1772 took effect through a bloodless Coup d'état carried out by King Gustav III, establishing a brief Absolute monarchy in Sweden The Commonwealth of Massachusetts adopted its constitution in 1780, before the ratification of the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, also the Articles of Confederation was the governing Constitution of the alliance of thirteen independent and It is probably the oldest still-functioning nominal constitution, that is, where the document specifically declares itself to be a constitution. The United States Constitution, ratified 1789, was influenced by the British constitutional system and the political system of the United Provinces, plus the writings of Polybius, Locke, Montesquieu, and others. The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme Law of the United States. Polybius (ca 203 &ndash 120 BC, Greek) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book called The Histories John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704 was an English Philosopher. Charles-Louis de Secondat baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (Eng The document became a benchmark for republican and codified constitutions written thereafter. Republicanism is the Ideology of governing a nation as a Republic, with an emphasis on Liberty, Rule of law, Popular sovereignty Next were the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Constitution of May 3, 1791 and the French Constitution of September 3, 1791. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also known as the Most Serene Republic The Constitution of May 3 1791 (Konstytucja Trzeciego Maja Gegužės trečiosios konstitucija Канстытуцыя трэцьега траўня is generally recognized as

Principles of constitutional design

Government in some form goes back to when people were hunter-gatherers and lived in villages, and a common design consisting of a "council of elders," a "chief" who led hunting or war-making activities, and one or more "priests" who provided a religious guidance or sanction to various activities. ^[1] As people began to establish nations or empires and lived in cities, this design evolved into monarchical or feudal patterns, with conquerors or strongmen claiming to rule by "divine right. The Divine Right of Kings is a general term that refers to the philosophy and ideas used to justify the authority and legitimacy of Monarchs in Medieval and " Such rule led some thinkers to take the position that what mattered was not the design of governmental institutions and operations, but the character of the rulers. This view can be seen in Plato, who called for rule by "philosopher-kings. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece "^[2] Later writers, such as Aristotle, Cicero and Plutarch, would examine designs for government from a legal and historical standpoint. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Marcus Tullius Cicero ( Classical Latin ˈkikeroː usually ˈsɪsərəʊ in English January 3, 106 BC &ndash December 7, 43 BC was a Roman Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ( Greek: Μέστριος Πλούταρχος c

The Renaissance brought a series of political philosophers who wrote implied criticisms of the practices of monarchs and sought to identify principles of constitutional design that would be likely to yield more effective and just governance from their viewpoints. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere This began with revival of the Roman law of nations concept^[3] and its application to the relations among nations, and they sought to establish customary "laws of war and peace"^[4] to ameliorate wars and make them less likely. Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of States and Intergovernmental organizations. This led to considerations of what authority monarchs or other officials have and don't have, from where that authority derives, and the remedies for abusing such authority. ^[5]

A seminal juncture in this line of discourse arose in England from the Civil War, the Cromwellian Protectorate, the writings of Thomas Hobbes, Samuel Rutherford, the Levellers, John Milton, and James Harrington, leading to the debate between Robert Filmer, arguing for the divine right of monarchs, on the one side, and on the other, Henry Neville, James Tyrrell, Algernon Sidney, and John Locke. The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known The Commonwealth of England was the Republican government which ruled first England (including Wales) and then Ireland and Scotland Thomas Hobbes (born 5 April 1588died 4 December 1679 was an English philosopher, whose famous 1651 book Leviathan established the foundation Samuel Rutherford (1600? &ndash 1661 was a Scottish Presbyterian theologian and author See Levellers (disambiguation for alternative meanings. The Levellers were members of a mid 17th century English Political movement John Milton ( 9 December, 1608 – 8 November, 1674) was an English Poet, Prose Polemicist and Sir Robert Filmer (1588 – 26 May 1653) was an English Political theorist. Henry Neville (1620&ndash1694 was an English author and satirist best remembered for his tale of shipwreck and dystopia The Isle of Pines published James Tyrrell (1642&ndash1718 was an English author and political philosopher Algernon Sydney or Sidney (January 1623 &ndash December 7 1683) was an English Politician, political theorist and opponent of King John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704 was an English Philosopher. What arose from the latter was a concept of government being erected on the foundations of first, a state of nature governed by natural laws, then a state of society, established by a social contract or compact, which bring underlying natural or social laws, before governments are formally established on them as foundations.

Along the way several writers examined how the design of government was important, even if the government were headed by a monarch. They also classified various historical examples of governmental designs, typically into democracies, aristocracies, or monarchies, and considered how just and effective each tended to be and why, and how the advantages of each might be obtained by combining elements of each into a more complex design that balanced competing tendencies. Some, such as Montesquieu, also examined how the functions of government, such as legislative, executive, and judicial, might appropriately be separated into branches. Charles-Louis de Secondat baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (Eng The prevailing theme among these writers was that the design of constitutions is not completely arbitrary or a matter of taste. They generally held that there are underlying principles of design that constrain all constitutions for every polity or organization. Each built on the ideas of those before concerning what those principles might be.

The later writings of Orestes Brownson^[6] would try to explain what constitutional designers were trying to do. Orestes Augustus Brownson (1803-1876 was a New England Intellectual and Activist, preacher labor organizer and finally a prolific Catholic writer According to Brownson there are, in a sense, three "constitutions" involved: The first the constitution of nature that includes all of what was called "natural law. " The second is the constitution of society, an unwritten and commonly understood set of rules for the society formed by a social contract before it establishes a government, by which it establishes the third, a constitution of government. The second would include such elements as the making of decisions by public conventions called by public notice and conducted by established rules of procedure. A convention, in the sense of a meeting is a gathering of individuals who meet at a arid place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest A public notice or notice of intent is information directed to citizensof a Governmental entity regarding government-related activities Parliamentary procedure is the body of Rules Ethics, and Customs governing meetings and other operations of Clubs Organizations Each constitution must be consistent with, and derive its authority from, the ones before it, as well as from a historical act of society formation or constitutional ratification. Brownson argued that a state is a society with effective dominion over a well-defined territory, that consent to a well-designed constitution of government arises from presence on that territory, and that it is possible for provisions of a written constitution of government to be "unconstitutional" if they are inconsistent with the constitutions of nature or society. A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. Brownson argued that it is not ratification alone that makes a written constitution of government legitimate, but that it must also be competently designed and applied.

Other writers^[7] have argued that such considerations apply not only to all national constitutions of government, but also to the constitutions of private organizations, that it is not an accident that the constitutions that tend to satisfy their members contain certain elements, as a minimum, or that their provisions tend to become very similar as they are amended after experience with their use. Provisions that give rise to certain kinds of questions are seen to need additional provisions for how to resolve those questions, and provisions that offer no course of action may best be omitted and left to policy decisions. Provisions that conflict with what Brownson and others can discern are the underlying "constitutions" of nature and society tend to be difficult or impossible to execute, or to lead to unresolvable disputes.

Constitutional design has been treated as a kind of metagame in which play consists of finding the best design and provisions for a written constitution that will be the rules for the game of government, and that will be most likely to optimize a balance of the utilities of justice, liberty, and security. Metagaming is a broad term usually used to define any strategy action or method used in a game which transcends a prescribed ruleset uses external factors to affect the game or An example is the metagame Nomic. Nomic is a Game created in 1982 by Peter Suber in which the rules of the game include mechanisms for the players to change those rules usually beginning through ^[8]

Governmental constitutions

Most commonly, the term constitution refers to a set of rules and principles that define the nature and extent of government. Most constitutions seek to regulate the relationship between institutions of the state, in a basic sense the relationship between the executive, legislature and the judiciary, but also the relationship of institutions within those branches. For example, executive branches can be divided into a head of government, government departments/ministries, executive agencies and a civil service/bureaucracy. See also Bureaucrat The term civil service has two distinct meanings Branch of governmental service in which individuals are hired on the basis Most constitutions also attempt to define the relationship between individuals and the state, and to establish the broad rights of individual citizens. It is thus the most basic law of a territory from which all the other laws and rules are hierarchically derived; in some territories it is in fact called "Basic Law. The term basic law is used in some places as an alternative to " Constitution " implying it is a temporary but necessary measure without formal enactment "

Key features

The following are features of democratic constitutions that have been identified by political scientists to exist, in one form or another, in virtually all national constitutions.

Codification

A fundamental classification is codification or lack of codification. A codified constitution is one that is contained in a single document, which is the single source of constitutional law in a state. An uncodified constitution is one that is not contained in a single document, consisting of several different sources, which may be written or unwritten.

Codified constitution

Most states in the world have a codified constitution. Only three — Israel, New Zealand and the United Kingdom — have uncodified constitutions as of October 2006. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The most obvious advantages of codified constitutions are that they tend to be more coherent and more easily understood, as well as simpler to read (being single documents). However, although codified constitutions are relatively rigid, they still yield a potentially wide range of interpretations by constitutional courts (see below). A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with Constitutional law. A constitution is a system for government often Codified as a written document that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity

Codified constitutions are usually the product of dramatic political change, such as a revolution. A revolution (from the Latin revolutio, "a turnaround" is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively For example, the United States Constitution was written and subsequently ratified less than 25 years after the American Revolution. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" The process by which a country adopts a constitution is closely tied to the historical and political context driving this fundamental change. This becomes evident when one compares the elaborate convention method adopted in the United States with the MacArthur inspired post war constitution foisted on Japan (see Constitution of Japan). General MacArthur redirects here for other meanings see General MacArthur (disambiguation. The has been the founding legal document of Japan since 1947 The constitution provides for a Parliamentary system of government and guarantees certain fundamental rights Arguably the legitimacy (and often the longevity) of codified constitutions are tied to the process by which they are initially adopted.

States that have codified constitutions normally give the constitution supremacy over ordinary statute law. A statute is a formal written enactment of a Legislative authority that governs a Country, State, City, or County. That is, if there is a conflict between a legal statute and the codified constitution, all or part of the statute can be declared ultra vires by a court and struck down as unconstitutional. 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. In addition, an extraordinary procedure is often required to make a constitutional amendment. These procedures may involve: obtaining ⅔ majorities in the national legislature, the consent of regional legislatures, a referendum process or some other procedure that makes obtaining a constitutional amendment more difficult than passing a simple law. A referendum (plural referendums or referenda) ballot question, or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita

The Constitution of Australia is an example of a constitution in which constitutional law mainly derives from a single written document, but other written documents are also considered part of the constitution. The Constitution of Australia is the law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates The Constitution of India is the longest codified constitution in the world. The Constitution of India ( Hindi: भारतीय़ संविधान see names in other Indian languages) is the supreme law of India. ^[9] It is unique in that it incorporates codes from many other constitutions like those of Japan, Malaysia, and Anglosphere countries. The word Anglosphere describes a concept of a group of Anglophone ( English -speaking nations which share historical political and cultural characteristics rooted ^[10]

Uncodified constitution

Magna Carta

Uncodified constitutions are the product of an "evolution" of laws and conventions over centuries. Magna Carta ( Latin for Great Charter, literally " Great Paper " also called Magna Carta Libertatum ( Great Charter of Freedoms By contrast to codified constitutions, in the Westminster tradition that originated in England, uncodified constitutions include written sources: e. The Westminster system is a democratic Parliamentary system of Government modelled after the British government (the Parliament of the United g. constitutional statutes enacted by the Parliament (House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975, Northern Ireland Act 1998, Scotland Act 1998, Government of Wales Act 1998, European Communities Act 1972 and Human Rights Act 1998); and also unwritten sources: constitutional conventions, observation of precedents, royal prerogatives, custom and tradition, such as always holding the General Election on Thursdays; together these constitute the British constitutional law. The House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 is an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament that prohibits certain groups of people from becoming members The Northern Ireland Act 1998 (1998 c 47 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established a Devolved Legislature The Scotland Act 1998 (1998 c 46 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. This is about the Act that set up the Welsh Assembly For the newer Government of Wales Act 2006, see that article The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998 and mostly came into force Alternative meaning Constitutional convention (political meeting A constitutional convention is an informal and uncodified procedural agreement that is In Common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a Legal case establishing a principle or rule that a Court or other judicial The Royal Prerogative is a body of customary authority privilege and immunity recognised in Common law and sometimes in Civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted Standards norms social norms or criteria, often taking the form of The constitution of the United Kingdom is the set of laws and principles under which the United Kingdom is governed In the days of the British Empire, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council acted as the constitutional court for many of the British colonies such as Canada and Australia which had federal constitutions. The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom, established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833 Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics.

In states using uncodified constitutions, the difference between constitutional law and statutory law (i. A statute is a formal written enactment of a Legislative authority that governs a Country, State, City, or County. e. law applying to any area of governance) in legal terms is nil. Both can be altered or repealed by a simple majority in Parliament. In practice, democratic governments do not use this opportunity to abolish all civil rights, which in theory they could do, but the distinction between regular and constitutional law is still somewhat arbitrary, usually depending on the traditional devotion of popular opinion to historical principles embodied in important past legislation. For example, several Acts of Parliament such as the Bill of Rights, Human Rights Act and, prior to the creation of Parliament, Magna Carta are regarded as granting fundamental rights and principles which are treated as almost constitutional. An Act of Parliament is a Law enacted as Primary legislation by a national or sub-national Parliament. The Bill of Rights (or Declaration of Rights) is an act of the Parliament of England, with the Long title An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties

See also: Fundamental Laws of England

Written versus codified

The term written constitution is used to describe a constitution that is entirely written, which by definition includes every codified constitution. In the 1760s William Blackstone described the Fundamental Laws of England in Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book the First - Chapter the First: Of the However, some constitutions are entirely written but, strictly speaking, not entirely codified. For example, in the Constitution of Australia, most of its fundamental political principles and regulations concerning the relationship between branches of government, and concerning the government and the individual are codified in a single document, the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia. However, the presence of statutes with constitutional significance, namely the Statute of Westminster, as adopted by the Commonwealth in the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942, and the Australia Act 1986 means that Australia's constitution is not contained in a single constitutional document. The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (22 & 23 Geo The Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 is an Act of the Australian Parliament that formally adopted the Statute of Westminster 1931, an Act of The Australia Act 1986 is the name given to a pair of two separate but related pieces of legislation one an Act of the Parliament of Australia (No The Constitution of Canada, which evolved from the British North America Acts until severed from nominal British control by the Canada Act 1982 (analogous to the Australia Act 1986), is a similar example. The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada; the country's Constitution is an amalgamation of codified acts and uncodified traditions The British North America Acts 1867&ndash1975 are the original names of a series of Acts at the core of the Constitution of Canada. The Canada Act 1982 (1982 c 11 is an Act of Parliament passed by the British Parliament that severed all remaining legislative dependence of Canada

The term written constitution is often used interchangeably with codified constitution, and similarly unwritten constitution is used interchangeably with uncodified constitution. As shown above, this usage with respect to written and codified constitutions can be inaccurate. Strictly speaking, unwritten constitution is never an accurate synonym for uncodified constitution, because all modern democratic constitutions consist of some written sources, even if they have no different technical status than ordinary statutes. Another term used is formal (written) constitution, for example in the following context: "The United Kingdom has no formal constitution. " This usage is correct, but it should be construed to mean that the United Kingdom does not have a written constitution, not that the UK has no constitution of any kind, which would not be correct.

A constitution can be written but not codified. Codified would suggest written in one document. This means that a constitution that has a number of written sources is still written, but not codified.

Entrenchment

The U.S. Constitution

The presence or lack of entrenchment is a fundamental feature of constitutions. The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme Law of the United States. Entrenchment refers to whether the constitution is legally protected from modification without a procedure of constitutional amendment. Entrenchment is an inherent feature in most written constitutions. The US constitution is an example of an entrenched constitution, and the UK constitution is an example of a constitution that is not entrenched.

The procedure for modifying a constitution is often called amending. Amending an entrenched constitution requires more than the approval of the national legislature, it requires wider acceptance. Sometimes, the reason for this is that the constitution is considered supreme law, such as according to the supremacy clause in the US constitution. The Supremacy Clause is the common name given to Article VI Clause 2 of the United States Constitution, which readsThis Constitution and the Laws of the United Regardless of whether a constitution has this technical status, all states with an entrenched constitution recognise the difference between constitutional law and ordinary statutory law. Procedures for ratification of constitutional amendments vary between states. In a federal system of government, the approval of a majority of state/provincial legislatures may be required. Alternatively, a national referendum may be required in some states, such as in Australia.

In constitutions that are not entrenched, no special procedure is required for modification. In the small number of countries with un-entrenched constitutions, the lack of entrenchment is because the constitution is not recognised with any higher legal status than ordinary statutes. A statute is a formal written enactment of a Legislative authority that governs a Country, State, City, or County. In the UK, for example, passing laws which modify sources of the constitution, whether they are written or unwritten, are passed on a simple majority in Parliament. The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories The concept of "amendment" does not apply, as the constitution can be altered as easily in terms of procedure as any national law.

Distribution of sovereignty

Constitutions also establish where sovereignty is located in the state. There are three basic types of distribution of sovereignty: federal, unitary and confederal. A federal system of government will inevitably have a constitution that recognizes the division of sovereignty between the centre and peripheral/provincial regions of the state. Political federalism is a Political philosophy in which a group of members are bound together (Latin foedus, covenant) with a governing The Canadian Constitution is an example of this, dividing power between the federal government and the provinces. The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada; the country's Constitution is an amalgamation of codified acts and uncodified traditions A unitary constitution recognises that sovereignty resides only in the centre of the state. In the UK, the constitutional doctrine of Parliamentary sovereignty dictates than sovereignty is ultimately contained at the centre. Parliamentary sovereignty, Sovereignty of Parliament, parliamentary supremacy, or legislative supremacy is a concept in Constitutional law Confederal constitutions are rare, and there is often dispute to whether so-called "confederal" states are actually federal. In a confederacy, sovereignty is located in peripheral regions/provinces and only limited power is granted to the centre. A historical example of a confederal constitution is the Swiss Federal Constitution. The Federal Constitution of 18 April 1999 (Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse Constituzione federale della Confederazione

Separation of powers

Constitutions usually explicitly divide power between various branches of government. The standard model, described by Baron de Montesquieu, involves three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial. Charles-Louis de Secondat baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (Eng In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State Some constitutions include additional branches, such as an auditory branch. The most general definition of an audit is an evaluation of a person organization system process project or product Constitutions vary extensively as to the degree of separation of powers between these branches. Separation of powers, a term ascribed to French Enlightenment Political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu, is a model for the Governance

Lines of accountability

In presidential and semi-presidential systems of government, department secretaries/ministers are accountable to the president, who has patronage powers to appoint and dismiss ministers. President is a Title leaders of Organizations companies, Trade unions universities, and countries. The semi-presidential system is a System of government in which a prime minister and a President are both active participants in the day-to-day administration President is a Title leaders of Organizations companies, Trade unions universities, and countries. The president is accountable to the people in an election.

In parliamentary systems, ministers are accountable to Parliament, but it is the prime minister who appoints and dismisses them. A parliamentary system, also known as parliamentarianism (and parliamentarism in American English) is a System of government in which TalkParliament#Screen-size. -->A  parliament is a Legislature, especially in those This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. In Westminster systems, this power derives from the monarch (or head of state in Westminster-style republics, such as India and the Republic of Ireland), a component of Parliament. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. There is the concept of a vote of no confidence in many countries with parliamentary systems, which means that if a majority of the legislature vote for a no confidence motion, then the government must resign, and a new one will be formed, or parliament will be dissolved and a general election called. A motion of no confidence (also vote of no confidence, censure motion, no-confidence motion, or confidence motion) is a Parliamentary motion

Façade constitutions

Italian political theorist Giovanni Sartori noted the existence of national constitutions which are a façade for authoritarian sources of power. Giovanni Sartori (born May 13, 1924) is an Italian Political scientist specializing in the study of Comparative politics. While such documents may express respect for human rights or establish an independent judiciary, they may be ignored when the government feels threatened or entirely dishonoured in practice. Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled An extreme example was the Constitution of the Soviet Union that on paper supported freedom of assembly or freedom of speech; however, citizens who acted accordingly were summarily imprisoned. The Soviet Union was governed by three versions of its Constitution, following the 1918 Soviet Constitution established by the Russian Federation, the immediate Freedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the Freedom of association, is the Individual right to come together with other individuals and collectively Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without Censorship or Limitation. A political prisoner is someone held in Prison or otherwise detained perhaps under House arrest, for his or her involvement in political activity The example demonstrates that the protections and benefits of a constitution are provided less through its written terms than through deference by government and society to its principles.

Constitutional courts

The constitution is often protected by a certain legal body in each country with various names, such as supreme, constitutional or high court. This court judges the compatibility of legislation with the provisions and principles of the constitution, which is termed "constitutionality. " Especially important is the court's responsibility to protect constitutionally established rights and freedoms. In constitutions without the concept of supreme law, such as the United Kingdom constitution, the concept of "constitutionality" has little meaning, and constitutional courts do not exist. A "constitutional violation" is an action or legislative act that is judged by a constitutional court to be contrary to the constitution, that is, "unconstitutional. " An example of constitutional violation by the executive could be a politician who abuses the powers of his constitutionally-established office. A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person An example of constitutional violation by the legislature is an attempt to pass a law that would contradict the constitution, without first going through the proper constitutional amendment process.

A constitutional court is normally the court of last resort, the highest judicial body in the government. A supreme court, also called a court of last resort or high court, is in some Jurisdictions the highest judicial body within that jurisdiction's The process of judicial review is then integrated into the system of courts of appeal. Court of Appeal, Court of Appeals, and Appellate Division redirect here for a list of specific courts using those titles see Court of Appeal This is the case, for example, with the Supreme Court of the United States or Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. The Supreme Court of India is the highest court of the land as established by Part V Chapter IV of the Constitution of India. Cases must normally be heard in lower courts before being brought before the Supreme Court, except cases for which the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction. The original jurisdiction of a court is the right to hear a case for the first time as opposed to Appellate jurisdiction when a court has the right to review the decision of Some other countries dedicate a special court solely to the protection of the constitution, as with the German Constitutional Court. The Federal Constitutional Court (in German: Bundesverfassungsgericht BVerfG) is a special Court established by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic Most constitutional courts are powerful instruments of judicial review, with the power to declare laws "unconstitutional," that is, incompatible with the constitution. The effect of this ruling varies between governments, but it is common for the courts' action to rule a law unenforceable, as is the case in the United States. However, many courts have the problem of relying on the legislative and executive branches' co-operation to properly enforce their decisions. For example, in the United States, the Supreme Court's ruling overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine in the 1950s depended on individual states co-operation to enforce. Some failed to do so, prompting the federal government to intervene. Other countries, such as France, have a Constitutional Council which may only judge the constitutionality of laws before the ratification process. The Constitutional Council ( Conseil Constitutionnel) was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958

Some countries, mainly those with uncodified constitutions, have no such courts at all – for example, as the United Kingdom traditionally functions under the principle of parliamentary sovereignty: the legislature has the power to enact any law it wishes. Parliamentary sovereignty, Sovereignty of Parliament, parliamentary supremacy, or legislative supremacy is a concept in Constitutional law However, through its membership in the European Union, the UK is now subject to the jurisdiction of European Union law and the European Court of Justice; similarly, by acceding to the Council of Europe's European Convention on Human Rights, it is subject to the European Court of Human Rights. The Law of the European Union is the unique legal system which operates alongside the laws of Member States of the European Union (EU This article refers to the European Union court not the European Court of Human Rights of the Council of Europe The Court of Justice The Council of Europe (Conseil de l'Europe is the oldest International organisation working towards European integration, being founded in 1949 The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (also called the "European Convention on Human Rights" and "ECHR" was adopted under the The European Court of Human Rights ( ECtHR) (Cour européenne des droits de l’homme in Strasbourg was established under the European Convention on Human Rights In effect, these bodies are constitutional courts that can invalidate or interpret UK legislation for compliance with international treaty obligations, first established as a principle by the Factortame case. The Factortame case is a Landmark decision in United Kingdom (UK and European Union (EU law which confirmed the supremacy of European Union law over

See also

• Constitution of the Roman Republic
• Apostolic constitution (a class of Roman Catholic Church documents)
• Corporate constitution
• Proposed European Union constitution
  • Treaty of Lisbon (adopts same changes, but without constitutional name)
• List of national constitutions
• United Nations Charter
• Constitutional court

Judicial philosophies of constitutional interpretation (note: generally specific to United States constitutional law)

• Judicial activism
• Judicial restraint
• Originalism
• Strict constructionism
• Textualism

References

• Report on the British constitution and proposed European constitution by Professor John McEldowney, University of Warwick Submitted as written evidence to House of Lords Select Committee on Constitution, published to the public on 15 October 2003. Events 533 - Byzantine General Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar.

External links

• Dictionary of the History of Ideas Constitutionalism
• Constitutional Law, "Constitutions, bibliography, links"
• International Constitutional Law: English translations of various national constitutions
• constitutions of countries of the European Union
• Democracy in Ancient India by Steve Muhlberger of Nipissing University