Encyclopedia:
Constitution,
Constitution of Canada,
Constitution of Chile,
Constitution of Japan,
United States Constitution,
USS Constitution,
Constitution of the Philippines,
Constitution of Vermont,
Constitution of the Netherlands,
Constitution of Norway
constitution is a system, often
codified as a written document, which establishes the rules and principles by which an organization, or political entity, is governed. In the case of countries this term refers specifically to a national constitution, which defines the fundamental
political principles and establishes the
power and
duties of each government. Most national constitutions also guarantee certain
rights to the people. 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.
Constitutions are found in many organizations. They are found extensively in government, at
supranational (e.g.
United Nations Charter),
national (e.g.
Constitution of Japan), and
sub-national or
provincial (e.g.
Constitution of Maryland) levels. They are found in many political groups, such as
political parties and
pressure groups, including
trade unions (labour unions). There are many non-political groups and entities that may have constitutions of a sort such as
companies and
voluntary organisations.
Etymology
The term
constitution comes from
Latin, referring to issuing any important law, usually by the Roman emperor. Later, the term was widely used in
canon law to indicate certain relevant decisions, mainly from the
pope.
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 that fall outside an organisation's or
legislative body's legal or constitutional authority. 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. 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. For example, in the United States, any attempt by a state legislature to ratify a treaty with a foreign nation would be considered
ultra vires of Congress' constitutional authority, being contrary to the constitution. In both cases, "ultra vires" gives a legal justification for the forced cessation of such action, which would be enforced by the
judiciary in government.
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. 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 an area from which all the other laws and rules are hierarchically derived; in some areas it is in fact called "
Basic Law".
Key features
The following are features of democratic constitutions which 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. The classic example of this is the
Constitution of the United States. An uncodified constitution is one that is not contained in a single document, consisting of several different sources, which may be written or unwritten. 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 the United Kingdom is an example of an uncodified constitution which consists of both written and unwritten sources and has no single written fundamental document.
The term
written constitution is used to describe a constitution that is entirely written, which by definition includes every codified constitution. 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
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 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.
Codified constitution
Most states in the world have a codified constitution. Only three nations,
Israel,
New Zealand and the
United Kingdom, have uncodified constitutions as at
October 2006. Codified constitutions - unlike uncodified constitutions, which are the product of an "evolution" of laws and conventions over centuries - are usually the product of dramatic political change, such as a
revolution. For example, the US constitution was written and subsequently ratified less than 25 years after the
American Revolution. 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). Arguably the legitimacy (and often the longevity) of codified constitutions are tied to the process by which they are initially adopted.
The most obvious advantage of a codified constitution is the coherent and easily understood body of rules. A codified constitution at the least is simple to read, being a single document. Although (entrenched) codified constitutions are relatively rigid, codified constitutions still yield a potentially wide range of interpretations by
constitutional courts (see
below).
States that have codified constitutions normally give them supremacy over ordinary
statute law. 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. Second, an extraordinary procedure is required for
constitutional amendments that 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.
Uncodified constitution
By contrast, in the
Westminster tradition which originated in
England, uncodified constitutions include written sources: e.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. 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.
In states using uncodified constitutions, the difference between constitutional law and
statutory law (i.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.
See also:
Fundamental Laws of EnglandEntrenchment
The presence or lack of entrenchment is a fundamental feature of constitutions. 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. 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. 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 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. The
Canadian Constitution is an example of this, dividing power between the federal government and the provinces and territories. 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. 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.
Separation of powers
Constitutions vary extensively as to the degree of
separation of powers, usually meaning the constitutional separation of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. The United States constitution has a full
separation of powers, with each branch having particular enumerated powers. For instance, Congress, the US legislature, has the power of
impeachment, which cannot be exercised by another branch.
Lines of accountability
Lines of accountability are a common feature in all democratic constitutions. In presidential systems of government, such as the United States, and semi-presidential systems, such as France, department secretaries/ministers are accountable to the
president, who has patronage powers to appoint and dismiss ministers. The president is accountable to the people in an election. In parliamentary systems, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, ministers are accountable to
Parliament, but it is the
prime minister who appoints and dismisses them (in Westminster systems this power derives from the monarch, a component of Parliament). 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.
Façade Constitutions
Italian political theorist
Giovanni Sartori noted the existence of national constitutions which are a façade for authoritarian sources of power. 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. 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. (Incidentally, this led to a famous
Radio Yerevan joke:
Someone asked Armenian Radio: What is the difference between the Constitutions of the USA and USSR? Both guarantee freedom of speech. Armenian Radio answered: In principle yes, but the Constitution of the USA also guarantees freedom after
the speech). The example demonstrates that the protections and benefits of a constitution are provided less through its written terms, but more 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. 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. The process of
judicial review is then integrated into the system of
courts of appeal. This is the case, for example, with the
Supreme Court of the United States. 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. Some other countries dedicate a special court solely to the protection of the constitution, as with the
German Constitutional Court. 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 of France which may only judge the constiutionality of laws before the ratification process.
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. However, through its membership in the
European Union, the UK is now subject to the jurisdiction of
European Community 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. In effect, these bodies are constitutional courts that can invalidate or interpret UK legislation, first established as a principle by the
Factortame case.
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. 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.
thumb|200px|Detail from Hammurabi's stele shows him receiving the laws of Babylon from the seated sun deity.After that, many governments ruled by special codes of written laws. The oldest such document still known to exist seems to be that of
Ur-Nammu of
Ur (ca. 2050 BC). Some of the more well known among these include the
code of Hammurabi of
Babylonia, the
Hittite code, the
Assyrian code,
Mosaic law, and likewise the commandments of
Cyrus the Great of
Persia.
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 offense. In 594 BC,
Solon, the ruler of Athens, created the new
Solonian Constitution. 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.
Aristotle (c. 350 BC) was one of the first in recorded history to make a formal distinction between law and constitutional law, establishing ideas of constitution and constitutionalism, and attempting to classify different forms of constitutional government. 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 explored different forms of constitutions. 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. 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 Justinianus (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).
Many of the Germanic peoples that filled the power vacuum left by the Western Roman Empire in the
Early Middle Ages codified their laws. One of the first of these
Germanic law codes to be written was the Visigothic
Code of Euric (471). 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. 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. 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 (c. 785).
Japan's
Seventeen-article constitution written in
604, reportedly by
Prince Shōtoku, is an early example of a constitution in Asian political history. 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. Another is the
Constitution of Medina, drafted by the prophet of
Islam,
Muhammad, in
622.
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.
In
England,
King 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. This idea was extended and refined by the English barony when they forced
John to sign the
Magna Carta in
1215. 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. 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.left|thumb|350px|May 3rd Constitution (painting by 1891). 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.">[Jan Matejko,
1891). 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.]
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. 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.
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.
In 1236,
Sundiata Keita presented an oral constitution federating the
Mali Empire, called the
Kouroukan Fouga.
Meanwhile, around 1240, the
Coptic Egyptian Christian writer,
'Abul Fada'il Ibn al-'Assal, wrote the
Fetha Negest in
Arabic. '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. Even so, its first recorded use in the function of a constitution (supreme law of the land) is with
Sarsa Dengel beginning in 1563. The
Fetha Negest remained the supreme law in Ethiopia until 1931, when a modern-style Constitution was first granted by Emperor
Haile Selassie I.
The earliest written constitution still governing a sovereign nation today may be that of
San Marino. The
Leges Statutae Republicae Sancti Marini was written in
Latin and consists of six books. 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
Commonwealth of Massachusetts adopted its constitution in
1780, before the ratification of the
Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. 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 document became a benchmark for
republican and codified constitutions written thereafter and is commonly believed to be the oldest modern, national, codified constitution in the world.
See also
*
Apostolic constitution (a class of
Roman Catholic Church documents)
*
Corporate constitution*
European Union (proposed) constitution*
List of national constitutions*
UN CharterJudicial philosophies of constitutional interpretation(note: generally specific to U.S. constitutional law)*
Judicial activism*
Judicial restraint*
Originalism*
Strict constructionism*
Textualism External links
*
http://www.oefre.unibe.ch/law/icl International Constitutional Law: English translations of various national constitutions
*
http://www.constitution.org/ The Constitution Society Research and public education on the principles of
http://www.constitution.org/constit_.htm#con4.4 constitutional republican government*
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-61 Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Constitutionalism
*
http://www.staff.amu.edu.pl/~wroblew/html/en_pr_konst.html Constitutional Law "Constitutions, bibliography, links"
*
http://www.nccs.net/ U.S. National Center for Constitutional Studies*
http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr107.html Democratic Constitution Making U.S. Institute of Peace Report, July 2003
Some national constitutions
(All Constitutions are English unless otherwise noted)
*
http://www.constitution.org/cons/natlcons.htm List of National Constitutions*
http://confinder.richmond.edu Constitution Finder*
http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Argentina/argentina.html Constitution of Argentina (Spanish & English*
http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/general/constitution/ Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia*
http://webthes.senado.gov.br/web/const/const88.pdf Constitution of Brazil (PDF)*
http://www.parliament.bg/?page=const&lng=en Constitution of Republic of Bulgaria -
http://www.parliament.bg/?page=const&lng=bg (Bulgarian)*
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/const/index.html Constitution of Canada http://laws.justice.gc.ca/fr/const/index.html (French) (Constitution Acts 1867 to 1982)
*
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China Constitution of the People's Republic of China*
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Cuba Constitution of Cuba*
http://www.folketinget.dk/pdf/constitution.pdf Constitution of Denmark (PDF)*
http://www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/1999/en19990731.pdf Constitution of Finland (PDF)*
Constitution of France (French)*
http://www.bundesregierung.de/nn_22672/Webs/Breg/EN/Federal-Government/FunctionAndConstitutionalBasis/BasicLaw/ContentofBasicLaw/content-of-basic-law.html Constitution (Basic Law) of Germany*
http://www.parliament.ge/files/68_1944_216422_konst.pdf Constitution of Georgia*
http://www.friends-partners.org/oldfriends/constitution/const-hungary.html Constitution of Hungary*
http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/welcome.html Constitution of India*
http://www.iranonline.com/iran/iran-info/Government/constitution.html Constitution of Iran*
http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/index.asp?docID=262 Constitution of Ireland http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/attached_files/Pdf%20files/Constitution%20of%20IrelandNov2004.pdf (PDF)*
http://www.concourt.am/wwconst/constit/italy/italy--e.htm Constitution of Italy -
http://www.quirinale.it/costituzione/costituzione.htm (Italian)*
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Japan Constitution of Japan*
http://www.ccourt.go.kr/ccout_quick/english.asp Constitution of Republic of Korea (South Korea)-
http://www.ccourt.go.kr/ccout_quick/korean.asp (Korean),
http://www.ccourt.go.kr/ccout_quick/chinese.asp (Chinese)*
http://www.mediaclub.cg.yu/Ustav/ Constitution of Montenegro*
http://www.pap.gov.pk/constitu/mconstitu.htm Constitution of the Pakistan*
http://www.gov.ph/aboutphil/constitution.asp Constitution of the Philippines*
http://www.sejm.gov.pl/prawo/konst/angielski/kon1.htm Constitution of Poland*
http://www.constitution.ru/en/10003000-01.htm Constitution of Russia*
http://www.parlamento.pt/ingles/cons_leg/crp_ing/index.html Constitution of Portugal,
http://www.parlamento.pt/ingles/cons_leg/Constitution_definitive.pdf (PDF),
http://www.parlamento.pt/const_leg/crp_port/index.html (Portuguese),
http://www.parlamento.pt/const_leg/crp_port/constpt2005.pdf (Portuguese PDF),
http://www.parlamento.pt/frances/const_leg/crp_franc/index.html French,
http://www.parlamento.pt/espanhol/const_leg/crp_esp/index.html Spanish*
http://www.humanrights.lv/doc/latlik/satver~1.htm Constitution of Latvia -
http://www.saeima.lv/Likumdosana/satversme_izdr.htm (Latvian)*
http://www3.lrs.lt/cgi-bin/preps2?Condition1=211295&Condition2= Constitution of Lithuania *
http://odin.dep.no/odin/engelsk/norway/system/032005-990424/index-dok000-b-n-a.html Constitution of Norway -
http://www.lovdata.no/all/hl-18140517-000.html (Norwegian) *
http://www.riksdagen.se/templates/R_Page____6357.aspx Constitution of Sweden*
http://www.admin.ch/ch/itl/rs/1/c101ENG.pdf Constitution of Switzerland (PDF),
http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/c101.html German,
http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/c101.html French,
http://www.admin.ch/ch/i/rs/c101.html Italian,
http://www.admin.ch/ch/itl/rs/1/index.htm other languages*
http://constitucion.presidencia.gob.mx/docs/constitucion.pdf Constitution of Mexico (Spanish PDF)*
http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/news/constitution.htm Constitution of the Republic of China (Taiwan)-
http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/news/additional.htm Additional Articles*
http://statutes.agc.gov.sg Constitution of the Republic of Singapore*
http://www.info.gov.za/documents/constitution/index.htm Constitution of the Republic of South Africa*
http://www.tbmm.gov.tr/english/constitution.htm Constitution of Turkey*
http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/constitution/ Constitution of The United States of America -
Annotated Version*
http://www.vheadline.com/printer_news.asp?id=6831 Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of VenezuelaReferences
*
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld200203/ldselect/ldconst/168/16809.htm#note92 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.
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