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A constitution is a system, often Codified as a written document, that establishes the rules and principles that govern an organization or political entity. In the case of countries, this term refers specifically to a national constitution defining the fundamental Political principles, and establishing the structure, procedures, Power s and Duties , of a Government . Most national constitutions also guarantee certain Right s 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. European Union ), Nation al (e.g. United States Constitution ), and Sub-national or Provincial (e.g. Constitution Of Maryland ) levels. They are found in many political groups, such as Political Parties , Pressure Group s, and Trade Union s. Non-political entities may also have constitutions, for example, Companies and Voluntary Organizations . 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 of officials within an organization or polity that fall outside the constitutional or statutory authority of those officials. 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, 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 . 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 found to be unconstitutional, perhaps by a court, that act is considered ''null and void'', and the nullification is ''ab initio'', that is, from inception, not from the date of the finding. 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 Writ s, such as '' Quo Warranto ''. 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 Sumer ian 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 Right s 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. 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). Some of the more well known among these include the Code Of Hammurabi of Babylonia , the Hittite code, the Assyria n 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 offence. 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 ordinary 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, especially those of Athens and Sparta . 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.'' '' (painting by Jan Matejko , 1891 ). 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.]] 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 Copt ic 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 Corsican Constitution of 1755 and the Swedish Constitution Of 1772 were the first post-Enlightenment constitutions in Europe. 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. The second in the world, but first in Europe, was the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Constitution Of May 3, 1791 . PRINCIPLES OF CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN |
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