List of national constitutions
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of existing or former national constitution
s by country, semi-recognized countries, and by codification.
, are not written into law, although such elements are almost always written down (perhaps across multiple documents and/or publications), although written in documents that are not enforceable in law.
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
s by country, semi-recognized countries, and by codification.
Codified constitutions
| Region | Date |
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| Afghanistan Constitution of Afghanistan The Constitution of Afghanistan is the supreme law of the state Afghanistan, which serves as the legal framework between the Afghan government and the Afghan citizens... |
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| Albania Constitution of Albania The current Constitution of Albania was adopted on November 28, 1998. It defines Albania as a parliamentary republic. According to the current Constitution, the Republic of Albania has a unicameral legislature composed of 140 deputies, who elect the head of state, the President of Albania, and the... |
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| Algeria Constitution of Algeria An Algerian Constitution was first adopted by a referendum in 1963, following the Algerian War of Independence ; originally, it was to be drafted by a constitutional assembly led by Ferhat Abbas, but this body was sidelined by Algeria's first President, Ahmed Ben Bella... |
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| Andorra Constitution of Andorra The Constitution of Andorra is the supreme law of the Principality of Andorra. It was adopted on 2 February 1993 and given assent by the Andorran people in a referendum on 14 March 1993... |
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| Angola Constitution of Angola There have been two Constitutions of Angola. The first came into force in 1975 as an "interim" measure; the second was approved in 1992, and the third one in 2010.- 1975 Constitution :... |
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| Argentina Constitution of Argentina The constitution of Argentina is one of the primary sources of existing law in Argentina. Its first version was written in 1853 by a Constitutional Assembly gathered in Santa Fe, and the doctrinal basis was taken in part from the United States Constitution... |
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| Armenia Politics of Armenia Politics of Armenia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the head of government, and of a platform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government... |
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| Australia Constitution of Australia The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia... |
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| Austria Constitution of Austria The Constitution of Austria is the body of all constitutional law of the Republic of Austria on the federal level. It is split up over many different acts... |
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| Azerbaijan Constitution of Azerbaijan The Constitution of Azerbaijan was adopted on 12 November 1995 by popular referendum and amended on 24 August 2002. It carries the "highest legal force" in Azerbaijan as per article 147.-Preamble:... |
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| Bangladesh Constitution of Bangladesh The Constitution of Bangladesh is the supreme law of Bangladesh. It declares Bangladesh as a secular democratic republic where sovereignty belongs to the people; and lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles of the state and spells out the fundamental rights of citizens... |
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| Bahrain Constitution of Bahrain Bahrain has had two constitutions in its modern history. The first one was promulgated in 1973, and the second one in 2002.-Constitution of 1973:* Full text of the 1973 constitution... |
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| Barbados Constitution of Barbados The Constitution of Barbados is the supreme law under which Barbados is governed. The Constitution provides a legal establishment of the structure and various roles of administration of the Sovereign , the Vice-Royal , the Government of Barbados, as well as legal rights and responsibilities of the... |
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| Belarus Constitution of Belarus The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus is the ultimate law of Belarus. Adopted in 1994, three years after the country declared its independence from the Soviet Union, this formal document establishes the framework of the Belarusian state and government and enumerates the rights and freedoms... |
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| Belgium Constitution of Belgium The Constitution of Belgium dates back to 1831. Since then Belgium has been a parliamentary monarchy that applies the principles of ministerial responsibility for the government policy and the Trias Politica. The Constitution established Belgium as a centralised unitary state... |
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| Bolivia Bolivia Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America... |
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| Bosnia and Herzegovina Dayton Agreement The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement, Dayton Accords, Paris Protocol or Dayton-Paris Agreement, is the peace agreement reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio in November 1995, and formally signed in Paris on... (Dayton Agreement, 1995) |
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| Brazil Constitution of Brazil During its independent political history, Brazil has had seven constitutions. The most recent was ratified on October 5, 1988.-Imperial Constitution :Background... |
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| Bulgaria Constitution of Bulgaria The Constitution of Bulgaria is the supreme and basic law of the Republic of Bulgaria. The current constitution was adopted on 12 July 1991 by the 7th Grand National Assembly of Bulgaria, and defines the country as a unitary parliamentary republic... |
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| Burundi | |
| Cameroon Constitution of Cameroon The Constitution of Cameroon is the supreme law of the Republic of Cameroon. The document consists of a preamble and 13 Parts, each divided into Articles... |
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| Canada Constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada; the country's constitution is an amalgamation of codified acts and uncodified traditions and conventions. It outlines Canada's system of government, as well as the civil rights of all Canadian citizens and those in Canada... |
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| Chad Constitution of Chad The Constitution of the Republic of Chad is the supreme law of Chad. Adopted in 1996, six years after President Idriss Déby rose to power following a successful rebellion against President Hissène Habré, this formal document establishes the framework of the Chadian state and government and... |
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| Chile Constitution of Chile In its temporary dispositions, the document ordered the transition from the former military government, with Augusto Pinochet as President of the Republic, and the Legislative Power of the Military Junta , to a civil one, with a time frame of eight... |
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| China, People's Republic of Constitution of the People's Republic of China The Constitution of the People's Republic of China is the highest law within the People's Republic of China. The current version was adopted by the 5th National People's Congress on December 4, 1982 with further revisions in 1988, 1993, 1999, and 2004. Three previous state constitutions—those of... |
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| Hong Kong Hong Kong Basic Law The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, or simply Hong Kong Basic Law, serves as the constitutional document of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China... |
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| Macau Macau Basic Law The Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is the constitution of Macau, replacing the Estatuto Orgânico de Macau, which was effective since 1976, on 20 December 1999.... |
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| China, Republic of - Taiwan Constitution of the Republic of China The Constitution of the Republic of China is the fundamental law of the Republic of China . Drafted by the Kuomintang as part of its third stage of national development , it established a centralized Republic with five branches of government... |
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| Colombia Colombian Constitution of 1991 The Political Constitution of Colombia, better known as the Constitution of 1991, is the current governing document of the Republic of Colombia. Promulgated on July 4 of 1991 , it replaced the Constitution of 1886... |
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| Congo, Democratic Republic of Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the basic law governing the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Constitution has been changed and/or replaced several times since its independence in 1960.- Current Constitution :... |
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| Croatia Constitution of Croatia The current Constitution of the Republic of Croatia was adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia on December 22, 1990. It replaced the Constitution of 1974 ratified in socialist Yugoslavia... |
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| Cuba Constitution of Cuba Since attaining its independence from Spain, Cuba has had five constitutions. The current constitution was drafted in 1976 and has since been amended.-1901 Constitution:The 1901 Constitution was Cuba's first as an independent state... |
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| Cyprus Cyprus Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the... |
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| Czech Republic Constitution of the Czech Republic The current Constitution of the Czech Republic was adopted on December 16, 1992. It replaced the constitution of Czechoslovakia , which split into the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic by act of parliament on January 1, 1993, through the so-called Velvet Divorce.The document is organized into... |
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| Denmark Constitution of Denmark The Constitutional Act of Denmark is the Kingdom of Denmark's constitution, or fundamental law. Originally verified in 1849, the last revision was signed on 5 June 1953 as "the existing law, for all to unswerving comply with, the Constitutional Act of Denmark".-Idea and structure:The main... |
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| Dominican Republic Constitution of the Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic has gone through 38 constitutions, more than any other country, since its independence in 1844. This statistic is a somewhat deceiving indicator of political stability, however, because of the Dominican practice of promulgating a new constitution whenever an amendment was... |
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| East Timor Constitution of East Timor The Constitution of East Timor entered into force on 20 May 2002, and was the country's first constitution after it gained independence from Portugal in 1975 and from Indonesia, which invaded East Timor on December 7, 1975 and left in 1999 following a UN-sponsored referendum.The Constitution was... |
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| Ecuador Ecuador Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border... |
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| Egypt Constitution of Egypt The Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt was the fundamental law of Egypt. It was adopted on September 11, 1971 through a public referendum. It was later amended in 1980, 2005 and 2007. It was proclaimed to update the democratic representative system in assertion of the rule of law,... |
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| Estonia Constitution of Estonia The Constitution of Estonia is the fundamental law of the Republic of Estonia and establishes the state order as that of a democratic republic where the supreme power is vested in its citizens. It was adopted in a freely elected Estonian Constituent Assembly on 15 June 1920 and came into force on... Põhiseadus |
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| Ethiopia Ethiopia Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2... |
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| Fiji Constitution of Fiji The 1997 Constitution of Fiji was the supreme law of Fiji from its adoption in 1997 until 2009 when President Josefa Iloilo purported to abrogate it. It was also suspended for a period following the 2000 coup d'état led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama.... |
(abrogated 2009) |
| Finland Constitution of Finland The Constitution of Finland is the supreme source of national law of Finland. It defines the basis, structures and organisation of government, the relationship between the different constitutional organs, and lays out the fundamental rights of Finnish citizens... |
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| France Constitution of France The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, and replaced that of the Fourth Republic dating from 1946. Charles de Gaulle was the main driving force in introducing the new constitution and inaugurating the Fifth... |
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| Georgia Constitution of Georgia (country) The Constitution of Georgia is the supreme law of Georgia. It was approved by the Parliament of Georgia on August 24 1995. It entered into force on October 17... |
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| Germany Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is the constitution of Germany. It was formally approved on 8 May 1949, and, with the signature of the Allies of World War II on 12 May, came into effect on 23 May, as the constitution of those states of West Germany that were initially included... — titled Grundgesetz |
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| Greece Constitution of Greece The Constitution of Greece , was created by the Fifth Revisional Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975. It has been revised three times since, most significantly in 1986, and also in 2001 and in 2008. The Constitutional history of Greece goes back to the Greek War of... |
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| Guatemala Guatemala Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast... |
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| Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west.... |
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| Guyana Guyana Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British... |
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| Haiti Haiti Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island... |
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| Hungary Constitution of Hungary The Constitution of the Republic of Hungary , its fundamental law, was adopted on 20 August 1949, and heavily amended on 23 October 1989. It is Hungary's first and only permanent written constitution; the country is the only former Eastern Bloc nation that did not adopt an entirely new constitution... |
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| Honduras Honduras Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize... |
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| Iceland Constitution of Iceland The Constitution of Iceland is the supreme law of Iceland. It is composed of 80 articles in seven sections, and within it the leadership arrangement of the country is determined and the human rights of its citizens are preserved. The current constitution was first instituted on June 17, 1944; since... |
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| India, Republic of Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens... |
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| Indonesia Constitution of Indonesia The Constitution of Indonesia is the basis for the government of the Indonesia.The constitution was written in June, July and August 1945, when Indonesia was emerging from Japanese control at the end of World War II... |
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| Iran | |
| Iraq Constitution of Iraq The Constitution of Iraq is Iraq's fundamental law.-History:Iraq's first constitution, which established a constitutional monarchy, entered into force under the auspices of a British military occupation in 1925 and remained in effect until the 1958 revolution established a republic... |
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| Ireland Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland is the fundamental law of the Irish state. The constitution falls broadly within the liberal democratic tradition. It establishes an independent state based on a system of representative democracy and guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected... |
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| Italy Constitution of Italy The Constitution of the Italian Republic was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended 13 times, was promulgated in the extraordinary edition of Gazzetta Ufficiale No. 298 on 27 December 1947... |
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| Japan | |
| Kazakhstan Constitution of Kazakhstan The Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the highest law of Kazakhstan, as stated in Article 4. The Constitution was approved by referendum on 30 August 1995.-Preamble:... |
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| Kyrgyzstan Constitution of Kyrgyzstan The Constitution of Kyrgyzstan is the supreme law of the Kyrgyz Republic . The constitution in force until 2010 was passed by referendum on 21 October 2007 and it is based on the first post-Soviet constitution originally adopted on 5 May 1993, a year and a half after the country had gained... |
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| Korea, Republic of Constitution of the Republic of Korea The Constitution of the Republic of Korea is its basic law. It was promulgated on July 17, 1948, and last revised in 1987.- History :... |
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| Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Constitution of North Korea The Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , commonly known as North Korea.Previous constitutions were adopted in 1948, 1972, 1992, and 1998... |
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| Kosovo Constitution of Kosovo The Constitution of Kosovo currently refers either to the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo or to the Constitutional Framework for the Provisional Self-Government of Kosovo.... |
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| Kuwait Constitution of Kuwait The Constitution of Kuwait was created in June 1961 by Emir Abdullah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah. The constitution establishes Kuwait as a constitutional monarchy and Islam as the state religion.... |
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| Latvia Constitution of Latvia The Constitution of Latvia is the fundamental law of the Republic of Latvia. It was adopted by, as it states itself, the people of Latvia, in a freely elected Constitutional Assembly, on 15 February 1922 and came into force on 7 November 1922. It was influenced by ideas of the Weimar Constitution... |
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| Lebanon Constitution of Lebanon The Constitution of Lebanon was adopted on 23 May 1926.The most recent amendment of the Constitution was for the Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation , in October, 1989.... |
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| Luxembourg Luxembourg Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south... |
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| Liberia Constitution of Liberia The Constitution of Liberia is the supreme law of the Republic of Liberia. The current constitution, which came into force on 6 January 1986, replaced the Liberian Constitution of 1847, which had been in force since the independence of Liberia... |
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| Lithuania Constitution of Lithuania The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania defines the legal foundation for all laws passed in the Republic of Lithuania. It was approved in a referendum on October 25, 1992.-History:... |
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| Liechtenstein Constitution of Liechtenstein There has been a written constitution in the Principality of Liechtenstein since 5 October 1921. It was granted by Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein, and established the rule of parliamentary democracy mixed with that of constitutional monarchy. It has twelve chapters covering the... |
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| Macedonia | |
| Malaysia Constitution of Malaysia The Federal Constitution of Malaysia, which came into force in 1957, is the supreme law of Malaysia. The Federation was initially called the Federation of Malaya and it adopted its present name, Malaysia, when the States of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined the Federation... |
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| Mali Constitution of Mali The 1992 Constitution of Mali was approved by a referendum on 12 January 1992 after being drawn up by a national conference in August 1991. The constitution provides for multi party democracy within a semi-presidential system.-Background:... |
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| Malta Malta Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in... |
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| Mexico | |
| Moldova Moldova Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part... |
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| Monaco Constitution of Monaco The Constitution of Monaco, first adopted in 1911 after the Monegasque Revolution and heavily revised by Prince Rainier III on December 17, 1962, outlines three branches of government, including several administrative offices and a number of councils, who share advisory and legislative power with... |
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| Mongolia Constitution of Mongolia Constitution of Mongolia is the constitution of Mongolia.It was adopted on January 13. 1992, put into force on February 12, and amended in 1999 and 2001. The new constitution established a parliamentary democracy in Mongolia, guaranteeing freedom of religion, rights, travel, expression,... |
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| Montenegro Constitution of Montenegro The current Constitution of Montenegro was ratified and adopted by the Constitutional Parliament of Montenegro on 19 October 2007 on an extraordinary session by achieving the required two-thirds supermajority of votes. The Constitution was officially proclaimed as the Constitution of Montenegro on... |
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| Nauru Constitution of Nauru The constitution of the Republic of Nauru was adopted following national independence on 31 January 1968.In 2007 there were political debates in progress with a view to amend aspects of the Constitution, owing to the challenge of widely acknowledged political instability... |
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| Netherlands Constitution of the Netherlands The Constitution of the Netherlands is the fundamental law of the European territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The present constitution is generally seen as directly derived from the one issued in 1815, constituting a constitutional monarchy. A revision in 1848 instituted a system of... — titled Grondwet |
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| Aruba Constitution of Aruba Aruba's State Constitution was unanimously approved by all political parties represented in Aruba's Parliament on August 9, 1985, and was proclaimed in the Afkondigingsblad van Aruba, No.26, 1985, on August 19, 1985.... — titled Staatsregeling |
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| Nepal Nepal Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India... |
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| Netherlands Antilles Constitution of the Netherlands Antilles The Constitution of the Netherlands Antilles was proclaimed on 29 March 1955 by Order-in-Council for the Kingdom. Its proclamation was specifically mandated by article 59 of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which had been enacted on 15 December 1954... — titled Staatsregeling |
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| Nicaragua Constitution of Nicaragua The Constitution of Nicaragua was reformed due to a negotiation of the executive and legislative branches in 1995. The reform of the 1987 Sandinista Constitution gave extensive new powers and independence to the National Assembly, including permitting the Assembly to override a presidential veto... |
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| Niger Constitution of Niger The Republic of Niger has had seven constitutions, two substantial constitutional revisions, and two periods of rule by decree since its independence from French colonial rule in 1960... |
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| Nigeria Constitution of Nigeria The Constitution of Nigeria is the supreme law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.Nigeria has had a series of constitutions. The current constitution was enacted on 29 May 1999, inaugurating the Nigerian Fourth Republic.-Colonial era :... |
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| Norway | |
| Pakistan Constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the supreme law of Pakistan. Known as the Constitution of 1973, it was drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and, following additions by the opposition parties, was approved by the legislative assembly on April 10, 1973... |
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| Paraguay Constitution of Paraguay The Republic of Paraguay is governed under the constitution of 1992, which is the country's sixth since independence from Spain in 1811.-Independence:... |
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| Palestine - A Basic law serves for the interim period | |
| Peru Constitution of Peru The Constitution of Peru is the supreme law of Peru. The current constitution, enacted on December 31, 1993, is Peru's fifth in the 20th century and replaced the 1979 Constitution.... |
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| Philippines Constitution of the Philippines The Constitution of the Philippines is the supreme law of the Philippines.The Constitution currently in effect was enacted in 1987, during the administration of President Corazon Aquino, and is popularly known as the "1987 Constitution"... |
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| Poland Constitution of Poland The current Constitution of Poland was adopted on 2 April 1997. Formally known as the Constitution of the Republic of Poland , it replaced the temporary amendments put into place in 1992 designed to reverse the effects of Communism, establishing the nation as "a democratic state ruled by law and... |
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| Portugal | |
| Romania | |
| Russia | |
| Rwanda Constitution of Rwanda The Constitution of Rwanda was adopted by referendum on May 26, 2003. It replaced the older Constitution of 1991.The Constitution provides for a presidential system of government, with separation of powers between the three branches. It condemns the Rwandan Genocide in the preamble, expressing hope... |
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| San Marino Constitution of San Marino 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 of 1974 as amended in 2002. The constitutional system has influences from the Corpus Juris Civilis and Roman customary... |
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| Serbia Constitution of Serbia The Constitution of the Republic of Serbia is Serbia's fundamental law. The current constitution was approved in a constitutional referendum, held from on 28–29 October 2006... |
October 28–29 2006 |
| Singapore Constitution of Singapore The Constitution of Singapore is the supreme law of Singapore and it is a codified constitution.The constitution cannot be amended without the support of more than two-thirds of the members of parliament on the second and third readings . The president may seek opinion on constitutional issues... |
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| Slovakia Constitution of Slovakia The Constitution of Slovakia, officially Constitution of the Slovak Republic is the current constitution of Slovakia. It was passed by the Slovak National Council on 1 September 1992 and signed on 3 September 1992 in the Knights Hall of the Bratislava Castle... |
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| Slovenia Constitution of Slovenia The Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia was adopted by the Slovenian National Assembly on December 23, 1991. The document is divided into ten chapters:# General Provisions# Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms# Economic and Social Relations... |
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| Somalia Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic The Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic, or TFC is the principle organizing document of the Somali Republic, written and approved in February 2004 in Nairobi, Kenya... |
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| South Africa Constitution of South Africa The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the country of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the government. The current constitution, the country's fifth, was... |
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| Spain Constitution of Spain Spain's first Constitution was passed in 1812. A list of the different Spanish constitutional laws follows:During Franco's dictatorship, there were many attempts to create stable institutions that did not emanate from the dictator as they did in the post-war period... |
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| Sri Lanka Constitution of Sri Lanka The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka has been the constitution of the island nation of Sri Lanka since its original promulgation by the National State Assembly on 7 September 1978. It is Sri Lanka's second republican constitution, and its third constitution since the... |
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| Sudan Politics of Sudan Officially, the politics of Sudan takes place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic consociationalist republic, where the President of Sudan is Head of State, Head of Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces in a multi-party system... |
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| Suriname Suriname Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as... |
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| Sweden Constitution of Sweden The Swedish Constitution consists of four fundamental laws :* The 1810 Act of Succession * The 1949 Freedom of the Press Act * The 1974 Instrument of Government * The 1991 Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression... |
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| Switzerland Swiss Federal Constitution The Federal Constitution of 18 April 1999 is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland. It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a federal republic of 26 cantons , contains a catalogue of individual and popular rights , delineates the responsibilities of the... |
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| Syria Constitution of Syria The Constitution of Syria delineates the basic function of that state's government. Among other things, it determines Syria's character to be Arab, Socialist and republican... |
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| Thailand Constitution of Thailand The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand is the supreme law of Thailand. Since the change from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional democracy in 1932, Thailand has had 17 charters and constitutions, reflecting the high degree of political instability and frequency of military coups faced... |
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| Tonga Constitution of Tonga The Tongan Constitution was enacted by King George Tupou I on 4 November 1875. It stipulates the makeup of the Tongan Government and the balance between its executive, legislature, and judiciary. The anniversary of its passage is celebrated annually as Tonga's Constitution Day.Tonga is a... |
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| Turkey Constitution of Turkey This article relates to a current event. See also the Turkish constitutional referendum, 2010The Constitution of the Republic of Turkey is Turkey's fundamental law. It establishes the organization of the government and sets out the principles and rules of the state's conduct along with its... |
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| Turkmenistan Constitution of Turkmenistan The Constitution of Turkmenistan adopted on 18 May 1992 is the supreme law of Turkmenistan . In its preamble, the Constitution emphasizes self-determination for the Turkmen people, as well as the rule of law and rights for citizens. .The 1992 constitution was amended in 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2006... |
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| Ukraine Constitution of Ukraine The Constitution of Ukraine is the nation's fundamental law. The constitution was adopted and ratified at the 5th session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 28 June 1996. The constitution was passed with 315 ayes out of 450 votes possible .Other laws and other normative legal acts of Ukraine... |
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| The United States of America United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three... |
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| Uruguay Constitution of Uruguay The Constitution of Uruguay is the supreme law of Uruguay. Its first version was written in 1830 and its last amendment was made in 2002. A new amendment is in talks as of April 2007.... |
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| Vanuatu Constitution of Vanuatu The Constitution of Vanuatu is the supreme law of the Republic of Vanuatu. It was enacted in 1979, and came into force upon the country's independence on 30 July 1980.... |
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| Vatican City Vatican City Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of... |
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| Venezuela Constitution of Venezuela ||The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is the current and twenty-sixth constitution of Venezuela. It was drafted in mid-1999 by a constitutional assembly that had been created by popular referendum. Adopted in December 1999, it replaced the 1961 Constitution - the longest... |
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| Vietnam Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam The Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the current constitution of Vietnam, adopted on April 15, 1992 by the Eighth National Assembly, and amended by the National Assembly in December 2001.-Current constitution:... |
Uncodified constitutions
An uncodified constitution is one where not all elements are written into law: typically some elements, such as constitutional conventionsConstitutional convention (political custom)
A constitutional convention is an informal and uncodified procedural agreement that is followed by the institutions of a state. In some states, notably those Commonwealth of Nations states that follow the Westminster system and whose political systems derive from British constitutional law, most...
, are not written into law, although such elements are almost always written down (perhaps across multiple documents and/or publications), although written in documents that are not enforceable in law.
- IsraelBasic Laws of IsraelThe Basic Laws of Israel are a key component of Israel's constitutional law. These laws deal with the formation and role of the principal state's institutions, and the relations between the state's authorities. Some of them also protect civil rights...
- New ZealandNew Zealand constitutionThe constitution of New Zealand consists of a collection of statutes , Treaties, Orders in Council, letters patent, decisions of the Courts and unwritten constitutional conventions...
- Saudi ArabiaBasic Law of Saudi ArabiaThe Basic Law of Saudi Arabia is a constitution-like charter divided into nine chapters, consisting of 83 articles...
(however, the Basic Law declares the Qur'anQur'anThe Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
to be Constitution of Saudi Arabia) - United KingdomConstitution of the United KingdomThe constitution of the United Kingdom is the set of laws and principles under which the United Kingdom is governed.Unlike many other nations, the UK has no single core constitutional document. In this sense, it is said not to have a written constitution but an uncodified one...
Constitutions of former countries
- CorsicaCorsican ConstitutionThe first Corsican Constitution was drawn up in 1755 for the short-lived Corsican Republic and remained in force until the annexation of Corsica by France in 1769...
- CzechoslovakiaConstitution of CzechoslovakiaConstitution of Czechoslovakia may refer to:*1918 Constitution of Czechoslovakia *Czechoslovak Constitution of 1920*Ninth-of-May Constitution, 1948*1960 Constitution of Czechoslovakia*Constitutional Law of Federation, 1968-See also:...
:- 1918 Constitution
- 1920 Constitution
- 1948 ConstitutionNinth-of-May ConstitutionThe Ninth-of-May Constitution was a constitution of Czechoslovakia in force from 1948 to 1960. It came into force on May 9, shortly after the communist seizure of power in the country on 25 February 1948. It replaced the 1920 Constitution...
- 1960 Constitution1960 Constitution of CzechoslovakiaThe Constitution of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic , promulgated on 11 July 1960 as the constitutional law 100/1960 Sb., codified the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia...
- East Germany
- Irish Free StateConstitution of the Irish Free StateThe Constitution of the Irish Free State was the first constitution of the independent Irish state. It was enacted with the adoption of the Constitution of the Irish Free State Act 1922, of which it formed a part...
- Kingdom of HawaiiConstitution of HawaiiThe Constitution of the State of Hawaiʻi refers to various legal documents throughout the history of the Hawaiian Islands that defined the fundamental principles of authority and governance within its sphere of jurisdiction. Numerous constitutions have been promulgated for the Kingdom of Hawaii,...
:- 1840 Constitution1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of HawaiiThe 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii titled Ke Kumukānāwai a me nā Kānāwai o ko Hawai’i Pae ‘Āina, Honolulu, 1840 was the first fully written constitution for the Kingdom of Hawaii...
- 1852 Constitution1852 Constitution of the Kingdom of HawaiiThe Constitution of 1852 served as the Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1852 through 1864. It was passed during the reign of King Kamehameha III...
- 1864 Constitution1864 Constitution of the Kingdom of HawaiiThe Constitution of 1864 of the Kingdom of Hawaii was a rewrite of the 1852 constitution issued by King Kamehameha III. It dramatically changed the way Hawaii's government worked by increasing the power of the king and changing the way the kingdom's legislature worked...
- 1887 Constitution1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of HawaiiThe 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii was a legal document by anti-monarchists to strip the Hawaiian monarchy of much of its authority, initiating a transfer of power to American, European and native Hawaiian elites...
- 1893 Constitution1893 Constitution of the Kingdom of HawaiiThe 1893 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii was a proposed replacement of the Constitution of 1887, primarily based on the Constitution of 1864 put forth by Queen Lili'uokalani...
- 1840 Constitution
- Republic of TexasConstitution of the Republic of TexasThe Constitution of the Republic of Texas was written in 1836 between the fall of the Alamo Mission in San Antonio and Sam Houston's stunning victory at San Jacinto. The constitution was written quickly and while on the run from Santa Anna....
- Soviet UnionConstitution of the Soviet UnionThere were three versions of the constitution of the Soviet Union, modeled after the 1918 Constitution established by the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic , the immediate predecessor of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics....
:- 1924 Constitution1924 Soviet ConstitutionThe 1924 Soviet Constitution legitimated the December 1922 union of the Russian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the Belarusian SSR, and the Transcaucasian SFSR to form the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics....
- 1936 Constitution1936 Soviet ConstitutionThe 1936 Soviet constitution, adopted on December 5, 1936, and also known as the "Stalin" constitution, redesigned the government of the Soviet Union.- Basic provisions :...
- 1977 Constitution1977 Soviet ConstitutionAt the Seventh Session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Ninth Convocation on October 7, 1977, the third and last Soviet Constitution, also known as the "Brezhnev Constitution", was unanimously adopted...
- 1924 Constitution
- Vermont Republic
- Yugoslavia
- Weimar RepublicWeimar constitutionThe Constitution of the German Reich , usually known as the Weimar Constitution was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic...
Constitutions of unrecognized countries
- Confederate States of AmericaConfederate States ConstitutionThe Constitution of the Confederate States of America was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America, as adopted on March 11, 1861 and in effect through the conclusion of the American Civil War. The Confederacy also operated under a Provisional Constitution from February 8, 1861 to March...
See also
- Constitutional lawConstitutional lawConstitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
- Constitution DayConstitution DayConstitution Day is a holiday to honor the constitution of a country. Constitution Day is often celebrated on the anniversary of the signing, promulgation or adoption of the constitution, or in some cases, to commemorate the change to constitutional monarchy:...
- State constitution (United States)State constitution (United States)In the United States, each state has its own constitution.Usually, they are longer than the 7,500-word federal Constitution and are more detailed regarding the day-to-day relationships between government and the people. The shortest is the Constitution of Vermont, adopted in 1793 and currently...
- Constitutional documentsConstitutional documentsIn relation to artificial persons, the constitutional documents of the entity are the documents which define the existence of the entity and regulate the structure and control of the entity and its members...