134-432: Former Former The Freedom and People's Rights Movement , Liberty and Civil Right Movement , Free Civil Right Movement ( 自由民権運動 , Jiyū Minken Undō ) (abbreviated as Freedom Party ( 自由党 , Jiyūtō ) ), Popular Rights Movement , or Autonomy and People's Rights Movement was a Japanese political and social movement for democracy in the 1880s. It pursued the formation of an elected legislature , revision of
268-496: A constitution , while other uses of "democracy" may encompass direct democracy , in which citizens vote on issues directly. According to the United Nations , democracy "provides an environment that respects human rights and fundamental freedoms, and in which the freely expressed will of people is exercised." One theory holds that democracy requires three fundamental principles: upward control (sovereignty residing at
402-913: A lawspeaker . These deliberative bodies were responsible for settling political questions, and variants included the Althing in Iceland and the Løgting in the Faeroe Islands . The veche , found in Eastern Europe , was a similar body to the Scandinavian thing. In the Roman Catholic Church , the pope has been elected by a papal conclave composed of cardinals since 1059. The first documented parliamentary body in Europe
536-428: A parliamentary or presidential democracy . Most democracies apply in most cases majority rule , but in some cases plurality rule , supermajority rule or consensus rule are applied. They serve the crucial purpose of inclusiveness and broader legitimacy on sensitive issues—counterbalancing majoritarianism —and therefore mostly take precedence on a constitutional level. In the common variant of liberal democracy ,
670-431: A representative democracy , the people choose governing officials through elections to do so. Who is considered part of "the people" and how authority is shared among or delegated by the people has changed over time and at different rates in different countries. Features of democracy oftentimes include freedom of assembly , association , personal property , freedom of religion and speech , citizenship , consent of
804-662: A republic , although it didn't have much of a democracy. The Roman model of governance inspired many political thinkers over the centuries. Vaishali , capital city of the Vajjika League (Vrijji mahajanapada ) of India , is considered one of the first examples of a republic around the 6th century BC. Other cultures, such as the Iroquois in the Americas also developed a form of democratic society between 1450 and 1660 (and possibly in 1142 ), well before contact with
938-405: A constitution in general terms was "the arrangement of the offices in a state". In his works Constitution of Athens , Politics , and Nicomachean Ethics , he explores different constitutions of his day, including those of Athens, Sparta , and Carthage . He classified both what he regarded as good and what he regarded as bad constitutions, and came to the conclusion that the best constitution
1072-480: A constitution modelled on Pennsylvania's citizenship and democratic suffrage for males with or without property. The United States Constitution of 1787 is the oldest surviving, still active, governmental codified constitution . The Constitution provided for an elected government and protected civil rights and liberties, but did not end slavery nor extend voting rights in the United States , instead leaving
1206-577: A constitution since 1789 is approximately 19 years. The term constitution comes through French from the Latin word constitutio , used for regulations and orders, such as the imperial enactments ( constitutiones principis : edicta, mandata, decreta, rescripta). Later, the term was widely used in canon law for an important determination, especially a decree issued by the Pope , now referred to as an apostolic constitution . William Blackstone used
1340-675: A foreign government, being bankrupt, employed as a servant, or having "notoriety for ill deeds". Full universal suffrage was achieved in 1934. In 1893, the self-governing colony New Zealand became the first country in the world (except for the short-lived 18th-century Corsican Republic) to establish active universal suffrage by recognizing women as having the right to vote. 20th-century transitions to liberal democracy have come in successive " waves of democracy ", variously resulting from wars, revolutions, decolonisation , and religious and economic circumstances. Global waves of "democratic regression" reversing democratization, have also occurred in
1474-469: A form of political collectivism because it is defined as a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in lawmaking . Republics , though often popularly associated with democracy because of the shared principle of rule by consent of the governed , are not necessarily democracies, as republicanism does not specify how the people are to rule. Classically the term " republic " encompassed both democracies and aristocracies . In
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#17327730205261608-402: A legislature, court cases, and treaties. Constitutions concern different levels of organizations, from sovereign countries to companies and unincorporated associations . A treaty that establishes an international organization is also its constitution, in that it would define how that organization is constituted. Within states , a constitution defines the principles upon which the state
1742-591: A minority of Romans were citizens with votes in elections for representatives. The votes of the powerful were given more weight through a system of weighted voting , so most high officials, including members of the Senate , came from a few wealthy and noble families. In addition, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom was the first case in the Western world of a polity being formed with the explicit purpose of being
1876-542: A modern sense the republican form of government is a form of government without a monarch . Because of this, democracies can be republics or constitutional monarchies , such as the United Kingdom. Democratic assemblies are as old as the human species and are found throughout human history, but up until the nineteenth century, major political figures have largely opposed democracy. Republican theorists linked democracy to small size: as political units grew in size,
2010-603: A period of more than four hundred years, an important aspect of the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire . In China , the Hongwu Emperor created and refined a document he called Ancestral Injunctions (first published in 1375, revised twice more before he died in 1398). These rules served as a constitution for the Ming dynasty for the next 250 years. The oldest written document still governing
2144-863: A single code until the Codex Theodosianus (438 AD); later, in the Eastern Empire, the Codex repetitæ prælectionis (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). The Edicts of Ashoka established constitutional principles for the 3rd century BC Maurya king's rule in India . For constitutional principles almost lost to antiquity, see
2278-455: A sovereign nation today is 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 and judicial procedures and remedies. Written in 1600, the document was based upon
2412-538: A state council consisting of 21 members while executive authority was vested in the office of " Lord Protector of the Commonwealth ." This position was designated as a non-hereditary life appointment. The Instrument also required the calling of triennial Parliaments , with each sitting for at least five months. The Instrument of Government was replaced in May 1657 by England's second, and last, codified constitution,
2546-495: A state for the purposes of defending their rights. Particularly important for Locke were property rights, whose protection Locke deemed to be a government's primary purpose. Furthermore, Locke asserted that governments were legitimate only if they held the consent of the governed . For Locke, citizens had the right to revolt against a government that acted against their interest or became tyrannical. Although they were not widely read during his lifetime, Locke's works are considered
2680-462: 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 that 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 that application may be ruled unconstitutional. Historically,
2814-492: A strong, authoritarian power. In other words, Hobbes advocated for an absolute monarchy which, in his opinion, was the best form of government. Later, philosopher and physician John Locke would posit a different interpretation of social contract theory. Writing in his Two Treatises of Government (1689), Locke posited that all individuals possessed the inalienable rights to life, liberty and estate (property). According to Locke, individuals would voluntarily come together to form
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#17327730205262948-508: A time of debates over constitutional issues in Athens. Aeschylus also strongly alludes to the word in his play The Suppliants , staged in c.463 BC, where he mentions "the demos's ruling hand" [ demou kratousa cheir ]. Before that time, the word used to define the new political system of Cleisthenes was probably isonomia , meaning political equality. Athenian democracy took the form of direct democracy, and it had two distinguishing features:
3082-464: Is a system of government in which state power is vested in the people or the general population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitive elections while more expansive definitions link democracy to guarantees of civil liberties and human rights in addition to competitive elections. In a direct democracy , the people have the direct authority to deliberate and decide legislation. In
3216-401: Is based, the procedure in which laws are made and by whom. Some constitutions, especially codified constitutions, also act as limiters of state power, by establishing lines which a state's rulers cannot cross, such as fundamental rights . Changes to constitutions frequently require consensus or supermajority . The Constitution of India is the longest written constitution of any country in
3350-646: Is considered part of the compilation of Constitutions) until 1716, when Philip V of Spain gave the Nueva Planta decrees , finishing with the historical laws of Catalonia . These Constitutions were usually made formally as a royal initiative, but required for its approval or repeal the favorable vote of the Catalan Courts , the medieval antecedent of the modern Parliaments. These laws, like other modern constitutions, had preeminence over other laws, and they could not be contradicted by mere decrees or edicts of
3484-413: Is found to be beyond power will be "invalid" and of no force; this applies to primary legislation, requiring constitutional authorization, and secondary legislation, ordinarily requiring statutory authorization. In this context, "within power", intra vires , "authorized" and "valid" have the same meaning; as do "beyond power", ultra vires , "not authorized" and "invalid". In most but not all modern states
3618-454: Is generally held as the first example of a type of democracy in 508–507 BC was established in Athens. Cleisthenes is referred to as "the father of Athenian democracy ". The first attested use of the word democracy is found in prose works of the 430s BC, such as Herodotus ' Histories , but its usage was older by several decades, as two Athenians born in the 470s were named Democrates, a new political name—likely in support of democracy—given at
3752-485: Is the dominant form. Without compensation, like legal protections of individual or group rights, political minorities can be oppressed by the " tyranny of the majority ". Majority rule involves a competitive approach, opposed to consensus democracy , creating the need that elections , and generally deliberation , be substantively and procedurally "fair" ," i.e. just and equitable . In some countries, freedom of political expression , freedom of speech , and freedom of
3886-529: Is then decided on how loudly the crowd shouts). Aristotle called this "childish", as compared with the stone voting ballots used by the Athenian citizenry. Sparta adopted it because of its simplicity, and to prevent any biased voting, buying, or cheating that was predominant in the early democratic elections. Even though the Roman Republic contributed significantly to many aspects of democracy, only
4020-431: Is to be governed. When these principles are written down into a single document or set of legal documents, those documents may be said to embody a written constitution ; if they are encompassed in a single comprehensive document, it is said to embody a codified constitution . The Constitution of the United Kingdom is a notable example of an uncodified constitution ; it is instead written in numerous fundamental acts of
4154-642: The Baltics , the Balkans , Brazil , Cuba , China , and Japan , among others. World War II brought a definitive reversal of this trend in Western Europe. The democratisation of the American, British, and French sectors of occupied Germany (disputed ), Austria, Italy, and the occupied Japan served as a model for the later theory of government change . However, most of Eastern Europe , including
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4288-572: The Byzantine emperors ' Novellae (most were taken from Justinian 's Novellae). The Nomocanon was a completely new compilation of civil and canonical regulations, taken from Byzantine sources but completed and reformed by St. Sava to function properly in Serbia. Besides decrees that organized the life of the church, there are various norms regarding civil life; most of these were taken from Prohiron. Legal transplants of Roman - Byzantine law became
4422-625: The Code of Ur-Nammu of Ur (c. 2050 BC). Some of the better-known ancient law codes are the code of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin , the code of Hammurabi of Babylonia , the Hittite code , the Assyrian code , and Mosaic law . In 621 BC, a scribe named Draco codified the oral laws of the city-state of Athens ; this code prescribed the death penalty for many offenses (thus creating the modern term "draconian" for very strict rules). In 594 BC, Solon ,
4556-493: The Constitution of the United States of America (U.S. Constitution), which is the oldest and shortest written constitution still in force, close to 800 constitutions have been adopted and subsequently amended around the world by independent states. In the late 18th century, Thomas Jefferson predicted that a period of 20 years would be the optimal time for any constitution to be still in force, since "the earth belongs to
4690-683: The European Union or candidate states . In 1986, after the toppling of the most prominent Asian dictatorship, the only democratic state of its kind at the time emerged in the Philippines with the rise of Corazon Aquino , who would later be known as the mother of Asian democracy . The liberal trend spread to some states in Africa in the 1990s, most prominently in South Africa. Some recent examples of attempts of liberalisation include
4824-748: The Grandees of the New Model Army had presented the Heads of Proposals as their alternative to the more radical Agreement of the People presented by the Agitators and their civilian supporters at the Putney Debates . The Instrument of Government was adopted by Parliament on 15 December 1653, and Oliver Cromwell was installed as Lord Protector on the following day. The constitution set up
4958-510: The House of Commons . The Nomocanon of Saint Sava ( Serbian : Законоправило/Zakonopravilo ) was the first Serbian constitution from 1219. St. Sava's Nomocanon was the compilation of civil law , based on Roman Law , and canon law , based on Ecumenical Councils . Its basic purpose was to organize the functioning of the young Serbian kingdom and the Serbian church . Saint Sava began
5092-579: The Humble Petition and Advice , proposed by Sir Christopher Packe . The Petition offered hereditary monarchy to Oliver Cromwell , asserted Parliament 's control over issuing new taxation , provided an independent council to advise the king and safeguarded "Triennial" meetings of Parliament. A modified version of the Humble Petition with the clause on kingship removed was ratified on 25 May. This finally met its demise in conjunction with
5226-1262: The Indonesian Revolution of 1998 , the Bulldozer Revolution in Yugoslavia , the Rose Revolution in Georgia , the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon, the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan , and the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia . According to Freedom House , in 2007 there were 123 electoral democracies (up from 40 in 1972). According to World Forum on Democracy , electoral democracies now represent 120 of
5360-663: The Instrument of Government included elements incorporated from an earlier document " Heads of Proposals ", which had been agreed to by the Army Council in 1647, as a set of propositions intended to be a basis for a constitutional settlement after King Charles I was defeated in the First English Civil War . Charles had rejected the propositions, but before the start of the Second Civil War,
5494-796: The Kingdom of Scotland under the Acts of Union . Two key documents of the UK's uncodified constitution , the English Declaration of Right, 1689 (restated in the Bill of Rights 1689 ) and the Scottish Claim of Right 1689 , had both cemented Parliament's position as the supreme law-making body and said that the "election of members of Parliament ought to be free". However, Parliament was only elected by male property owners, which amounted to 3% of
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5628-580: The Law and Justice Party ) to the Philippines (under Rodrigo Duterte ). In a Freedom House report released in 2018, Democracy Scores for most countries declined for the 12th consecutive year. The Christian Science Monitor reported that nationalist and populist political ideologies were gaining ground, at the expense of rule of law , in countries like Poland, Turkey and Hungary. For example, in Poland,
5762-725: The Lord High Chancellor of Sweden Axel Oxenstierna after the death of king Gustavus Adolphus . This can be seen as the first written constitution adopted by a modern state. In 1639, the Colony of Connecticut adopted the Fundamental Orders , which was the first North American constitution. It is the basis for every new Connecticut constitution since, and is also the reason for Connecticut 's nickname, "the Constitution State ". On 4 January 1649,
5896-608: The Meiji (Chōshū–Satsuma) oligarchy because, among other limitations, under the Meiji Constitution, the first election law enfranchised only men who paid a substantial amount in property taxes, as a result of the Land Tax Reform in 1873. Democracy List of forms of government Democracy (from Ancient Greek : δημοκρατία , romanized : dēmokratía , dēmos 'people' and kratos 'rule')
6030-635: The Republic of Florence , established in 1115, was led by the Signoria whose members were chosen by sortition . In the 10th–15th century Frisia , a distinctly non-feudal society, the right to vote on local matters and on county officials was based on land size. The Kouroukan Fouga divided the Mali Empire into ruling clans (lineages) that were represented at a great assembly called the Gbara . However,
6164-621: The Rump Parliament declared "that the people are, under God, the original of all just power; that the Commons of England, being chosen by and representing the people, have the supreme power in this nation". The English Protectorate set up by Oliver Cromwell after the English Civil War promulgated the first detailed written constitution adopted by a modern state; it was called the Instrument of Government . This formed
6298-498: 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). These continental codes were all composed in Latin, while Anglo-Saxon
6432-402: The Soviet sector of Germany fell into the non-democratic Soviet-dominated bloc . The war was followed by decolonisation , and again most of the new independent states had nominally democratic constitutions. India emerged as the world's largest democracy and continues to be so. Countries that were once part of the British Empire often adopted the British Westminster system . In 1948,
6566-413: The Statuti Comunali (Town Statute) of 1300, itself influenced by the Codex Justinianus , and it remains in force today. In 1392 the Carta de Logu was legal code of the Giudicato of Arborea promulgated by the giudicessa Eleanor . It was in force in Sardinia until it was superseded by the code of Charles Felix in April 1827. The Carta was a work of great importance in Sardinian history. It
6700-492: The Sumerian king Urukagina of Lagash c. 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. After that, many governments ruled by special codes of written laws. The oldest such document still known to exist seems to be
6834-444: The Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System are said to have eclipsed the constitution in importance as a frame of government in practice. Developing a legal and political tradition of strict adherence to constitutional provisions is considered foundational to the rule of law . Excavations in modern-day Iraq by Ernest de Sarzec in 1877 found evidence of the earliest known code of justice , issued by
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#17327730205266968-429: The Unequal Treaties with the United States and European countries, the institution of civil rights , and the reduction of centralized taxation. The Movement prompted the Meiji government to establish a constitution in 1889 and a diet in 1890; on the other hand, it failed to loosen the control of the central government and its demand for true democracy remained unfulfilled, with ultimate power continuing to reside in
7102-565: The United Kingdom (which originated the Westminster system ), the dominant principle is that of parliamentary sovereignty , while maintaining judicial independence . In India , parliamentary sovereignty is subject to the Constitution of India which includes judicial review . Though the term "democracy" is typically used in the context of a political state , the principles also are potentially applicable to private organisations, such as clubs, societies and firms . Democracies may use many different decision-making methods, but majority rule
7236-418: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights mandated democracy: 3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures. By 1960, the vast majority of country-states were nominally democracies, although most of
7370-405: The V-Dem Democracy indices and The Economist Democracy Index , less than half the world's population lives in a democracy as of 2022 . Although democracy is generally understood to be defined by voting, no consensus exists on a precise definition of democracy. Karl Popper says that the "classical" view of democracy is, "in brief, the theory that democracy is the rule of the people and that
7504-401: The code of Manu . 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 AD). This was followed by the Lex Burgundionum , applying separate codes for Germans and for Romans; the Pactus Alamannorum ; and
7638-509: The random selection of ordinary citizens to fill the few existing government administrative and judicial offices, and a legislative assembly consisting of all Athenian citizens. All eligible citizens were allowed to speak and vote in the assembly, which set the laws of the city-state. However, Athenian citizenship excluded women, slaves, foreigners (μέτοικοι / métoikoi ), and youths below the age of military service. Effectively, only 1 in 4 residents in Athens qualified as citizens. Owning land
7772-443: The 192 existing countries and constitute 58.2 per cent of the world's population. At the same time liberal democracies i.e. countries Freedom House regards as free and respectful of basic human rights and the rule of law are 85 in number and represent 38 per cent of the global population. Also in 2007 the United Nations declared 15 September the International Day of Democracy . Many countries reduced their voting age to 18 years;
7906-623: The 1920s and 30s, in the 1960s and 1970s, and in the 2010s. World War I and the dissolution of the autocratic Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires resulted in the creation of new nation-states in Europe, most of them at least nominally democratic. In the 1920s democratic movements flourished and women's suffrage advanced, but the Great Depression brought disenchantment and most of the countries of Europe, Latin America, and Asia turned to strong-man rule or dictatorships. Fascism and dictatorships flourished in Nazi Germany , Italy , Spain and Portugal , as well as non-democratic governments in
8040-497: The 1970s and 1980s. This was followed by countries in East and South Asia by the mid-to-late 1980s. Economic malaise in the 1980s, along with resentment of Soviet oppression, contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union , the associated end of the Cold War , and the democratisation and liberalisation of the former Eastern bloc countries. The most successful of the new democracies were those geographically and culturally closest to western Europe, and they are now either part of
8174-423: The 20th century). In the 1860 United States census , the slave population had grown to four million, and in Reconstruction after the Civil War, three constitutional amendments were passed: the 13th Amendment (1865) that ended slavery; the 14th Amendment (1869) that gave black people citizenship, and the 15th Amendment (1870) that gave black males a nominal right to vote. Full enfranchisement of citizens
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#17327730205268308-424: The Europeans. This democracy continues to the present day and is the world's oldest standing representative democracy. While most regions in Europe during the Middle Ages were ruled by clergy or feudal lords , there existed various systems involving elections or assemblies, although often only involving a small part of the population. In Scandinavia , bodies known as things consisted of freemen presided by
8442-486: The President appointed 27 new Supreme Court judges over legal objections from the European Commission . In Turkey, thousands of judges were removed from their positions following a failed coup attempt during a government crackdown . Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity , organization or other type of entity , and commonly determines how that entity
8576-429: The Roman Empire collapsed: Roman territory was conquered by small fragmented groups of Germanic tribes, thus leading to the creation of small political units where rulers were relatively weak and needed the consent of the governed to ward off foreign threats. In Poland , noble democracy was characterized by an increase in the activity of the middle nobility , which wanted to increase their share in exercising power at
8710-411: The Wise the Grand Prince of Kiev , was granted to Great Novgorod around 1017, and in 1054 was incorporated into the Russkaya Pravda ; it became the law for all of Kievan Rus' . It survived only in later editions of the 15th century. In England, Henry I's proclamation of the Charter of Liberties in 1100 bound the king for the first time in his treatment of the clergy and the nobility. This idea
8844-477: The basis of government for the short-lived republic from 1653 to 1657 by providing a legal rationale for the increasing power of Cromwell after Parliament consistently failed to govern effectively. Most of the concepts and ideas embedded into modern constitutional theory, especially bicameralism , separation of powers , the written constitution, and judicial review , can be traced back to the experiments of that period. Drafted by Major-General John Lambert in 1653,
8978-434: The basis of the Serbian medieval law. The essence of Zakonopravilo was based on Corpus Iuris Civilis . Stefan Dušan , emperor of Serbs and Greeks, enacted Dušan's Code ( Serbian : Душанов Законик/Dušanov Zakonik ) in Serbia , in two state congresses: in 1349 in Skopje and in 1354 in Serres . It regulated all social spheres, so it was the second Serbian constitution, after St. Sava's Nomocanon (Zakonopravilo). The Code
9112-421: The basis of universal consensus of all chiefs following discussions that were initiated by a single nation. The position of Sachem descends through families and are allocated by the senior female clan heads, though, prior to the filling of the position, candidacy is ultimately democratically decided by the community itself. In 1634 the Kingdom of Sweden adopted the 1634 Instrument of Government , drawn up under
9246-424: The charter made Mali more similar to a constitutional monarchy than a democratic republic . The Parliament of England had its roots in the restrictions on the power of kings written into Magna Carta (1215), which explicitly protected certain rights of the King's subjects and implicitly supported what became the English writ of habeas corpus , safeguarding individual freedom against unlawful imprisonment with
9380-402: The constitution has supremacy over ordinary statutory law (see Uncodified constitution below); in such states when an official act is unconstitutional, i.e. it is not a power granted to the government by the constitution, that act is null and void , and the nullification is ab initio , that is, from inception, not from the date of the finding. It was never "law", even though, if it had been
9514-477: The constitution-making process either takes too long or is extremely short were non-democracies. In principle, constitutional rights are not a specific characteristic of democratic countries. Autocratic states have constitutions, such as that of North Korea , which officially grants every citizen, among other things, the freedom of expression . However, the extent to which governments abide by their own constitutional provisions varies. In North Korea, for example,
9648-432: The constitutional or statutory authority of those officials are termed "within power" (or, in Latin, intra vires ); if they do not, they are termed "beyond power" (or, in Latin, ultra vires ). 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 to be ultra vires of
9782-530: The convention that forbade detention lacking sufficient cause or evidence. After the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the Bill of Rights was enacted in 1689 which codified certain rights and liberties and is still in effect. The Bill set out the requirement for regular elections, rules for freedom of speech in Parliament and limited the power of the monarch, ensuring that, unlike much of Europe at
9916-668: The courts for the first 130 years after ratification. In 1789, Revolutionary France adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and, although short-lived, the National Convention was elected by all men in 1792. The Polish-Lithuanian Constitution of 3 May 1791 sought to implement a more effective constitutional monarchy , introduced political equality between townspeople and nobility, and placed
10050-712: The death of Cromwell and the Restoration of the monarchy. All of the British colonies in North America that were to become the 13 original United States, adopted their own constitutions in 1776 and 1777, during the American Revolution (and before the later Articles of Confederation and United States Constitution ), with the exceptions of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts adopted its Constitution in 1780,
10184-553: The document focuses more on social morality than on institutions of government, and remains a notable early attempt at a government constitution. The Constitution of Medina ( Arabic : صحیفة المدینه , Ṣaḥīfat al-Madīna), also known as the Charter of Medina, was drafted by the Islamic prophet Muhammad after his flight ( hijra ) to Yathrib where he became political leader. It constituted a formal agreement between Muhammad and all of
10318-483: The drafting of Japan 's 1946 Constitution, the bureaucrats drafted everything in no more than a week. Japan has the oldest unamended constitution in the world. The record for the shortest overall process of drafting, adoption, and ratification of a national constitution belongs to the Romania 's 1938 constitution, which installed a royal dictatorship in less than a month. Studies showed that typically extreme cases where
10452-697: The elected members of the Provincial Administrative Councils would elect members to the first Parliament . Later that year, a new constitution was promulgated, which provided for a bicameral Parliament with a Senate appointed by the Sultan and a popularly elected Chamber of Deputies . Only men above the age of 30 who were competent in Turkish and had full civil rights were allowed to stand for election. Reasons for disqualification included holding dual citizenship, being employed by
10586-456: The expense of the magnates. Magnates dominated the most important offices in the state (secular and ecclesiastical) and sat on the royal council, later the senate. The growing importance of the middle nobility had an impact on the establishment of the institution of the land sejmik (local assembly), which subsequently obtained more rights. During the fifteenth and first half of the sixteenth century, sejmiks received more and more power and became
10720-834: The fold of one community – the Ummah . The precise dating of the Constitution of Medina remains debated, but generally, scholars agree it was written shortly after the Hijra (622). In Wales , the Cyfraith Hywel (Law of Hywel) was codified by Hywel Dda c. 942–950. It served as the main law code in Wales until it was superseded by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 . The Pravda Yaroslava , originally combined by Yaroslav
10854-667: The founding documents of liberal thought and profoundly influenced the leaders of the American Revolution and later the French Revolution . His liberal democratic framework of governance remains the preeminent form of democracy in the world. In the Cossack republics of Ukraine in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Cossack Hetmanate and Zaporizhian Sich , the holder of the highest post of Hetman
10988-481: The governed , voting rights , freedom from unwarranted governmental deprivation of the right to life and liberty , and minority rights . The notion of democracy has evolved considerably over time. Throughout history, one can find evidence of direct democracy, in which communities make decisions through popular assembly . Today, the dominant form of democracy is representative democracy, where citizens elect government officials to govern on their behalf such as in
11122-499: The government but by living in a city that was not subject to another power and by not being subjects themselves to the rule of another person. Range voting appeared in Sparta as early as 700 BC. The Spartan ecclesia was an assembly of the people, held once a month, in which every male citizen of at least 20 years of age could participate. In the assembly, Spartans elected leaders and cast votes by range voting and shouting (the vote
11256-606: The growth of political philosophy on the British Isles. Thomas Hobbes was the first philosopher to articulate a detailed social contract theory . Writing in the Leviathan (1651), Hobbes theorized that individuals living in the state of nature led lives that were "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short" and constantly waged a war of all against all . In order to prevent the occurrence of an anarchic state of nature, Hobbes reasoned that individuals ceded their rights to
11390-440: The issue of suffrage to the individual states. Generally, states limited suffrage to white male property owners and taxpayers. At the time of the first Presidential election in 1789 , about 6% of the population was eligible to vote. The Naturalization Act of 1790 limited U.S. citizenship to whites only. The Bill of Rights in 1791 set limits on government power to protect personal freedoms but had little impact on judgements by
11524-530: The king. The Kouroukan Founga was a 13th-century charter of the Mali Empire in West Africa , reconstructed from oral tradition in 1988 by Siriman Kouyaté . It included the "right to life and to the preservation of physical integrity" and significant protections for women. The Golden Bull of 1356 was a decree issued by a Reichstag in Nuremberg headed by Emperor Charles IV that fixed, for
11658-402: The legal judgement of his peers, or by the law of the land. 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
11792-449: The likelihood increased that the government would turn despotic. At the same time, small political units were vulnerable to conquest. Montesquieu wrote, "If a republic be small, it is destroyed by a foreign force; if it is large, it is ruined by an internal imperfection." According to Johns Hopkins University political scientist Daniel Deudney , the creation of the United States, with its large size and its system of checks and balances,
11926-612: The living, and not to the dead". Indeed, according to recent studies, the average life of any new written constitution is around 19 years. However, a great number of constitutions do not last more than 10 years, and around 10% do not last more than one year, as was the case of the French Constitution of 1791 . By contrast, some constitutions, notably that of the United States, have remained in force for several centuries, often without major revision for long periods of time. The most common reasons for these frequent changes are
12060-413: The lowest levels of authority), political equality , and social norms by which individuals and institutions only consider acceptable acts that reflect the first two principles of upward control and political equality. Legal equality , political freedom and rule of law are often identified by commentators as foundational characteristics for a well-functioning democracy. In some countries, notably in
12194-401: The major democracies began to do so in the 1970s starting in Western Europe and North America. Most electoral democracies continue to exclude those younger than 18 from voting. The voting age has been lowered to 16 for national elections in a number of countries, including Brazil, Austria, Cuba, and Nicaragua. In California, a 2004 proposal to permit a quarter vote at 14 and a half vote at 16
12328-401: The medieval period to urban agglomeration and the creation of new classes, such as artisans, as well as the presence of nobility and religious elites. Scholars have also linked the emergence of representative government to Europe's relative political fragmentation. Political scientist David Stasavage links the fragmentation of Europe, and its subsequent democratization, to the manner in which
12462-660: The most important institutions of local power. In 1454, Casimir IV Jagiellon granted the sejmiks the right to decide on taxes and to convene a mass mobilization in the Nieszawa Statutes . He also pledged not to create new laws without their consent. In 17th century England, there was renewed interest in Magna Carta . The Parliament of England passed the Petition of Right in 1628 which established certain liberties for subjects. The English Civil War (1642–1651)
12596-604: The oldest still-functioning constitution of any U.S. state; while Connecticut and Rhode Island officially continued to operate under their old colonial charters, until they adopted their first state constitutions in 1818 and 1843, respectively. What is sometimes called the "enlightened constitution" model was developed by philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment such as Thomas Hobbes , Jean-Jacques Rousseau , and John Locke . The model proposed that constitutional governments should be stable, adaptable, accountable, open and should represent
12730-466: The peasants under the protection of the government, mitigating the worst abuses of serfdom . In force for less than 19 months, it was declared null and void by the Grodno Sejm that met in 1793. Nonetheless, the 1791 Constitution helped keep alive Polish aspirations for the eventual restoration of the country's sovereignty over a century later. In the United States, the 1828 presidential election
12864-550: The people (i.e., support democracy ). Agreements and Constitutions of Laws and Freedoms of the Zaporizian Host was written in 1710 by Pylyp Orlyk , hetman of the Zaporozhian Host . It was written to establish a free Zaporozhian-Ukrainian Republic , with the support of Charles XII of Sweden . It is notable in that it established a democratic standard for the separation of powers in government between
12998-527: The people have a right to rule". One study identified 2,234 adjectives used to describe democracy in the English language. Democratic principles are reflected in all eligible citizens being equal before the law and having equal access to legislative processes. For example, in a representative democracy , every vote has (in theory) equal weight, and the freedom of eligible citizens is secured by legitimised rights and liberties which are typically enshrined in
13132-554: The people", in contrast to aristocracy ( ἀριστοκρατία , aristokratía ), meaning "rule of an elite". Western democracy , as distinct from that which existed in antiquity, is generally considered to have originated in city-states such as those in Classical Athens and the Roman Republic , where various degrees of enfranchisement of the free male population were observed. In virtually all democratic governments throughout ancient and modern history, democratic citizenship
13266-416: The period before 1776 the abundance and availability of land meant that large numbers of colonists met such requirements with at least 60 per cent of adult white males able to vote. The great majority of white men were farmers who met the property ownership or taxpaying requirements. With few exceptions, no blacks or women could vote. Vermont , which, on declaring independence of Great Britain in 1777, adopted
13400-454: The political desire for an immediate outcome and the short time devoted to the constitutional drafting process. A study in 2009 showed that the average time taken to draft a constitution is around 16 months, however there were also some extreme cases registered. For example, the Myanmar 2008 Constitution was being secretly drafted for more than 17 years, whereas at the other extreme, during
13534-493: The population in 1780. The first known British person of African heritage to vote in a general election, Ignatius Sancho , voted in 1774 and 1780. During the Age of Liberty in Sweden (1718–1772), civil rights were expanded and power shifted from the monarch to parliament. The taxed peasantry was represented in parliament, although with little influence, but commoners without taxed property had no suffrage. The creation of
13668-470: The powers of the majority are exercised within the framework of a representative democracy, but a constitution and supreme court limit the majority and protect the minority—usually through securing the enjoyment by all of certain individual rights, such as freedom of speech or freedom of association. The term appeared in the 5th century BC in Greek city-states , notably Classical Athens , to mean "rule of
13802-436: The press are considered important to ensure that voters are well informed, enabling them to vote according to their own interests and beliefs. It has also been suggested that a basic feature of democracy is the capacity of all voters to participate freely and fully in the life of their society. With its emphasis on notions of social contract and the collective will of all the voters, democracy can also be characterised as
13936-420: The primary condition that it abides by the constitution's limitations. According to Scott Gordon, a political organization is constitutional to the extent that it "contain[s] institutionalized mechanisms of power control for the protection of the interests and liberties of the citizenry , including those that may be in the minority ". Activities of officials within an organization or polity that fall within
14070-696: 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. In the Principality of Catalonia , the Catalan constitutions were promulgated by the Court from 1283 (or even two centuries before, if Usatges of Barcelona
14204-416: The remedies for such violations have been petitions for common law writs , such as quo warranto . Scholars debate whether a constitution must necessarily be autochthonous , resulting from the nations "spirit". Hegel said "A constitution...is the work of centuries; it is the idea, the consciousness of rationality so far as that consciousness is developed in a particular nation." Since 1789, along with
14338-497: The right to appeal. The first representative national assembly in England was Simon de Montfort's Parliament in 1265. The emergence of petitioning is some of the earliest evidence of parliament being used as a forum to address the general grievances of ordinary people. However, the power to call parliament remained at the pleasure of the monarch. Studies have linked the emergence of parliamentary institutions in Europe during
14472-624: The ruler of Athens, created the new Solonian Constitution . It eased the burden of the workers, and determined that membership of the ruling class was to be based on wealth ( plutocracy ), rather than on birth ( aristocracy ). Cleisthenes again reformed the Athenian constitution and set it on a democratic footing in 508 BC. Aristotle (c. 350 BC) was the first 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
14606-432: The sense that the people through the assembly, boule and courts of law controlled the entire political process and a large proportion of citizens were involved constantly in the public business. Even though the rights of the individual were not secured by the Athenian constitution in the modern sense (the ancient Greeks had no word for "rights" ), those who were citizens of Athens enjoyed their liberties not in opposition to
14740-419: The short-lived Corsican Republic in 1755 was an early attempt to adopt a democratic constitution (all men and women above age of 25 could vote). This Corsican Constitution was the first based on Enlightenment principles and included female suffrage , something that was not included in most other democracies until the 20th century. Colonial America had similar property qualifications as Britain, and in
14874-591: The significant tribes and families of Yathrib (later known as Medina ), including Muslims , Jews , and pagans . The document was drawn up with the explicit concern of bringing to an end the bitter intertribal fighting between the clans of the Aws ( Aus ) and Khazraj within Medina. To this effect it instituted a number of rights and responsibilities for the Muslim, Jewish, and pagan communities of Medina bringing them within
15008-619: The supreme law used in parts of Germany as late as 1900. 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
15142-540: The term for significant and egregious violations of public trust, of a nature and extent that the transgression would justify a revolutionary response. The term as used by Blackstone was not for a legal text, nor did he intend to include the later American concept of judicial review : "for that were to set the judicial power above that of the legislature, which would be subversive of all government". Generally, every modern written constitution confers specific powers on an organization or institutional entity, established upon
15276-549: The time, royal absolutism would not prevail. Economic historians Douglass North and Barry Weingast have characterized the institutions implemented in the Glorious Revolution as a resounding success in terms of restraining the government and ensuring protection for property rights. Renewed interest in the Magna Carta, the English Civil War, and the Glorious Revolution in the 17th century prompted
15410-528: The ultimate authority was held by the Crown and the English Parliament. The Puritans ( Pilgrim Fathers ), Baptists , and Quakers who founded these colonies applied the democratic organisation of their congregations also to the administration of their communities in worldly matters. The first Parliament of Great Britain was established in 1707, after the merger of the Kingdom of England and
15544-459: The union's charter, and nobody would be compelled by the charter to follow them. An example from the constitutional law of sovereign states would be a provincial parliament in a federal state trying to legislate in an area that the constitution allocates exclusively to the federal parliament, such as ratifying a treaty. Action that appears to be beyond power may be judicially reviewed and, if found to be beyond power, must cease. Legislation that
15678-657: The work on the Serbian Nomocanon in 1208 while he was at Mount Athos , using The Nomocanon in Fourteen Titles , Synopsis of Stefan the Efesian , Nomocanon of John Scholasticus , and Ecumenical Council documents, which he modified with the canonical commentaries of Aristinos and Joannes Zonaras , local church meetings, rules of the Holy Fathers , the law of Moses , the translation of Prohiron, and
15812-493: The world's populations lived in nominal democracies that experienced sham elections, and other forms of subterfuge (particularly in "Communist" states and the former colonies). A subsequent wave of democratisation brought substantial gains toward true liberal democracy for many states, dubbed "third wave of democracy". Portugal, Spain, and several of the military dictatorships in South America returned to civilian rule in
15946-441: The world, with 146,385 words in its English-language version, while the Constitution of Monaco is the shortest written constitution with 3,814 words. The Constitution of San Marino might be the world's oldest active written constitution, since some of its core documents have been in operation since 1600, while the Constitution of the United States is the oldest active codified constitution. The historical life expectancy of
16080-468: Was a mixed system including monarchic, aristocratic, and democratic elements. He also distinguished between citizens, who had the right to participate in the state, and non-citizens and slaves, who did not. The Romans initially codified their constitution in 450 BC as the Twelve Tables . They operated under a series of laws that were added from time to time, but Roman law was not reorganized into
16214-409: Was a solution to the dual problems of size. Forms of democracy occurred organically in societies around the world that had no contact with each other. The term democracy first appeared in ancient Greek political and philosophical thought in the city-state of Athens during classical antiquity . The word comes from dêmos '(common) people' and krátos 'force/might'. Under Cleisthenes , what
16348-652: Was an organic, coherent, and systematic work of legislation encompassing the civil and penal law . The Gayanashagowa , the oral constitution of the Haudenosaunee nation also known as the Great Law of Peace, established a system of governance as far back as 1190 AD (though perhaps more recently at 1451) in which the Sachems , or tribal chiefs, of the Iroquois League's member nations made decisions on
16482-598: Was based on Roman - Byzantine law . The legal transplanting within articles 171 and 172 of Dušan's Code, which regulated juridical independence, is notable. They were taken from the Byzantine code Basilika (book VII, 1, 16–17). In 1222, Hungarian King Andrew II issued the Golden Bull of 1222 . Between 1220 and 1230, a Saxon administrator, Eike von Repgow , composed the Sachsenspiegel , which became
16616-629: Was elected by the representatives from the country's districts. In North America, representative government began in Jamestown, Virginia , with the election of the House of Burgesses (forerunner of the Virginia General Assembly ) in 1619. English Puritans who migrated from 1620 established colonies in New England whose local governance was democratic; although these local assemblies had some small amounts of devolved power,
16750-667: Was established in France in March 1848 in the wake of the French Revolution of 1848 . During that year, several revolutions broke out in Europe as rulers were confronted with popular demands for liberal constitutions and more democratic government. In 1876, the Ottoman Empire transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one, and held two elections the next year to elect members to her newly formed parliament. Provisional Electoral Regulations were issued, stating that
16884-562: Was extended and refined by the English barony when they forced King John to sign Magna Carta in 1215. The most important single article of 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 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
17018-656: Was fought between the King and an oligarchic but elected Parliament, during which the idea of a political party took form with groups debating rights to political representation during the Putney Debates of 1647. Subsequently, the Protectorate (1653–59) and the English Restoration (1660) restored more autocratic rule, although Parliament passed the Habeas Corpus Act in 1679 which strengthened
17152-433: Was initially restricted to an elite class, which was later extended to all adult citizens. In most modern democracies, this was achieved through the suffrage movements of the 19th and 20th centuries. Democracy contrasts with forms of government where power is not vested in the general population of a state, such as authoritarian systems. World public opinion strongly favors democratic systems of government. According to
17286-408: Was not a requirement for citizenship. The exclusion of large parts of the population from the citizen body is closely related to the ancient understanding of citizenship. In most of antiquity the benefit of citizenship was tied to the obligation to fight war campaigns. Athenian democracy was not only direct in the sense that decisions were made by the assembled people, but also the most direct in
17420-802: Was not secured until after the civil rights movement gained passage by the US Congress of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 . The voting franchise in the United Kingdom was expanded and made more uniform in a series of reforms that began with the Reform Act 1832 and continued into the 20th century, notably with the Representation of the People Act 1918 and the Equal Franchise Act 1928 . Universal male suffrage
17554-555: Was the Cortes of León . Established by Alfonso IX in 1188, the Cortes had authority over setting taxation, foreign affairs and legislating, though the exact nature of its role remains disputed. The Republic of Ragusa , established in 1358 and centered around the city of Dubrovnik , provided representation and voting rights to its male aristocracy only. Various Italian city-states and polities had republic forms of government. For instance,
17688-471: Was the first in which non-property-holding white males could vote in the vast majority of states. Voter turnout soared during the 1830s, reaching about 80% of the adult white male population in the 1840 presidential election . North Carolina was the last state to abolish property qualification in 1856 resulting in a close approximation to universal white male suffrage (however tax-paying requirements remained in five states in 1860 and survived in two states until
17822-548: Was ultimately defeated. In 2008, the German parliament proposed but shelved a bill that would grant the vote to each citizen at birth, to be used by a parent until the child claims it for themselves. According to Freedom House, starting in 2005, there have been 17 consecutive years in which declines in political rights and civil liberties throughout the world have outnumbered improvements, as populist and nationalist political forces have gained ground everywhere from Poland (under
17956-665: Was used for those of England, beginning with the Code of Æthelberht of Kent (602). Around 893, Alfred the Great combined this and two other earlier Saxon codes, with various Mosaic and Christian precepts, to produce the Doom book code of laws for England. 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,
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