CONSTITUTION

constitution. 1. The fundamental and organic law of a nation or state that establishes the institutions and apparatus of government, defines the scope of governmental sovereign powers, and guarantees individual civil rights and civil liberties. [Cases: Constitutional Law  1.1.] 2. The written instrument embodying this fundamental law, together with any formal amendments.

flexible constitution.A constitution that has few or no special amending procedures. • The British Constitution is an example. Parliament can alter constitutional principles and define new baselines for government action through ordinary legislative processes. The Canadian Constitution also grants its legislature some limited ability to amend the Constitution by legislation.

rigid constitution.A constitution whose terms cannot be altered by ordinary forms of legislation, only by special amending procedures. • The U.S. Constitution is an example. It cannot be changed without the consent of three-fourths of the state legislatures or through a constitutional convention. U.S. Const. art. V.

unwritten constitution. 1. The customs and values, some of which are expressed in statutes, that provide the organic and fundamental law of a state or country that does not have a single written document functioning as a constitution. • In British constitutional law, the constitution is a collection of historical documents, statutes, decrees, conventions, traditions, and royal prerogatives. Documents and statutes include Magna Carta (1215), the Bill of Rights (1689), and the European Communities Act (1972).2. The implied parts of a written constitution, encompassing the rights, freedoms, and processes considered to be essential, but not explicitly defined in the written document. • Many aspects of an unwritten constitution are based on custom and precedent. The U.S. Constitution does not, for example, give the Supreme Court the power to declare laws unconstitutional, but the Court does so without question. Nor does the Constitution expressly guarantee a right of privacy, but the Supreme Court has declared that the right exists and is protected. See PENUMBRA; RIGHT OF PRIVACY.

3. A nation’s history of government and institutional development. • This was the standard definition before the United States produced the first written constitution. It remains current in Great Britain and other nations that have unwritten constitutions. 4.Parliamentary law. A governing document adopted by an organization for its internal governance and its external dealings. • The constitution may be an organization’s most authoritative governing document, but if the organization has also received a charter or adopted articles of incorporation or association, then the constitution is subordinate to them. If the organization has also adopted bylaws, then the bylaws are subordinate to (and usu. more easily amended than) the constitution. The constitution and bylaws are sometimes contained in a single document. See governing document under DOCUMENT. Cf. BYLAW(1). [Blacks Law 8th]