Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that answer the question.
Query: When was the French Constitution first written?
The short-lived French Constitution of 1791 was the first written constitution in France, created after the collapse of the absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime. One of the basic precepts of the revolution was adopting constitutionality and establishing popular sovereignty.
Dicey's first legal criterion for a constitution to be regarded as supreme is that it must be written. This requirement is necessary for the precise identification of constitutional provisions, which makes it more convenient for Parliament to make constitutional amendments, and provides the judiciary with a basic text against which to determine the constitutionality of any ordinary legislation. Without a written constitution, judicial review would almost be counter to the doctrine of separation of powers as judges would get to decide the contents and wording of the Constitution. In "Marbury v. Madison", the US Supreme Court held that "the powers of the legislature are defined and limited; and that those limits may not be mistaken, or forgotten, the Constitution is written".
When Haiti was still a colony of France, edicts by the French government were often written in a French-lexicon creole and read aloud to the slave population. The first written text of Haitian Creole was composed in the French-lexicon in a poem called "Lisette quitté la plaine" in 1757 by Duvivier de la Mahautière, a White Creole planter.
Laos's first constitution was drafted and adopted by the Lao Issara (Free Laos) government on October 12, 1945, containing 41 articles, with many of its articles inspired by the June 1932 provisional constitution of Thailand. After the Lao Issara government was deposed by the French and the monarchy restored in 1946, the restored royal government (with the support of France) adopted a new French-written monarchical constitution, promulgated on May 11, 1947 and declared it to be an independent state within the French Union. The revised constitution of May 11, 1957 omitted reference to the French Union, though close educational, health and technical ties with the former colonial power persisted. The 1957 document was abrogated on December 3, 1975, when a communist People's Republic was proclaimed.
When the Cortes convened in Cádiz in 1810, there appeared to be two possibilities for Spain's political future if the French could be driven out. The first, represented especially by Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, was the restoration of the absolutist "Antiguo Régimen" ("Old Regime"); the second was to adopt some sort of written constitution.
In 1791 the French National Assembly drew up a new, written Constitution to which the King gave his assent, and which governed France for the last year of the 18th century monarchy. For the first time it was necessary to define formally, as a matter of statutory constitutional law, the system of succession, and the titles, privileges and prerogatives of the Crown. In debating the succession to the Crown the contemporary understanding of the law of succession was publicly clarified. It rebutted the assertion by some that the claim by the Spanish line is a late construct, made to satisfy the ambitions of princes deprived of other claims. Indeed, it is evident that the issue of the rights of the Spanish line to the French crown remained an important constitutional issue.
Many Spanish liberals – carrying the tradition of Charles III and his ministers – saw in a close relationship with France the hope for modernity and progress in their country. Called ""afrancesados"," they viewed the end of the Inquisition and the establishment of a more secular, liberal monarchy with affection, but as the French occupation dragged on, popularity for French rule even among liberals waned. By 1812, many of these afrancesados had become members of the Spanish guerilla war. The Spanish Constitution of 1812 (the Cadiz Constitution) was drafted by the Supreme Junta. The constitution, written by an assembly dominated by liberal reformers, described a constitutional monarchy. The inquisition would be abolished, though Roman Catholicism was still the state religion and heresy a crime. The constitution – Spain's first – provided for freedom of speech, freedom of association, and universal manhood suffrage. In response to the constitution, France temporarily annexed Catalonia.
After the revolution that led to the overthrow of the monarch, King Farouk, and the declaration of the republic, President Nasser adopted the nation’s first written constitution as a republic in 1956. During the short spell of the United Arab Republic, (Egypt & Syria), President Nasser adopted yet another constitution for the new merger, but this merger was dissolved in 1961. In 1964, President Nasser once again introduced a new written constitution for the republic. In 1971, when President Anwar Sadat took office, he moved to the adoption of a new democratic constitution that would allow more freedoms, a return of a more sound parliamentary life and correct democratic practice with the return of political parties and a bicameral parliamentary system.
The Kingdom of France adopted a written constitution in 1791, but the Kingdom was abolished a year later and replaced with the First French Republic. The monarchy was restored by the other great powers in 1814 and lasted (except for the Hundred Days in 1815) until the French Revolution of 1848.
The Orders have the features of a written constitution and are considered by some as the first written Constitution in the Western tradition. Thus, Connecticut earned its nickname of "The Constitution State". Connecticut historian John Fiske was the first to claim that the Fundamental Orders were the first written Constitution, a claim disputed by some modern historians. The orders were transcribed into the official colony records by the colony's secretary Thomas Welles. It was a Constitution the government that Massachusetts had set up. However, this Order gave men more voting rights and made more men eligible to run for elected positions.
The "Rechtsstaat" doctrine (legal state, state of right, constitutional state, constitutional government) was first introduced by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant in his latest works completed after the U.S. and French constitutions had been adopted in the late 18th century. Kant’s approach is based on the supremacy of country’s written constitution created using principles of the Higher Law. This supremacy meant creating guarantees for the implementation of his central idea: a permanently peaceful life as a basic condition for the happiness and prosperity of the citizens. Kant was basing his doctrine exclusively on the idea of constitutionalism and constitutional government.
Laos's first, French-written and monarchical constitution was promulgated on 11 May 1947, and declared Laos an independent state within the French Union. The revised constitution of 11 May 1957 omitted reference to the French Union, though close educational, health and technical ties with the former colonial power persisted. The 1957 document was abrogated on 3 December 1975, when a communist People's Republic was proclaimed. A new constitution was adopted in 1991 and enshrined a "leading role" for the LPRP. In 1990, deputy minister for science & technology Thongsouk Saysangkhi resigned from the government and party, calling for political reform. He died in captivity in 1998.
In 1992 elections were held for a new 85-seat National Assembly with members, nominated by the one-party communist government, elected by secret ballot to five-year terms. The elections were widely disputed and questioned by Lao and Hmong opposition and dissident groups abroad and in Laos and Thailand. This National Assembly, which essentially acts as a rubber stamp for the LPRP, approves all new laws, although the executive branch retains authority to issue binding decrees. The most recent elections took place in April 2011. The assembly was expanded to 99 members in 1997, to 115 members in 2006 and finally to 132 members during the 2011 elections.
The Declaration of the Rights of the Man and of the Citizen of 1793 (French: "Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen de 1793") is a French political document that preceded that country's first republican constitution. The Declaration and Constitution were ratified by popular vote in July 1793, and officially adopted on 10 August; however, they never went into effect, and the constitution was officially suspended on 10 October. It is unclear whether this suspension was thought to effect the Declaration as well. The Declaration was written by the commission that included Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just and Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles during the period of the French Revolution. The main distinction between the Declaration of 1793 and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 is its egalitarian tendency: equality is the prevailing right in this declaration. The 1793 version included new rights, and revisions to prior ones: to work, to public assistance, to education, and to resist oppression.
The Mauritian constitution makes no mention of an official language. The Constitution only mentions that the official language of the National Assembly is English; however, any member can also address the chair in French. English and French are generally considered to be de facto national and common languages of Mauritius, as they are the languages of government administration, courts, and business. The constitution of Mauritius is written in English, while some laws, such as the Civil code and Criminal code are in French.
In November 1755, Pasquale Paoli proclaimed Corsica a sovereign nation, the Corsican Republic (), independent from the Republic of Genoa. He created the Corsican Constitution, which was the first constitution written in Italian under Enlightenment principles, including the first implementation of female suffrage, later revoked by the French when they took over the island in 1769. The republic created an administration and justice system, and founded an army.
Laos' first, French-written and monarchical constitution was promulgated on May 11, 1947 and declared it to be an independent state within the French Union. The revised constitution of May 11, 1957, omitted reference to the French Union, though close educational, health and technical ties with the former colonial power persisted. The 1957 document was abrogated on December 3, 1975, when a communist People's Republic was proclaimed.
Paoli's next task was to confine the Genovese to their citadels. His second was to design a constitution which when ratified by the population in 1755 set up a new republic, a representative democracy. Its first election made Paoli president, supplanting his former position.
In November 1755, the people of Corsica ratified a constitution that proclaimed Corsica a sovereign nation, independent from the Republic of Genoa. This was the first constitution written under Enlightenment principles. The new president and author of the constitution occupied himself with building a modern state; for example, he founded a university at Corte.
The Orders have the features of a written constitution and are considered by one author to be the first written Constitution in the Western tradition, although the Mayflower Compact has an equal claim 19 years before. Thus, Connecticut earned its nickname of "The Constitution State". Connecticut historian John Fiske was the first to claim that the Fundamental Orders were the first written Constitution, a claim disputed by some modern historians. The orders were transcribed into the official colony records by the colony's secretary Thomas Welles. It was a Constitution the government that Massachusetts had set up. However, this Order gave men more voting rights and made more men eligible to run for elected positions.
He was also one of the authors of the first French republican Constitution, which was written in 1793 but never applied.
Government websites are primarily written in French, also there are parts are written for foreigners in other languages such as English and German. In Luxembourg's parliament the Chamber of Deputies, bills are first written in German. Then the language of debate is in Luxembourgish, but sometimes also in French (e.g., when laws are cited). Laws are voted and codified in French. The country's head of state, the Grand-Duke's website is in French, however his personal Christmas speech is done in Luxembourgish "(although a French translation is provided )."
Before the 1932 revolution, the kingdom had no written constitution. The monarch was the originator of all laws and the head of the government. In 1932 the first written constitution was issued, expected to be the most important guideline of the kingdom. Constitutions have traditionally been considered to be the "symbol of democracy" in Thailand, despite their many abrogations and changes. However, when political disputes took place among the elites, the first military coup occurred in 1933 and the first official constitution was removed, to be replaced by a new one.
A constitutional referendum was held in French Sudan and Niger on 21 October 1945 as part of the wider French constitutional referendum. The first question on the new French National Assembly serving as a constituent assembly was approved by 97% of voters, whilst the temporary constitution proposed in the second question was approved by 86% of voters. Both proposals were also approved in the overall vote. Voter turnout was 79.3%.
After the referendum, a new coup d'état was done by the Unitarians, and the constitution became effective in July 1798. The French, who had a big influence in the Batavian Republic, were not satisfied with the 1798 constitution, so a new constitution was written, for which a referendum in 1801 was organized.
A constitutional referendum was held in the Batavian Republic on 6 October 1801. After a previous referendum in 1798 resulted in a new constitution being approved, the French were not satisfied with this constitution, and under their influence a new constitution was written.
The equal authenticity rule is a rule of judicial interpretation developed by Canadian courts as a way of interpreting laws which are written in two parallel texts in English and French. The constitution of Canada requires that both versions of each Canadian law be treated as equally authoritative, which can result in problems when the English and French versions do not say exactly the same thing. The equal authenticity rule is derived from section 133 of the "Constitution Act, 1867", which states, "inter alia", "The Acts of the Parliament of Canada and the Legislature of Quebec shall be printed and published in both those Languages [i.e. both English and French]."