Noun

Singular constitution

Plural constitutions

constitution (plural constitutions)

1. The act, or process of setting something up, or establishing something; the composition or structure of such a thing; its makeup.
2. The formal or informal system of primary principles and laws that regulates a government or other institutions.
3. A legal document describing such a formal system.
4. The general health of a person.
5. A person's physique or temperament

Derived terms

• constitutional

Related terms

• constitute
• constituent
• constituency
• constitutive

A constitution is set of rules for government—often codified as a written document—that establishes principles of an autonomous political entity. In the case of countries, this term refers specifically to a national constitution defining the fundamental political principles, and establishing the structure, procedures, powers and duties, of a government. By limiting the government's own reach, most constitutions guarantee certain rights to the people. The term constitution can be applied to any overall law that defines the functioning of a government, including several historical constitutions that existed before the development of modern national constitutions.

Constitutions concern different kinds of political organizations. They are found extensively in regional government, at supranational (e.g., European Union), federal (e.g., United States Constitution), state or provincial (e.g., the constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or the constitution of the State of New York), and sub-national levels. They are also found in many political groups, such as political parties, pressure groups, and trade unions.

Non-political entities such as corporations and voluntary associations, whether incorporated or not, may also have a constitution. The constitution of a legally incorporated entity is more usually styled as its memorandum and articles of association (U.S. incorporation).

• A good constitution cannot alone make a nation’s happiness. A bad one can alone make its unhappiness.
  • (fr) Une bonne constitution ne peut suffire à faire le bonheur d’une nation. Une mauvaise peut suffire à faire son malheur.
  • Guy Carcassonne: La Constitution (6th ed.). Paris: Éditions du Seuil, p. 33

• The problem in any constitutional change is the great care put to solve the problems of the past instead of grasping those of the future.
  • (fr) Le défaut inhérent à tout changement constitutionnel tient au grand soin mis à régler les problèmes du passé au lieu de saisir ceux de l’avenir.
  • Olivier Duhamel: Droit constitutionnel 2: Les Démocraties (3rd ed.). Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 2000, p. 105

• A constitution, as Solon said, is good for a certain people and for a certain time. It shouldn’t be mummified.
  • (fr) Une constitution, comme disait Solon, est bonne pour un peuple et pour un temps. Il ne faut pas la momifier.
  • Charles de Gaulle, quoted in Alain Peyrefitte: C’était De Gaulle. Paris: Gallimard, 2002, p. 250

• A constitution is made of a spirit, institutions, and a practice.
  • (fr) Une constitution, c’est un esprit, des institutions, une pratique.
  • Charles de Gaulle, Press Conference on 31 January 1964, Élysée Palace, Paris