Questions tagged [constitution]
A constitution is a framework for government, and serves as a set of founding principles for the entity.
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US Constitution amendment restriction on Senate - is there a way around it?
According to Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution (emphasis added):
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the ...
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How many countries have a single unified document as their constitution?
The foundation of US law and government is the US constitution including its 27 amendments. However most of the time when I look for something similar for other nations, what I find tends to be ...
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Did the US Supreme Court's recent ruling sidestep the issue of judicial review? (Whole Women's Health v. Jackson; challenge to Texas S.B. 8)
The following questions and their extensive answers cover the background of the issues well:
How close does the Texas law that bars most abortions after six weeks come to saying 'Defendants can&#...
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Conquest = usurpation?
In the context of establishing a lawfully constituted authority, does conquest1 differ from usurpation2?
How is conquest different from usurpation, which is an unlawful way of establishing an ...
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Why is the Second Amendment to the US constitution structured differently from all other amendments?
The Second Amendment reads as follows:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
This can be ...
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How close does the Texas law that bars most abortions after six weeks come to saying 'Defendants can't assert constitutionally protected rights?'
In the CNN video Toobin: This is the most important question a justice asked
CNN Chief Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin shares his thoughts on the Supreme Court justices' questions as they hear oral ...
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Why is Spain not legislating vaccine-status check measures, after executive attempts to impose those were defeated in courts?
According to The Local (ES):
The reasoning of [Spanish] judges, both regional and national, is that having to prove Covid vaccination, testing or recovery status to enter a bar or visit a museum ...
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Are there constitutional arguments for preventing/avoiding judicial review of state law in some scenarios? Are there any historical examples of this?
From CNN's video coverage of US Attorney General Merrick Garland announcement of its lawsuit against the state of Texas:
Q: ...several GOP lawmakers who said that they will follow Texas’ lead, and I ...
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Is freedom of the press covered under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?
The First Amendment reads:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the ...
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Why don't other countries try to emulate the United States? [closed]
(Apologies in advance if I sound condescending or ignorant of world affairs. The former is unintentional; the latter is why I'm here.)
You often hear about countries (developing nations, mostly, but ...
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Is the current governance of the United States Capitol Police at odds with separation of powers doctrine?
The United States Capitol Police (USCP) appears to be a law enforcement agency and has been in the news since the capitol riot of January 6th, 2021. However, in recent events, the Capitol Police ...
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Would a Constitutional court make sense in The Netherlands?
Unlike many other countries, The Netherlands has no constitutional court. Article 120 of our constitution even says:
De rechter treedt niet in de beoordeling van de grondwettigheid van wetten en ...
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Which President has had the greatest number of their actions ruled unconstitutional?
Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus and the court ruled that it wasn’t within his authority, I am wondering which President did the most things that the Supreme Court explicitly ruled were ...
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Isn’t having unequal numbers of Senators in each class unconstitutional?
The Constitution says that Senators
shall be divided equally as may be into three Classes
So wouldn’t the current Class 3 consisting of 34 members while Class 1 and Class 2 only having 33 members be ...
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Does the 15th amendment prevent voter discrimination based on ethnicity?
The 15th amendment reads:
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of ...
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What did the Framers intend the meaning of “probable cause” to be? [closed]
The 4th amendment reads
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall ...
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Can the President personally arrest someone? [duplicate]
If all executive powers is held by the President and FBI agents can make arrests, doesn’t that mean the President can too?
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Why didn’t the Framers of the US Constitution clarify who has the power to suspend habeas corpus?
It seems awfully strange to mention a very strong power, that if used improperly could destroy American democracy, and not say who can invoke it. Why?
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What does the Haitian Constitution provide for in the case of the death of the President?
According to a statement on the Juno 7 news website by interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, the President of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated during the night between the 6th and 7th of July ...
CDJB♦
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Is "Nation-State of the Jewish People" exclusionary on race or religion?
Israel has its constitution set out in its "Basic Laws". It would seem to me that Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People
which states, "Israel as the Nation-State ...
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Is Biden's assumption that the Capital Gains Tax increased on April 28, 2021 an ex post facto law?
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Biden's budget appears to assume that the capital gains tax increased on April 28, 2021. The article states that whether this is true depends on whether ...
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Is this a theoretical 23rd Amendment workaround?
The 23rd Amendment says (paraphrasing) that the District of Columbia has three electoral votes (exact wording will be at the end). Even if the rest of DC were granted statehood, the federal district ...
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Does Governor Ron DeSantis have to the power to stop Trump's extradition?
Former president Donald Trump is facing a criminal probe by the Manhattan District Attorney, and is also the subject of investigations by the Southern District of New York.
I read somewhere that if ...
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Doesn't DC home rule violate the nondelegation doctrine?
If
"All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress...", with courts interpreting this as Congress not being allowed to delegate its lawmaking powers to anyone else;
And,...
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If a state's population falls below 30,000, how would they be represented in the House?
The Constitution has this clause in it:
The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative;
If the population of a ...
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How can a government be legitimate? [closed]
In Myanmar, there are now two governments: (1) military government and (2) community representing government called (National Unity Government - NUG) formed from Charter by Community Representing ...
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How many constitutions refer to the Declaration of the Rights of Man?
I'm curious how many countries cite the document in their own constitution, as I'm aware that some do (Senegal, for example).
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
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What would it take for the District of Columbia to be made a state?
It seems the Biden administration supports the recognition of the District of Columbia as another US state. This raises the question of what will it take for this to happen?
Obviously, such a state ...
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How is rational basis test applicable in this situation? [closed]
How might Justice Joseph Bradley’s argument that a law barring women from practicing law could be
upheld because of women’s “timidity and delicacy” be regarded as an application of the rational basis
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What are the limitations on the structure of a US state government?
Upon a quick scan of the U.S. Constitution, the only direct reference I find as to how state governments are to be structured is in article IV, section 4:
"The United States shall guarantee to ...
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Are there examples in the world in some countries, of non supreme court members of the governments having legitimacy to interpret the constitution?
I've heard some armies make oaths to defend the constitution. Also I've heard about sheriffs publicly refusing to enforce a law on constitutional grounds. I'm not sure if they have the legitimacy to ...
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If two U.S. Constitutional amendments conflict with each other, does the most recent one take precedence?
If one amendment doesn’t explicitly repeal another one, does it still take precedence over it the way a new law can indirectly override older laws?
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What is the distinction between constitutional power and statutory power?
I know it sounds easy on the surface. Constitutional powers are conferred through constitutional text, whereas statutory powers are conferred through legislation.
But consider the following scenario (...
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Is the United States Constitution owned by the people or by the government? [closed]
For example, if a US citizen used part of the Constitution in an essay would that person not need to cite it?
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Constitutionally, what would happen if the Icelandic President is convicted of a criminal offense?
Under the Icelandic constitution, the President enjoys immunity from criminal prosecutions as long as the Parliament permits it.
Constitution of Iceland, Article 11, Paragraph 2
The President may not ...
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How can a state be removed from the United States without a Constitutional amendment? [closed]
Can a state be removed from the United States without an amendment or would they have to choose to leave?
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How far does Congressional judicial stripping extend?
Under Article III Section 2 Clause 2, Congress has the power to limit the Supreme Courts power:
In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State ...
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What does 'equivalency of the four countries' mean in the context of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands?
The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands uses the word gelijkwaardigheid (equivalency) as opposed to gelijkheid (equality) between the four countries (the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint ...
JJJ♦
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Changing the local time of Washington, D.C
Who has the power to change the local date/time of Washington D.C., and what is the extent of this power?
Could this power be abused to extend/reduce the terms of elected officials?
Certainly the ...
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Has there ever been a profound constitutional crisis in the United States?
There have been crisis such as the 1876 tied election, but they still could be solved because Congress has the power to certify the electoral college votes and reject them. Has there been any ...
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Hypothetical: Law passes House and Senate with VP tie-breaker. Then president dies before signing
The circumstances of "The American Rescue Plan" made me think of this. Suppose a bill passes both the House and the Senate, but with a 50-50 tie in the Senate such that the vice president ...
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Can the Supreme Court strike down parts of laws or can they only strike down entire laws even if only some parts of them are unconstitutional?
Basically a line item veto, but for declaring laws unconstitutional.
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What did the Framers of the Constitution have to say about court packing?
Trump has repeatedly said that Biden wants to pack the courts, this likely wouldn’t work because of the Senate filibuster. Although hard, if one party were able to obtain 60 seats in the Senate, ...
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What would the repercussions be for individual Lawmakers if they had actually been communicating with the 'mob' outside the capitol on January 6?
If on January 6, 2021 Senators or Congress people from within the Capitol building had been communicating with the mob outside, what could be the consequences for these actions?
To make matters even ...
user14221
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What does taking the oath of office of the president of the United States do?
The Constitution specifies the following:
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully ...
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Why didn't Nazis have their own constitution?
Nazis didn't write a constitution and adopted The Weimar Constitution that was in force since 1919. The Enabling Act of 1933 was the only implemented reform to this constitution.
Given that Nazis were ...
user35692
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How long do states have to vote on Constitutional amendments passed by congress? Are there any in limbo?
I am curious to know if states have a specific timeline for voting to ratify a Constitutional amendment and if there are any that have been passed by congress but not enough states have voted to allow ...
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Why is the Constitutionality of an Impeachment and Trial when out of office not settled?
The US Senate has voted 3 times, once in 1876 and twice in 2021, that impeachment and trial of an official who has left office is acceptable.
Despite this, Mitch McConnell voted to acquit Trump in ...
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How does Ireland maintain constitutional stability when it is relatively easy to amend the Constitution? [closed]
It is relatively easier to amend the Constitution in Ireland than in other countries.
To change the Irish Constitution, the amendment must:
Be approved by both the lower and upper house of Parliament ...
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Limitations on the Senate changing the SCOTUS size [duplicate]
I've read up on the process it takes to expand the Supreme Court, and I was wondering if there are any guard rails to stop this process from going insane.
If the Democratic Senate expands the court to ...
