Constitution

The fundamental law of the state, containing the principles upon which the government is founded and regulating the divisions of the sovereign powers, directing to what persons each of these powers is to be confided and the manner it is to be exercised. E.g., the Constitution of the United States.

The words constitution and government are sometimes employed to express the same idea; the manner in which sovereignty is exercised in each state. Constitution is also the name of the instrument containing the fundamental laws of the state.

By constitution, the common law writers mean some particular law; such as the constitutions of the emperors contained in the Code.

Contracts. The constitution of a contract is the making of the contract. E.g., the written constitution of a debt.
   

This entry contains material from Bouvier's Legal Dictionary, a work published in the 1850's.

The basic law or laws of a nation or a state which sets out how that state will be organized by deciding the powers and authorities of government between different political units, and by stating and the basic principles of society - (read more on Constitution)
  

The fundamental principles of law by which a government iscreated and a country is administered. In Western democratic theory, a mandatefrom the people in their sovereign capacity, concerning how they shall begoverned. It is distinguished from a statute, which is a rule decided bylegislative representatives and subject to limitations of the Constitution.