د "اساسي قانون" د بڼو تر مېنځ توپير

 

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

Non-political entities such as [[corporation]]s and [[voluntary association]]s, whether incorporated or not, may also have a [[Constitution (corporate)|constitution]]. The constitution of a legally incorporated entity is more usually styled as its [[Memorandum of association|memorandum]] and [[articles of association]] (U.S. [[Articles of Incorporation|incorporation]]).

The term ''constitution'' comes from a [[Latin language|Latin]] term denoting an important law, usually one proclaimed by the Roman emperor (''"constitutiones principis"'': the edicta, mandata, decrera and rescripta)<ref>[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2MqfUsMiDbYC&pg=PA243&dq=%22constitutiones+principis%22 The historical and institutional context of Roman law, George Mousourakis, 2003, p. 243]</ref>. Later, the term was widely used in [[canon law]] for an important determination, especially by the [[Pope]], which are now referred to as ''[[apostolic constitution]]s.''

 

Generally, every constitution confers specific powers to an organization or institutional entity, established upon the primary condition that it abides by the said constitution's limitations.

 

When an official act is unconstitutional, i.e. it is not a power granted to the government by the Constitution, that act is ''null and void'', and the nullification is [[ab initio]], that is, from inception, not from the date of the finding. It was never "law", even though, if it had been a statute or statutory provision, it might have been adopted according to the procedures for adopting legislation. Sometimes the problem is not that a statute is unconstitutional, but the application of it is, on a particular occasion, and a court may decide that while there are ways it could be applied that are constitutional, that instance was not allowed or legitimate. In such a case, only the application may be ruled unconstitutional. Historically, the remedy for such violations have been petitions for common law [[writ]]s, such as ''[[quo warranto]]''.

 

=== Early legal codes ===

Excavations in modern-day [[Iraq]] by [[Ernest de Sarzec]] in 1877 found evidence of the earliest known code of justice, issued by the [[Sumer]]ian king [[Urukagina]] of [[Lagash]] ''ca'' 2300 BC. Perhaps the earliest prototype for a law of government, this document itself has not yet been discovered; however it is known that it allowed some rights to his citizens. For example, it is known that it relieved tax for widows and orphans, and protected the poor from the [[usury]] of the rich.