TOML

National Constitutions - TOML

National constitutions are the supreme legal documents that define a country's political system and protection of fundamental human rights. The United States Constitution (1788) is the world's oldest current written constitution, while the Constitution of Japan (1946) is known as a symbol of post-war democracy. This data systematically organizes the names and establishment years of current constitutions in major countries worldwide.

constitution law politics history international comparison human rights
[[items]]
code = "US"
slug = "united-states"
name = "United States of America"
description = "The world's oldest current written constitution."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the United States"
yearEnacted = 1789
yearEstablished = 1788

[[items]]
code = "NO"
slug = "norway"
name = "Norway"
description = "The second oldest current written constitution in Europe."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway"
yearEnacted = ""
yearEstablished = 1814

[[items]]
code = "NL"
slug = "netherlands"
name = "Netherlands"
description = "Constitution adopted after the Congress of Vienna."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands"
yearEnacted = ""
yearEstablished = 1815

[[items]]
code = "BE"
slug = "belgium"
name = "Belgium"
description = "Constitution adopted after independence from the Netherlands."
constitutionName = "Constitution of Belgium"
yearEnacted = ""
yearEstablished = 1831

[[items]]
code = "CA"
slug = "canada"
name = "Canada"
description = "Adopted when British colonies formed a dominion."
constitutionName = "Constitution of Canada"
yearEnacted = 1867
yearEstablished = 1867

[[items]]
code = "LU"
slug = "luxembourg"
name = "Luxembourg"
description = "Constitution establishing permanent neutrality after the Franco-Prussian War."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg"
yearEnacted = ""
yearEstablished = 1868

[[items]]
code = "AU"
slug = "australia"
name = "Australia"
description = "Federal constitution enacted by the British Parliament."
constitutionName = "Constitution of Australia"
yearEnacted = 1901
yearEstablished = 1900

[[items]]
code = "MX"
slug = "mexico"
name = "Mexico"
description = "Adopted after the collapse of the Porfirio Diaz dictatorship."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the United Mexican States"
yearEnacted = ""
yearEstablished = 1917

[[items]]
code = "AT"
slug = "austria"
name = "Austria"
description = "Constitution of the First Austrian Republic."
constitutionName = "Federal Constitutional Law of Austria"
yearEnacted = 1920
yearEstablished = 1920

[[items]]
code = "EE"
slug = "estonia"
name = "Estonia"
description = "Constitution adopted after independence from Russia."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the Republic of Estonia"
yearEnacted = 1922
yearEstablished = 1922

[[items]]
code = "IE"
slug = "ireland"
name = "Ireland"
description = "Constitution declaring independence from the United Kingdom."
constitutionName = "Constitution of Ireland"
yearEnacted = 1937
yearEstablished = 1937

[[items]]
code = "IS"
slug = "iceland"
name = "Iceland"
description = "Constitution adopted upon independence from Denmark."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the Republic of Iceland"
yearEnacted = 1944
yearEstablished = 1944

[[items]]
code = "JP"
slug = "japan"
name = "Japan"
description = "Constitution known as a symbol of post-war democracy."
constitutionName = "Constitution of Japan"
yearEnacted = 1947
yearEstablished = 1946

[[items]]
code = "IT"
slug = "italy"
name = "Italy"
description = "Constitution establishing the transition to republic after abolition of monarchy."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the Italian Republic"
yearEnacted = 1948
yearEstablished = 1947

[[items]]
code = "DE"
slug = "germany"
name = "Germany"
description = "Basic Law protecting human rights through 'eternal clauses'."
constitutionName = "Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany"
yearEnacted = 1949
yearEstablished = 1949

[[items]]
code = "IN"
slug = "india"
name = "India"
description = "The world's longest written constitution."
constitutionName = "Constitution of India"
yearEnacted = 1950
yearEstablished = 1950

[[items]]
code = "DK"
slug = "denmark"
name = "Denmark"
description = "Constitution comprehensively revised after liberation from Nazi occupation."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the Kingdom of Denmark"
yearEnacted = ""
yearEstablished = 1953

[[items]]
code = "FR"
slug = "france"
name = "France"
description = "Constitution establishing the Fifth Republic."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the Fifth French Republic"
yearEnacted = 1958
yearEstablished = 1958

[[items]]
code = "SE"
slug = "sweden"
name = "Sweden"
description = "Constitution transitioning from Instrument of Government to four fundamental laws."
constitutionName = "Instrument of Government of Sweden"
yearEnacted = 1975
yearEstablished = 1974

[[items]]
code = "ES"
slug = "spain"
name = "Spain"
description = "Democratization constitution after the end of the Franco dictatorship."
constitutionName = "Spanish Constitution"
yearEnacted = 1978
yearEstablished = 1978

[[items]]
code = "PT"
slug = "portugal"
name = "Portugal"
description = "Democratization constitution after the Carnation Revolution."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the Portuguese Republic"
yearEnacted = 1976
yearEstablished = 1976

[[items]]
code = "GR"
slug = "greece"
name = "Greece"
description = "Democratic restoration constitution after the collapse of military rule."
constitutionName = "Constitution of Greece"
yearEnacted = 1975
yearEstablished = 1975

[[items]]
code = "CN"
slug = "china"
name = "China"
description = "Current constitution adopted during the reform and opening-up period."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the People's Republic of China"
yearEnacted = 1982
yearEstablished = 1982

[[items]]
code = "BR"
slug = "brazil"
name = "Brazil"
description = "Democratization constitution known as the 'Citizen Constitution'."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil"
yearEnacted = 1988
yearEstablished = 1988

[[items]]
code = "KR"
slug = "south-korea"
name = "South Korea"
description = "Constitution adopted as a result of democratization movements."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the Republic of Korea"
yearEnacted = 1988
yearEstablished = 1987

[[items]]
code = "RU"
slug = "russia"
name = "Russia"
description = "Constitution adopted after the collapse of the Soviet Union."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the Russian Federation"
yearEnacted = 1993
yearEstablished = 1993

[[items]]
code = "CZ"
slug = "czech-republic"
name = "Czech Republic"
description = "Constitution adopted after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the Czech Republic"
yearEnacted = 1993
yearEstablished = 1992

[[items]]
code = "FI"
slug = "finland"
name = "Finland"
description = "Current constitution comprehensively revising the 1919 constitution."
constitutionName = "Constitution of Finland"
yearEnacted = 2000
yearEstablished = 1999

[[items]]
code = "CH"
slug = "switzerland"
name = "Switzerland"
description = "Current constitution systematizing and organizing the 1848 constitution."
constitutionName = "Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation"
yearEnacted = 2000
yearEstablished = 1999

[[items]]
code = "PL"
slug = "poland"
name = "Poland"
description = "New constitution adopted after the collapse of communist rule."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the Republic of Poland"
yearEnacted = 1997
yearEstablished = 1997

[[items]]
code = "ZA"
slug = "south-africa"
name = "South Africa"
description = "New constitution after the abolition of apartheid."
constitutionName = "Constitution of the Republic of South Africa"
yearEnacted = 1997
yearEstablished = 1996

[[items]]
code = "HU"
slug = "hungary"
name = "Hungary"
description = "New fundamental law replacing the 1949 constitution."
constitutionName = "Fundamental Law of Hungary"
yearEnacted = 2012
yearEstablished = 2011

[[items]]
code = "UK"
slug = "united-kingdom"
name = "United Kingdom"
description = "Uncodified constitution without a single written constitutional document."
constitutionName = "Uncodified Constitution"
yearEnacted = ""
yearEstablished = ""