Modern Constitutions: Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk

Modern constitutions
The Cossack Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk, 1710.
A painting depicting George Washington at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 signing of the U.S.
Constitution
In 1634 the Kingdom of Sweden adopted the 1634 Instrument of Government, drawn up under

the Lord High Chancellor of Sweden Axel Oxenstierna after the death of king Gustavus
Adolphus, it can be seen as the first written constitution adopted by a modern state.
In 1639, the Colony of Connecticut adopted the Fundamental Orders, which was the first North
American constitution, and is the basis for every new Connecticut constitution since, and is also
the reason for Connecticut's nickname, "the Constitution State".
The English Protectorate that was set up by Oliver Cromwell after the English Civil
War promulgated the first detailed written constitution adopted by a modern state; [32] it was called
the Instrument of Government. This formed the basis of government for the short-lived republic
from 1653 to 1657 by providing a legal rationale for the increasing power of Cromwell after
Parliament consistently failed to govern effectively. Most of the concepts and ideas embedded
into modern constitutional theory, especially bicameralism, separation of powers, the written
constitution, and judicial review, can be traced back to the experiments of that period. [33]
Drafted by Major-General John Lambert in 1653, the Instrument of Government included
elements incorporated from an earlier document "Heads of Proposals",[34][35] which had been
agreed to by the Army Council in 1647, as a set of propositions intended to be a basis for a
constitutional settlement after King Charles I was defeated in the First English Civil War. Charles
had rejected the propositions, but before the start of the Second Civil War, the Grandees of
the New Model Army had presented the Heads of Proposals as their alternative to the more
radical Agreement of the People presented by the Agitators and their civilian supporters at
the Putney Debates.
On January 4, 1649 the Rump Parliament declared "that the people are, under God, the original
of all just power; that the Commons of England, being chosen by and representing the people,
have the supreme power in this nation". [36]
The Instrument of Government was adopted by Parliament on December 15, 1653 and Oliver
Cromwell was installed as Lord Protector on the following day. The constitution set up a state
council consisting of 21 members while executive authority was vested in the office of "Lord
Protector of the Commonwealth." This position was designated as a non-hereditary life
appointment. The Instrument also required the calling of triennial Parliaments, with each sitting
for at least five months.
The Instrument of Government was replaced in May 1657 by England's second, and last,
codified constitution, the Humble Petition and Advice, proposed by Sir Christopher Packe.[37] The
Petition offered hereditary monarchy to Oliver Cromwell, asserted Parliament's control over
issuing new taxation, provided an independent council to advise the king and safeguarded
"Triennial" meetings of Parliament. A modified version of the Humble Petition with the clause on
kingship removed was ratified on 25 May. This finally met its demise in conjunction with the
death of Cromwell and the Restoration of the monarchy.
Other examples of European constitutions of this era were the Corsican Constitution of 1755 and
the Swedish Constitution of 1772.
All of the British colonies in North America that were to become the 13 original United States,
adopted their own constitutions in 1776 and 1777, during the American Revolution (and before
the later Articles of Confederation and United States Constitution), with the exceptions of
Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The Commonwealth of
Massachusetts adopted its Constitution in 1780, the oldest still-functioning constitution of any
U.S. state; while Connecticut and Rhode Island officially continued to operate under their old
colonial charters, until they adopted their first state constitutions in 1818 and 1843, respectively.
Democratic constitutions
Constitution of May 3, 1791 (painting by Jan Matejko, 1891). Polish King Stanisław August (left, in

regal ermine-trimmed cloak), enters St. John's Cathedral, where Sejm deputies will swear to uphold the
new Constitution; in background, Warsaw's Royal Castle, where the Constitution has just been adopted.
What is sometimes called the "enlightened constitution" model was developed by philosophers of
the Age of Enlightenment such as Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Locke.
The model proposed that constitutional governments should be stable, adaptable, accountable,
open and should represent the people (i.e., support democracy).[38]
Agreements and Constitutions of Laws and Freedoms of the Zaporizian Host was written in 1710
by Pylyp Orlyk, hetman of the Zaporozhian Host. It was written to establish a free Zaporozhian-
Ukrainian Republic, with the support of Charles XII of Sweden. It is notable in that it established a
democratic standard for the separation of powers in government between the legislative,
executive, and judiciary branches, well before the publication of Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws.
This Constitution also limited the executive authority of the hetman, and established a
democratically elected Cossack parliament called the General Council. However, Orlyk's project
for an independent Ukrainian State never materialized, and his constitution, written in exile, never
went into effect.
Corsican Constitutions of 1755 and 1794 were inspired by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The latter
introduced universal suffrage for property owners.
The Swedish constitution of 1772 was enacted under King Gustavus III and was inspired by
the separation of powers by Montesquieu. The king also cherished other enlightenment ideas (as
an enlighted despot) and repealed torture, liberated agricultural trade, diminished the use of
the death penalty and instituted a form of religious freedom. The constitution was commended
by Voltaire.[39][40][41]
The United States Constitution, ratified June 21, 1788, was influenced by the writings
of Polybius, Locke, Montesquieu, and others. The document became a benchmark
for republicanism and codified constitutions written thereafter. [7]
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Constitution was passed on May 3, 1791.[42][43][44] Its draft
was developed by the leading minds of the Enlightenment in Poland such as King Stanislaw
August Poniatowski, Stanisław Staszic, Scipione Piattoli, Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Ignacy
Potocki and Hugo Kołłątaj.[45] It was adopted by the Great Sejm and is considered the first
constitution of its kind in Europe and the world's second oldest one after the American
Constitution.[46]
Another landmark document was the French Constitution of 1791.
The 1811 Constitution of Venezuela was the first Constitution of Venezuela and Latin America,
promulgated and drafted by Cristóbal Mendoza[47] and Juan Germán Roscio and in Caracas. It
established a federal government but was repealed one year later. [48]
On March 19, the Spanish Constitution of 1812 was ratified by a parliament gathered in Cadiz,
the only Spanish continental city which was safe from French occupation. The Spanish
Constitution served as a model for other liberal constitutions of several South
European and Latin American nations, for example, the Portuguese Constitution of 1822,
constitutions of various Italian states during Carbonari revolts (i.e., in the Kingdom of the Two
Sicilies), the Norwegian constitution of 1814, or the Mexican Constitution of 1824.[49]
In Brazil, the Constitution of 1824 expressed the option for the monarchy as political system after
Brazilian Independence. The leader of the national emancipation process was the Portuguese
prince Pedro I, elder son of the king of Portugal. Pedro was crowned in 1822 as first emperor of
Brazil. The country was ruled by Constitutional monarchy until 1889, when it adopted the
Republican model.
In Denmark, as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, the absolute monarchy lost its personal
possession of Norway to Sweden. Sweden had already enacted its 1809 Instrument of
Government, which saw the division of power between the Riksdag, the king and the judiciary.
[50]
However the Norwegians managed to infuse a radically democratic and liberal constitution in
1814, adopting many facets from the American constitution and the revolutionary French ones,
but maintaining a hereditary monarch limited by the constitution, like the Spanish one.
The first Swiss Federal Constitution was put in force in September 1848 (with official revisions in
1878, 1891, 1949, 1971, 1982 and 1999).
The Serbian revolution initially led to a proclamation of a proto-constitution in 1811; the full-
fledged Constitution of Serbia followed few decades later, in 1835. The first Serbian constitution
(Sretenjski ustav) was adopted at the national assembly in Kragujevac on February 15, 1835.
The Constitution of Canada came into force on July 1, 1867 as the British North America Act, an
act of the British Parliament. Over a century later, the BNA Act was patriated to the Canadian
Parliament and augmented with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.[51] Apart from
the Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982, Canada's constitution also has unwritten elements based in
common law and convention.[52][53]

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Modern constitutions

The Cossack Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk, 1710.

In 1634 the Kingdom of Sweden adopted the 1634 Instrument of Government, drawn up under

Constitution of May 3, 1791 (painting by Jan Matejko, 1891). Polish King Stanisław August (left, in

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