Preamble to the Constitution

4 Key excerpts on "Preamble to the Constitution"

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  Politics of Memory and Oblivion in the European Context

  Critical Perspectives

  • Sigrid Kaasik-Krogerus, Nina Sääskilahti, Viktorija L.A. Čeginskas(Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Voermans, Stremler, & Cliteur, 2017 ).

  Recently, Wim Voermans et al. (2017 ) noticed how the use of constitutional preambles is becoming a common practice in the world. Thus, the newer the constitution, the more likely it has a preamble. The examination of 190 constitutions showed that 158 constitutions have a preamble and only 32 do not. It is particularly interesting that from the 44 constitutions enacted since 2000, only three (Maldives, Somalia and Qatar) do not have a preamble. Thus, for politics of memory and oblivion, constitutions and their preambles are highly meaningful and significant, even though the historical interpretations made in them might not be very profound. There have also been estimates that nationalism, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, has also gained new strength and new venues, namely within the increasingly nationalistic preambles of constitutions (see e.g. Kissane & Sitter, 2010a , pp. 1–5, 2010b , p. 49). In this context, Hungary is worth mentioning, in particular, as will be clarified later.

  We follow the argument that a particular constitutional memory (see Miklóssy & Nyyssönen, 2018 ) highlights historical events and canonises an interpretation of the past as the basis of the whole legal and political system. Constitutional memory also reveals an immanent understanding of the rule of law regarding the new political environment. Our article examines the preambles of the post-communist constitutions of the former Soviet Bloc states. We acknowledge that the states in question form an extremely heterogenous group, culturally, politically and – indeed – historically (cf. Koposov, 2018 , pp. 127–128). Even geographically, these states cover areas like the EU, Eastern Europe, Russia, The Caucasus Region and Central Asia and, thus, this article is not an exercise in area studies. But at the same time, these states are all connected, and our emphasis is on the important shared historical state of affairs, i.e. being part of the Soviet sphere. Naturally, this historical fact has been interpreted in several, even contractionary, ways. It is not our intention in any way to try to depict these states as being entirely homologous, even if we have chosen to use the former Soviet Bloc as a collective term. Still, we consider this group to be a suitable case for a comparative study since all have ‘new’ constitutions enacted since the 1990s, almost all have a preamble of some sort – only Romania (1991/2003) is an exception here – and there have been various changes in the formulation of the constitution in several states. In addition, significant political evolution has taken place in the former socialist countries since the end of the Cold War, so the changes in the constitutions – and in the preambles – can also function as a sort of road map through the changes. Although there is a distinguishable influence of Western constitutional formulations present in the material, there has also been sufficient time, in some cases at least, for a more original adaptation and variation of ideas.1

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  Drafting the Irish Constitution, 1935–1937

  Transnational Influences in Interwar Europe

  • Donal K. Coffey(Author)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  is also interesting in terms of the dynamics that it exposes between officials and religious drafters, and between nationalism, liberalism and Roman Catholicism. Each of the provisions of the Constitution has a unique drafting history, but the Preamble contains all of the elements that are present in other parts of the document. In order to track the drafting process, the text of relevant provision of the Constitution as adopted in 1937 will be presented first in full, and then the constitutional history which gave rise to the quoted text will be identified.

  The Preamble

  In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred,

  We, the people of Éire,

  Humbly acknowledging all our obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, Who sustained our fathers through centuries of trial,

  Gratefully remembering their heroic and unremitting struggle to regain the rightful independence of our Nation,

  And seeking to promote the common good, with due observance of Prudence, Justice and Charity, so that the dignity and freedom of the individual may be assured, true social order attained, the unity of our country restored, and concord established with other nations,

  Do hereby adopt, enact, and give to ourselves this Constitution,

  …

  Dochum Glóire Dé agus Onóra na hÉireann

  Influences on Drafting

  Alfred O’Rahilly’s draft for the 1922 Constitution contained a preamble which stated:

  Chun Gloire De agus Onora na hEireann

  We, the Irish people, acknowledging that political authority comes from God to the people, asserting our natural right to national independence and unity, and in pursuance of our claim to determine freely the forms of Irish Government, hereby vote and confirm this Constitution in the Constituent Assembly of the Irish Free State , in order to base the organization and development of our country on the principles of justice and liberty.1

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  Politics USA

  • Robert J. McKeever, Philip Davies, Robert McKeever(Authors)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Part 1 The constitutional dimension of American politics

  It is no exaggeration to say that Americans view their Constitution with the kind of reverence usually reserved for religious texts. This is not so surprising once we recall that the US Constitution was effectively the founding text of the newly independent country and that it has served the nation for over 200 years. In a very real sense, then, the Constitution is synonymous with the American people as well as their government. It is the source of the people’s rights and it has enabled them to stand up to their government when it has sought to oppress them. More prosaically, but equally important, the Constitution provides the framework for the key institutions and processes of national politics and for the relationship between the federal government and the governments of the 50 states. Any study of the government and politics of the United States must, therefore, begin with an examination of the Constitution. In Chapter 2 , we analyse the origins of the Constitution: its genesis in the political flux created by the successful war for independence, the principles upon which it was based and the institutions and political processes it established. In Chapter 3 , we examine in detail the operation of federalism in the United States: in particular, we analyse the historical development of the division of powers between the federal government and the states and assess the importance of federalism in contemporary government.

  Contents Chapter 2 The Constitution and constitutionalism Chapter 3 Federalism

  Passage contains an image

  Chapter 2 The Constitution and constitutionalism

  This chapter examines the origins, development and impact of the single most important document in American politics – the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution provides not only a framework for government in America, but also a way of thinking about government. For inseparable from the Constitution is the idea of constitutionalism – the belief that all things governmental and political must comply with the principles set out in that document. The US Constitution was drafted in 1787 and came into force in 1789. Yet it is no mere historical relic. Because it has been regarded as a ‘living document’, subject to new interpretations as well as formal amendment, it has developed in line with the socio-economic and political transformation of America from a rural, eastern seaboard nation to a post-industrial, continental power that dominates the world in so many respects. As you might expect, just as America has not achieved this transformation without struggle and contention, so too the Constitution has been fought over and its development has been far from smooth. Nevertheless, it remains the keystone of American government and any understanding of American politics must begin with an appreciation of the Constitution and constitutionalism.

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  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights for a New Generation

  • Johannes Morsink(Author)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • University of Pennsylvania Press

    (Publisher)

  Preamble

  The word “preamble” has two Old Latin parts to it, prae, meaning “before,” and the verb ambulare, meaning “to go.” Together they make the Latin verb praeambulare, meaning “going before.” That gives us the standard use of a preamble as an introduction to something that follows. In this case what follows (after the operative paragraph) are the thirty articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As are most introductions, this one was written after most of the rest of the declaration was close to being finished. The seven paragraphs of this preamble are called “recitals.” They tell us why the Third General Assembly of the United Nations decided to declare this list of universal human rights on December 10, 1948, in Paris, France. Here I cite and comment on the seven reasons the drafters gave for making this declaration.

  These recitals give the reader more of the historical background I mentioned in the Preface. They mostly speak for themselves. Still, if we are going to use this iconic text as a weapon against different kinds of antidemocratic authoritarianism, then I should spell out how I interpret the first three of these recitals, for they give us the moral underpinnings for that fight.

  In my comment on the first recital, I explain why the drafters thought that human rights are part of people’s moral DNA and why they wanted to keep the declaration a secular text accessible to religious and nonreligious people alike. In my comments on the second recital, I explain that we get our knowledge of human rights through our conscience and also that the UD drafters were aware of US president Franklin Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms speech. In those on the third recital, I explain that while historically the rights of rebellion and petition form a pair, the drafters honored the latter and dropped the former from their slate of rights. The last four recitals are important for they link the declaration to the United Nations Charter and give the document its international legal grounding.

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