Adoption and Amendment of Constitutions in the World: a Timeline, by Salvador Trinxet

Constitutions are the basic law of the countries, establish the limitations of government powers and describe the rights and liberties of citizens. In general (Brazil being one of the rare exemptions), Constitutions are not detailed, rather they contain broad principles. But Constitutions have to change because across the years appear numererous situations which the Constitution’s drafters could not have foreseen. Therefore, Constitutions should be amended, like the United States “Bill of Rights”. This book is about those amendments.

“Adoption and Amendment of Constitutions in the World: a Timeline”is a book writen by Salvador Trinxet Llorca, with data based partially (until 2006) on Elkins, Zachary, Tom Ginsburg, and James Melton. 2010. Chronology of Constitutional Events, Version 1.1. Comparative Constitutions Project. Last modified: May 12, 2010.
Available at: https://www.comparativeconstitutionsproject.org/index.htm.

The book offers one of the most comprehensive index for researching the constitutional law of countries around the world. Whith the book there is a Companion Website that offers information about constitutional texts, related documents, books, articles and other sources, all related to the study of world constitutions and constitutional history.

In most cases, constitutions and their amendments are available in English. The Constitutional data and text are listed in reverse chronological order, with the purpose of creating a historical timeline. In the Companion Website, the reader may find that each country includes information about secondary sources, allowing him/her to find more resources for his/her research.

• First Amendment: Finding Jefferson
• State Constitutions and the Protection of Individual Rights

• Elkins, Zachary, Tom Ginsburg, and James Melton. 2009. The Endurance of National Constitutions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Recopilacion de las Constituciones Vigentes en Europa y America (1884), by Francisco de Heredia.
• Blackstone’s Commentaries: With Notes of Reference, to the Constitution and Laws, of the Federal Government of the United States; and of the Commonwealth of Virginia (2nd ed.)5 v. Philadelphia: William Young Birch and Abraham Small, 1803 Blackstone, Willam; Tucker, St. George

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Constitutions, First Amendment: Finding Jefferson, State Constitutions and the Protection of Individual Rights, country.