Preamble

Preamble in the National Constitutions

Most constitutions start with a short preamble. Some countries, notably the scandinavian ones, do not use preambles at all. Others use the preamble for long introductions or even very long descriptions of historical events. Preambles are also the location of choice for a reference to god (invocatio dei).

• No preamble: in a large number of countries
• Long preamble: in a number of countries
• Very long preamble
• Extraordinary preamble: in the Bahrain Constitution (“in the name of God on high, and with His blessing, and with His help, we Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Sovereign of the Kingdom of Bahrain, in line with our determination, certainty, faith, and awareness of our national, pan-Arab and international responsibilities; and in acknowledgment of our obligations to God, our obligations to the homeland and the citizens, and our commitment to fundamental principles and our responsibility to Mankind,” etc ) and the Greece Constitution (“in the name of the Holy and Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity, the Fifth Constitutional Assembly of Greece votes”)
• Invocatio dei: Constitution of Germany: “Conscious of their responsibility before God (Invocatio Dei) and men, moved by the purpose to serve world peace as an equal part in a unified Europe, the German People have adopted, by virtue of their constituent power, this Constitution. The Germans in the States [Länder] of Baden-Wurttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia have achieved the unity and freedom of Germany in free self-determination. This Constitution is thus valid for the entire German People”.

Preamble in Constitutional Law

From the Comparative Constitutions Project: A preliminary introduction to a statute or constitution

Preamble

Embracing mainstream international law, this section on preamble explores the context, history and effect of the area of the law covered here.

Preamble and Europe

There is an entry on preamble in the European legal encyclopedia.

Preamble and the European Union

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See Also

• Chapeau

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See Also

Further Reading

• Entry “Preamble” in the work “A Concise Encyclopedia of the European Union from Aachen to Zollverein”, by Rodney Leach (Profile Books; London)

Resources

Further Reading

• The entry “preamble” in the Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law (currently, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law, 2009), Oxford University Press