A report on The Spirit of Law, Montesquieu and Constitution

De l'esprit des loix, 1st edn 1748, 2 vols.

Portrait by an anonymous artist, 1753–1794

Constitution of the Year XII (First French Republic)

Constitution of the Kingdom of Naples in 1848.

Montesquieu's 1748 [[:File:Montesquieu, De l'Esprit des loix (1st ed, 1748, vol 1).pdf|De l'Esprit des loix]]

Detail from Hammurabi's stele shows him receiving the laws of Babylon from the seated sun deity.

Lettres familières à divers amis d'Italie, 1767

Diagram illustrating the classification of constitutions by Aristotle.

Third volume of the compilation of Catalan Constitutions of 1585

The Cossack Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk, 1710.

A painting depicting George Washington at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution

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.

Presidential copy of the Russian Constitution.

The Spirit of Law (French: De l'esprit des lois, originally spelled De l'esprit des loix ), also known in English as The Spirit of the Laws, is a treatise on political theory, as well as a pioneering work in comparative law, published in 1748 by Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu.

- The Spirit of Law

He is the principal source of the theory of separation of powers, which is implemented in many constitutions throughout the world.

- Montesquieu

His anonymously published The Spirit of Law (1748), which was received well in both Great Britain and the American colonies, influenced the Founding Fathers of the United States in drafting the U.S. Constitution.

- Montesquieu

He pleads for a constitutional system of government with separation of powers, the preservation of legality and civil liberties, and the end of slavery.

- The Spirit of Law

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.

- Constitution

The Swedish constitution of 1772 was enacted under King Gustavus III and was inspired by the separation of powers by Montesquieu.

- Constitution

2 related topics with Alpha

Page one of the officially engrossed copy of the Constitution signed by delegates. A print run of 500 copies of the final version preceded this copy.

Constitution of the United States

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Supreme law of the United States of America.

Signing of the Constitution, September 17, 1787 (1940 by Howard Chandler Christy)

Dates the 13 states ratified the Constitution

Closing endorsement section of the United States Constitution

United States Bill of Rights
Currently housed in the National Archives.

Salmon P. Chase {{refn|group= lower-alpha|The Chase Court, 1864–1873, in 1865 were Salmon P. Chase (chief Justice); Hon. Nathan Clifford, Maine; Stephen J. Field, Justice Supreme Court, U.S.; Hon. Samuel F. Miller, U.S. Supreme Court; Hon. Noah H. Swayne, Justice Supreme Court, U.S.; Judge Morrison R. Waite}}

William Howard Taft {{refn|group= lower-alpha|The Taft Court, 1921–1930, in 1925 were James Clark McReynolds, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., William Howard Taft (chief justice), Willis Van Devanter, Louis Brandeis. Edward Sanford, George Sutherland, Pierce Butler, Harlan Fiske Stone}}

Earl Warren {{refn|group= lower-alpha|The Warren Court, 1953–1969, in 1963 were Felix Frankfurter; Hugo Black; Earl Warren (chief justice); Stanley Reed; William O. Douglas. Tom Clark; Robert H. Jackson; Harold Burton; Sherman Minton}}

William Rehnquist {{refn|group= lower-alpha|The Rehnquist Court, 1986–2005.}}

It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution.

The Virginia Plan (also known as the Large State Plan or the Randolph Plan) proposed that the legislative department of the national government be composed of a Bicameral Congress, with both chambers elected with apportionment according to population. Generally favoring the most highly populated states, it used the philosophy of John Locke to rely on consent of the governed, Montesquieu for divided government, and Edward Coke to emphasize civil liberties.

In his The Spirit of Law, Montesquieu argues that the separation of state powers should be by its service to the people's liberty: legislative, executive and judicial.

Separation of powers

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Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches.

George Washington at Constitutional Convention of 1787, signing of U.S. Constitution

The term "tripartite system" is commonly ascribed to French Enlightenment political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu, although he did not use such a term but referred to "distribution" of powers.

In The Spirit of the Laws (1748), Montesquieu described the various forms of distribution of political power among a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary.

Constitutions with a high degree of separation of powers are found worldwide.