Constitutional convention (political meeting)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Alternative meaning: Constitutional convention (political custom)
A constitutional convention is a gathering of delegates for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution. An unlimited constitutional convention is called to revise an existing constitution.
Examples of constitutional conventions include the:
- United States: Annapolis Convention (1786), Philadelphia Convention (1787) - Drafted the United States Constitution for ratification by the states. Article V of the US constitution sets forth a mechanism whereby future constitutional conventions can be held.
- Canada: Charlottetown Conference (1864), Quebec Conference, 1864, and London Conference of 1866 (1866).
- Australian constitutional conventions - 1891, 1897, 1973 and 1998.
- Germany: Parlamentarischer Rat (Parliamentary Council) (1948) - Drafted the Basic Law of the Federal Republic for ratification by the Länder.
- Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (1975-1976) - a failed attempt to find a solution to the status of Northern Ireland.
- Scottish Constitutional Convention (1989) - produced a plan for Scottish devolution.
- European Convention (2001) - Drafted the Constitution for Europe for approval by the European Council and ratification by the member states.
Constitutional conventions have also been used by subnational units of federal states — such as the individual states of the United States — to create, replace, or revise their own constitutions. The 21st Amendment to the US Constitution was also ratified not by the state legislatures, but by state level conventions, as described as an alternate method of ratification in Article V of the US Constitution.
[edit] Current Day Conventions
In recent years Constitutional Conventions have been held in both Afghanistan and Iraq, following the overthrow of the previous governments by coalition military forces led by the United States and Britain. There have also been at least 32 US states which have passed resolutions through their state legislatures calling for a new Constitutional Convention, as is required by Article V.
