Constitution

in government, is the fundamental law of the state, containing the principles upon which the government is founded, persons each of these powers is to be confided, and the manner it is to be exercised; as, the constitution of the United States. See Story on the Constitution; Rawle on the Const. The words constitution and government (q. v.) are sometimes employed to express the same idea, the manner in which sovereignty is exercised in each state. Constitution is also the name of the instrument containing the fundamental laws of the state. By constitution the civilians, and, from them, the common law writers mean some particular law; as the constitutions of the emperors contained in the Code.