is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. [Definition by New Oxford American Dictionary]. When these principles are written down into a single collection or set of legal documents, those documents may be said to comprise a written constitution.
The Earliest use of some code of justice is goes to Iraq
, where it allowed some rights to his citizens like relieved tax for widows and orphans, and protection the poor from the usury of the rich. This code was found in excavations of this country by a archaeologist Ernest Choquin de Sarzec
in 1877. This code was issued by Sumerian king Urukagina of Lagash ca 2300 BC.
Later many governments ruled by special codes of written laws. The oldest such document still known to exist seems to be the Code of Ur-Nammu of Ur (ca 2050 BC
). Some of the better-known ancient law codes include the code of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin, the code of Hammurabi of Babylonia, the Hittite code, the Assyrian code and Mosaic law. [ Source : Wikipedia]. The San Marino constitution of 1600
If we talk about the oldest written constitution still governing a sovereign nation today, then it goes to Republic of San Marino.
The six book constitution
was written in Latin in the year 1600.
The document was based upon the Statuti Comunali
(Town Statute) of 1300, itself influenced by the Codex Justinianus
, and it remains in force today [Source : Wikipedia].