Constituent Assemblies

Study Notes

A constituent assembly is a body assembled to draft or revise a constitution.
Members of a constituent assembly may be elected, drawn by sortition, appointed, or a combination of these methods.
Constituent assemblies are typically distinct from regular legislatures.
Constitutions cannot normally be modified or amended by a state's normal legislative procedures in some jurisdictions.
Constituent assemblies are usually set up for a specific purpose and are dissolved after their task is completed.
Constituent assemblies are a form of representative democracy.
Examples of countries that have held constituent assemblies include Australia, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, European Union, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Italy, and Mexico.
The French Revolution had a National Constituent Assembly.
The Constituent Assembly of India wrote the Constitution of India.
The Constitutional Assembly of Italy wrote a new constitution in 1947.
Constituent assemblies are used to create or revise constitutions.
Mexico has had multiple constituent assemblies throughout its history.
Nepal had two constituent assemblies, the last one successfully creating a constitution.
Poland's Great Sejm created the Constitution of 3 May 1791, which lasted only a year.
The Philippines has had several conventions to revise its constitution.
Russia's Constituent Assembly was created after the overthrow of the Russian Provisional Government.
Sri Lanka created a Constitutional Assembly in 2016 to draft a new constitution.
Turkey's Constituent Assembly was established in 1961 to prepare a democratic constitution.
The United States held a Constitutional Convention in 1787 to draft the current US Constitution.
Some countries, such as the UK, New Zealand, and Israel, do not have entrenched constitutions and can amend their constitutions through normal legislative procedures.