United States Constitution - amerikagasshukokukenpo

The Constitution of the United States of America, which came into force in 1788 and is still in force today. The Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia in May 1787, but the representatives of the states (the United States was merely a confederation at the time) were divided over the extent of the federal government's power. Those opposed to the Constitution opposed it because it lacked a Bill of Rights to restrain the federal government's overwhelming power, but the draft Constitution was approved on the condition that a Bill of Rights be added. Those in favor of the Constitution also accepted the arguments of the opponents and compromised, so the Constitution came into force in June 1788 with the approval of nine states. This Constitution is often referred to as the "United States Constitution of 1787." In 1789, the first Congress of the United States of America discussed and passed amendments to the Constitution, and the provisions of the Bill of Rights, from the First Amendment to the Tenth Amendment, came into force in 1791 with the approval of the necessary states. The United States Constitution originally consisted of a preamble and seven articles, but 27 amendments, including the Bill of Rights, were added. The articles are divided into (1) Congress, (2) the President, (3) the federal judiciary, (4) the relationship between the federal government and the states, (5) the amendment procedure, (6) provisions regarding the supreme law of the United States, and (7) provisions regarding the coming into force of the Constitution upon ratification.

The following points are important regarding this Constitution:

(1) Historically, the federal government has been limited to exercising only the powers enumerated in the Constitution, with the remainder being exercised by state governments or the people (10th Amendment), but in reality it has tended to establish federal supremacy. The federal government has used the Interstate Commerce Clause (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3), which gives Congress the power to regulate commerce between the states, to establish federal labor protection laws and anti-discrimination laws as a means of maintaining its supremacy.

(2) The United States Constitution has a strict separation of powers. For example, the president and members of Congress are elected separately, and the president cannot dissolve Congress. The president also does not have the power to submit bills to Congress. However, in modern times, the executive power, with the president at the apex, has expanded and is in reality superior to the legislative and judicial powers.

(3) The United States Constitution guarantees human rights primarily through the Bill of Rights (the First through Tenth Amendments) and the human rights amendments added later. The main provisions of the original Ten Amendments include the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of religion and freedom of expression; the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments, which relate to the rights of suspects and defendants; and the Fifth Amendment, which provides for the guarantee of due process. Among the amendments added later, the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868), which was established as a result of the Civil War and which, together with the Thirteenth Amendment (1865) and the Fifteenth Amendment (1870), are known as the Civil War Amendments, play a particularly important role in terms of protecting human rights. However, the Constitution does not have any provisions for social rights.

(4) In the United States, a system of judicial review is usually adopted, but this system is not based on an explicit constitutional basis, but is established through case law (Marbury v. Madison, 1803). The United States Supreme Court has played an important role through the system of judicial review. The Supreme Court has breathed life into a relatively simple Constitution and interpreted it to meet the needs of the times. One important example is the series of recent decisions that determined that the right to privacy, which is not explicitly provided for in the Constitution, is protected by the Constitution.

(5) Article 5, which defines the procedure for amending the Constitution, provides for several methods, but all amendments that have actually been made have been proposed by each house of the Congress with the approval of more than two-thirds of the votes and ratified by more than three-quarters of the states. 27 amendments have been passed so far. Other important amendments include the 12th Amendment (1804), which changed the procedure for selecting the president and vice president to the current one, the 16th Amendment (1913), which gave Congress the power to levy income tax, the 17th Amendment (1913), which changed the method for selecting senators to direct voting, and the 22nd Amendment (1951), which prohibited the president from serving a third term. The 27th Amendment, which relates to equal rights for men and women, was adopted by the Congress in 1972 and was put up for ratification by the states for nine years, but it failed to meet the requirement of more than three-quarters of the states to ratify the amendment, and only 35 states ratified it, so it ended up failing. The current 27th Amendment was proposed in 1789 along with the Bill of Rights, and is a provision regarding the salaries of Senators and Representatives. It took more than 200 years to gain the necessary number of ratifications and was finally enacted in 1992.

[Masao Horibe]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

1788年に発効し、現在も効力を有するアメリカ合衆国の憲法典。憲法制定会議が、1787年5月にフィラデルフィアで開かれたが、集まった各邦（当時のアメリカは国家連合にすぎなかった）の代表は、連邦政府の権限の大小をめぐって対立した。憲法反対派は、連邦政府の強大な権限を抑制する権利章典がないことを理由に反対したが、権利章典の追加を条件に憲法案を承認することになり、憲法賛成派も反対派の主張を取り入れて妥協したので、合衆国憲法は翌1788年6月に9邦の承認を得て発効した。この憲法は、しばしば「1787年アメリカ合衆国憲法」として引用される。そして、1789年に開かれた第1回の連邦議会で、憲法修正案が審議可決され、修正1条から修正10条までの権利章典の諸条項は、1791年に必要な州の賛成を得て発効するに至った。合衆国憲法は、本来、前文と本文7条からなっていたが、権利章典をはじめ、27の修正条項が付け加えられている。本文は、(1)連邦議会、(2)大統領、(3)連邦司法部、(4)連邦と州との関係、(5)改正手続、(6)最高法規の規定、(7)批准による発効の規定、の各条項からなる。

　この憲法に関しては次のような諸点が重要である。

(1)連邦政府は、その沿革からして、憲法で制限列挙された権限のみを行使し、残余は、州政府または人民が行使することになっている（修正10条）が、現実には連邦の優位を確立する方向に傾いてきた。連邦政府は、各州間の通商を規制する権限を連邦議会に与える州際通商条項（1条8節3項）を根拠に、連邦規模での労働保護法や人種差別禁止法を制定し、優位性を保持する手段とした。

(2)合衆国憲法は、厳格な三権分立になっている。たとえば、大統領と連邦議会議員はそれぞれ別に選挙され、大統領による議会の解散というようなことはない。また、大統領は連邦議会への議案提出権ももたない。しかし現代においては、大統領を頂点とする行政権が肥大化し、立法権および司法権に対して現実には優越的地位にたっている。

(3)合衆国憲法は、もっぱら前掲の権利章典（修正1条から修正10条まで）およびその後追加された人権関係の修正条項において人権を保障している。最初の修正10か条のおもな規定としては、宗教の自由や表現の自由を保障する修正1条、被疑者・被告人の権利に関する修正4条、5条、6条および8条、適正手続の保障を定める修正5条などがある。その後追加された修正条項で人権保障面においてとりわけ重要な役割を果たすようになったのは、南北戦争の結果設けられた修正14条（1868）――修正13条（1865）および修正15条（1870）とともに南北戦争修正条項として知られる――の適正手続条項と平等保護条項である。しかし、この憲法には社会権的規定はない。

(4)合衆国では通常、裁判所による違憲審査制がとられているが、これは、憲法に明文の根拠をもつものではなく、判例法上確立したものである（1803年のマーベリー対マディソン事件）。合衆国最高裁判所は、違憲審査制を通じて重要な役割を担ってきた。最高裁は、比較的簡潔な憲法に生命を吹き込み、時代の要請にあうように憲法を解釈してきた。憲法の条文には明文の定めがないプライバシー権を、憲法上保護されるものと判断した近年の一連の判決は、その重要な一例である。

(5)憲法の修正（改正）手続を定める5条は、いくつかの方法を用意しているが、実際に行われた修正はすべて、連邦議会の各院が3分の2以上の賛成で発議し、4分の3以上の州の批准をもって成立するという方法によっている。これまでに27の修正条項が成立している。前掲以外で重要なものには、正副大統領の選出手続を現行のように改めた修正12条（1804）、連邦議会に所得税の課税権限を与えた修正16条（1913）、上院議員の選出方法を直接投票制にした修正17条（1913）、大統領の3選を禁じた修正22条（1951）などがある。また、男女同権に関する修正27条は、1972年に連邦議会で採択され、9年間にわたって州の批准にかけられたが、改正に必要な4分の3以上の州の批准という要件を満たすことができず、35州の批准しか得られなかったため、不成立に終わった。現在の修正27条は、1789年に、前記の権利章典とともに発議された、上院議員および下院議員の報酬に関する条項で、200年以上もかかって必要な数の承認を得て1992年に成立した。

［堀部政男］

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