Constitution

A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is. When these principles are written down into a single document or set of legal documents, those documents may be said to embody a written constitution; if they are written down in a single comprehensive document, it is said to embody a codified constitution.

Constitutions concern different levels of organizations, from sovereign states to companies and unincorporated associations. A treaty which establishes an international organization is also its constitution, in that it would define how that organization is constituted. Within states, a constitution defines the principles upon which the state is based, the procedure in which laws are made and by whom. Some constitutions, especially codified constitutions, also act as limiters of state power, by establishing lines which a state's rulers cannot cross, such as fundamental rights. An example is the constitution of the United States of America.

United States Constitution

The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government. Its first three articles entrench the doctrine of the separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress; the executive, consisting of the President; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. Articles Four, Five and Six entrench concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments and of the states in relationship to the federal government. Article Seven establishes the procedure subsequently used by the thirteen States to ratify it.

Since the Constitution came into force in 1789, it has been amended twenty-seven times. In general, the first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, offer specific protections of individual liberty and justice and place restrictions on the powers of government. The majority of the seventeen later amendments expand individual civil rights. Others address issues related to federal authority or modify government processes and procedures. Amendments to the United States Constitution, unlike ones made to many constitutions world-wide, are appended to the end of the document. At seven articles and twenty-seven amendments, it is the shortest written constitution in force. All five pages of the original U.S. Constitution are written on parchment.

Constitution of Pakistan

The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu:آئین پاکستان), also known as the 1973 Constitution is the supreme law of the State of Pakistan. Drafted by the government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, with additional assistance from the country's opposition parties, it was approved by the Parliament on April 10 and ratified on 14 August 1973.

The Constitution is intended to guide Pakistan's law and its political culture, and system. It identifies the state (its physical existence and its borders), people and their fundamental rights, state's constitutional law and orders, and also the constitutional structure and establishment of the institutions and the country's armed forces. The first three chapters establish the rules, mandate, and separate powers of the three branches of the government: a bicameral legislature; an executive branch governed by the Prime Minister as chief executive; and an apex federal judiciary headed by Supreme Court. The Constitution designates the President of Pakistan as a ceremonial head of state who is to represent the unity of the state. The first six articles of the constitution outline the political system as federal parliamentary republic system; as well as Islam as its state religion.

Louis d'or

4 Louis d’or of Louis XIII(1640), first year of issue, Paris Mint.

The Louis d'or is any number of French coins first introduced by Louis XIII in 1640. The name derives from the depiction of the portrait of King Louis on one side of the coin; the French royal coat of arms is on the reverse. The coin was replaced by the French franc at the time of the revolution and later the similarly valued Napoleon, although a limited number of Louis were also minted during the "Bourbon Restoration" under Louis XVIII. The actual value of the coins fluctuated according to monetary and fiscal policy (see livre tournois), but in 1726 the value was stabilized.

The 1640 issue of Louis d’or contained five denominations: a half Louis and a one, two, four, and eight Louis. All subsequent issues through 1793 were only denominated in half, one, and two Louis.

Louis XIII

The Louis d'or (a gold coin) replaced the franc which had been in circulation (in theory) since John II of France. In actual practice the principal gold coin circulating in France in the earlier 17th century had been Spanish: the 6.7-gram double escudo or "doubloon", of which the Louis d'or was an explicit copy. There also existed a half-Louis coin (the demi-louis d'or) and a two-Louis coin (the double louis d'or).

Louis (singer)

Ljubiša Stojanović "Louis" (Љубиша Стојановић "Луис"; 25 June 1952 – 31 July 2011) was a Serbian singer, born in Leskovac. Louis was known for his unique musical style and was in the music business from 1970 until his death. His stage name Louis originated from when he was nine and successfully performed Louis Armstrong's songs. He graduated from the music high school in Niš. He got his B.A. in Music from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, majoring in voice and composing with arrangement and folklore.

He was among the first to combine jazz with Serbia's folklore. In 1980 he recorded his first record titled Ne kuni me, ne ruži me, majko (Do Not Scold Me, Do Not Rebuke Me, Mother), gaining high sales. Together with the Serbian band Flamingosi, he almost won the Beovizija 2006 festival for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece.

He died in a car accident on July 31, 2011, on the road between Feketić and Vrbas. His last show was on July 22, 2011 at Club Jez in Sarajevo.

Louis XII of France

Louis XII (27 June 1462 – 1 January 1515) was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his cousin Charles VIII, who died without a closer heir in 1498.

Before his accession to the throne of France, he was known as Louis of Orléans and was compelled to be married to his handicapped and supposedly sterile cousin Joan by his second cousin, king Louis XI. By doing so, Louis XI hoped to extinguish the Orléans cadet branch of the House of Valois.

Louis of Orléans was one of the great feudal lords who opposed the French monarchy in the conflict known as the Mad War. At the royal victory in the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier in 1488, Louis was captured, but Charles VIII pardoned him and released him. He subsequently took part in the Italian War of 1494–1498 as one of the French commanders.

When Louis XII became king in 1498, he had his marriage with Joan annulled by Pope Alexander VI and instead married Anne of Brittany, the widow of his cousin Charles VIII. This marriage allowed Louis to reinforce the personal Union of Brittany and France.