美国宪法序言
外观
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美利坚合众国宪法 |
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序言和正文 |
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历史 |
全文 |
美国宪法序言(英語:Preamble to the United States Constitution)是对美国宪法的立法目标进行介绍的一段非常简短的弁言,作者為古弗尼爾·莫里斯,全文只有一句话。美国的法院将这句话视为美国开国元勋最初制订宪法的根本宗旨和指导原则。
内容文本
[编辑]We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,[note 1] promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
意义和应用
[编辑]联邦宪法的序言只是作为对宪法立法目标的一个介绍,并没有直接赋予美国联邦政府任何权力[3],而且也没有对任何政府行为加以具体的限制。由于序言的这种单纯和局限性,除非是一些毫无意义的诉讼[4],否则没有任何一个法院会将其作为一个判决的决定性依据[5]。
附注
[编辑]- ^ 存放在国家档案和记录管理局的美国宪法文本手写副本中,使用的就是英式英语的“defence”(见National Archives transcription (页面存档备份,存于互联网档案馆) and the Archives' image of the engrossed document (页面存档备份,存于互联网档案馆). Retrieved both web pages on October 24, 2009.)
参考资料
[编辑]- ^ 任东来; 陈伟; 白雪峰; Charles J. McClain; Laurene Wu McClain. 美国宪政历程:影响美国的25个司法大案. 中国法制出版社. 2004年1月: 559. ISBN 7-80182-138-6.
- ^ 李道揆. 美国政府和政治(下册). 商务印书馆. 1999: 775–799.
- ^ 见雅各布森诉马萨诸塞州案,197 U.S. 11, 22 (1905)(“虽然序言中说明了建立宪法的目的,但这一段话从来就没有被视为是美国联邦政府或任何部门实质性权力的来源。”);还可参见美国诉波尔案(United States v. Boyer),85 F. 425, 430–31 (W.D. Mo. 1898)(“序言真正的作用只是阐明宪法是政府权力的来源和依据,而并没有直接创建这些权力;它永远都不能够用来扩大政府或其任何部门的任何权力,它本身也并不直接包含有任何权力,它也不可能暗示任何政府权力还存在其它任何隐含的来源。”(quoting 1 JOSEPH STORY, COMMENTARIES ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES § 462 (1833)) (internal quotation marks omitted)).
- ^ In Jacobs v. Pataki, 68 F. App'x 222, 224 (2d Cir. 2003), the plaintiff made the bizarre argument that "the 'United States of America' that was granted Article III power in the Constitution is distinct from the 'United States' that currently exercises that power"; the court dismissed this contention with 3 words ("it is not") and cited a comparison of the Preamble's reference to the "United States of America" with Article III's vesting of the "judicial Power of the United States."
- ^ It is difficult to prove a negative, but courts have at times acknowledged this apparent truism. See, e.g., Boyer, 85 F. at 430 ("I venture the opinion that no adjudicated case can be cited which traces to the preamble the power to enact any statute.").
外部链接
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