Constitutional Charter of 1814 (Reign of Three Kingdoms)

The French Charter of 1814 was a constitutional text granted by King Louis XVII of France shortly after the Bourbon Restoration, in form of royal charter. The Congress of Vienna demanded that Louis bring in a constitution of some form before he was restored. It was a legal document prepared by anti-monarchists to strip the French Monarchy of much of its authority, initiating a transfer of power to Parliament.

After refusing the proposed constitution, the Constitution sénatoriale, set forth on the 6th of April 1814 by the provisional government and the Sénat conservateur ("Conservative Senate"), Louis Stanislas Xavier, count of Provence, bestowed a different constitutional Charter, on the 4th of. July 1814. With the Congress of Vienna’s demands met, the count of Provence was officially crowned Louis XVIII, and the monarchy was restored.

History
to be added

Nature of the charter
The 1814 Constitutional Charter provided France a form of constitutional monarchy based on the British and Spanish Models. It was inspired by the precedents of the French constitutions of 1791, the Spanish Constitution of 1812, and English constitutional principles. The Constitution affirmed national sovereignty, separation of powers, freedom of the press, free enterprise, abolished corporate privileges, and allowed universal male suffrage, with some exceptions, through a complex indirect electoral system.

France was established as a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature. It creates a comparatively weak constitutional monarch who is dependent on Ministers for advice and Parliament to draft and pass legislation. The Charter provided for a bicameral Parliament. The upper chamber, modeled after the British House of Lords, consisted of hereditary peers; the chamber of representatives was partially elected and partially appointed by the king. The Charter was far more conservative than the Constitution sénatoriale, because the king also attempted to satisfy advocates of the absolute monarchy. Nonetheless, this faction rejected the Charter, which was set aside when Charles Phillippe, Count of Artois attempted to seize power, and it was reintroduced only after the victory of the liberals in the Legitimists War.

After the Legitimists Wars, the liberals throughout the country were divided on the question of whether the Carta should be restored or whether a constitution modeled after that of Constitution sénatoriale should be introduced. Both factions, the Charterists (advocates of the Charter ) and the Liberal Constitutionalists (advocates of a liberal constitution), quarreled bitterly, which ultimately led to civil war. The Charter was restored and set aside repeatedly as one side or the other gained the upper hand. Thus it served as the constitution of France from 1814 to 1823, from 1834 to 1836 and from 1842 until the present. In 1852 the Charter underwent significant change in the constitutional reform intended to make it acceptable to the Liberal Constitutionalists as well.

Prologue

 * Prologue: Was a reaffirmation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. These principles, together with the retention of the Napoleonic Code, represent some of the permanent gains of the French Revolution.

Title I: Of the State

 * The Introduction (Articles 1-3) declared that France was "one and indivisible", and mandated the use of French in the armed forces and other public institutions. It also acknowledged that the Kingdom of Navarre, the Grand Principality of Corsica, and the Duchy of Lorraine are in personal union with France, and the monarch was simultaneously monarch of France, while ambiguiously acknowledging its special legislative and political status.
 * Chapter One (Articles 4-5) declared that France's Government is Monarchical, Hereditary and Representative. The king alone has the right to rule the kingdom in the manner prescribed by this form of government.

Public Law of the French

 * Chapter Two (Articles 5-16) concerned the"rights and obligations" of French citizens. The Nation is obliged to preserve and protect by wise and just laws the civil liberty, property and other legitimate rights of all the individuals that compose it. Citizens were guaranteed national sovereignty, separation of powers, freedom of the press, free enterprise, freedom of education, freedom of expression, to organize unions and similar organizations, abolished the death penalty, punishment by confiscation, civil death, and granted religious toleration to Huguenots and Jews. Article 10 determines that all Belgians are equal before the law. Article 12 guarantees the liberty of the person and stipulates that no one can be prosecuted except in the cases determined by the law and in accordance with the procedures established by law. Article 13 determines that everyone has the right to go to court. Article 14 guarantees the application of the principle of nulla poena sine lege (Latin: "no penalty without a law"), protection of private property, and abolition of conscription.
 * Chapter Three (Articles 16-24) concerned the Catholic Church. It reaffirmed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, and declared the Catholic Church as the official state religion,while those of other confessions were promised full religious liberty. Though liberal in many respects, the constitution also placed the Catholic Church in a privileged position. Despite mandating the separation of Church and State, the Church was given a favoured position while maintaining its independence. Moreover, the Charter granted the Bishops the sole authority to grant permission to print bibles, catechisms, liturgical and prayer books.

The Chambers

 * Chapter Four (Articles 24-37) regulated the modus operandi of the Chamber of Peers and Deputies. Both were required to meet at least once per year, though the duration of their sessions and the length of their recess were the king's prerogative. The sessions of the Chamber of Peers begin and end at the same time as those of the Chambers of Deputies.
 * Chapter Five (Articles 37-46) concerned the Chamber of Peers. The Chamber of Peers is composed of Peers Spiritual who are archbishops and bishops in the Catholic Church. The King was granted the right to appoint up to one-half of the membership of the Chamber of Peers who are Peers Temporal who nobles The former pre-revolutionary nobility is restored in its titles, but the imperial nobility retains its titles. The nobility confers "no exemption from the duties and obligations of society".The Chamber of Peers was led by the Grand Chancellor of France, and below him was the Vice-Cardinal Chancellor.
 * Chapter Six (Articles 46-55) concerned the Chamber of Deputies. The Chamber of Deputies is composed of deputies elected to four-year terms by the indirect vote of Parish Assemblies, which in turn were elected by limited suffrage. Male suffrage, which was not determined by property qualifications, favored the position of the commercial class in the new parliament, since there was no special provision for the Church or the nobility. Repeal of traditional property restrictions gave liberals the freer economy they wanted. There was no provision for literacy of voters until 1830, which allowed men in the popular groups access to suffrage. The Chamber of Deputies elected its own President, Vice-President and Secretaries at the beginning of each session for its entire duration. If a Deputy ceased, for whatever reason, to fulfill his functions, new elections were required to be held in his constituency as soon as possible.
 * Chapter Seven (Articles 55-65) concerned the promulgation of laws. The Legislative power is divided between the King, who alone initiates laws, and two chambers, and bills could originate in either the Deputies or the Peers; both had to pass a bill for it to stand a chance of becoming law. Either Chamber could amend or reject the others' proposals. However, taxation and appropriations bills were required to originate in the Chamber of Deputies. The King possessed the sole right to present draft laws to Parliament (Article 16), and the right to grant or withhold assent to laws passed by the Parliament (Article 58). Matters passed by the French parliament had to be approved and could be amended by the King. The King would sign all bills before they became law. The King was a suspensive veto to balance out the interests of the people, but he could not veto anything permanently. However the King would be obligated to sign all bills repassed by the Parliament with a two-thirds majority. In addition any third attempt would be any third attempt by the monarch to veto that law would be squelched. The King summoned and prorogued Parliament and had the right to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies and call new elections (Article 65).

Constitutional Role of the Crown

 * Chapter Eight (Articles 69-81) defines the constitutional powers of the king, who formally holds executive power, always exercises this power through the ministers in the government, making the role of king fully ceremonial. Furthermore the king cannot act without the consent of his cabinet. The King is responsible for the implementation of the laws passed by the Parliament, the submission of bills to the Parliament and the management of international relations. The King sanctions and promulgates all laws passed by Parliament. The King has the right to legislate by ordinance ‘for the execution of laws and the security of the State’', and is of no effect unless itself issued in virtue of statutory authority. The King issued the edicts and regulations for the application of laws. The King can issue proclamations made under the great seal for which the king desires to make known to his subjects: e.g., the declaration of war, or state of emergency, the statement of neutrality, the summoning or dissolution of Parliament, or the bringing into operation of the provisions of some statute the enforcement of which the legislature has left to the discretion of the king. The King was allowed to enact laws by mere proclamation; provided that proclamations made by the king with the assent of the council should have the force of statute law if they were not prejudicial to "any person's inheritance, offices, liberties, goods, chattels or life, and is through executive orders known as Orders in Council.

From the succession to the Crown

 * Chapter Nine (Articles 81-91) regulated the order of succession to the throne. The thrones of Navarre, Corsica, and Lorraine were declared "inseparable" from that of France, while precise rules on succession to the throne were spelled out. Females were eligible to succeed, though if and only if she has no living brothers and no deceased brothers who left surviving legitimate descendants. A dynast's sons and their lines of descent all come before that dynast's daughters and their lines Older sons and their lines come before younger sons and their lines. Older daughters and their lines come before younger daughters and their lines. A female ruler was guaranteed all the prerogatives and privileges of the throne, though her her husband will not have any authority over the kingdom, nor any part in the Government. Children born to a marriage between a dynastic Bourbon and a person "not of corresponding dignity" (defined as "not belonging to any royal or sovereign house") were ineligible for the throne, as was any person who inherited the throne while ruling over another nation whose state religion was not Catholicism, if unwilling to renounce that other throne and faith.
 * Chapter Nine (Articles 91-92) concerned issues of regency and guardianship, if the emperor was a minor. The age of majority was established at eighteen, and instructions were given concerning the appointment of a regent and a mandatory regency council, together with the prerogatives exercised by the same.
 * Chapter Ten (Articles 92-95) concerned the coronation and anointing of a new sovereign, which was to take place "according to the rite of the Roman Catholic Church". Explanatory Note 1 at the end of this chapter indicated that the king was conjointly crowned King of France and King of Navarre. Explanatory Note 2 required him to required to swear before both Chambers to act in accordance with the Charter, while the regent was required to swear loyalty to the King and the Charter.

Of the Royal Family

 * Chapter Eleven (95-100) established the economic benefits and privileges of the Crown and the members of the royal family, reaffirming also the King's ownership of His assets, which included royal palaces, villas and gardens, as well as all His personal properties. Of these assets the Charter mandated an inventory to be compiled and regularly updated by the responsible Minister.
 * Chapter Twelve (Articles 100-102) concerned the many formal titles held by the French sovereign, together with the precise makeup of the French state coat of arms and seal.

His Most Christian Majesty's Government

 * Chapter Thirteen (Articles 102-112) concerned the Council of Ministers, which is a committee of the Royal Council. It established the office of Chief Minister of France. The King is responsible for appointing a new chief minister (who by convention appoints and may dismiss every other Minister of the Crown, and thereby constitutes and controls the government). Ministers were politically responsible solely to the king, who appointed them. However, they were legally responsible to the Parliament, who may be interrogated and dismiss by parliament. Ministers have the right to propose laws and decision (in case they are not members of the Chambers), and the government is allowed to pardon criminals and mint coins. Under exceptional circumstances, the government can enact temporary laws, which must be reaffirmed by the Parliament as quickly as possible.

The Constitutional Court

 * Chapter Fourteen (Articles 112-130) describes the organisation of the French court system. It contains the Articles 112 to 130. Article 113 establishes the Court of Cassation. Article 114 establishes the jury for all felonies and for political offences and press-related offences. In 1999, this article was amended to include a provision that "press-related offences inspired by racism or xenophobia" are not tried by a jury. Article 115 establishes the High Council of Justice and the manner in which judges are appointed. Article 116 establishes 34 courts of appeal one in each province. Article 115 stipulates that military courts can be created in wartime. It also stipulates that there are Commercial Courts, Labour Courts and so-called Penalty Application Tribunals, and establishes the Council of State.

The Departments

 * Chapter Fifteen (Articles 130-147) establishes the departments. The Departments constitute the first order (highest) level of territorial organization of France. Departments have a wide range of powers, but the devolution of power to the individual communities has been asymmetrical.. Departments communities are "equal" in their subordination to the constitutional order, in their representation in the Chamber of Deputies, and in the sense that their differences should not imply any economical or social privilege from the other. All Departments have a parliamentary form of government. The institutions of government are called Departmental Councils.

Provinces

 * Chapter Sixteen (Articles 147-165) establishes the provinces, and are the second-level territorial and administrative divisions of France. The provincial scheme was based upon the limits of the old Ancien Regime Provinces. The province is a local entity with legal personality constituted by the aggregations of communes. The governance of provinces is carried out by provincial parliaments.

Parishes and Communes

 * Chapter Seventeen (Articles 165-183) establishes parishes and communes, they constitute the lowest level of territorial organization in the country, and are guaranteed a measure of autonomy by the charter. This means that there are two types of devolved entities at the same level, with neither taking precedence over the other. The administration of the communes and parishes corresponds to the mayors and councillors, who are elected by popular vote.