1949 (in force 1950) · Constitutions
Constitution of India
India
One of the world's longest constitutions, with a list of fundamental rights, directive principles and a federal structure.
Why it matters
It shows a large country combining ideas from many constitutions into one, and its Supreme Court has been influential across South Asia.
Built on
1791
United States Bill of Rights
United States
borrowed the idea of enforceable fundamental rights
1937
Constitution of Ireland
Ireland
took the idea of directive principles of social policy
1919
Weimar Constitution
Germany
borrowed the emergency provisions
1787 (in force 1789)
Constitution of the United States
United States
adopted a written constitution with judicial review and a federal structure
Went on to shape
No later text on this timeline is recorded as built on it.
Countries in the Legal Families Atlas
TheLawToKnow Tools’s timeline lists links of influence only where the borrowing is widely documented. Historians sometimes disagree about how much one text shaped another. It is an educational overview, not legal advice.
