Constitution of 16 April 1871

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The Constitution of 16 April 1871 was the foundational legal charter of the German Empire, establishing its federal structure, institutions, and the powers of the Kaiser and Reichstag.

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf constitution
historical legal document
abolished by the German Revolution of 1918–1919
appliesToJurisdiction German Empire NERFINISHED
basedOn North German Confederation Constitution of 1867 NERFINISHED
country German Empire
dateAdopted 1871-04-16
definedBundesratComposition representatives of the federal states
definedExecutiveBody Imperial Government NERFINISHED
definedHeadOfStateTitle German Emperor NERFINISHED
Kaiser NERFINISHED
definedLegislativeBody Bundesrat NERFINISHED
Reichstag NERFINISHED
definedLegislatureType bicameral legislature
definedOffice Chancellor of the German Empire NERFINISHED
Reichskanzler NERFINISHED
definedReichstagElectionMethod universal male suffrage for adult men
effectiveDate 1871-04-16
establishedFederalStructure union of German states under Prussian leadership
establishedFormOfGovernment constitutional monarchy
federal monarchy
establishedFormOfState federal state
gavePrussiaSpecialRole Prussian king as German Emperor
gavePrussiaSpecialRole dominant voting weight in the Bundesrat
grantedPowerTo Bundesrat NERFINISHED
German Emperor NERFINISHED
Reichstag NERFINISHED
historicalPeriod German Empire NERFINISHED
language German
legalStatus supreme law of the German Empire
limitedStateSovereigntyIn foreign policy
military affairs
limitedSuffrageTo male citizens over a specified age
mainProponent Otto von Bismarck NERFINISHED
placeOfAdoption German Empire NERFINISHED
predecessor North German Confederation Constitution of 1867 NERFINISHED
providedFor imperial citizenship
imperial legislation in trade and customs
imperial military authority
imperial postal and telegraph system
state participation in imperial lawmaking via Bundesrat
regulated amendment procedures
distribution of executive powers
distribution of legislative powers
foreign policy competences
imperial finances and taxation
military command and organization
relations between the Empire and constituent states
successor Weimar Constitution NERFINISHED

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Constitution of the German Empire (1871) alsoKnownAs Constitution of 16 April 1871