property of the State are and shall be inalienable during 32 years, dating from the promulgation of this law.

The power of alienating the land of their habitation shall however be granted by special laws to the inhabitants included within the radius of an urban commune.

Inalienability is applied equally to the lands sold by the State in small lots on the territory of Roumania beyond the Danube. The exchanges of land for other lands do not enter into the prohibition of the present law.

The exchanges referred to here can be made only against lands of the same extent and value.1

ADDITIONAL ARTICLE. The provisions of the present Constitution shall be applied by special laws in the part of Roumania which is beyond the Danube.

1 Law of 15/27 August 1864 regulating rural property.

2 Added 20 June 1884. See DARESTE, op. cit., p. 255, note 2.

RUSSIA.

The fundamental principle of government of Russia was pure autocracy until 1906. The political institutions had no root in what might be called the national rights of Russia, but were the results simply of administrative measures modified by the Czar at his pleasure. The first ukase announcing general reforms appeared on 12/25 December 1904. These reforms were to apply to certain definite points, such as religious liberty, liberty of the press, civil liberty, etc. Numerous ukases were promulgated in 1905 for putting into execution a part of these reforms. On 6/19 August 1905 the Czar issued regulations for the election of a national representative body upon a restricted suffrage. This concession did not satisfy the liberal elements, and on 17/30 October an Imperial Manifesto promised:

1. To grant to the population the immutable guaranties of civil liberty, upon the basis of real inviolability of person, of liberty of conscience, of speech, of assembly and of association.

2. To permit the participation in the Duma of the Empire, as far as possible within the brief period of time remaining before the convocation of the Duma and without interrupting the progress of the elections to that assembly, of those classes of the population who are now completely deprived of electoral rights, leaving the further development of the principle of universal suffrage to the newly established legislative procedure.

3. To establish, as an immutable rule, that no law shall become effective without the approval of the Imperial Duma, and that the representatives of the people be guaranteed the possibility of exercising an effective supervision as to the legality of the acts of the imperial authorities.1

The liberal election law of 11/24 December 1905 2 and the Fundamental Laws of 23 April/6 May 1906 were steps toward the execution of these promises.3

FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF 23 APRIL/6 MAY 1906.*

ARTICLE 1. The Russian Empire is one and indivisible.

ART. 2. The Grand Duchy of Finland, forming an indivisible part of the Russian Empire, shall be governed in its internal affairs

1 This text is a free translation of the French text published in the Journal de St. Petersbourg of 4 November 1905.

2 See note under Article 59 (below, p. 544).

3 These introductory paragraphs are based upon W. F. DODD, Modern Constitutions (Chicago, 1909), vol. II, p. 181, and F. R. DARESTE ET P. DARESTE, Les Constitutions modernes (3d edition, Paris, 1910), vol. II, pp. 148-151.

4 These laws constitute Part I of the Code (Svod) of laws of the Russian Empire. Translation based upon that in DODD, op. cit., pp. 182-195. French translation in DARESTE, op. cit., pp. 151-163. German translation in PAUL POSENER, Die Staatsverfassungen des Erdballs (Charlottenburg, 1909), pp. 801-816.

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by special regulations established on the basis of a special legislature.1

ART. 3. The Russian language is the official language of the Empire and its use is obligatory in the army, the navy and all governmental and public institutions. The use of local languages and dialects in governmental and public institutions shall be regulated by special laws.

CHAPTER I.—THE NATURE OF THE SUPREME AUTOCRATIC POWER.

ART. 4. The Emperor of all the Russias wields the supreme autocratic power. To obey his authority, not only through fear, but for the sake of conscience, is ordered by God himself.

ART. 5. The person of the Emperor is sacred and inviolable.

ART. 6. The same supreme autocratic power shall belong likewise to the Empress when the succession to the throne falls to a person of the female sex according to the established order; but her consort shall not be considered as Emperor; he shall enjoy the honors and privileges enjoyed by the consorts of Emperors, but without the title. ART. 7. The Emperor is vested with the legislative power jointly with the Imperial Council and the Imperial Duma.

ART. 8. The initiative in all legislative measures 2 belongs to the Emperor. Only through his initiative may fundamental laws be submitted to the Imperial Council and the Imperial Duma for discussion.

ART. 9. The Emperor sanctions the laws and without his approval no law shall be put into execution.

1 When Finland was annexed to Russia in 1809, the Emperor Alexander I guaranteed the religion and the fundamental laws of the country. The fundamental laws thus guaranteed were the Swedish laws of 1772 and 1789, under which there existed a general Swedish Diet of four estates. A local Finnish Diet, containing representatives of the four estates, was at once convened, and accepted the Russian Emperor as Grand Duke of Finland. For about 90 years Finland retained its local institutions almost unimpaired, although the Diet was infrequently in session. According to a law approved by the Russian Emperor in 1869, no fundamental law could be enacted or altered without the consent of the estates.

For some time before 1899 there had been a strong feeling among Russian officials that Finnish institutions should be assimilated to those of the rest of the Empire. When difficulty was apprehended in obtaining the passage of laws reorganizing the Finnish army and incorporating it with that of the Empire, the Emperor on 16 February 1899 issued a manifesto by which he withdrew from the Finnish Diet all power to legislate upon matters of "general interest and importance for the Empire."

This step and others during the several succeeding years, tending to destroy the independence of the Grand Duchy, were vigorously opposed by the Finnish people. In consequence of a general strike in October 1905, the Russian government was forced to yield. An Imperial Manifesto of 4 November 1905 annulled the obnoxious laws and convened the Finnish Diet. On 10 May 1906 a bill for the reform of representation in the Finnish Diet was approved by the Emperor and adopted by the Diet. By this law the Diet was organized into a single chamber of 200 delegates, of whom 60 formed a grand committee, somewhat similar to the Norwegian Lagthing. Members of the Diet are elected by direct universal suffrage, the right to vote being given to men and women who have attained the age of 24 years. The Diet holds annual sessions and its members are elected for three years upon a system of proportional representation.

2 But not the exclusive power of initiation with respect to ordinary legislation; see Article 65 of this law (below, p. 545).

ART. 10. The administrative power in all its extent belongs to the Emperor within the limits of the entire Russian Empire. The Emperor acts directly in matters of supreme government; in subordinate governmental matters a certain degree of power may be entrusted by him, in accordance with the law, to the competent officers and persons acting in his name and by his orders.

ART. 11. The Emperor, in the exercise of the supreme powers of government, issues, in conformity with the laws, ukases for the organization and the putting into execution of various parts of the governmental administration, as well as orders necessary for the execution of the laws.

ART. 12. The Emperor has supreme control of all relations of the Russian Empire with foreign Powers. He likewise determines the course of the international policy of the Russian Empire.

ART. 13. The Emperor declares war and concludes peace, as well as other treaties with foreign countries.

ART. 14. The Emperor is the supreme chief of the Russian army and navy. He is vested with the supreme command of all land and naval forces of the Russian Empire. He determines the organization of the army and of the navy, and issues ukases and orders concerning the disposition of the troops, the placing of troops on war footing, their instruction, the advancement of soldiers and everything bearing on the organization of the armed forces and the defense of the Russian Empire. The Emperor likewise, in the exercise of his supreme power, determines limitations with regard to right of residence and acquisition of real property in localities forming part of fortified regions and points of support for the army and the navy.

ART. 15. The Emperor declares localities to be in a state of war or in an exceptional state.

ART. 16. The Emperor has the right to coin money and to determine its form.

ART. 17. The Emperor appoints and dismisses the president of the Council of Ministers, the ministers and the chiefs of separate departments, as well as other officials for whose appointment and dismissal no other mode of procedure has been established by law.

ART. 18. The Emperor, in the exercise of supreme power, establishes the limitations demanded by the State service.

ART. 19. The Emperor grants titles, decorations and other official distinctions, as well as rights of ownership. He determines the conditions and procedure for the granting of titles, decorations and distinctions.

ART. 20. The Emperor issues directly ukases and orders with regard to property forming his own personal possessions, as well as with regard to property, known as the Emperor's possessions, which belongs always to the reigning Emperor and which can not be willed,

divided or alienated in any way. The former as well as the latter possessions are not subject to taxation or to any other charges.

ART. 21. The Emperor, as head of the imperial family, makes, in accordance with the rules governing the imperial house, provisions concerning the domains of the crown. He likewise determines the organization of the institutions belonging to the ministry of the imperial court, as well as the manner of their administration.

ART. 22. The judicial power shall be exercised in the name of the Emperor by courts, established by law, whose decisions shall be issued in the name of the Emperor.

ART. 23. The Emperor has the right to pardon condemned persons, to commute punishments and to pardon completely persons who have committed midemeanors or crimes, stopping proceedings against them and freeing them from trial and punishment, as well as to free them from all fines, through his imperial favor, and to grant privileges in special cases, which are not covered by general laws, in case no interests or civil rights guaranteed by the law suffer through such action.

ART. 24. The provisions of the Code (vol. I, pt. 1, edition of 1892) on the order of succession to the throne (Articles 3-17), on the coming of age of the Emperor, on the regency and guardianship (Articles 18-30), on the accession to the throne and the oath of allegiance (Articles 31-34 and Appendix V), on the holy coronation and the anointment (Articles 35 and 36), on the title of His Imperial Majesty and the arms of the Empire (Articles 37-39 and Appendix I) and on religion (Articles 40-46)1 maintain the force of fundamental laws.2

1 It may be of interest to give here the following translation of these articles on religion and the note appended to them:

ART. 40. The religion which ranks first and dominates in the Russian Empire is the Eastern Catholic Orthodox Christian Religion.

ART. 41. The Emperor reigning on the throne of all the Russias can not belong to any other religion than the Orthodox Religion.

ART. 42. The Emperor, in the character of Christian prince, is the sovereign defender and protector of the doctrines of the dominant religion as well as the guardian of the orthodoxy and sacred discipline in the Church.

ART. 43. He exercises autocratic ecclesiastical power with the aid of the directing Holy Synod appointed by him.

ART. 44. All the subjects of the Russian Empire, by birth or naturalization, as well as foreigners in the service of Russia or temporarily residing in Russia, who do not belong to the dominant religion, enjoy in all places the free exercise of their religion and of the particular ceremonies of their cult.

ART. 45. Religious freedom belongs not only to Christians of other confessions, but even to Jews, Mohammedans and pagans; in order that all the peoples who inhabit Russia may glorify Almighty God in their different languages, in the religion and cult of their fathers, blessing the authority of the Russian monarchs and beseeching the Creator of the universe to increase the prosperity and to strengthen the Empire.

ART. 46. The ecclesiastical affairs of Christians of other confessions and of nonChristians in the Russian Empire are administered by the spiritual heads of the different cults and by the special authorities instituted for this purpose by the supreme power. NOTE. The rule concerning the observance of religious tolerance and the limits of this tolerance form the object of detailed provisions contained in the various ustavs.

2 German translation of all of these articles of the Code in POSENER, op. cit., pp. 803-811.