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The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the government of the Commonwealth of Australia operates, including its relationship to the States of Australia. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia, which is referred to as the "Constitution" in the remainder of this article. The Constitution was approved in a series of referendums held over 1898–1900 by the people of the Australian colonies, and the approved draft was enacted as a section of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (Imp),〔In Australian law, legislation which was enacted by the British parliament and which has or had effect in Australia by paramount force (or was subsequently received into Australian law) is referred to as "imperial" law, denoted with the "(Imp)" abbreviation when citing legislation by its short title.〕 an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (Imp) became law on 9 July 1900, and entered into force on 1 January 1901. Even though the Constitution was originally given legal force by an Act of the United Kingdom parliament, the Australia Act 1986 removed the power of the United Kingdom parliament to change the Constitution as in force in Australia, and the Constitution can now only be changed in accordance with the prescribed referendum procedures in Section 128. Other pieces of legislation have constitutional significance for Australia. These are the Statute of Westminster, as adopted by the Commonwealth in the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942, and the Australia Act 1986, which was passed in equivalent forms by the United Kingdom Parliament and the Australian Federal Parliament (using legislative powers conferred by enabling acts passed by the Parliaments of every Australian state). The Statute of Westminster Adoption Act is often regarded as the point at which Australia became, ''de jure'', an independent nation, while the Australia Act severed the last remaining constitutional links between Australia and the United Kingdom. Even though the same person, Queen Elizabeth II, is the monarch of both countries, she acts in a distinct capacity as monarch of each.〔''R v Foreign Secretary; Ex parte Indian Association'' () QB 892 at 928; approved by the High Court of Australia in ''Sue v Hill'' (1999) 199 CLR 462 at () (see (judgment at AustLII ))〕 Under Australia's common law system, the High Court of Australia and the Federal Court of Australia have the authority to interpret constitutional provisions.〔The High Court's jurisdiction is under s.30, and the Federal Court's s.39B, of the Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth)〕 Their decisions determine the interpretation and application of the constitution. ==History== (詳細はConstitution of Australia began with moves towards federation in the 19th century, which culminated in the federation of the Australian colonies to form the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. However, the Constitution has continued to develop since then, with two laws having particularly significant impact on the constitutional status of the nation. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Constitution of Australia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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