Overview: What Is a Constitution? The vast majority of contemporary constitutions describe the basic principles of the state, the structures and processes of government and the fundamental rights of citizens in a higher law that cannot be unilaterally changed by an ordinary legislative act. This higher law is usually referred to as a constitution.... The content and nature of a particular constitution, as well as how it relates to the rest of the legal and political order, varies considerably between countries, and there is no universal and uncontested definition of a constitution. Nevertheless, any broadly accepted working definition of a constitution would likely include the following characteristics: A constitution is a set of fundamental legal-political rules that: (1) are binding on everyone in the state, including ordinary lawmaking institutions; (2) concern the structure and operation of the institutions of government, political principles and the rights of citizens; (3) are based on widepread public legitimacy; (4) are harder to change than ordinary laws (e.g. a two-thirds majority vote or or a referendum is needed); (5) as a minimum, meet the internationally recognized criteria for a democratic system in terms of representation and human rights.."