1866 Constitution of Romania

The 1866 Constitution of Romania was the fundamental law that capped a period of nation-building in the Danubian Principalities, which had united in 1859. Drafted in a short time and closely modeled on the 1831 Constitution of Belgium, then considered Europe's most liberal, it was substantially modified by Prince (later King) Carol and adopted by the Constituent Assembly. The newly installed Prince then promulgated it on 13 July [O.S. 1 July] 1866. In a bold move, the constitution was drafted without input from the major powers. Notably, the framers did not even consult the Ottoman Empire even though Romania was nominally an Ottoman vassal. By then, however, the Ottoman Empire's sovereignty over Romania had long since become a legal fiction, though this only ended when Romania gained de jure independence in 1878.