> as lemmas

1884 Boston Daily Advertiser 15 Apr. 4/2 The heat of partisan politics.., and the somewhat unsettled conditions.., combine to make the present an unhappy time in which to calmly consider the underlying and basic law.

1887 Amer. Law Rev. Mar. 230 A large printed chart..of the Federal constitution..would keep the student mindful of this basic law, so constantly modifying the application of nearly all other laws in actual practice.

1938 Foreign Service (U.S.) Feb. 48/3 It is our job to instruct adult citizens as well as children and aliens in this basic law of our nation. The way to do this is to conduct community classes for the purpose of ‘boning’ on the Constitution.]

1949 Britannica Bk. of Year 301/1 On Sept. 1, the constitution-making body consisting of 65 representatives nominated by the Landtage of all three western zones started work in Bonn... Its proposals were to be named the basic law (Grundgesetz).

1989 Eng. Today Oct. 20/1 There is also the Basic Law, the mini-constitution [of Hong Kong] being drafted to come into effect in 1997.

1995 S. Levinson Responding to Imperfection viii. 170 For Germany, the Federal Republic's government and the voters of East Germany..decided to incorporate the East under Article 23 of the Basic Law, which provides for the admission of new länder.

1996 LSE Mag. Winter 4/2 The autonomy promised to Hong Kong..has been..confirmed by a kind of covenant with the local Chinese Hong Kong people in the shape of a Basic Law ratified by the National People's Congress.

2000 A. S. Sweet Governing with Judges ii. 59 The Basic Law [sc. of Germany] explicitly precludes amending provisions that establish rights (and federalism).