: a court in Pennsylvania that hears cases involving administrative agencies or other governmental bodies.
What is meant by Commonwealth in law?
Legal Definition of commonwealth
1 : a nation, state, or other political unit: as. a : one founded on law and united by compact or tacit agreement by the people for the common good. b : one in which supreme authority is vested in the people.
Is Pennsylvania a state or commonwealth?
Four states in the nation — Kentucky, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Pennsylvania — use the designation commonwealth to define themselves. The distinction doesn’t mean they’re any different or enjoy any advantages over the other 46 states.
What’s the meaning of common wealth?
noun. (initial capital letter) a group of sovereign states and their dependencies associated by their own choice and linked with common objectives and interests: the British Commonwealth. the Commonwealth. Commonwealth of Nations.
What does the word commonwealth mean in the Bible?
Commonwealth of Israel is the English translation of the Greek πολιτείας (politeias) mentioned in Ephesians 2:12. The context of the surrounding verses, Ephesians 2:11-13, implies the uniting of Gentiles with Jews, whom had historically been God’s heritage and the object of God’s promises.
Why is it called commonwealth?
The term literally meant “common well-being”. In the 17th century, the definition of “commonwealth” expanded from its original sense of “public welfare” or “commonweal” to mean “a state in which the supreme power is vested in the people; a republic or democratic state”.
What is a commonwealth vs state?
The distinction is in name alone. The commonwealths are just like any other state in their politics and laws, and there is no difference in their relationship to the nation as a whole. When used to refer to U.S. states, there is no difference between a ‘state’ and a ‘commonwealth’.
What are the 5 commonwealth states?
Commonwealth territories
The US has five major territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Of these five, only two of them are considered commonwealths — the Northern Mariana Island and Puerto Rico.
What are the 5 commonwealths in the United States?
Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, and Massachusetts are commonly referred to as states, but they are actually legally designated as commonwealths. But the difference is only in the name—being a commonwealth doesn’t entail any legal or governmental differences from the other 46 states.
Why is Kentucky a commonwealth?
But English colonists who migrated to North America held on to the term, and when the seeds of revolution sprouted in 1776, Virginia called itself a commonwealth. “We are so county-oriented in Kentucky because they are in Virginia also,” Appleton explains.
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Which is an example of a commonwealth?
The definition of a commonwealth is an independent country, community or state within a republic, including some states of the U.S. Pennsylvania is an example of a commonwealth. (archaic) The public good; commonweal. Used to refer to some US states, namely, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
What are the benefits of commonwealth?
We help to strengthen governance, build inclusive institutions and promote justice and human rights. Our work helps to grow economies and boost trade, empower young people, and address threats such as climate change, debt and inequality.
What makes Virginia a commonwealth?
During the American Revolution, the title “Commonwealth of Virginia” was used in the new state’s constitution. Unlike the word “state,” which can also mean a country, democratic or not, the term “commonwealth” emphasized that Virginia was founded to serve the common good of its people.
Was Israel a commonwealth?
On the other hand, Burma (1948) and Israel (1948) did not join the Commonwealth, as they chose to become republics.
Who founded a Bible commonwealth in Massachusetts?
An attempt to establish a Bible commonwealth is represented by the New Haven colony’s use of An Abstract of the Lawes of New England (1641)—a code prepared by Massachusetts Bay minister John Cotton—as the basis of its government.
What is a synonym for Commonwealth?
In this page you can discover 21 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for commonwealth, like: the people, nation, population, community, people, society, commonality, polity, federation, constitutional government and public.
When was the Commonwealth period?
The Commonwealth era is the 10 year transitional period in Philippine history from 1935 to 1945 in preparation for independence from the United States as provided for under the Philippine Independence Act or more popularly known as the Tydings-McDuffie Law.
Why Is Massachusetts a commonwealth?
Legally, Massachusetts is a commonwealth because the term is contained in the Constitution. In the era leading to 1780, a popular term for a whole body of people constituting a nation or state (also known as the body politic) was the word “Commonwealth.” This term was the preferred usage of some political writers.
What is the difference between republic and Commonwealth?
A Commonwealth refers to an independent state created for the common good and includes various forms of government such as republics, constitutional monarchies, federations and confederations. A Republic is a particular form of government, one that does not have a monarch as its head of state.
What is the difference between a commonwealth and a territory?
While similar, a “commonwealth” has a slightly more developed relationship to the U.S. than a “territory” does. Unlike the 50 states, U.S. territories do not have the same representation in Congress and do not have the same rights as states.
Is Puerto Rico a commonwealth of the United States?
The people of Puerto Rico continue to be citizens of the United States and the Constitution of the United States continues to be applicable to Puerto Rico to the same extent as prior to the establishment of the Commonwealth.
