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Former constitution of Venezuela From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Constitution of Venezuela of 1961 was approved on January 16, 1961, by the then Congress of the Republic (currently the National Assembly) with the affirmative vote of the four main political forces of the country at that time, Democratic Action, Democratic Republican Union, COPEI and the Communist Party of Venezuela. It came into force on January 23 of the same year in commemoration of the return to democracy in Venezuela on January 23, 1958. In December 1999 this text was repealed when the 1999 Constitution was approved by popular vote.
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Constitution of the Republic of Venezuela | |
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Created | January 23, 1961 |
Repealed | December 15, 1999 |
Location | Palacio Federal Legislativo |
Author(s) | Senators and Deputies of the Congress of the Republic |
Signatories | 250 Legislators |
Purpose | National Constitution to replace the 1953 Constitution |
This Constitution was based on the principles of the 1947 Constitution that had been repealed in 1953 by the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez.
The 1961 Constitution was divided into four parts:[1]
The National Public Power, was composed of the Legislative, the Executive and the Judiciary.
In this Constitution the Comptroller General of the Republic was an auxiliary body of the National Congress, headed by the Comptroller General of the Republic elected for a period of 5 years by the National Congress.
In this constitution the Public Prosecutor's Office was an independent organ of the State, while in the new 1999 Constitution it is part of a new Power, the Citizen Power. The Public Prosecutor's Office was under the responsibility of the Attorney General of the Republic elected by the National Congress for a period of 5 years.
The Magna Carta of 1961 was the longest lasting Constitution of Venezuela, during its 38 years of existence it only suffered two amendments approved by the extinct National Congress:
Enacted by the National Congress on May 9, 1973, promulgated by President Rafael Caldera and published in Official Gazette No. 1585 of May 11, 1973. In order to prevent those who had incurred in crimes during the exercise of a public office from running for President of the Republic, Senator or Deputy to the Congress or Magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice (now Supreme Tribunal of Justice). Its purpose was to disqualify former President Marcos Perez Jimenez from being elected President of the Republic or holding a parliamentary office before the Congress.[2]
Enacted by the National Congress in 1983 and promulgated by President Luis Herrera Campins on March 16 of the same year, it contemplated several innovative aspects. Among others: the reform of the electoral system for the Municipal Councils and Legislative Assemblies. The amendment was enacted after two years of discussions of the original project in Congress, which was not approved in its entirety. A proposal to expand the political rights of Venezuelans by naturalization and to allow the intervention of the Municipal Councils by the National Congress were rejected.[2]
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