Constitution (2004) - statistic informations

Afghanistan

new constitution drafted 14 December 2003 - 4 January 2004; signed 16 January 2004

Albania

a constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28 November 1998

Algeria

19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, and 28 November 1996

American Samoa

ratified 1966, in effect 1967

Andorra

Andorra's first written constitution was drafted in 1991; approved by referendum 14 March 1993; came into force 4 May 1993

Angola

11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, 6 March 1991, and 26 August 1992; note - new constitution has not yet been approved

Anguilla

Anguilla Constitutional Order 1 April 1982; amended 1990

Antigua and Barbuda

1 November 1981

Argentina

1 May 1853; revised August 1994

Armenia

adopted by nationwide referendum 5 July 1995

Aruba

1 January 1986

Australia

9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901

Austria

1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945)

Azerbaijan

adopted 12 November 1995

Bahamas, The

10 July 1973

Bahrain

adopted late December 2000; Bahrani voters approved on 13-14 February 2001 a referendum on legislative changes (revised constitution calls for a partially elected legislature, a constitutional monarchy, and an independent judiciary)

Bangladesh

4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended many times

Barbados

30 November 1966

Belarus

30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November 1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became effective 27 November 1996; revised again 17 October 2004 removing presidential term limits

Belgium

7 February 1831, last revised 14 July 1993; parliament approved a constitutional package creating a federal state

Belize

21 September 1981

Benin

December 1990

Bermuda

8 June 1968, amended 1989 and 2003

Bhutan

no written constitution or bill of rights; note - in 2001 the King commissioned the drafting of a constitution, and in November 2004 presented a draft to the Council of Ministers

Bolivia

2 February 1967; revised in August 1994

Bosnia and Herzegovina

the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, included a new constitution now in force; note - each of the entities also has its own constitution

Botswana

March 1965, effective 30 September 1966

Brazil

5 October 1988

British Virgin Islands

1 June 1977

Brunei

29 September 1959 (some provisions suspended under a State of Emergency since December 1962, others since independence on 1 January 1984)

Bulgaria

adopted 12 July 1991

Burkina Faso

2 June 1991 approved by referendum; 11 June 1991 formally adopted; ammended April 2000

Burma

3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); national convention convened in 1993 to draft a new constitution but collapsed in 1996; reconvened in 2004 but does not include participation of democratic opposition

Burundi

13 March 1992; provided for establishment of a plural political system; supplanted on 20 October 2004 by a provisional constitution approved by the parliament, which extended the transition, set ethnic quotas for government positions, and tentatively scheduled elections for February-April 2005

Cambodia

promulgated 21 September 1993

Cameroon

20 May 1972 approved by referendum; 2 June 1972 formally adopted; revised January 1996

Canada

17 April 1982 (Constitution Act); originally, the machinery of the government was set up in the British North America Act of 1867; charter of rights and unwritten customs

Cape Verde

new constitution came into force 25 September 1992; underwent a major revision on 23 November 1995, substantially increasing the powers of the president, and a further revision in 1999, to create the position of national ombudsman (Provedor de Justica)

Cayman Islands

1959, revised 1972 and 1992

Central African Republic

passed by referendum 5 December 2004

Chad

passed by referendum 31 March 1996

Chile

11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981, amended 30 July 1989, 1993, and 1997

China

most recent promulgation 4 December 1982

Christmas Island

NA

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955

Colombia

5 July 1991

Comoros

23 December 2001

note: a Transitional National Unity Government (GUNT) was formed on 20 January 2002 following the passing of the new constitution; the GUNT governed until the presidential elections on 14 April 2002

Congo, Democratic Republic of the

a new constitution was adopted 17 July 2003

Congo, Republic of the

constitution approved by referendum 20 January 2002

Cook Islands

4 August 1965

Costa Rica

7 November 1949

Cote d'Ivoire

a new constitution was adopted 4 August 2000

Croatia

adopted on 22 December 1990; revised 2000, 2001

Cuba

24 February 1976, amended July 1992 and June 2002

Cyprus

16 August 1960; from December 1963, the Turkish Cypriots no longer participated in the government; negotiations to create the basis for a new or revised constitution to govern the island and to better relations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been held intermittently since the mid-1960s; in 1975, following the 1974 Turkish intervention, Turkish Cypriots created their own constitution and governing bodies within the "Turkish Federated State of Cyprus," which became the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" when the Turkish Cypriots declared their independence in 1983; a new constitution for the "TRNC" passed by referendum on 5 May 1985

Czech Republic

ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993

Denmark

5 June 1849 adoption of original constitution; a major overhaul of 5 June 1953 allowed for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state

Djibouti

multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September 1992

Dominica

3 November 1978

Dominican Republic

28 November 1966, amended 25 July 2002

East Timor

22 March 2002 (based on the Portuguese model)

10 August 1998

11 September 1971

23 December 1983

approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995

Eritrea

the transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented

Estonia

adopted 28 June 1992

Ethiopia

ratified December 1994; effective 22 August 1995

European Union

based on a series of treaties: the Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951; the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957; the Single European Act in 1986; the Treaty on European Union (Maastrict) in 1992; the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997; and the Treaty of Nice in 2001; note - a new draft Constitutional Treaty, signed on 29 October 2004 in Rome, gives member states two years for ratification either by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it is scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

3 October 1985; amended 1997 and 1998

Faroe Islands

5 June 1953 (Danish constitution)

Fiji

promulgated on 25 July 1990 and amended on 25 July 1997 to allow nonethnic Fijians greater say in government and to make multiparty government mandatory; entered into force 28 July 1998; note - the May 1999 election was the first test of the amended constitution and introduced open voting - not racially prescribed - for the first time at the national level

Finland

1 March 2000

France

28 September 1958, amended concerning election of president in 1962, amended to comply with provisions of 1992 EC Maastricht Treaty, 1996 Amsterdam Treaty, 2000 Treaty of Nice; amended to tighten immigration laws in 1993; amended in 2000 to change the seven-year presidential term to a five-year term

French Guiana

28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

French Polynesia

28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Gabon

adopted 14 March 1991

Gambia, The

24 April 1970; suspended July 1994; rewritten and approved by national referendum 8 August 1996; reestablished January 1997

Georgia

adopted 17 October 1995

Germany

23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990

Ghana

approved 28 April 1992

Gibraltar

30 May 1969

Greece

11 June 1975; amended March 1986 and April 2001

Greenland

5 June 1953 (Danish constitution)

Grenada

19 December 1973

Guadeloupe

28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Guam

Organic Act of 1 August 1950

Guatemala

31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986; note - suspended 25 May 1993 by former President SERRANO; reinstated 5 June 1993 following ouster of president; amended November 1993

Guernsey

unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice

Guinea

23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale)

Guinea-Bissau

16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996

Guyana

6 October 1980

Haiti

approved March 1987; suspended June 1988 with most articles reinstated March 1989; in October 1991 government claimed to be observing the constitution; returned to constitutional rule in October 1994

Holy See (Vatican City)

new Fundamental Law promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 26 November 2000, effective 22 February 2001 (replaces the first Fundamental Law of 1929)

Honduras

11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995

Hong Kong

Basic Law approved in March 1990 by China's National People's Congress is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution"

Hungary

18 August 1949, effective 20 August 1949, revised 19 April 1972; 18 October 1989 revision ensured legal rights for individuals and constitutional checks on the authority of the prime minister and also established the principle of parliamentary oversight; 1997 amendment streamlined the judicial system

Iceland

16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944

India

26 January 1950

Indonesia

August 1945, abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949 and Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959

Iran

2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership

Iraq

interim constitution signed 8 March 2004; note - the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) was enacted 8 March 2004 to govern the country until an elected Iraqi Transitional Government can draft and ratify a new constitution in 2005

Ireland

29 December 1937; adopted 1 July 1937 by plebiscite

Isle of Man

unwritten; note - The Isle of Man Constitution Act, 1961, does not embody the unwritten Manx Constitution

Israel

no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law

Italy

passed 11 December 1947; effective 1 January 1948; amended many times

Jamaica

6 August 1962

Japan

3 May 1947

Jersey

unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice

Jordan

8 January 1952

Kazakhstan

adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995; first post-independence constitution was adopted 28 January 1993

Kenya

12 December 1963, amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, and 2001

Kiribati

12 July 1979

Korea, North

adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992 and September 1998

Korea, South

17 July 1948

Kuwait

approved and promulgated 11 November 1962

Kyrgyzstan

adopted 5 May 1993; note - amendment proposed by President AKAYEV and passed in a national referendum on 2 February 2003 significantly expands the powers of the president at the expense of the legislature

Laos

promulgated 14 August 1991

Latvia

15 February 1922; an October 1998 amendment on Fundamental Human Rights replaced the 1991 Constitutional Law, which had supplemented the constitution

Lebanon

23 May 1926, amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989

Lesotho

2 April 1993

Liberia

6 January 1986

Libya

11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977

Liechtenstein

5 October 1921

Lithuania

adopted 25 October 1992

Luxembourg

17 October 1868, occasional revisions

Macau

Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution"

Macedonia

adopted 17 November 1991, effective 20 November 1991

note: in November of 2001, the Macedonian Assembly approved a series of new constitutional amendments strengthening minority rights

Madagascar

19 August 1992 by national referendum

Malawi

18 May 1994

Malaysia

31 August 1957, amended 16 September 1963

Maldives

adopted January 1998

Mali

adopted 12 January 1992

Malta

1964 constitution substantially amended on 13 December 1974 and again in 1987

Marshall Islands

1 May 1979

Martinique

28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Mauritania

12 July 1991

Mauritius

12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992

Mayotte

28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Mexico

5 February 1917

Micronesia, Federated States of

10 May 1979

Moldova

new constitution adopted 28 July 1994; replaces old Soviet constitution of 1979

Monaco

17 December 1962

Mongolia

12 February 1992

Montserrat

present constitution came into force 19 December 1989

Morocco

10 March 1972, revised 4 September 1992, amended (to create bicameral legislature) September 1996

Mozambique

30 November 1990

Namibia

ratified 9 February 1990; effective 12 March 1990

Nauru

29 January 1968

Nepal

9 November 1990

Netherlands

adopted 1815; amended many times, last time 2002

Netherlands Antilles

29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended

New Caledonia

28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

New Zealand

consists of a series of legal documents, including certain acts of the UK and New Zealand Parliaments and The Constitution Act 1986 which is the principal formal charter

Nicaragua

9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000

Niger

a new constitution was adopted 18 July 1999

Nigeria

new constitution adopted May 1999

Niue

19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act)

Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island Act of 1979

Northern Mariana Islands

Covenant Agreement effective 4 November 1986 and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978

Norway

17 May 1814, modified in 1884

Oman

none; note - on 6 November 1996, Sultan QABOOS issued a royal decree promulgating a basic law considered by the government to be a constitution which, among other things, clarifies the royal succession, provides for a prime minister, bars ministers from holding interests in companies doing business with the government, establishes a bicameral legislature, and guarantees basic civil liberties for Omani citizens

Pakistan

10 April 1973, suspended 5 July 1977, restored with amendments 30 December 1985; suspended 15 October 1999, restored 31 December 2002

Palau

1 January 1981

Panama

11 October 1972; major reforms adopted 1978, 1983, 1994, and 2004

Papua New Guinea

16 September 1975

Paraguay

promulgated 20 June 1992

Peru

31 December 1993

Philippines

2 February 1987, effective 11 February 1987

Pitcairn Islands

1838; reformed 1904 with additional reforms in 1940; further refined by the Local Government Ordinance of 1964

Poland

adopted by the National Assembly 2 April 1997; passed by national referendum 25 May 1997; effective 17 October 1997

Portugal

25 April 1976; revised 30 October 1982, 1 June 1989, 5 November 1992, 3 September 1997, 12 December 2001, and 24 July 2004

Puerto Rico

ratified 3 March 1952; approved by US Congress 3 July 1952; effective 25 July 1952

Qatar

provisional constitution enacted 19 April 1972; in July 1999 Amir HAMAD issued a decree forming a committee to draft a permanent constitution; in the 29 April 2003 referendum, 96.6% of Qatari voters approved the new constitution; on 8 June 2004 the new constitution came into force

Reunion

28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Romania

8 December 1991; revision came into force 29 October 2003

Russia

adopted 12 December 1993

Rwanda

a new constitution was adopted 26 May 2003

Saint Helena

1 January 1989

Saint Kitts and Nevis

19 September 1983

Saint Lucia

22 February 1979

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

27 October 1979

Samoa

1 January 1962

San Marino

8 October 1600; electoral law of 1926 serves some of the functions of a constitution

Sao Tome and Principe

approved March 1990; effective 10 September 1990

Saudi Arabia

governed according to Shari'a (Islamic law); the Basic Law that articulates the government's rights and responsibilities was introduced in 1993

Senegal

a new constitution was adopted 7 January 2001

Serbia and Montenegro

4 February 2003

Seychelles

18 June 1993

Sierra Leone

1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times

Singapore

3 June 1959, amended 1965 (based on preindependence State of Singapore Constitution)

Slovakia

ratified 1 September 1992, fully effective 1 January 1993; changed in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president; amended February 2001 to allow Slovakia to apply for NATO and EU membership

Slovenia

adopted 23 December 1991, effective 23 December 1991

Solomon Islands

7 July 1978

Somalia

25 August 1979, presidential approval 23 September 1979

note: the Transitional National Government formed in August 2000 had a three-year mandate to create a new constitution and hold elections, this goal was not achieved but the process is ongoing

South Africa

10 December 1996; this new constitution was certified by the Constitutional Court on 4 December 1996, was signed by then President MANDELA on 10 December 1996, and entered into effect on 3 February 1997; it is being implemented in phases

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

adopted 3 October 1985

Spain

6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978

Sri Lanka

adopted 16 August 1978

Sudan

12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989; new constitution implemented on 30 June 1998 partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR

Suriname

ratified 30 September 1987

Swaziland

a constitution was adopted 14 November 2003

Sweden

1 January 1975

Switzerland

revision of Constitution of 1874 approved by the Federal Parliament 18 December 1998; adopted by referendum 18 April 1999; officially entered into force 1 January 2000

Syria

13 March 1973

Taiwan

25 December 1946, amended in 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, and 2000

Tajikistan

6 November 1994

Tanzania

25 April 1977; major revisions October 1984

Thailand

new constitution signed by King PHUMIPHON on 11 October 1997

Togo

multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992

Tokelau

administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970

Tonga

4 November 1875, revised 1 January 1967

Trinidad and Tobago

1 August 1976

Tunisia

1 June 1959; amended 12 July 1988

Turkey

7 November 1982

Turkmenistan

adopted 18 May 1992

Turks and Caicos Islands

introduced 30 August 1976; suspended in 1986; restored and revised 5 March 1988

Tuvalu

1 October 1978

Uganda

8 October 1995; adopted by the interim, 284-member Constituent Assembly, charged with debating the draft constitution that had been proposed in May 1993; the Constituent Assembly was dissolved upon the promulgation of the constitution in October 1995

Ukraine

adopted 28 June 1996

United Arab Emirates

2 December 1971 (made permanent in 1996)

United Kingdom

unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice

United States

17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789

Uruguay

27 November 1966, effective February 1967, suspended 27 June 1973, new constitution rejected by referendum 30 November 1980; two constitutional reforms approved by plebiscite 26 November 1989 and 7 January 1997