Constitution Day (Vanuatu)
The Constitution of Vanuatu is the supreme law of the Republic of Vanuatu. It was enacted in 1979, and came into force upon the country's independence on 30 July 1980. The Constitution asserts Vanuatu to be a "sovereign democratic state", with sovereignty vested in "the people of Vanuatu which they exercise through their elected representatives". The Constitution enumerates certain "fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual", establishes a basic citizenship law, and establishes and regulates the country's major political, judicial, and cultural institutions. Amongst the latter are the President; unicameral Parliament; an advisory National Council of Chiefs; the Prime Minister directly elected by Parliament; the Supreme Court; and the Court of Appeal. Bislama, English, and French are declared to be the country's "official languages", with English and French as the "principal languages of education". The electoral franchise is guaranteed as "universal, equal and secre ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Supreme Law
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these principles are written down into a single document or set of legal documents, those documents may be said to embody a ''written constitution''; if they are encompassed in a single comprehensive document, it is said to embody a ''codified constitution''. The Constitution of the United Kingdom is a notable example of an ''uncodified constitution''; it is instead written in numerous fundamental acts of a legislature, court cases, and treaties. Constitutions concern different levels of organizations, from Sovereign state, sovereign countries to Company, companies and unincorporated Club (organization), associations. A treaty that establishes an international organization is also its constitution, in that it would define how that organization is con ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Electoral College
An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliamentary chamber, in a democracy. Its members, called ''electors'', are either elected by the people for this purpose (making the whole process an indirect election) or by certain subregional entities or social organizations. If a constituent body that is not only summoned for this particular task, like a parliament, elects or appoints certain officials, it is not referred to as "electoral college" (see e.g. parliamentary system). Also, other appointing bodies (like committees appointing judges, as in Canada or Germany) normally do not fall into this definition. Examples United States The United States Electoral College is the only remaining electoral college in democracies where an executive president (a head of state who is also head of go ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Constitutional References To God
Constitutional references to God exist in the constitutions of a number of nations, most often in the preamble. A reference to God in a legal text is called ''invocatio dei'' ('invocation of God') if the text itself is proclaimed in the name of the deity. A reference to God in another context is called ''nominatio dei'' ('naming of God'). Such ''invocationes'' and ''nominationes dei'' are found notably in several European constitutional traditions (reflecting the strong position of established churches in those countries and the tradition of invoking God in legal documents) and in the constitutions of Islamic countries. History ''Invocationes dei'' have a long tradition in European legal history outside national constitutions. In ancient times and the Middle Ages, gods or God were normally invoked in contracts to guarantee the agreements made, and formulas such as "In the name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" were used at the beginning of legal documents to emphasize ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Law Of Vanuatu
Law in the Republic of Vanuatu consists of a mixed system combining the legacy of English common law, French civil law and indigenous customary law. The Parliament of Vanuatu is the primary law-making body today, but pre-independence French and British statutes, English common law principles and indigenous custom all enjoy constitutional and judicial recognition to some extent. Historical origins Vanuatu did not exist as a politically, judicially or even conceptually unified entity prior to its being named the "New Hebrides" by James Cook in 1774, and subsequently its joint colonisation by France and the United Kingdom in 1906. The French and British established a condominium, whereby separate but coexisting French and British colonial authorities would administer their own settlers, as well as settlers of other nationalities who placed themselves under the jurisdiction of either administration. Joint regulations were also issued, some of which affecting the indigenous inhabitants ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Politics Of Vanuatu
The politics of Vanuatu take place within the framework of a constitutional democracy. The constitution provides for a representative parliamentary system. The head of the Republic is an elected president. The prime minister of Vanuatu is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. These institutions, which date from the country's independence in 1980, exist alongside traditional systems of leadership and justice upheld by community chiefs. Vanuatu is a democracy, whose political culture is different from that in most Western democracies, with strong elements of clientelism, corruption, and political debate that focuses strongly on the distribution of resources among communities. Governments typically comprise coalitions of numerous small parties which change regularly, with parties and MPs "crossing the floor" and p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bureau Of Democracy, Human Rights, And Labor
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs (DRL) is a bureau within the United States Department of State. The bureau is under the purview of the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. History The bureau was formerly known as the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, but was reorganized and renamed in 1994, to reflect both a broader sweep and a more focused approach to the interlocking issues of human rights, worker rights, and democracy. From 2011 to 2015, DRL provided financial support to the Tor network (The Onion Router). Functions DRL's responsibilities include promoting democracy in U.S. and around the world, formulating U.S. human rights policies, and coordinating policy in human rights-related labor issues. The Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism is a separate agency included in the Bureau. The Bureau is responsible for producing annual reports on the countries of the world with regard to religi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Referendum
A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or advisory (functioning like a large-scale opinion poll). Etymology 'Referendum' is the gerundive form of the Latin language, Latin verb , literally "to carry back" (from the verb , "to bear, bring, carry" plus the inseparable prefix , here meaning "back"Marchant & Charles, Cassell's Latin Dictionary, 1928, p. 469.). As a gerundive is an adjective,A gerundive is a verbal adjective (Kennedy's Shorter Latin Primer, 1962 edition, p. 91.) not a noun, it cannot be used alone in Latin, and must be contained within a context attached to a noun such as , "A proposal which must be carried back to the people". The addition of the verb (3rd person singular, ) to a gerundive, denotes the idea of nece ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Council Of Ministers Of Vanuatu
The Cabinet of Vanuatu (formally the Council of Ministers of Vanuatu) is the cabinet (executive branch) of the government of the Republic of Vanuatu. The Constitution of Vanuatu (Art. 39(1)) specifies that " e executive power of the people of the Republic of Vanuatu is vested in the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers". The number of Ministers must not "exceed a quarter of the number of members of Parliament" (Art. 40(2)). The prime minister, who is directly elected by Parliament, appoints other ministers from among the members of Parliament (Art. 42(1)). The council is "collectively responsible to Parliament" (Art. 43(1)). Current cabinet (October 2023–present) Past cabinets Natapei Cabinet, 2008–10 This Cabinet resulted initially from the September 2008 general election. The following month, the council was reshuffled to offer positions to the Union of Moderate Parties (UMP), which joined the ruling coalition. In June 2009, the election to Parliament of Bakoa Kalto ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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French Language
French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French (Francien language, Francien) largely supplanted. It was also substratum (linguistics), influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul and by the Germanic languages, Germanic Frankish language of the post-Roman Franks, Frankish invaders. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 16th century onward, it was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia, and numerous French-based creole languages, most notably Haitian Creole, were established. A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Fra ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east of New Guinea, southeast of Solomon Islands, and west of Fiji. Vanuatu was first inhabited by Melanesians, Melanesian people. The first Europeans to visit the islands were a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, Fernandes de Queirós, who arrived on the largest island, Espíritu Santo, in 1606. Queirós claimed the archipelago for Spain, as part of the colonial Spanish East Indies and named it . In the 1880s, France and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom claimed parts of the archipelago, and in 1906, they agreed on a framework for jointly managing the archipelago as the New Hebrides through an Anglo-French condominium (international law), condominium. An independence movem ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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English Language
English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples that Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, migrated to Britain after its End of Roman rule in Britain, Roman occupiers left. English is the list of languages by total number of speakers, most spoken language in the world, primarily due to the global influences of the former British Empire (succeeded by the Commonwealth of Nations) and the United States. English is the list of languages by number of native speakers, third-most spoken native language, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish language, Spanish; it is also the most widely learned second language in the world, with more second-language speakers than native speakers. English is either the official language or one of the official languages in list of countries and territories where English ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |