The Constitution of Vanuatu is the

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 princ ...

of the

Republic of 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 o ...

. 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 President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

;

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

; an advisory National Council of Chiefs; the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

directly elected by Parliament; the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

; and the Court of Appeal.

Bislama Bislama ( ; ; also known by its earlier French name, ) is an English-based creole language. It is the national language of Vanuatu, and one of the three official languages of the country, the other ones being English and French. Bislama is the ...

, 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 secret", and in principle is extended to all adults aged 18 years or older. Members of the National Council of Chiefs are to be "elected by their peers". An unusual feature of the Constitution is that the President is elected by an

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 parliament ...

, made up of members of Parliament and the chairpersons of the local government councils. Executive government is expressly placed in the hands of the Prime Minister and the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

. The duties of the President are mostly ceremonial; for example, the appointment and dismissal of ministers is the formal responsibility of the Prime Minister alone. The Constitution also makes provision for the ownership of land, including a prohibition on anyone other than "indigenous citizens" owning land. Constitutional amendments are by parliamentary legislation, passed by at least two-thirds of all members of Parliament at a sitting at which at least three-quarters of members are present. Certain amendments must also be approved at a

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 bin ...

before they can become law. The preamble of the Constitution refers to a commitment to "traditional Melanesian values, faith in God, and Christian principles".

References

External links

Text of the Constitution
( PacLII) * Constitutions by country Government of Vanuatu {{Vanuatu-stub

See also

References

External links