The Constitution of Kiribati 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 ...

Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...

, which was implemented in 1979. The constitution was subsequently amended in the years 1995, 2016, and 2018. The constitution established the principles of the Bill of Rights and the protection of the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the individual.

History

In 1977,

John Hilary Smith John Hilary Smith, (born 20 March 1928) is a British retired colonial administrator. Smith was the last governor of the united Gilbert and Ellice Islands before it was divided into Tuvalu and what later became Kiribati. Smith was educated at ...

, British Governor of the

Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands (;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this name applied o ...

, reunited a Constitutional Convention of 150 members. Kiribati's independence was granted by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

as a result of the Kiribati Independence Order 1979 (UK). The Republic of Kiribati became an independent constitutional republic as a sovereign and democratic state, and the 41st member of the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

on 12 July 1979. The country's independence led to the creation of the Constitution of Kiribati, and several other minor law documents the same year.

Structure

The Constitution is divided into 10 chapters and 2 schedules.

References

Government of Kiribati Law of Kiribati 1979 documents {{constitution-stub