On June 8, 1950, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

government approved Public Law 600, authorizing

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

to draft its own constitution in 1951. The Constitutional Assembly () or Constitutional Convention of Puerto Rico met for a period of several months between 1951 and 1952 in which the document was written. The framers had to follow only two basic requirements established under Public Law 600. The first was the document must establish a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

an form of government for the island. The second was the inclusion of a

Bill of Rights A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pri ...

. The

Constitution of Puerto Rico The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico () is the primary organizing law for the unincorporated U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of Puerto Rico in nine art ...

renamed the

body politic The body politic is a polity—such as a city, realm, or state—considered metaphorically as a physical body. Historically, the sovereign is typically portrayed as the body's head, and the analogy may also be extended to other anatomical part ...

until then known as the "

People of Puerto Rico Puerto Ricans (), most commonly known as Puerto Rico#Etymology, Boricuas, but also occasionally referred to as '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borinqueños'', '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borincan ...

", and henceforth known as the "Commonwealth of Puerto Rico" ( Estado Libre Asociado).

Members of the Constitutional Assembly

Committees

Ten permanent committees and their officers and members were designated by the body's president, Antonio Fernós Isern, during the 25 September 1951 session, which was followed by the naming of additional delegates and several substations on 27 September. All presidents, vice presidents and secretaries were from the PPD. These committees were grouped by their purposes as follows: Functions committees (3): * Rules and Bylaw * Accounting and Publications * Scheduling Constitutional committees (7): * Preamble, Amendment and Ordinance Procedures * Bill of Rights * Legislative Branch * Executive Branch * Judicial Branch * Transitory Provisions and General Affairs * Drafting, Style and Enrolling

Notes

References

External links

*
Resolutions and Propositions of the Constitutional Assembly
' (in Spanish)
''Session Diary of the Constitutional Convention''
(in Spanish)
Analyses of the Constitutional Convention
(in Spanish)
25 July 1952 Program of Events
(in Spanish)
Text of the Constitution sent by the Convention
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constituent Convention Of Puerto Rico Political history of Puerto Rico

1951 conferences 1952 conferences