The ''Schedules'' of the Niue Constitution Act 1974 form the

Constitution 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 pri ...

Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...

. It stipulates the make-up of the

executive branch The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

of the government, the

legislative branch A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the authority, legal authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with th ...

, and the

judicial branch The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

. The Niue Constitution Act 1974 is the supreme law of

; any other Niue law that is inconsistent with the Niue Constitution Act 1974 will be deemed to be invalid. Its granting by the

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

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 ...

in 1974 is celebrated yearly as Niue's independence on "

Constitution Day Constitution Day is a holiday to honour the constitution of a country. Constitution Day is often celebrated on the anniversary of the signing, promulgation or adoption of the constitution, or in some cases, to commemorate the change to constitut ...

" on 19 October. The road towards self-government for Niue started with the UN Decolonisation Committee putting pressure on New Zealand for Niue to decide what form of status Niue wanted. The people of Niue voted in 1974 choosing the self-government option as the best direction for Niue. The Niue Constitution is the legal doctrine that put the wishes of the Niue people for self-government into practice. Self-government allows for Niueans to lead and take charge of their own affairs; this has reduced the number of New Zealand expats working in key Government positions from around 20 in 1974 to none at the moment. Amendments require a two-thirds majority vote in favour in the second and third readings of the respective constitutional amendment bills in the Assembly, followed by approval by a referendum; amendments to articles 1 (executive authority being vested in the Crown), 35(1)(b)(i) (requirements to amend the constitution) and 69 (appointments to Niue Public Service) require two-thirds of the valid vote in favour in the referendum to be approved, while amendments to other articles require only a majority of the valid vote in favour.

References

External links

*
Niue Constitution Act 1974
at Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute

at New Zealand Legislation History of Niue Government of Niue Constitutions of country subdivisions Law of Niue Statutes of New Zealand 1974 in law 1974 in New Zealand law 1974 in Niue 1974 in international relations {{Niue-stub

See also

References

External links