Constitution In 36 editions of 36.

• 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976;
• revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, and 28 November 1996;
• note-referendum approving the revisions of 28 November 1996 was signed into law 7 December 1996

11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, 6 March 1991, and 26 August 1992

2 December 1990

March 1965, effective 30 September 1966

2 June 1991

13 March 1992; provides for establishment of a plural political system

new constitution came into force 25 September 1992

20 May 1972

passed by referendum 29 December 1994; adopted 7 January 1995

31 March 1995, passed by referendum

20 October 1996

• 24 June 1967, amended August 1974, revised 15 February 1978, amended April 1990;
• transitional constitution promulgated in April 1994;
• following successful rebellion the new government announced on 29 May 1997 a two-year time table of constitutional reform

new constitution approved by referendum March 1992 but is now being redrafted by President SASSOU-NGUESSO

3 November 1960; has been amended numerous times, last time November 1990

multiparty constitution approved in referendum 4 September 1992

11 September 1971

approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; emended January 1995

the transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution that was promulgated in May 1997

• none;
• constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended 12 April 1973;
• a new constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978, but has not been formally presented to the people

promulgated December 1994

adopted 14 March 1991

• 24 April 1970;
• suspended July 1994;
• rewritten and approved by national referendum 8 August 1996;
• reestablished in January 1997

new constitution approved 28 April 1992

23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale)

16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993 and 1996

12 December 1963, amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, and 1997

2 April 1993

6 January 1986

11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977

19 August 1992 by national referendum

18 May 1995

adopted 12 January 1992

12 July 1991

12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992

28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

10 March 1972, revised 4 September 1992, amended (to create bicameral legislature) September 1996

30 November 1990

ratified 9 February 1990; effective 12 March 1990

the constitution of January 1993 was revised by national referendum on 12 May 1996

• 1979 constitution still partially in force;
• plan for 1989 constitution to take effect in 1993 was not implemented;
• draft 1995 constitution has not been published;
• the military government rules by decree

28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

on 5 May 1995, the Transitional National Assembly adopted a new constitution which included elements of the constitution of 18 June 1991 as well as provisions of the 1993 Arusha peace accord and the November 1994 multi-party protocol of understanding

1 January 1989

approved March 1990; effective 10 September 1990

3 March 1963, revised 1991

18 June 1993

1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times

25 August 1979, presidential approval 23 September 1979

• 10 December 1996;
• this new constitution was certified by the Constitutional Court on 4 December 1996, was signed by President MANDELA on 10 December 1996, and entered into effect on 3 February 1997;
• it is being implemented in phases

• 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985;
• interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989;
• new constitution being drafted by Presidential Committee

25 April 1977; major revisions October 1984

multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992

1 June 1959; amended 12 July 1988

• 8 October 1995;
• adopted by the interim, 284-member Constituent Assembly, charged with debating the draft constitution that had been proposed in May 1993;
• the Constituent Assembly was dissolved on promulgation of the constitution in October 1995

2 August 1991

21 December 1979

5 June 1953 (Danish constitution)

16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944

none

adopted by nationwide referendum 5 July 1995

adopted 12 November 1995

4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended many times

no written constitution or bill of rights

note: Bhutan uses 1953 Royal decree for the Constitution of the National Assembly

most recent promulgation 4 December 1982

adopted 17 October 1995

26 January 1950

3 May 1947

adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995; first post-independence constitution was adopted 28 January 1993

adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992

25 February 1988

adopted 5 May 1993

note: amendment proposed by President AKAYEV and passed in a national referendum on 10 February 1996 significantly expands the powers of the president at the expense of the legislature

4 June 1968

12 February 1992

9 November 1990

10 April 1973, suspended 5 July 1977, restored with amendments 30 December 1985

adopted 12 December 1993

adopted 16 August 1978

6 November 1994

adopted 18 May 1992

new constitution adopted 8 December 1992

Anguilla Constitutional Order 1 April 1982; amended 1990

1 November 1981

1 January 1986

10 July 1973

30 November 1966

21 September 1981

1 June 1977

1959, revised 1972 and 1992

9 November 1949

24 February 1976

3 November 1978

28 November 1966

20 December 1983

19 December 1973

28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986

note: suspended 25 May 1993 by President SERRANO; reinstated 5 June 1993 following ouster of president

• approved March 1987, suspended June 1988, most articles reinstated March 1989;
• in October 1991, government claimed to be observing the constitution;
• return to constitutional rule, October 1994

11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982

6 August 1962

28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

present constitution came into force 19 December 1989

29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended

9 January 1987

11 October 1972; major reforms adopted April 1983

• ratified 3 March 1952;
• approved by US Congress 3 July 1952;
• effective 25 July 1952

19 September 1983

22 February 1979

27 October 1979

1 August 1976

introduced 30 August 1976, suspended in 1986, restored and revised 5 March 1988

Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954

• an interim basic law was approved by the People's Assembly on 29 April 1991;
• a draft constitution was rejected by popular referendum in the fall of 1994 and a new draft is pending

Andorra's first written constitution was drafted in 1991; adopted 14 March 1993

1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945)

referendum of 24 November 1996; became effective on 17 November 1996

7 February 1831, last revised 14 July 1993; parliament approved a constitutional package creating a federal state

the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, included a new constitution now in force

adopted 12 July 1991

adopted on 22 December 1990

ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993

1849 was the original constitution; there was a major overhaul 5 June 1953, allowing for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state

adopted 28 June 1992

5 June 1953 (Danish constitution)

17 July 1919

• 28 September 1958, amended concerning election of president in 1962, amended to comply with provisions of EC Maastricht Treaty in 1992;
• amended to tighten immigration laws 1993

23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990

30 May 1969

11 June 1975

unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice

Apostolic Constitution of 1967 (effective 1 March 1968)

• 18 August 1949, effective 20 August 1949, revised 19 April 1972;
• 18 October 1989 revision ensured legal rights for individuals and constitutional checks on the authority of the prime minister and also established the principle of parliamentary oversight;
• 1997 amendment streamlined the judicial system

29 December 1937; adopted 1 July 1937 by plebiscite

1961, Isle of Man Constitution Act

1 January 1948

unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice

the 1991 Constitutional Law which supplements the 1922 constitution, provides for basic rights and freedoms

5 October 1921

adopted 25 October 1992

17 October 1868, occasional revisions

1964 constitution substantially amended on 13 December 1974

new constitution adopted 28 July 1994; replaces old Soviet constitution of 1979

17 December 1962

adopted 1814; amended many times, last time 17 February 1983

adopted 17 November 1991, effective 20 November 1991

17 May 1814, modified in 1884

• 16 October 1997;
• adopted by the National Assembly on 2 April 1997;
• passed by national referendum 23 May 1997

25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982, 1 June 1989, 5 November 1992, and 3 September 1997

8 December 1991

8 October 1600; electoral law of 1926 serves some of the functions of a constitution

27 April 1992

ratified 1 September 1992, fully effective 1 January 1993

adopted 23 December 1991, effective 23 December 1991

6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978

1 January 1975

29 May 1874

adopted 28 June 1996

unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice

26 May 1973, effective 6 December 1973

• 16 August 1960;
• negotiations to create the basis for a new or revised constitution to govern the island and to better relations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been held intermittently;
• in 1975 Turkish Cypriots created their own constitution and governing bodies within the "Turkish Federated State of Cyprus," which was renamed the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" in 1983;
• a new constitution for the Turkish Cypriot area passed by referendum on 5 May 1985

2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership

22 September 1968, effective 16 July 1970 (provisional Constitution); new constitution drafted in 1990 but not adopted

no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the basic laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law

8 January 1952

approved and promulgated 11 November 1962

23 May 1926, amended a number of times

none; note-on 6 November 1996, Sultan QABOOS issued a royal decree promulgating a new basic law which, among other things, clarifies the royal succession, provides for a prime minister, bars ministers from holding interests in companies doing business with the government, establishes a bicameral Omani council, and guarantees basic civil liberties for Omani citizens

provisional constitution enacted 19 April 1972

governed according to Shari'a (Islamic law); the Basic Law that articulates the government's rights and responsibilities was introduced in 1993

13 March 1973

7 November 1982

2 December 1971 (made permanent in 1996)

16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994

8 June 1968

• 17 April 1982 (Constitution Act);
• originally, the machinery of the government was set up in the British North America Act of 1867;
• charter of rights and unwritten customs

5 February 1917

28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789

ratified 1966, in effect 1967

9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901

4 August 1965

• 10 October 1970 (suspended 1 October 1987);
• a new constitution was proposed on 23 September 1988 and promulgated on 25 July 1990;
• another new constitution, which opens the way for a non-ethnic Fijian to become prime minister, was signed by the president on 25 July 1997 and will come into force no later than 28 July 1998