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@2063 Constitution
Afghanistan
the Bonn Agreement called for a Loya Jirga (Grand
Council) to be convened within 18 months of the establishment of the
Transitional Authority to draft a new constitution for the country;
the basis for the next constitution is the 1964 Constitution,
according to the Bonn Agreement
Albania
a constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28
November 1998; note - the opposition Democratic Party boycotted the
vote
Algeria
19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3
November 1988, 23 February 1989, and 28 November 1996
American Samoa
ratified 1966, in effect 1967
Andorra
Andorra's first written constitution was drafted in 1991;
approved by referendum 14 March 1993; came into force 4 May 1993
Angola
11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, 6
March 1991, and 26 August 1992
Anguilla
Anguilla Constitutional Order 1 April 1982; amended 1990
Antigua and Barbuda
1 November 1981
Argentina
1 May 1853; revised August 1994
Armenia
adopted by nationwide referendum 5 July 1995
Aruba
1 January 1986
Australia
9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901
Austria
1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945)
Azerbaijan
adopted 12 November 1995
Bahamas, The
10 July 1973
Bahrain
adopted late December 2000; Bahrani voters approved on 13-14
February 2001 a referendum on legislative changes (revised
constitution calls for a partially elected legislature, a
constitutional monarchy, and an independent judiciary)
Bangladesh
4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended
following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended
many times
Barbados
30 November 1966
Belarus
30 March 1994; revised by national referendum of 24 November
1996 giving the presidency greatly expanded powers and became
effective 27 November 1996
Belgium
7 February 1831, last revised 14 July 1993; parliament
approved a constitutional package creating a federal state
Belize
21 September 1981
Benin
December 1990
Bermuda
8 June 1968, amended 1989
Bhutan
no written constitution or bill of rights; note - the King
commissioned a committee to draft a constitution in 2001, but has
yet to be approved
Bolivia
2 February 1967; revised in August 1994
Bosnia and Herzegovina
the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December
1995, included a new constitution now in force; note - each of the
entities also has its own constitution
Botswana
March 1965, effective 30 September 1966
Brazil
5 October 1988
British Virgin Islands
1 June 1977
Brunei
29 September 1959 (some provisions suspended under a State of
Emergency since December 1962, others since independence on 1
January 1984)
Bulgaria
adopted 12 July 1991
Burkina Faso
2 June 1991 approved by referendum; 11 June 1991
formally adopted
Burma
3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); national
convention started on 9 January 1993 to draft a new constitution;
progress has since been stalled
Burundi
13 March 1992; provided for establishment of a plural
political system; supplanted on 6 June 1998 by a Transitional
Constitution which enlarged the National Assembly and created two
vice presidents
Cambodia
promulgated 21 September 1993
Cameroon
20 May 1972 approved by referendum; 2 June 1972 formally
adopted; revised January 1996
Canada
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
Cape Verde
new constitution came into force 25 September 1992;
underwent a major revision on 23 November 1995, substantially
increasing the powers of the president, and a further revision in
1999, to create the position of national ombudsman (Provedor de
Justica)
Cayman Islands
1959, revised 1972 and 1992
Central African Republic
passed by referendum 29 December 1994;
adopted 7 January 1995
Chad
passed by referendum 31 March 1996
Chile
11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981, amended 30 July
1989, 1993, and 1997
China
most recent promulgation 4 December 1982
Christmas Island
NA
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955
Colombia
5 July 1991
Comoros
23 December 2001
note: a Transitional National Unity Government (GUNT) was formed on
20 January 2002 following the passing of the new constitution; the
GUNT governed until the presidential elections on 14 April 2002
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
24 June 1967, amended August 1974,
revised 15 February 1978, amended April 1990; transitional
constitution promulgated in April 1994; in November 1998, a draft
constitution was approved by former President Laurent KABILA but it
was not ratified by a national referendum; one outcome of the
ongoing inter-Congolese dialogue is to be a new constitution
Congo, Republic of the
constitution approved by referendum 20
January 2002
Cook Islands
4 August 1965
Costa Rica
7 November 1949
Cote d'Ivoire
3 November 1960; has been amended numerous times, last
time 27 July 1998
Croatia
adopted on 22 December 1990
Cuba
24 February 1976, amended July 1992 and June 2002
Cyprus
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
Czech Republic
ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993
Denmark
1849 was the original constitution; there was a major
overhaul 5 June 1953, allowing for a unicameral legislature and a
female chief of state
Djibouti
multiparty constitution approved by referendum 4 September
1992
Dominica
3 November 1978
Dominican Republic
28 November 1966
East Timor
22 March 2002 (based on the Portuguese model)
Ecuador
10 August 1998
Egypt
11 September 1971
El Salvador
23 December 1983
Equatorial Guinea
approved by national referendum 17 November 1991;
amended January 1995
Eritrea
the transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was
replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet
implemented
Estonia
adopted 28 June 1992
Ethiopia
ratified December 1994; effective 22 August 1995
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
3 October 1985; amended 1997 and
1998
Faroe Islands
5 June 1953 (Danish constitution)
Fiji
promulgated on 25 July 1990 and amended on 25 July 1997 to
allow nonethnic Fijians greater say in government and to make
multiparty government mandatory; entered into force 28 July 1998;
note - the May 1999 election was the first test of the amended
constitution and introduced open voting - not racially prescribed -
for the first time at the national level
Finland
1 March 2000
France
28 September 1958, amended concerning election of president
in 1962, amended to comply with provisions of 1992 EC Maastricht
Treaty, 1996 Amsterdam Treaty, 2000 Treaty of Nice; amended to
tighten immigration laws 1993
French Guiana
28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
French Polynesia
28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Gabon
adopted 14 March 1991
Gambia, The
24 April 1970; suspended July 1994; rewritten and
approved by national referendum 8 August 1996; reestablished in
January 1997
Georgia
adopted 17 October 1995
Germany
23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the
united German people 3 October 1990
Ghana
approved 28 April 1992
Gibraltar
30 May 1969
Greece
11 June 1975; amended March 1986 and April 2001
Greenland
5 June 1953 (Danish constitution)
Grenada
19 December 1973
Guadeloupe
28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Guam
Organic Act of 1 August 1950
Guatemala
31 May 1985, effective 14 January 1986; note - suspended
25 May 1993 by former President SERRANO; reinstated 5 June 1993
following ouster of president; amended November 1993
Guernsey
unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice
Guinea
23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale)
Guinea-Bissau
16 May 1984, amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26
February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996
Guyana
6 October 1980
Haiti
approved March 1987; suspended June 1988, with most articles
reinstated March 1989; in October 1991, government claimed to be
observing the constitution; return to constitutional rule, October
1994
Holy See (Vatican City)
Apostolic Constitution of 1967 (effective 1
March 1968)
Honduras
11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995
Hong Kong
Basic Law approved in March 1990 by China's National
People's Congress is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution"
Hungary
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
Iceland
16 June 1944, effective 17 June 1944
India
26 January 1950
Indonesia
August 1945, abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949 and
Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959
Iran
2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the
presidency and eliminate the prime ministership
Iraq
in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn
regime by US-led coalition
Ireland
29 December 1937; adopted 1 July 1937 by plebiscite
Israel
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
Italy
1 January 1948
Jamaica
6 August 1962
Japan
3 May 1947
Jersey
unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice
Jordan
8 January 1952
Kazakhstan
adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995; first
post-independence constitution was adopted 28 January 1993
Kenya
12 December 1963, amended as a republic 1964; reissued with
amendments 1979, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, and 2001
Kiribati
12 July 1979
Korea, North
adopted 1948, completely revised 27 December 1972,
revised again in April 1992 and September 1998
Korea, South
17 July 1948
Kuwait
approved and promulgated 11 November 1962
Kyrgyzstan
adopted 5 May 1993; note - amendment proposed by
President AKAYEV and passed in a national referendum on 2 February
2003 significantly expands the powers of the president at the
expense of the legislature
Laos
promulgated 14 August 1991
Latvia
the 1991 Constitutional Law, which supplements the 1922
constitution, provides for basic rights and freedoms
Lebanon
23 May 1926, amended a number of times, most recently
Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of
October 1989
Lesotho
2 April 1993
Liberia
6 January 1986
Libya
11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977
Liechtenstein
5 October 1921
Lithuania
adopted 25 October 1992
Luxembourg
17 October 1868, occasional revisions
Macau
Basic Law, approved in March 1993 by China's National People's
Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution"
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
adopted 17 November 1991,
effective 20 November 1991
note: in November of 2001, the Macedonian Parliament approved a
series of new constitutional amendments strengthening minority rights
Madagascar
19 August 1992 by national referendum
Malawi
18 May 1994
Malaysia
31 August 1957, amended 16 September 1963
Maldives
adopted January 1998
Mali
adopted 12 January 1992
Malta
1964 constitution substantially amended on 13 December 1974
and again in 1987
Man, Isle of
unwritten; note - The Isle of Man Constitution Act,
1961, does not embody the Manx Constitution
Marshall Islands
1 May 1979
Martinique
28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Mauritania
12 July 1991
Mauritius
12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992
Mayotte
28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Mexico
5 February 1917
Micronesia, Federated States of
10 May 1979
Moldova
new constitution adopted 28 July 1994; replaces old Soviet
constitution of 1979
Monaco
17 December 1962
Mongolia
12 February 1992
Montserrat
present constitution came into force 19 December 1989
Morocco
10 March 1972, revised 4 September 1992, amended (to create
bicameral legislature) September 1996
Mozambique
30 November 1990
Namibia
ratified 9 February 1990; effective 12 March 1990
Nauru
29 January 1968
Nepal
9 November 1990
Netherlands
adopted 1814; amended many times, last time 17 February
1983
Netherlands Antilles
29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the
Netherlands, as amended
New Caledonia
28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
New Zealand
consists of a series of legal documents, including
certain acts of the UK and New Zealand Parliaments and The
Constitution Act 1986 which is the principal formal charter
Nicaragua
9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000
Niger
the constitution of January 1993 was revised by national
referendum on 12 May 1996 and again by referendum on 18 July 1999
Nigeria
new constitution adopted May 1999
Niue
19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act)
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island Act of 1979
Northern Mariana Islands
Covenant Agreement effective 4 November
1986 and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978
Norway
17 May 1814, modified in 1884
Oman
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 legislature, and guarantees
basic civil liberties for Omani citizens
Pakistan
10 April 1973, suspended 5 July 1977, restored with
amendments 30 December 1985; suspended 15 October 1999, restored on
31 December 2002
note: selected provisions of the Constitution pertaining to changes
President MUSHARRAF made while the Constitution was suspended,
remain contested by political opponents
Palau
1 January 1981
Panama
11 October 1972; major reforms adopted 1978, 1983 and 1994
Papua New Guinea
16 September 1975
Paraguay
promulgated 20 June 1992
Peru
31 December 1993
Philippines
2 February 1987, effective 11 February 1987
Pitcairn Islands
1838; reformed 1904 with additional reforms in
1940; further refined by the Local Government Ordinance of 1964
Poland
16 October 1997; adopted by the National Assembly 2 April
1997; passed by national referendum 23 May 1997
Portugal
25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982, 1 June 1989, 5
November 1992, and 3 September 1997
Puerto Rico
ratified 3 March 1952; approved by US Congress 3 July
1952; effective 25 July 1952
Qatar
provisional constitution enacted 19 April 1972; in July 1999
Amir HAMAD issued a decree forming a committee to draft a permanent
constitution; in the 29 April 2003 referendum, 96.6% of Qatari
voters approved the new constitution
Reunion
28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Romania
8 December 1991
Russia
adopted 12 December 1993
Rwanda
on 5 May 1995, the Transitional National Assembly adopted as
Fundamental Law the constitution of 18 June 1991, provisions of the
1993 Arusha peace accord, the July 1994 Declaration by the Rwanda
Patriotic Front, and the November 1994 multiparty protocol of
understanding
Saint Helena
1 January 1989
Saint Kitts and Nevis
19 September 1983
Saint Lucia
22 February 1979
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
27 October 1979
Samoa
1 January 1962
San Marino
8 October 1600; electoral law of 1926 serves some of the
functions of a constitution
Sao Tome and Principe
approved March 1990; effective 10 September
1990
Saudi Arabia
governed according to Shari'a (Islamic law); the Basic
Law that articulates the government's rights and responsibilities
was introduced in 1993
Senegal
a new constitution was adopted 7 January 2001
Serbia and Montenegro
4 February 2003
Seychelles
18 June 1993
Sierra Leone
1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times
Singapore
3 June 1959, amended 1965 (based on preindependence State
of Singapore Constitution)
Slovakia
ratified 1 September 1992, fully effective 1 January 1993;
changed in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president;
amended February 2001 to allow Slovakia to apply for NATO and EU
membership
Slovenia
adopted 23 December 1991, effective 23 December 1991
Solomon Islands
7 July 1978
Somalia
25 August 1979, presidential approval 23 September 1979
note: the Transitional National Government formed in August 2000 has
a mandate to create a new constitution and hold elections within
three years
South Africa
10 December 1996; this new constitution was certified
by the Constitutional Court on 4 December 1996, was signed by then
President MANDELA on 10 December 1996, and entered into effect on 3
February 1997; it is being implemented in phases
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
adopted 3 October 1985
Spain
6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978
Sri Lanka
adopted 16 August 1978
Sudan
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 implemented on 30 June 1998 partially
suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR
Suriname
ratified 30 September 1987
Swaziland
none; constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended 12
April 1973; a new constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978, but
was not formally presented to the people; since then a few more
outlines for a constitution have been compiled under the
Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), but so far none have been
accepted
Sweden
1 January 1975
Switzerland
18 December 1998
Syria
13 March 1973
Taiwan
1 January 1947, amended in 1992, 1994, 1997, and 1999
Tajikistan
6 November 1994
Tanzania
25 April 1977; major revisions October 1984
Thailand
new constitution signed by King PHUMIPHON on 11 October 1997
Togo
multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the
Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992
Tokelau
administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as
amended in 1970
Tonga
4 November 1875, revised 1 January 1967
Trinidad and Tobago
1 August 1976
Tunisia
1 June 1959; amended 12 July 1988
Turkey
7 November 1982
Turkmenistan
adopted 18 May 1992
Turks and Caicos Islands
introduced 30 August 1976; suspended in
1986; restored and revised 5 March 1988
Tuvalu
1 October 1978
Uganda
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 upon the promulgation of the constitution in October 1995
Ukraine
adopted 28 June 1996
United Arab Emirates
2 December 1971 (made permanent in 1996)
United Kingdom
unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and
practice
United States
17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789
Uruguay
27 November 1966, effective February 1967, suspended 27 June
1973, new constitution rejected by referendum 30 November 1980; two
constitutional reforms approved by plebiscite 26 November 1989 and 7
January 1997
Uzbekistan
new constitution adopted 8 December 1992
Vanuatu
30 July 1980
Venezuela
30 December 1999
Vietnam
15 April 1992
Virgin Islands
Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954
Wallis and Futuna
28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Yemen
16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001
Zambia
2 August 1991
Zimbabwe
21 December 1979