The

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

entered into force on 20 May 2002, and was the country's first constitution after it gained independence from Portugal in 1975 and from Indonesia, which invaded East Timor on 7 December 1975 and left in 1999 following a UN-sponsored referendum.

History

The Constitution was drafted by the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

elected for this purpose in 2001. Pursuant to an UNTAET regulation, the constitution did not need support in a referendum, but entered into force on the day of independence of East Timor after it was approved by the assembly. There are two versions of the Constitution, one in each of the country's official languages, Tetum and Portuguese. The Constitution consists of seven parts, namely: * I. Fundamental principles * II. Fundamental rights, duties, liberties and guarantees * III. Organisation of political power (including the provisions about the three branches of government) * IV. Economic and financial organisation * V. National defence and security * VI. Guarantee and revision of the Constitution * VII. Final and transitional provisions

References

Politics of East Timor {{EastTimor-poli-stub

History

References

External links