The Constitution of the State of Katanga was the constitution of the

State of Katanga The State of Katanga; sw, Inchi Ya Katanga) also sometimes denoted as the Republic of Katanga, was a breakaway state that proclaimed its independence from Congo-Léopoldville on 11 July 1960 under Moise Tshombe, leader of the local ''Co ...

, an unrecognised secessionist state which proclaimed its independence from the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) on 11 July 1960. Katanga became independent eleven days after the Congo gained its independence from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. The constitution was drafted by René Clémens and his team. Clémens, law professor at the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the 301 ...

, was a personal friend of the self-declared president of Katanga,

Moïse Tshombe Moïse Kapenda Tshombe (sometimes written Tshombé) (10 November 1919 – 29 June 1969) was a Congolese businessman and politician. He served as the president of the secessionist State of Katanga from 1960 to 1963 and as prime minister of the Re ...

, and collaborator of the Belgian Minister of African Affairs Harold d'Aspremont Lynden. His team consisted of René Grosjean, Pol Évrard, and André Massart. The constitution was never really put into effect, since the

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

, although only decreed from October 1960, was in fact implemented since July 1960. The document, which consisted of 66 articles, set out the political structure of Katanga and the rights of its citizens. The President, for instance, held the executive power and was both the head of state and head of the government. He was elected by a two-third majority by the national assembly and the great council (french: Grand Conseil) held in congress, for a renewable mandate of four years. He is the guarantor of Katanga's national independence, the integrity of the territory, the respect of the treaties, and the international agreements. He is the supreme commander of the armed forces, safeguards the constitution and ensures the continuity of the state.

References

{{reflist State of Katanga History of Katanga Congo Crisis Constitutions of former unrecognized countries Defunct constitutions