The Constitution of Nicaragua was reformed due to a negotiation of the executive and legislative branches in 1995. The reform of the 1987
Sandinista
The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto Cà ...
Constitution gave extensive new powers and independence to the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
, including permitting the Assembly to override a presidential
veto
A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...
with a simple majority vote and eliminating the
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
's ability to
pocket veto a bill. Both the president and the members of the unicameral National Assembly are elected to concurrent five-year terms.
History
The Nicaraguan Constitution promulgated on January 1, 1987 provided the final step in the institutionalization of the Sandinista regime and the framework under which the Chamorro government would take office. It was the ninth constitution in Nicaraguan history.
[.] The Sandinistas' revolutionary mythology and aspirations were glorified in the preamble, and the Nicaraguan Army was constitutionally named the
Sandinista People's Army
The Sandinista Popular Army (SPA) (or People's Army; , EPS) was the military forces established in 1979 by the new Sandinista government of Nicaragua to replace the Nicaraguan National Guard, following the overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle.
...
.
Yet, even though drafted and approved by a Sandinista-dominated assembly, the constitution was not a revolutionary document.
It established a democratic system of government with a
mixed economy
A mixed economy is variously defined as an economic system blending elements of a market economy with elements of a planned economy, markets with state interventionism, or private enterprise with public enterprise. Common to all mixed economie ...
based on a separation of powers that could guarantee
civil liberties.
There was some discontent with parts of the new system.
Early objections were raised that the executive branch was too strong, that property rights were not adequately protected, and that some of the languages was vague and subject to widely differing interpretations.
These objections continued to be an issue under the Chamorro government.
The Executive
The constitution provides for a strong
executive branch, although the legislative and judicial branches retain significant powers of their own.
Under the constitution, the president has broader powers than does the president of the United States.
The president is commander in chief of the
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
, has the power to appoint all ministers and vice ministers of his or her cabinet, and proposes a national budget.
The executive shares legislative powers that allow him or her to enact executive decrees with the force of law in fiscal and administrative matters, as well as to promulgate regulations to implement the laws. The president assumes legislative powers when the National Assembly is in recess. The president has extraordinary powers during national emergencies, including the powers to suspend basic
civil liberties and to prepare and approve the national budget.
[.]
The president's term was set at six years by a decree promulgated in January 1984, during the period when the country had no constitution.
The 1987 Constitution reaffirmed a six-year term for the president.
The Legislature
The 1987 constitution replaced the bicameral Congress, which had existed under previous constitutions, with a unicameral National Assembly.
The makeup of the National Assembly, first established under the 1984 decree and confirmed by the 1987 constitution, consists of ninety members directly elected by a system of proportional representation plus any unelected presidential or vice presidential candidates who receive a certain percentage of the vote.
In 1985 the National Assembly had ninety-six members and in 1990, ninety-two.
Terms are for six years, to run concurrently with the president's term.
The National Assembly has significant powers, and its cooperation is essential for the smooth functioning of the government.
Under the constitution, representatives to the National Assembly propose legislation, which is made law by a simple majority of the representatives present if the National Assembly has a
quorum.
The National Assembly can override a presidential veto by quorum.
The constitution also gives the National Assembly the power "to consider, discuss and approve" the budget presented by the president. The National Assembly chooses the seven members of the Supreme Court from lists provided by the president and has the authority to "officially interpret the laws", a prerogative that gives the National Assembly judicial powers.
[.]
The Judiciary
Under the 1987 constitution, the Supreme Court is an independent branch of government, whose members are selected for six-year terms by the National Assembly from lists submitted by the president.
From among those members, the president selects the head of the Supreme Court.
The constitution also provides that the Supreme Court justices appoint judges to the lower courts.
Supreme Court justices can only be removed constitutionally "for reasons determined by law".
In National Assembly-approved 1990 reforms to the Organic Law of Tribunals, the Chamorro government enlarged the Supreme Court's membership from the constitutionally mandated seven justices to nine, as a way of breaking what was perceived as Sandinista domination of the court.
Those seven members had been appointed to their six-year terms in December 1987, and their terms were to expire in 1993.
[.]
In 1990 President Chamorro also dismissed the court's Sandinista-appointed head and replaced him with one of her own choosing.
[.] The evaluation of this act depended on one's political point of view.
According to Nicaraguan analysts, the nine-member court decided that it would take decisions only on the basis of consensus, a procedure some saw as guaranteeing Sandinista influence on the court, others saw as neutralizing Sandinista influence, and still others saw as effectively paralyzing the operations of the court.
See also
*
Politics of Nicaragua
Nicaragua is a presidential republic, in which the President of Nicaragua is both head of state and head of government, and there is a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government.
Legislative power is vested in both the ...
*
Government of Nicaragua
Nicaragua is a country in Central America with constitutional democracy with executive, legislative, judicial, and electoral branches of government. The President of Nicaragua is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exer ...
*
Human Rights in Nicaragua
References
Footnotes
Works cited
*
Further reading
*''Las Constituciones de Nicaragua'' (English: ''The Constitutions of Nicaragua'');
Alvarez Lejarza (1958) Madrid: Ediciones Cultura Hispánica.
External links
Asamblea Nacional de Nicaragua
{{Americas topic, Constitution of, title=Constitutions of states and dependencies in the Americas
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
Law of Nicaragua