The Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia is the supreme law of the

Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise a ...

. It was adopted in 1979.

History

Constitutional drafting began in June 1975. It was ratified on October 1, 1978, and took effect on May 10, 1979; May 10 is celebrated as

Constitution Day Constitution Day is a holiday to honour the constitution of a country. Constitution Day is often celebrated on the anniversary of the signing, promulgation or adoption of the constitution, or in some cases, to commemorate the change to constitut ...

. The constitution has been amended once, in 1990.

Constitution

The constitution is based on

that ''That'' is an English language word used for several grammatical purposes. These include use as an adjective, conjunction, pronoun, adverb, and intensifier; it has distance from the speaker, as opposed to words like ''this''. The word did not ori ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, Micronesia's former

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...

. It provides for a

separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...

between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as a

federal system Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments ( provincial, state, cantonal, territorial, or other sub-unit governments) in a single p ...

. However, unlike the United States, Micronesia has a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

legislature, called the National Congress, with fourteen senators. Four of them represent the four states for four-year terms, and the other ten representatives apportioned by population and serve two-year terms. Also, the National Congress is responsible for electing 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 ...

and

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

. Most government functions other than foreign policy and national defense are carried out by the State governments. The constitution prohibits non-citizens from owning land in FSM.

Articles

The constitution consists of a preamble, and sixteen articles.

Article I

Article I defines the territory of the Federated States of Micronesia.

Article II

Article II ensures the constitution's supremacy over other laws.

Article III

Article III is the nationality law of the Federated States of Micronesia.

Articles IV, V, and VI

Articles IV, V, and VI act as the

bill of rights A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pr ...

for the Federated States of Micronesia, with Article V specifically protecting traditional rights of tribal leaders, and Article VI granting suffrage to those over eighteen years of age.

Articles VII-XI

Articles VII-XI set out of the government of the Federated States of Micronesia, with a

among three branches—the executive (Article X), legislative (Article IX), and judicial (article XI). Article VII creates a

with a national government, as well as state and local ones. Article VIII separates powers among these three levels.

Article XII

Article XII concerns government finance.

Article XIII

Article XIII consists of general provisions.

Article XIV

Article XIV sets out the process of amending the constitution.

Articles XV and XVI

Articles XV and XVI are transitional provisions.

References

{{Oceania in topic, Constitution of

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...

Law of the Federated States of Micronesia Government of the Federated States of Micronesia