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Constitution of the Democratic Republic of East Timor Portuguese: Constituição da República Democrática de Timor-Leste Tetum: Konstituisaun Repúblika Demokrátika Timor-Leste | |
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Created | 2002 |
Ratified | 20 May 2002 |
Author(s) | Constituent Assembly of Timor-Leste |
Signatories | Constituent Assembly |
Purpose | National constitution |
Constitution |
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Asiaportal |
The Constitution of Timor-Leste 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.
After the Carnation Revolution in Portugal in 1974, the colony of Portuguese Timor was to be prepared for independence. In 1975, however, civil war broke out between the two major parties in the country, from which Fretilin emerged victorious. Since the Portuguese administration had withdrawn and Indonesia began to occupy the border area of East Timor, the Fretilin unilaterally proclaimed independence on 28 November 1975. A first constitution was also drafted. But on 7 December, Indonesia began an open invasion. Troops landed in the capital Dili and the Fretilin began guerrilla warfare against the occupiers. In 1976, Indonesia annexed East Timor in violation of international law. Only after 24 years of guerrilla war, a referendum held under the supervision of the United Nations, in which the majority of the population spoke out against autonomy within Indonesia and in favour of East Timor's independence. Once again, there was a wave of violence by Indonesian security forces and pro-Indonesian militias. The international intervention force INTERFET under Australian leadership restored peace and order and East Timor came under UN administration until it was granted independence on 20 May 2002.
The constitution differs from the 1975 constitution, the new version being modelled on the Portuguese one. The Constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly elected for this purpose in 2001. Pursuant to an UNTAET regulation, [1] the constitution did not need support in a referendum, but entered into force on the day of independence of Timor-Leste after it was approved by the assembly. Fretilin won an absolute majority of seats. With the transition to independence, the Assembly became the National Parliament of Timor-Leste. There was no separate referendum for the constitution. It was only approved by the Assembly on 22 March 2002 by 65 votes to 14. [2] The Fretilin and ASDT MPs voted in favour of the draft constitution, while the Democratic Party (PD), Social Democratic Party (PSD), and one Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) MP voted against it. Many MPs also did not turn up for the vote. [3]
Pedro Bacelar de Vasconcelos, one of the authors of the constitution, together with a team of authors, published an annotated version of the constitution in 2011 at the Law Faculty of the University of Minho, taking into account the rulings issued up to that time. [4]
The official text of the Constitution is in Portuguese. There are at least four different translations into Tetum, the other official language, published by State institutions. Some of the Tetum translations have gross mistakes.
The preamble looks back on the history of the "Maubere homeland" and names the creation and adoption of the constitution as the culmination of the "historic resistance of the Timorese people" after the invasion of December 7, 1975. The role of Fretilin is mentioned in the preamble, National Council of Maubere Resistance (CNRT) and Timor Leste Defence Force (FALINTIL) in the liberation struggle and its thousands of victims, but also the diplomatic front where East Timorese campaigned for the independence of their country with the international community, and the Catholic Church. Finally follows a commitment to democracy, multi-party system, human rights, fundamental rights and the struggle against tyranny and for national independence. [2]
After which, the Constitution consists of seven parts, namely: [2]
Attendance by members of the Government
The political system in East Timor is a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of East Timor is the head of government and the President of East Timor functions as head of state. East Timor has a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the president and the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The East Timorese constitution was modelled on that of Portugal, with lesser power given to the president. The country is still in the process of building its administration and governmental institutions. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated East Timor a "flawed democracy" in 2022.
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Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-western half, and the minor islands of Atauro and Jaco. The western half of the island of Timor is administered by Indonesia. Australia is the country's southern neighbour, separated by the Timor Sea. The country's size is 14,950 square kilometres (5,770 sq mi). Dili, on the north coast of Timor, is its capital and largest city.
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The Democratic Republic of East Timor, was a state that was unilaterally proclaimed on the territory of present-day East Timor on 28 November 1975 by Fretilin prior to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor nine days later on 7 December 1975.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Annemarie Devereux: Timor-Leste's Bill of Rights – A Preliminary History, Australian National University, 2015.