Constitution of Honduras

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The Political Constitution of the Republic of Honduras (Spanish: Constitución Política de la República de Honduras) was approved on 11 January 1982, published on 20 January 1982,[1] amended by the National Congress of Honduras 26 times from 1984 to 2005,[2] and 10 interpretations by Congress were made from 1982 to 2005.[3][4] It is Honduras' twelfth constitution since independence in 1838. Previous charters were adopted in 1839, 1848, 1865, 1873, 1880, 1894, 1906, 1924, 1936, 1957 and 1965.[5]

The Constitution of Honduras gained notoriety because of the

US State Department to help arbitrate the crisis, termed the Honduran constitution the "worst in the entire world" and an "invitation to coups."[6]

Early history

1838–1981

Honduras broke away from the

Republic of Honduras
.

In 1847 the

, among others.

In 1860, after his defeat in

Jose Santos Guardiola, who was assassinated two years later, before the end of his term.[clarification needed
]

Marco Aurelio Soto Came to power in 1876 and implemented liberal reforms in the country. These reforms of administrative, political, economic and social development, tried to spin 90 degrees to the disastrous situation lived Honduras. Soto managed to improve lines of communication and others service. Construction of sections of railroad, the telegraph system and launched an education program unprecedented in the country. Despite the progress made during the administration, Honduras again fell back on social instability by failing to have products such as coffee grounds or snuff how to build a stable economy.

During the second half of the nineteenth century Honduras continued to participate in diplomatic efforts to restore political unity of Central America, and conference of The Union (1872) and Guatemala (1876). On 1 November 1898, the Greater Republic changed its name to Central America, but these were dissolved on 30 November and resumed sovereignty Honduras.[5]

Constitution of 11 January 1982

Following several decades of military governments, a constituent assembly prepared a new constitution, agreed on it on 11 January 1982 and published it on 20 January 1982 in the official journal "La Gaceta".[3] Since then, the National Congress of Honduras made 26 amendments (ratified in 1984, 1986, 1987 (twice), 1988 (twice), 1990, 1991, 1995 (twice), 1996, 1998, 1999 (three times), 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 (four times), 2004 (twice) and 2005 (twice) and 10 interpretations from 1982 to 2005.[1]

The 13th amendment to the Constitution was voted by

Flores
. This ended 42 years of military autonomy; the military had previously been governed by a military parliament and a commander in chief from the armed forces.

Constituent assembly controversy

From 2006 to 28 June 2009

Starting in 2006[9] and leading to the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis and removal of Zelaya, debate occurred in Honduran society regarding the creation of a constituent assembly in order to rewrite the constitution, with support from many groups.[10] President Manuel Zelaya played an important role in the debate and was arrested and exiled to Costa Rica by military officers on 28 June 2009. Whether or not it is constitutionally valid to hold a constituent assembly was a controversial issue, since Article 374 contains entrenched clauses regarding Article 373 and Article 374 itself, and Article 373 as interpreted by Decree 169/1986 defines the method of modifying the constitution:

Article 373.- The reform of this Constitution may be ordered by the National Congress, in regular sessions, with two-thirds of votes of all of its members. The decree brought to the effect on the article or articles to be reformed, must be ratified by the subsequent regular parliamentary session of an equal number of votes, to enter into force.

A wide range of social organisations and some political parties coordinated together as the

the Honduran general and presidential elections that are planned to be held on 29 November 2009, FNGE declared its concerns regarding the electoral process and again called for a "popular, participatory, inclusive, non-discriminatory and democratic" constituent assembly to be held.[13]

Following the removal of Zelaya, women's groups in Honduras, in particular

Frente Nacional de Resistencia Contra el Golpe de Estado en Honduras said that a constituent assembly would be important in order to defend women's rights. She stated, "For the first time we would be able to establish a precedent for the emancipation of women, to begin to break these forms of domination. The current constitution never mentions women, not once, so to establish our human rights, our reproductive, sexual, political, social, and economic rights as women would be to really confront this system of domination."[14]

On 31 August 2009, following the "XVIII National Gathering of Afro-Honduran Youth of the Organization for Ethnic and Community Development (ODECO),"

plebiscite in order to organise a constituent assembly that would write a new constitution. The youth leaders called for the plebiscite to be held on the "last Sunday of November of 2010" and for "clear guarantees for wider and more representative participation among all sectors of the Honduran people".[15]

Debate about the constitutionality of the 2009 presidential ouster

The constitutionality of the removal of Zelaya from Honduras on 28 June 2009 was controversial.

Articles of the 1982 Constitution

Several articles of the 1982 Constitution that were referred to during the crisis include the following.

Article 3 of the Constitution states that nobody has an obligation to obey a government that has taken power through armed force, that acts by such a government are [legally] null, and that people have the right to insurrection in order to defend constitutional government.[4] The Constitution forbids handing over or expatriating Hondurans to foreign countries.[16][17][18] A Honduran citizen who has held the title of Executive can not be President or Vice President of the Republic, and the person that breaks this regulation or proposes its amendment, as well as those who assist him directly or indirectly, will cease immediately to hold their respective offices, and will be disqualified for ten years from holding any public office.[19]

Article 373 states, "The reform of the Constitution can be decreed by the National Congress, in ordinary session, by a vote of two thirds the totality of its members, and must specify the article or articles that are to be reformed, and must be ratified by an equal number of votes in the subsequent ordinary legislature."[4] Article 374 states, "It is not possible to reform, in any case, the preceding article, the present article, the constitutional articles referring to the form of government, to the national territory, to the presidential period, the prohibition to serve again as President of the Republic, the citizen who has performed under any title in consequence of which she/he cannot be President of the Republic in the subsequent period."[4]

References to the 1982 Constitution

In the crisis, President Manuel Zelaya was removed from the country by military force on the 28th of June after the Supreme Court of Honduras had issued an order (apparently) on June 26 for his detention. The Supreme Court membership had been renewed in January 2009. Afterwards the court published a Special Communication explaining its actions. The validity of the court's ruling has been challenged.[citation needed] Some have complained that the court is partisan. Larry Birns, director of the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs, has described the Honduran Supreme Court as "one of the most corrupt institutions in Latin America."[20] The national Congress claims to have affirmed the Supreme Court's ruling by a vote of 125 to 3, in a show of hands on the day Zelaya was removed, 28 June 2009.[21] The Unión Democrática members, however, say they were not there, and some Liberal Party members have since said they did not vote for the motion.[citation needed]

President Zelaya disputes[22] that he was seeking to extend his term in office, arguing that he wanted to conduct a public opinion poll on whether a constitutional convention should be convened to consider various constitutional changes including allowing successive terms in office for the president.

On the annual

National Resistance Front Against the Coup d'état in Honduras declared that the National Resistance Front constitutes the organised expression of Hondurans' right under Article 3 of the 1982 Constitution to resist against a government imposed by armed force.[23]

Decree PCM-M-016-2009

From 22 September 2009

Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IAHCR) "expressed its most energetic rejection" of PCM-M-016-2009 and asked for the immediate suspension of its enforcement, because according to the IACHR, it "flagrantly [contradicted] the international standards for freedom of expression".[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Asamblea Nacional Constituyente (1982-01-20). "Asamblea Nacional Constituyente - Decreto Numero 131" (PDF). La Gaceta - Diario Oficial de la República de Honduras. Tegucigalpa: Republica de Honduras: 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-05. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
  2. ^ Dates of ratification.
  3. ^ a b "Constitución Vigente de Honduras". National Congress of Honduras. 2009-08-01. Archived from the original on 2009-08-03. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
  4. ^ a b c d Republic of Honduras: Political Constitution of 1982 through 2005 reforms (in Spanish). Georgetown University. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ^ .
  6. ^ Grandin, Greg (2009-10-26). "Honduran Coup Regime in Crisis". The Nation. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
  7. ^ National Congress of Honduras (1999-01-29). "Decreto No. 245-98" (PDF). La Gaceta - Diario Oficial de la República de Honduras. Tegucigalpa: Republica de Honduras: 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2009-08-01. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
  8. ^ University of California at San Diego library, Latin American elections statistics 1998-2007 Archived 2009-07-17 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2009.
  9. ^ Central America report, 4 August 2006, excerpted in University of California at San Diego libraries, Latin American election statistics, retrieved 2009. 2009-07-26.
  10. ^ Dangl, Benjamin (2009-09-21). "The Road to Zelaya's Return: Money, Guns and Social Movements in Honduras". Upside Down World. Archived from the original on 2009-10-12. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
  11. ^ "Never Again: Coups Against Democracy". Association for Women's Rights in Development. 2009-07-10. Archived from the original on 2009-08-07. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  12. Frente Nacional contra el Golpe de Estado en Honduras (2009-07-10). "Posicionamiento frente al encuentro de San José, Costa Rica". Archived from the original
    on 2009-10-29. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  13. on 2009-09-02. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
  14. ^ Carlsen, Laura (2009-08-20). "Coup Catalyzes Honduran Women's Movement". Center for International Policy. Archived from the original on 2009-09-02. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
  15. ^ Organization for Ethnic and Community Development (ODECO) (2009-08-31). "We Call for a November 2010 Plebiscite so the Honduran People Can Vote on a New Constitution - Declaration of the XVIII National Gathering of Afro-Honduran Youth". Narco News. Archived from the original on 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
  16. ^ Republic of Honduras: Political Constitution of 1982 through 2005 reforms; Article 102 (in Spanish). Georgetown University. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  17. ^ ""Un regreso al país en este momento podría desatar un baño de sangre": Rodríguez hizo enfásis que hasta el día de hoy no ha muerto ni un solo hondureño". LaPrensa.hn (in Spanish). 2009-07-04. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  18. ^ "Honduran Episcopal Conference's Communiqué" (PDF). ElHeraldo.hn. 2009-07-04. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-07-18. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  19. ^ Republic of Honduras: Political Constitution of 1982 through 2005 reforms; Article 239 (in Spanish). Georgetown University. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  20. ^ "Police clash with demonstrators in Honduran capital", CNN, 29 June 2009; retrieved July 2009.
  21. ^ "Letter to Secretary Clinton on Honduras" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-08-05.
  22. ^ "Why President Zelaya's Actions in Honduras Were Legal and Constitutional". Rebel Reports. July 1, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-07-16. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  23. National Resistance Front (Honduras). 2009-09-15. Archived from the original
    on 2009-10-29. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
  24. ^ a b c "The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression condemns the suspension of guarantees in Honduras and the violations of the right to freedom of expression". Organization of American States. 2009-09-29. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  25. ^ Rosenberg, Mica; Gustavo Palencia (2009-10-19). "Honduras de facto leader lifts ban on media, protests". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  26. ^ Ordaz, Pablo (2009-09-28). "Micheletti ordena el cierre de los medios de comunicación afines a Zelaya". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2011-05-13. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  27. ^ Giordano, Al (2009-09-27). "Honduras Coup Leader Micheletti Decrees 45-Day Suspension of Constitution". Narco News. Archived from the original on 2009-10-01. Retrieved 2009-10-19.

External links