Constitution of Transnistria
Encyclopedia
The current Constitution of Transnistria was approved by national referendum
on 24 December 1995, and signed into law by the President of Transnistria
on 17 January 1996. As part of the territory's move towards market based reforms, it was modified on 30 June 2000.
The constitution provides for a separation of powers
between judicial, legislative, and executive branches. It names Russian
, Ukrainian
and Moldavian
as the three national languages of the republic, grants religious freedom, and grants every citizen freedom of speech
and the right to property
. It further establishes Transnistria
as an independent
sovereign
country with a multiparty democracy and a market economy
.
In 2009, president Igor Smirnov
appointed a constitutional commission, which has proposed some controversial constitutional changes. The stated purpose of the new constitution is to harmonize Transnistrian legislation with that of its main guarantor state, Russia
. Among the proposed changes is the introduction of a bicameral legislature (of which the lower house is to be elected and the upper house to be appointed) and the abolition of elections for rural administrations. An official draft was published on 11 September 2009. Smirnov sent the draft to parliament on 23 October. A referendum was planned for 24 January 2010, but the proposal failed in parliament on 18 November. The draft is now to be amended once more.
In June, 2011, the parliament has adopted, and in July, president has signed new amendments.
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
on 24 December 1995, and signed into law by the President of Transnistria
President of Transnistria
The President of Transnistria is the highest elected official of Transnistria, a small unrecognized country which declared independence from Moldova in 1990. The president of the republic is the country's head of state and is commander in chief...
on 17 January 1996. As part of the territory's move towards market based reforms, it was modified on 30 June 2000.
The constitution provides for a separation of powers
Separation of powers
The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic...
between judicial, legislative, and executive branches. It names Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
and Moldavian
Moldovan language
Moldovan is one of the names of the Romanian language as spoken in the Republic of Moldova, where it is official. The spoken language of Moldova is closer to the dialects of Romanian spoken in northeastern Romania, and the two countries share the same literary standard...
as the three national languages of the republic, grants religious freedom, and grants every citizen freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
and the right to property
Right to property
The right to property, also known as the right to protection of property, is a human right and is understood to establish an entitlement to private property...
. It further establishes Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
as an independent
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
sovereign
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
country with a multiparty democracy and a market economy
Market economy
A market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...
.
In 2009, president Igor Smirnov
Igor Smirnov
Igor Nikolaevich Smirnov , is the President of the internationally unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic, also known as Transnistria. He has held this post since 1990.- Childhood :...
appointed a constitutional commission, which has proposed some controversial constitutional changes. The stated purpose of the new constitution is to harmonize Transnistrian legislation with that of its main guarantor state, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Among the proposed changes is the introduction of a bicameral legislature (of which the lower house is to be elected and the upper house to be appointed) and the abolition of elections for rural administrations. An official draft was published on 11 September 2009. Smirnov sent the draft to parliament on 23 October. A referendum was planned for 24 January 2010, but the proposal failed in parliament on 18 November. The draft is now to be amended once more.
In June, 2011, the parliament has adopted, and in July, president has signed new amendments.