Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Constitución del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit. 'Constitution of the Free Associated State of Puerto Rico') is the primary organizing law for the unincorporated U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of Puerto Rico in nine articles.
On June 8, 1950, the United States government approved Public Law 600, authorizing Puerto Rico to draft its own constitution in 1951. The Constitutional Assembly (Spanish: Asamblea Constituyente) or Constitutional Convention of Puerto Rico met for a period of several months between 1951 and 1952 in which the document was written. The framers ...
Puerto Rico lacks "the full sovereignty of an independent nation", for example, the power to manage its "external relations with other nations", which is held by the U.S. federal government. The U.S. Supreme Court has indicated that once the U.S. Constitution has been extended to an area (by Congress or the courts), its coverage is irrevocable.
In 2022, the United States House of Representatives passed the Puerto Rico Status Act. It did not pass the United States Senate. [6] In August 2024, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court dismissed the July 2024 petition by the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) asking the State Election Commission (CEE) to halt the status referendum. [7] [8]
Passage of this referendum would have constituted a claim for the government of Puerto Rico to establish these rights in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico constitution and petition the President and Congress for these rights, but it was rejected by the people of Puerto Rico on a vote of 660,264 (53%) against to 559,259 (44.9%) in favor. [11]
Puerto Rico's governor, who is the head of government, and the members of the legislature are elected every four years by popular vote. Puerto Rico's legislature is a bicameral body consisting of a Senate and a House. The members of the judicial branch are appointed by the Governor with the approval of the Senate to serve until they reach age 70.
A referendum on a new constitution was held in Puerto Rico on 3 March 1952. [1] It was approved by 82% of voters. [2] This was considered by many American and Puerto Rican politicians an affirmation of the new constitution of the island as an Estado Libre Associado, or Commonwealth, as proposed by legislation in 1950 by the United States Congress after negotiation with its political leaders.
After Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States as part of the Treaty of Paris, the United States and Puerto Rico began a long-standing metropolis-colony relationship. [4] It is at this time that Puerto Rico became subject to the Commercial and Territory Clause of the U.S. Constitution, clauses that restrict how and with whom can Puerto Rico ...