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100-471: The Supreme Tribunal may meet either in specialized chambers (of which there are six: constitutional, political/administrative, electoral, civil, criminal, and social) or in plenary session. Each chamber has five judges, except the constitutional, which has seven. Its main function is to control, according to the constitution and related laws, the constitutionality and legality of public acts. The Supreme Tribunal's 32 magistrates (magistrados) are appointed by

200-624: A self-coup d'état . This included Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz, who during a press conferenced in the seat of the Public Ministry defined both sentences as a "rupture of the constitutional order". Maduro qualified the Attorney's declarations as a "impasse" between the Public Ministry and the Tribunal, as the reason why the same day he convened a Nation Defense Council to discuss the review of sentences 155 and 156. The following day,

300-541: A "serious failure" and suspended the judge accordingly. The Tribunal was created under the 1999 Constitution of Venezuela , replacing the Supreme Court of Venezuela . For some years provisional statutes regulated the number of judges – initially 20, with three in each chamber except the constitutional, which had five – and their selection. The statutes were replaced in 2004 by an organic law (a law required to clarify constitutional provisions). The law also permitted

400-494: A call from Flores telling him that he would be appointed as justice. He confessed that he was appointed as justice of the Supreme Tribunal in 2015 for always have been loyal to chavismo . Among the declarations given, he affirmed that many of the court's decisions responded to orders from the ruling party, and stressed that Maikel Moreno , the current chief justice of the Supreme Tribunal, and Raúl Gorrín, president of

500-727: A changed view on businesses. This article sought to introduce support for alternative management of businesses. Mentioned in the article are cooperatives , family-owned businesses , small businesses and savings funds. The government supported these alternatives as a way to democratize capital and challenge oligopolistic control of the economy. Amendments proposed by President Chávez and parliament were twice decided in referendums: New Spain American Confederation of Venezuela Caudillismo Andean Hegemony Democratic period Bolivarian Revolution Venezuela had numerous constitutions in its history: The Law

600-461: A clean environment, right of minorities (especially indigenous peoples) to uphold their own traditional cultures, religions, and languages, among others. The 1999 Constitution, with 350 articles, is among the world's longest, most complicated, and most comprehensive constitutions. One of the outstanding differences between Venezuelan and most of the other constitutions of the Americas is the lack of

700-542: A common requirement for a variety of transactions and services involving both state and private institutions. In addition, DAS was responsible for immigration control and the issuance of visas. Public law 218 of 2000, at section 38, states that all employees of DAS were intelligence agents. DAS worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), an agency of the US government tasked with combating

800-413: A constitutional convention for Venezuela as an ideal means to rapidly bring about sweeping and radical social change to Venezuela beginning from the eve of his 1992 coup attempt . After his imprisonment and release, he began to seek a political career with such a convention as its political goal. In the buildup to the 1998 presidential elections, one of Chávez's promises was to organise a referendum asking

900-536: A crime , misuse of authority through an arbitrary and unjust act, and improper use of classified or secret information, may still be prosecuted. On October 24, 2008, the head of the DAS Maria del Pilar Hurtado stepped down from her post after allegations that the agency had conducted surveillance on Senator Gustavo Petro and other left-wing political opponents of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez . The incident has been dubbed The Colombian Watergate , in reference to

1000-518: A disputed interpretation of Articles 347, 348 and 349 of the constitution. Such call was met with preoccupation again, and many jurists argued that Maduro violated the constitution by assuming functions of the citizens to summon a Constituent Assembly. On 17 May, the Tribunal decided on five nullity complaints from 2010 against the Reform of the Organic Law of Municipal Public Power, which replaced

1100-801: A document with the alleged signature of Luisa Ortega, arguing that she did sign the act. Afterwards, María José Marcano, former secretary of the Moral Council, accused William Saab of lying and presenting a forged document, since neither Luisa Ortega or she had signed the act, finding it being done illegally with political pressures. On 14 June, the Tribunal once again dismissed the appeal, warning that: cualquier comisión, artificio o acción que tenga el objeto de anular la designación de magistrados subvierte el procedimiento constitucional para remoción de magistrados del TSJ, y por lo tanto, es írrito y nulo de toda nulidad y carente de validez, existencia y eficacia jurídica; y quienes participen en ellos están sujetos

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1200-408: A glamorous Christmas party that counted with an expensive feast, including French wine, taking place in the Supreme Tribunal seat. The images received considerable backlash from social networks, criticizing the costs of the party during the grave economic crisis in the country and the hypocrisy of the socialist regime. On 8 January 2019, Electoral Chamber justice Christian Zerpa defected and escaped to

1300-478: A health budget such as to make possible the attainment of health policy objectives. In coordination with universities and research centers, a national professional and technical training policy and a national industry to produce health care supplies shall be promoted and developed. The State shall regulate both public and private health care institutions. Article 308 of Title VI the Venezuelan constitution showed

1400-454: A la responsabilidad penal, civil y administrativa que corresponda any commission, artifice or action that has the purpose of nullifying the appointment of magistrates subverts the constitutional procedure for the removal of magistrates from the TSJ, and therefore, is void and void of all nullity and lacking validity, existence and legal effectiveness; and those who participate in them are subject to

1500-492: A rebellion trial. According to the sentence, "con los pronunciamientos efectuados en abril, los altos oficiales acusados no desconocieron al Gobierno, sino la orden dictada por el presidente de la República de aplicar el Plan Ávila, porque resultaba contraria a la protección de los derechos humanos de la ciudadanía y ello significaría una masacre".(With the pronouncements made in April, the accused high-ranking officials did not ignore

1600-600: A result of the ruling, the 2017 Venezuelan protests began surrounding the constitutional crisis, with the Bolivarian Supreme Tribunal of Justice reversing its ruling on 1 April 2017. After being stripped of power during the constitutional crisis and the call for a rewriting of the constitution by the Bolivarian government , opposition-led National Assembly of Venezuela created a Judicial Nominations Committee on 13 June 2017 to elect new members of

1700-492: A state of conmotion...". On 29 March, the Tribunal published a second sentence, 156, attributed to itself the constitutional functions of the Assembly and decided on delegating them on the organisms that is considered pertinent, on the pretext of "legislative omission" of the Assembly. The sentence was met with both domestic and international alarm from different personalities and institutions, some of which defined sentence 156 as

1800-614: Is a fundamental social right and the responsibility of the State, which shall guarantee it as part of the right to life. The State shall promote and develop policies oriented toward improving the quality of life, common welfare and access to services. All persons have the right to protection of health, as well as the duty to participate actively in the furtherance and protection of the same, and to comply with such health and hygiene measures as may be established by law, and in accordance with international conventions and treaties signed and ratified by

1900-497: Is an idea derived from Bolivar's constitutionalism . Lastly, the Venezuelan judiciary was reformed. Judges would, under the new constitution, be installed after passing public examinations and not, as in the old manner, be appointed by the National Assembly. As Articles 83–85 under Title III of the 1999 Venezuelan Constitution enshrine free and quality healthcare as a human right guaranteed to all Venezuelan citizens,

2000-499: Is coming is a counterattack of the people and the real institutions, revolutionary counterattack" and that "So the AN that appointed them has to assume its task, to evaluate them and whoever does not have the requirements will have to be removed from there.) The result was a new Supreme Tribunal of Justice Law with two purposes: establishing a procedure to suspend justices and increasing the number of justices from 20 to 30. The following year,

2100-578: Is headed by the National Electoral Council (CNE) and is responsible for the independent oversight of all elections in the country, municipal, state, and federal. The citizens' branch is constituted by the (defensor del pueblo) ( ombudsman or "defender of the people"), the Chief Public Prosecutor (fiscal general) , and the comptroller general (contralor general) . It is responsible for representing and defending

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2200-460: Is ideologically descended from the thinking and political philosophy of Simón Bolívar and Bolivarianism . The Constitution of 1999 was the first constitution approved by popular referendum in Venezuelan history, and summarily inaugurated the so-called " Fifth Republic of Venezuela " due to the socioeconomic changes foretold in its pages, as well as the official change in Venezuela's name from

2300-512: Is in prison and awaiting trial in Colombia. President Uribe made Joaquín Polo Montalvo the subdirector of DAS the new acting director. In late 2011, President Juan Manuel Santos announced that DAS was to be replaced by a new agency, the national intelligence agency (ANIC, in Spanish). The purpose of the new agency would be solely to gather intelligence. The additional functions under

2400-541: The Bolivarian Supreme Tribunal of Justice ruled that the National Assembly was "in a situation of contempt", because of the aforementioned rulings against the election of some of its members. It stripped the Assembly of legislative powers , and took those powers for itself; which meant that the Court would have been able to create laws. The court did not indicate if or when it might hand power back. As

2500-552: The Great Patriotic Pole coalition, introduced an appeal to the TSJ on 7 January 2016 to declare null all of the acts of the National Assembly. On 11 January, the Tribunal accepted the appeal and ruled in favor of it, declaring without effect all of the acts of the National Assembly "while it stayed in contempt" With each action of the National Assembly now in hands of the opposition, the ruling party introduced appeals to annul such actions, and through numerous sentences

2600-538: The Hugo Chávez administration attempted to fulfill its constitutional obligations via the Barrio Adentro program. Notably, Article 84 under Title III mandate that the healthcare furnished through such public programmes as Barrio Adentro be publicly funded, and explicitly forbids privatization under any circumstance. The relevant text from the 1999 Bolivarian Constitution reads: Article 83 : Health

2700-545: The Medellín Cartel detonated a bus loaded with 1,100 pounds (500 kg) of explosives directly in front of the headquarters building in downtown Bogotá . The explosion left 49 dead, 600 wounded and hundreds of retail outlets completely destroyed. It is the deadliest terrorist bombing in the history of Colombia after the bombing of Avianca Flight 203 . It was also the second time the cartel attempted to kill DAS director Miguel Maza Márquez using an explosive device;

2800-649: The Metropolitan District of Caracas , as well as Caracas Metropolitan Police officers Henry Vivas and Lázaro Forero, applying the maximum sentence for their participation during the Llaguno Overpass events . The letter was published in September. Aponte fled Venezuela to Costa Rica in April 2012 after being accused of assisting Makled who said he had been paying Aponte US$ 70,000 per month related to joint business ventures. Aponte then contacted

2900-541: The National Assembly and serve non-renewable 12-year terms. Appointments are made by a two-thirds majority, or a simple majority if efforts to appoint a judge fail three times in a row. Under article 265 of the 1999 Constitution, judges may be removed by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly, if the Attorney General, Comptroller General, and Human Rights Ombudsperson have previously agreed to

3000-570: The President of Venezuela . Provision was also made for a new position, the Public Defender ( Defensoría del Pueblo ), which was to be an ombudsman office with the authority to check the activities of the presidency, the National Assembly, and the constitution – Chávez styled such a defender as the guardian of the so-called 'moral branch' of the Venezuelan government, tasked with defending public and moral interests. This

3100-677: The Republican Moral Council : the Ombudsman , the Public Ministry and the Comptroller General, which will do a second preselection that in turn will be submitted to the National Assembly, which will have a lapse of three plenary sessions to appoint the justices with the vote of two thirds of the deputies or a fourth plenary session with the vote of a simple majority in case of not getting two thirds of

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3200-556: The República de Venezuela ("Republic of Venezuela") to the República Bolivariana de Venezuela ("Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela"). Major changes are made to the structure of Venezuela's government and responsibilities, while a much greater number of human rights are enshrined in the document as guaranteed to all Venezuelans – including free education up to tertiary level , free health care, access to

3300-627: The United States rejected the electoral process. Two days later, on 25 January, the high court ordered the Electoral Council to exclude from the elections the Democratic Unity Roundtable , the most voted coalition in Venezuela's democratic history, arguing that in the coalition there were political parties that did not meet validation requirements. In December 2018, videos and pictures were leaked showing

3400-478: The Watergate scandal in the United States involving President Richard Nixon and wiretapping . The allegations were later admitted to be true after some internal memos were anonymously received by Senator Petro. One ordered that information be gathered on Petro's "contacts with people who offer to testify against the government.". Hurtado said that she at no time had received or given any instructions linked to

3500-514: The lame duck National Assembly, the majority of whom were Bolivarian supporters, filled the Supreme Tribunal of Justice with Maduro allies. The tribunal then quickly stripped three new opposition lawmakers of their National Assembly seats in early 2016, citing irregularities in their elections, thereby preventing an opposition supermajority which would have been able to challenge Maduro. The tribunal then approved several actions by Maduro and granted him more powers. In 2024, BBC and El País described

3600-593: The 167 seats. During the process, the "Citizen branch" issued a list of preselected candidates of previous processes, endorsed by the Ombudsman Tarek William Saab and the Comptroller Manuel Galindo. The National Assembly approved the candidates in a single plenary session on the night of 23 December 2015. Both the opposition and several jurists have described the appointment as illegal for not being performed according to

3700-477: The 1961 Constitution, the longest-serving in Venezuelan history. It was primarily promoted by then President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez and thereafter received strong backing from diverse sectors, including figures involved in promulgating the 1961 constitution such as Luis Miquilena and Carlos Andrés Pérez . Chávez and his followers ( chavistas ) refer to the 1999 document as the "Constitución Bolivariana" (the "Bolivarian Constitution") because they assert that it

3800-550: The Amazonas state circuits. The Electoral Chamber of the Supreme Tribunal ordered the Assembly to disincorporate the deputies from Amazonas, but the Assembly, presided by Henry Ramos Allup , disobeyed responding that the deputies already had parliamentary immunity; The Attorney General, Luisa Ortega Díaz , later assured that the National Assembly was not in contempt, since contempt could only be applied to individuals and not institutions. After this, deputy Héctor Rodríguez , from

3900-533: The Bolivarian government saw the opposition being elected to hold the majority in the National Assembly of Venezuela for the first time since 1999 following the 2015 Parliamentary Election . As a result of that election, the lame duck National Assembly consisting of Bolivarian officials filled the Supreme Tribunal of Justice with their allies. Following months of unrest surrounding the recall referendum against President Maduro in 2016 , on 29 March 2017

4000-532: The Chief Executive, head of state and head of government, with the power to dissolve the National Assembly under certain conditions, and can issue decrees that has the force of law, upon authorization by the National Assembly. In 2009, term limits (not only that for president) were abolished by a referendum. And a post of vice-president was recreated to direct the day-to-day operations of the government and to exercise duties and powers that may delegated by

4100-646: The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Cecilia Sosa Gomez, argued that the Constituent assembly must remain subordinate to the existing institutions until the constitution it produced had been ratified. In mid August 1999, the Constituent assembly moved to restructure the nation's judiciary, claiming the power to fire judges, seeking to expedite the investigations of corruption outstanding against what The New York Times estimated were nearly half of

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4200-411: The Constituent assembly and the older institutions it was supposed to reform or replace. During his 1998 presidential campaign, and in advance of the 25 July elections to the Assembly, Chávez had maintained that the new body would immediately have precedence over the existing Congress and the courts, including the power to dissolve them if it so chose. Against this, some of his opponents, including notably

4300-713: The Government, but the order issued by the President of the Republic to apply the Avila Plan, because it was contrary to the protection of the human rights of citizens and this would mean a massacre.) The sentence argued that there was a "power vacuum" after the Military High Command chief, General Lucas Rincón announced that Chávez had resigned from office. The discontent of the Venezuelan government

4400-410: The National Assembly to revoke the appointment of a judge, by a simple majority, where a judge had provided false information as to their credentials. In a controversial sentence, on 14 August 2002, after the 2002 Venezuela coup d'état , the Supreme Tribunal acquitted Division Generals Efraín Vásquez (Army) and Pedro Pereira (Aviation), Vice-admirant Héctor Ramírez and Counter admiral Daniel Comisso in

4500-622: The Parochial Meetings with Communal Parochial Meetings. The Tribunal decided that communal councils could elect the members of the Parochial Meetings, implementing an indirect suffrage . The sentence has been qualified as a grave violation of the direct, universal and secret vote of Article 63 of the Constitution. On 7 June 2017, the Constitutional Chamber issued sentence 378, where the Tribunal decided that

4600-452: The President as well as to act as the chief operating officer of government. He or she can be removed via impeachment by the National Assembly. The vice-president is also politically responsible to the National Assembly side by side with the ministers of Cabinet. Upon the vacancy of the office of the president upon death, recall, resignation or impeachment by the STJ, the vice president thus assumes

4700-587: The Republic. Article 84 : In order to guarantee the right to health , the State creates, exercises guidance over and administers a national public health system that crosses sector boundaries, and is decentralized and participatory in nature, integrated with the social security system and governed by the principles of gratuity, universality, completeness, fairness, social integration and solidarity. The public health system gives priority to promoting health and preventing disease, guaranteeing prompt treatment and quality rehabilitation. Public health assets and services are

4800-566: The Supreme Court in the Chacao municipality on 12 June 2017. Violence broke out in protests at the Supreme Court over a bid to change the Constitution. On 27 June 2017, a helicopter attacked the TSJ building with gunfire and grenades. On 8 June, the Attorney General introduced an electoral contentious appeal in the Electoral Chamber Constituent Assembly, and invoking Article 333 of the constitution she invited

4900-426: The Supreme Tribunal justice Eladio Aponte Aponte . Venezuela's opposition's spokesperson, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez , declared that the investigation would be obstructed in the country by the very public officials. On 16 April 2012, Aponte wrote an open letter from San José, Costa Rica , in which he claimed to have received orders and pressure from president Hugo Chávez to convict Iván Simonovis , security chief of

5000-434: The Supreme Tribunal of Justice, filling it with his supporters and adding measures so the government could dismiss justices from the court. In 2010, legislators from Chávez's political party appointed nine permanent judges and 32 stand-ins, which included several allies. They claimed that some judges may face reprisals if they rule against government interests. It has also been alleged that the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, with

5100-415: The Supreme Tribunal of Justice. On 12 July 2017, Ombudsman Tarek Saab , head of the Moral Council of Venezuela, said that the call for new magistrates would not be officially recognized by the Bolivarian government and that the magistrates already appointed by the lame duck Bolivarian National Assembly would instead continue to be recognized. Despite the rejection of recognition by the Bolivarian government,

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5200-412: The Tribunal published clarifications on the sentences where the measures that transferred the parliament competences to the Tribunal and Maduro were partially suppressed. Jurists defined the clarifications as illegal, since the Constitutional Chamber cannot make a review of the sentences for being res judicata (claim preclusion). On 1 May 2017, Maduro convenes a Constituent National Assembly based on

5300-442: The Tribunal started limiting the Assembly actions established in the constitution, while at the same time it exercised actions constitutionally exclusive to the parliament with the justification of "legislative omission" due to the "contempt" of the Assembly. Starting 2017, in an ordinary plenary session, the National Assembly, then presided over by Julio Borges , officially disincorporated the three contested deputies, complying with

5400-580: The Tribunal, the Luisa Ortega challenged the appointment of the 13 main justices and 21 alternates for considering a lack of suitability and bias in their actions, as well as aggravating the crisis in the country . She also requested the challenged justices to refraining to learn about the cause of the challenge, in accordance of Articles 55, 56 and 57 of the Supreme Tribunal Organic Law. The Attorney General explained that during

5500-507: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration which provided him with a flight to the United States. As of 2017, for a part of Venezuelan society, the legitimacy of the Supreme Tribunal is in question, especially the legitimacy of its origin, due to the appointment on 23 December 2015 of 13 main justices and 21 supplementary justices by a lame duck National Assembly with a ruling party majority, as well as its actions since. Article 264 of

5600-402: The United States, dissenting with the inauguration of Nicolás Maduro as president for a second period. From Orlando, Florida , Zerpa made a series of declarations that questioned the independence of powers and the transparency of the judiciary system in Venezuela. In an interview, Zerpa denounced that Cilia Flores handles the Venezuelan judiciary branch arbitrarily and that in 2015 he received

5700-482: The Venezuelan Constitution and Title V of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice Organic Law contemplate an extense procedure of more than thirty days for the appointment of the justices, both main and alternate, in which it is required to form a Judicial Nominations Committee integrated by members of the National Assembly and civil society, which will do a preselection of candidates that will be submitted to

5800-824: The Venezuelan Electoral Observatory and the Citizen Electoral Network, expressed their concern over the irregularities of the electoral schedule, including the lack of the Constituent Assembly 's competencies to summon the elections, impeding participation of opposition political parties, and the lack of time for standard electoral functions. Because of this, the European Union , the Organization of American States and countries including Australia and

5900-602: The Venezuelans to adhere to the appeal with the purpose of stopping the Constituent Assembly and preserve the validity of the current constitution. The following day the surroundings of the Tribunals were blocked by security forces, impeding citizens from adhering to the appeal. On 12 June, the Tribunal declared inadmissible the appeal due to "inept pretensions accumulation". In response to the rejection of

6000-601: The administration of President César Gaviria Trujillo , by means of Decree 2110 of 1992. During the administration of President Andrés Pastrana Arango and in compliance with the State Reform brought on by Law 489 of 1998, the Decrees 218 of 2000, and 1272 of 2000 modified the structure of the DAS, giving the DAS the same parameters, privileges and flexibility of a State Government Ministry. On December 6, 1989, at 7:30 AM,

6100-485: The appointment procedure of the justices, the Moral Council did not convene an extraordinary sessions to evaluate the candidacy conditions in compliance of Article 74 of the Supreme Tribunal Law, but rather the candidates expedients were submitted and later she was handed the act to be signed, which she refused to do for not convening the session. On the following day, Ombudsman Tarek William Saab published

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6200-518: The budget and communications. In response, the Congress, which in July had decided to go into recess until October to avoid conflict with the Constituent assembly, declared its recess over, effective 27 August. At one point the Constituent assembly prohibited the Congress from holding meetings of any sort. However, on 10 September, the two bodies reached an agreement allowing for their "coexistence" until

6300-413: The citizens in their dealings with powers of the Venezuelan state. The legislative branch was changed from a bicameral system to a unicameral system . It also increased the presidential term of office from five to six years, subject to a limit of two terms. The document also introduced provisions for national presidential recall referendums – that is, Venezuelan voters now were to be given

6400-496: The condition of the Supreme Tribunal to end the "contempt". However, the Supreme Tribunal did not withdraw the contempt arguing that the previous directive, presided by Ramos Allup, was the one that should have done the procedure. On 27 March 2017, in sentence 155, the Tribunal granted faculties of the National Assembly to Nicolás Maduro to legislate and "take the civilian, military, economic, criminal, administrative, political, juridic and social measures considered necessary to prevent

6500-495: The constitution and the Organic Law, including the challenges period, their lack of responses and the omission of the definite selections of the candidates. According to a mid 2016 report issued by the Venezuelan NGO Acceso a la Justicia (Access to Justice), only one of seven justices of the Constitutional Chamber comply with the requirements for the position demanded by Venezuelan laws and their designation process

6600-475: The corresponding criminal, civil and administrative responsibility. El 13 de junio la Fiscal solicitó al TSJ antejuicio de mérito contra 6 magistrados principales y 2 suplentes por conspiración para atentar contra la forma republicana de la nación, delito tipificado en el artículo 132 del Código Penal, al mismo tiempo que solicitó a los magistrados acusados inhibirse de conocer de la causa de conformidad con los artículos 55, 56 y 57 de la LOTSJ. The discontent with

6700-563: The country and appeared before judicial authorities. On February 22, 2007, Noguera was arrested, accused of having ties to paramilitaries. On June 11, 2008, the Colombian Supreme Court ordered the immediate release of Jorge Noguera. According to the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers' Collective, Noguera was only released due to procedural defects; however the charges against him, conspiracy to commit

6800-732: The course of the SIC when he issued the Decree 1717 of 18 July 1960, substituting the SIC with the Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad (DAS), or Administrative Department of Security. The functions of the DAS were laid out by means of Decree 512 of 1989, passed during the administration of President Virgilio Barco Vargas . The DAS formally became the Security Organization of the State as an official, technical, professional and apolitical institution during

6900-639: The court as partisan and controlled by the PSUV government of Nicolás Maduro . Constitution of Venezuela The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( Spanish : Constitución de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela (CRBV)) is the current and twenty-sixth constitution of Venezuela . It was drafted in mid-1999 by a constituent assembly that had been created by popular referendum. Adopted in December 1999, it replaced

7000-526: The creation of a commission tasked with proposing reforms and a restructuring of the DAS. Between January and March 2006, new allegations came to light about DAS-paramilitary relations and former Director Noguera's potential involvement. President Uribe publicly asked Noguera to appear before the Attorney General's office, but Noguera refused alleging economic and security reasons. Noguera was then acting Consul in Milan , Italy . He later resigned, returned to

7100-466: The document was, as drafted, one of the world's lengthiest constitutions. Despite the initial reluctance of the constituent assembly's deputies, it changed the country's official name from the "Republic of Venezuela" to the "Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela". Significant changes were made to the separation of powers . Instead of the usual three branches of government, the new Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has five (Article 136): The electoral branch

7200-463: The electoral system suggested by Chávez. Elections were then held, on 25 July, to elect 131 deputies to the Constituent Assembly, which convened and debated proposals during the remainder of 1999. Members of Chávez's MVR and allied parties formed the Polo Patriotico ("Patriotic Axis"). The alliance went on to win 121 of the 131 seats in the Constituent assembly. Conflict soon arose between

7300-428: The executive branch managed to promote the increase to 32 justices, after which the Tribunal started the reviewed the original sentence. On 14 March 2005, the Tribunal overruled the decision. The opposition considers that the override of the sentence was caused by the changes made to the high court by a legislation change by lawmakers of the ruling party, which had a majority at the time. Government supporters consider that

7400-492: The first attack on May 30, 1989, left four dead and 37 wounded. Members of DAS have been previously accused of interacting with left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitary, drug dealers and smugglers , among others. In October 2005, the content of a tape arguably containing a conversation between Special Intelligence Group Director Enrique Ariza and other DAS members, apparently discussing plans to create an intelligence office with financing from illegal paramilitary groups,

7500-498: The first sentence was political and there were several reasons to start a trial of a coup d'état. During the 2006 judicial year beginning, the justices of the Supreme Tribunal stood up from the seats of the Criminal Chamber to chant " ¡Uh, ah, Chávez no se va! " (English: "Uh, ah, Chávez won't go!"), while president Chávez was present in the auditorium. The act was interpreted as a demonstration of political partiality by

7600-618: The following 20 December. The text of the constitution is a hybrid of jurisprudential and political norms drawn from sources as wide as Simón Bolívar 's writings on constitutionality and popular sovereignty, José Martí , the Peruvian Marxist José Carlos Mariátegui , and Evgeny Pashukanis . While it retains a strong liberal-democratic base, it introduces elements of direct democracy such as elements of popular sovereignty ( consultative or recall referendums), social responsibilities, right to rebel against

7700-627: The incidents that were made public, and that she was stepping down to preserve the honour of the agency. She was under political asylum in the country of Panama and has been requested in extradition by the Colombian Government after having undergone Justice trial. Panama has declined the extradition to this date. She turned herself in on February 6, 2015, at the Colombian Embassy in Panama. As of February 16, 2015 , she

7800-604: The justices and the institution. On 20 August 2009, drug trafficker Walid Makled was captured in Cúcuta by the Colombian Administrative Department of Security (DAS) and later moved to Bogotá . Walid was requested by both the American and the Venezuelan anti-narcotics authorities. During his arrest, Makled was found with a credential of the Venezuelan military prosecution, allegedly issued by

7900-471: The majority supporting Chávez, elected officials to the supposedly non-partisan National Electoral Council of Venezuela , despite the 1999 Constitution empowering the National Assembly of Venezuela to perform that action. This resulted in Chavistas making up a majority of the electoral council's board. After Chávez' death and with Nicolás Maduro as president, following the 2015 National Assembly election,

8000-442: The nation's 4700 judges, clerks, and bailiffs. On 23 August, the Supreme Court voted 8–6 that the Assembly was not acting unconstitutionally in assuming those powers; however, the next day Cecilia Sosa Gomez resigned in protest. Over 190 judges were eventually suspended on charges of corruption. On 25 August, the Constituent assembly declared a "legislative emergency," voting to limit the Congress's work to matters such as supervising

8100-403: The national political context. In the process, Chávez sought to fatally paralyse his AD and COPEI opposition. All Chávez's aims were, in one move, dramatically furthered. This new 1999 constitution was presented to the national electorate on 15 December 1999 and approved with a 72% "yes" vote (audited by the National Electoral Council ). The new constitution then legally came into full effect

8200-634: The new constitution took effect. Afterward, over the span of a mere 60 days in late 1999, the new and voter-approved Constituent assembly would frame and found a document that enshrined as constitutional law most of the structural changes Chávez desired. Chávez stated such changes were necessary in order to successfully and comprehensively enact his planned social justice programs. Sweeping changes in Venezuelan governmental structure were to be made; Chávez's plan was, stemming from his 1998 campaign pledges, thus to dramatically open up Venezuelan political discourse to independent and third parties by radically altering

8300-461: The office and title of the presidency. The new constitution also converted the formerly bicameral Congress into a unicameral legislature, and stripped it of many of its former powers. Thus, the new single-chamber National Assembly dropped the prior traditional arrangement of the bifurcation of legislative powers between a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate . In addition, the legislative branch's powers were substantially reduced and transferred to

8400-490: The opposition-led National Assembly then voted 33 magistrates into office on 21 July 2017, separate from the Bolivarian government, forming the Supreme Tribunal of Justice in exile . On 23 January 2018, the Constituent National Assembly ordered the presidential elections should be scheduled in 2018 and before 30 April. Several Venezuelan NGOs, such as Foro Penal Venezolano , Súmate , Voto Joven ,

8500-415: The people if they wanted to convene a National Constituent Assembly . His very first decree as president was to order a referendum , which took place on 19 April. The electorate were asked two questions – whether a constituent assembly should be convened, and whether it should follow the mechanisms proposed by the president. 92% of voters approved calling a constituent assembly and 86% approved

8600-517: The plasta). Chávez announced a strategy to revert the decision, creating a commission in the National Assembly to review the stay of the justices in the Supreme Tribunal, saying that "No nos vamos a quedar con esa, ahora lo que viene es un contraataque del pueblo y de las instituciones verdaderas, contraataque revolucionario" and that "Así que la AN que los nombró tiene que asumir su tarea, para evaluarlos y el que no tenga los requisitos habrá que sacarlo de allí".(We are not going to stay with that, now what

8700-403: The possibility of impeachment of the president by the national parliament . Instead, the president can be removed from office either by citizens through a recall referendum or by decision of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice . President Hugo Chávez was first elected under the provisions of the 1961 Constitution in the presidential election of 6 December 1998. Chávez had been contemplating

8800-406: The president is empowered to summon a Constituent Assembly without a previous consultative referendum. Once again the sentence was criticized for being considered violatory of the constitutional principles, specially sovereignty, since Article 5 of the constitution states that it " resides intransferibly in the people ". Venezuela's protesters set fire to the executive directorate of the judiciary of

8900-482: The property of the State and shall not be privatized. The organized community has the right and duty to participate in the making- of decisions concerning policy planning, implementation and control at public health institutions. Article 85 : Financing of the public health system is the responsibility of the State, which shall integrate the revenue resources, mandatory Social Security contributions and any other sources of financing provided for by law. The State guarantees

9000-427: The right to remove their president from office before the expiration of the presidential term. Such referendums were to be activated upon provision of petitions with a valid number of signatures. The new provision was activated for the first time when such a referendum was held in 2004, but it failed to receive majority support. See 2004 Venezuelan recall referendum . The Presidency was also strengthened, aside from being

9100-541: The television channel Globovisión , are involved in corruption schemes. The Supreme Tribunal is divided in six chambers or instances that divide the work depending on its competences, which are the following: All of the chambers are part of the Plenary Chamber. Venezuela's judicial system has been deemed the most corrupt in the world by Transparency International in 2014. Human Rights Watch claimed that in 2004, President Hugo Chávez and his allies took over

9200-596: The trade of illegal narcotics. The events that followed Jorge Eliécer Gaitán 's assassination in 1948 provoked a violent riot in Bogotá, now known as the Bogotazo , which also started a further ten years of violence in all of Colombia known in Colombian history as La Violencia . These events also brought in a Military Government headed by General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla . Within the policies implemented by this Government

9300-422: The violation of the constitutional system (articles 333 and 350) and the independence of the republic from foreign domination. Besides these elements, separation of powers (albeit with two new branches of government) and rights of property, expression and strike were mainly kept the same as on the previous constitution. The Constituent assembly itself drafted the new 1999 Venezuelan constitution. With 350 articles,

9400-427: The vote. The appointment of the justices was not done in accordance with the legal procedure, but with a hurried process carried out on 23 December 2015 by the lame duck National Assembly with a ruling party majority, when the legislature ended on 15 December, after being defeated on the 2015 parliamentary election , where the opposition, represented by the Democratic Unity Roundtable opposition coalition, gained 112 of

9500-566: Was also responsible for border and immigration services. It was dissolved on 31 October 2011 as part of a wider Executive Reform, and was replaced by the Dirección Nacional de Inteligencia (DNI). DAS was tasked with providing security to state institutions and VIPs, providing judiciary police investigative services and serving as a counter-intelligence service to both external and internal threats. At DAS, citizens and foreigners living in Colombia could obtain their background records,

9600-495: Was changed 23 times since 1811, the new Constitution is adopted, on average, every ten years. The most significant changes are those contained in the Fundamental Laws of 1811, 1830, 1864, 1936, 1947, 1961 and 1999. Administrative Department of Security The Administrative Department of Security ( Spanish : Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad , DAS ) was the security service agency of Colombia , which

9700-428: Was considerable; Chávez condemned the sentenced, stating "Esos once magistrados no tienen moral para tomar ningún otro tipo de decisión, son unos inmorales y deberían publicar un libro con sus rostros para que el pueblo los conozca. Pusieron la plasta".(Those eleven magistrates have no moral to make any other kind of decision, they are immoral and should publish a book with their faces so that the people know them. They put

9800-462: Was irregular. On 14 June 2016 the National Assembly nullified the appointment carried out in 2015. Weeks after the parliamentary elections and after the oathtaking of the elected representatives in the National Assembly, seven complaints were presented to the electoral results to the Amazonas , Aragua and Yaracuy states, six of which were rejected and one was admitted, suspending the results of

9900-432: Was published in the Colombian press. Unspecified sources accused vice-director José Miguel Narváez of allegedly leaking this tape as part of a setup in order to discredit DAS Director Jorge Noguera . Director Noguera resigned and Narváez was removed from command. Subsequently, Andrés Peñate  [ es ] was selected as the new DAS Director, together with the announcement of polygraph tests for DAS personnel and

10000-552: Was the creation, by means of Presidential Decree 2872 of 1953, of an administrative department known as the Colombian Administrative Department of Intelligence Services , ( SIC ). This department was in charge of Internal and External Intelligence and was created with the purpose of having an agency within the framework of the State to handle matters of intelligence, security and Constitutional enforcement. President Alberto Lleras Camargo changed

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