Rights
1981 Constitution with a nuclear-free clause needing a 75% referendum
A republic under the 1981 Constitution with a directly elected President, a bicameral Olbiil Era Kelulau, a Council of Chiefs, and an entrenched nuclear-free provision.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — A republic of sixteen states, each with its own constitution and governor. The House of Delegates has one member per state, so state representation is constitutionally guaranteed.
Governing law
- Constitution of Palau 1981 (art. IV (fundamental rights))
- Constitution of Palau 1981 (art. VIII (Council of Chiefs))
- Constitution of Palau 1981 (art. XIII, s. 6 (nuclear-free))
- Compact of Free Associationeffective 1994
In practice
Palau has a US-style separation of powers: a directly elected President and Vice-President, a bicameral legislature comprising a Senate and a House of Delegates with one delegate per state, and an independent judiciary. Article VIII gives the Council of Chiefs a formal advisory role to the President on matters of traditional law and custom, so chiefly authority is constitutionally recognised rather than merely social. The most consequential provision is article XIII, section 6, which bars nuclear, chemical, biological and radioactive materials from Palau unless approved by a three-quarters majority in referendum; this clause delayed approval of the Compact of Free Association through the 1980s and required repeated votes before the Compact took effect on 1 October 1994. The Compact was renewed in 2023, extending economic assistance while the United States retains defence responsibility.