Rights
1992 Constitution with bilingual official languages
The 1992 Constitution followed the end of the Stroessner dictatorship and establishes a unitary presidential republic. Spanish and Guaranà are both official languages, a distinctive recognition of an indigenous language spoken by most of the population. The Corte Suprema's Sala Constitucional rules on unconstitutionality actions, and amparo is available for urgent rights protection.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Unitary republic with national constitutional jurisdiction
- Deadline — Amparo: 60 days from the act or omission
- Deadline — Unconstitutionality action: filed before the Sala Constitucional within statutory terms
Governing law
- Constitución Nacional del Paraguay1992
- Ley 609/1995 - Organización de la Corte Suprema de Justicia
- Código Procesal Civil (arts. 565 and following (amparo))
In practice
Constitutional review is concentrated in the Sala Constitucional of the Supreme Court, which may declare a norm inapplicable to the case or, in an action of unconstitutionality, annul it. The bilingual guarantee is not symbolic: Guaranà has status in education and official communication, and the Ley de Lenguas of 2010 built institutional machinery around it.