Venezuela

Legal tradition

Venezuela belongs to the civil law tradition. A civil-law system under the 1999 Constitution, which created a five-branch state and a Supreme Tribunal of Justice with a Constitutional Chamber at its head. The gap between the constitutional text and its operation is the central fact for anyone using this jurisdiction: the Inter-American Court and United Nations bodies have documented the loss of judicial independence, Venezuela denounced the American Convention on Human Rights in 2012, and it withdrew from the Organization of American States in 2019.

How power is divided

Nominally federal with twenty-three states, but competences and revenue are heavily centralised, and parallel structures answering to the national executive have displaced much state and municipal administration.

Where law comes from

Constitution

Supreme; interpreted with binding effect by the Constitutional Chamber.

Statutes and enabling-law decrees

The Assembly has repeatedly delegated broad decree powers to the President.

Codes

Civil Code (1982), Penal Code, Organic Labour Act (2012), Code of Criminal Procedure.

Binding interpretation

Constitutional Chamber rulings bind all courts and organs of state.

The legal profession

A five-year degree and registration with a state colegio de abogados plus enrolment in the Instituto de Previsión Social del Abogado. Practice before the courts requires that registration. Many practitioners have emigrated since 2015, and foreign users should expect long delays in obtaining certified documents.