Rights
1999 Constitution with five branches and a contested judiciary
The 1999 Constitution establishes five branches of государственной power — executive, legislative, judicial, citizen and electoral — adding the Poder Ciudadano (Ombudsman, Public Ministry, Comptroller) and the Poder Electoral to the classical three. The Tribunal Supremo de Justicia's Sala Constitucional exercises concentrated review. International bodies have extensively questioned judicial independence, and Venezuela denounced the American Convention in 2012.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Federal in form, highly centralised in practice
- Deadline — Amparo: six months from the act, subject to exceptions
- Deadline — Habeas corpus: immediate, no time limit
Governing law
- Constitución de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela1999
- Ley Orgánica del Tribunal Supremo de Justicia
- Ley Orgánica de Amparo sobre Derechos y Garantías Constitucionales
In practice
The five-branch structure is Venezuela's most distinctive formal constitutional feature, and the Sala Constitucional has power to review and annul decisions of the other chambers of the Supreme Tribunal itself. Venezuela's 2012 denunciation of the American Convention on Human Rights took effect in 2013, removing individual access to the Inter-American Court for subsequent events, though the Inter-American Commission retains competence under the OAS Charter and the American Declaration.