The apex constitutional body created by the 1999 Constitution. Its interpretations bind every other chamber and all courts, and it decides nullity actions against statutes with general effect. International bodies have documented its role in resolving inter-branch disputes in favour of the executive, including the 2017 rulings assuming the powers of the National Assembly.
How the court is constituted
- Tier
- constitutional
- Court type
- Constitutional chamber of the supreme tribunal
- Jurisdiction
- National
- Seat
- Caracas
- Established
- 2000
- Composition
- Seven magistrates within the thirty-two-member Supreme Tribunal.
- Appointment
- Elected by the National Assembly from a list prepared by a judicial nominations committee, for twelve-year terms.
- Languages
- Spanish
Where an appeal goes next
Final domestically. Venezuela denounced the American Convention on Human Rights in 2012, closing the Inter-American Court route.
Decisions worth knowing
- Sentencias 155 and 1562017
Assumed the legislative powers of the National Assembly, triggering an international rule-of-law crisis.
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