Constitution of Haiti

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The Constitution of Haiti (French: Constitution d'Haïti) most commonly refers to the present-day Constitution of Haiti, which was modeled after those of the United States and of France. The document was ratified in March 1987, but it was completely suspended from June 1988 to March 1989 and was only fully reinstated in October 1994. The recent elections of February 8, 2006 to elect a new President were held in accordance with the electoral stipulations of this same constitution.

[edit] History

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A total of 23 constitutions have been promulgated throughout Haïti's history, the first of which was promulgated under the short-lived government of then-Governor-General Toussaint L'Ouverture, who had become the leader of the revolutionary forces in the Haitian Revolution.

Bob Corbett, a Webster University philosophy professor emeritus and renowned historian whose Haïti Page is one of the most highly-regarded and critically-acclaimed web resources on Haïti, provided a list of all 23 constitutions, some of which are available on the web:

Constitution of 1801 May 9.^[1] It went to effect on July 8, 1801. It named Toussaint governor for life and gave him the right to name his successor. It also included plans to import black slaves and free them like indentured slaves.

Constitution of 1804 (Bellegarde-Smith, p. 44 for good summary of key provisions of this constitution (or is it the next?--check)
Constitution of 1805 (Dupuy) Created the empire and named Jean-Jacques Dessalines emperor for life with the right to name his successor.^[1] First constitution of Haïti herself. This constitution provided for freedom of religion and declared all citizens "black" in an effort to end the racism based on lightness of skin.

Constitution of 1806, written largely by Pétion.
Constitution of 1807 for the régime of Christophe. Contained no prohibition against foreign ownership of land.
Constitution of 1811 which estalishes royalty, with Christophe as king. Contained no prohibition against foreign ownership of land.

Constitution of 1816. Laws by presidential fiat (Petion), except for taxation. See Heinl p. 151-152 for some details of this constitution.

Constitution of 1843 (Bellegarde-Smith cites this as a particularly advanced constitution. Dec. 30, 1843. Heinl

Constitution during Riche's regime. He restored the Constitution of 1816. (Sir Spenser St. John, p. 92.) Heinl mentions this too.

Constitution of Sept. 20, 1849. New constitution under Faustin I was a constitution for an emperor. (Heinl)

Constitution of 1874. Under Domingue. The Senate was to be selected from a list sent in to the Government; the executive ruled for 8 years and was elected by the Assembly; the executive had the power to dissolve the Chambers and to establish a Council of STate to aid the Government. Power was given to the president for one year to change the judges and magistrates.

Constitution of 1879

Constitution of 1889 (Bellegarde-Smith cites this as a particularly advanced constitution. (Heinl, p. ) Oct. 9, 1889. Modelled on 1879, which was itself modelled on 1846 constitution.

Constitution of 1902 (Bellegarde-Smith cites this as a particularly advanced constitution.

Constitution of June 12, 1918 (sham U.S. election 98,225 for only 769 against. (Schmidt) Also claims that Roosevelt claim to have written this constitution is a gross exaggeration.

Constitution of 1932 Heinl, p. 509. this constitution was reinstated on Aug. 12, 1942. Heinl, p. 549.

Constitution of 1935. Fascist and anti-democratic. (Nicholls, 1979, p. 184. Heinl, p. 518. June 2, 1935. Allowed Vincent to succeed himself.

Constitution of 1946, Nov. 22. Constitution of Dumarsais Estime. Heinl, p. 552.

Constitution of 1950 gave vote to women. (Their first vote was Duvalier) (Bellegarde-Smith cites this as a particularly advanced constitution. Nov. 28, 1950. Heinl says (p. 564) that Dantes Bellegarde was the primary author.

Constitution of 1957 see Heinl, p. 589.

Constitution of 1964--allowed for Duvalier as president for life.

Constitution of 1971

Constitution of 1983

Constitution of 1987. This is the current constitution since March 29, 1987 (full text).

Among the features of the 1987 constitution are such controversial stipulations as the prohibition of dual citizenship, which has legally and effectively banned U.S. citizens of Haïtian ancestry, such as Samir Mourra and Dumarsais Simeus, from running for office, particularly the presidency, in Haiti.