Constitution of East Timor


The Constitution of East Timor entered into force on 20 May 2002, and was the country's first constitution after it gained independence from Portugal in 1975 and from Indonesia, which invaded East Timor on 7 December 1975 and left in 1999 following a UN-sponsored referendum.

History

The Constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly elected for this purpose in 2001. Pursuant to an UNTAET regulation, the constitution did not need support in a referendum, but entered into force on the day of independence of East Timor after it was approved by the assembly.
There are two versions of the Constitution, one in each of the country's official languages, Tetum and Portuguese.
The Constitution consists of seven parts, namely: