pic03 Global Law & Government

State
Government 		State
Judiciary		 State
Legislative

Venezuela Law & Government

Names: conventional long form: Republic of Venezuela conventional short form: Venezuela local long form: Republica de Venezuela local short form: Venezuela Digraph: VE Type: republic Capital: Caracas Administrative divisions: 21 states (estados, singular - estado), 1 territory* ( territorio), 1, federal district**, (distrito federal), and 1 federal dependence***, (dependencia federal); Amazonas*, Anzoategui,, Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Bolivar, Carabobo, Cojedes, Delta Amacuro, Dependencias Federales***,, Distrito Federal**,, Falcon, Guarico, Lara, Merida, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Portuguesa, Sucre, Tachira, Trujillo, Yaracuy, Zulia note: the federal dependence consists of 11 federally controlled island groups with a total of 72 individual islands Independence: 5 July 1811 (from Spain) Constitution: 23 January 1961 Legal system: based on Napoleonic code; judicial review of legislative acts in Cassation Court only; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction National holiday: Independence Day, 5 July (1811) Political parties and leaders: Social Christian Party (COPEI), Hilarion CARDOZO, president, and Jose CURIEL, secretary general (acting); Democratic Action (AD), Humberto CELLI, president, and Luis ALFARO Ucero, secretary general; Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), Argelia LAYA, president, and Freddy MUNOZ, secretary general; The Radical Cause ( La Causa R), Pablo Medina, secretary general Other political or pressure groups: FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group; Venezuelan Confederation of Workers (labor organization dominated by the Democratic Action); VECINOS groups Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Elections: President: last held 4 December 1988 (next to be held 5 December 1993); results - Carlos Andres PEREZ (AD) 54.6%, Eduardo FERNANDEZ (COPEI) 41.7%, other 3.7%; note - President Carlos Andres PEREZ suspended pending trial on corruption charges Senate: last held 4 December 1988 (next to be held 5 December 1993); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (49 total) AD 23, COPEI 22, other 4; note - 3 former presidents (1 from AD, 2 from COPEI) hold lifetime senate seats Chamber of Deputies: last held 4 December 1992 (next to be held 5 December 1993); results - AD 43.7%, COPEI 31.4%, MAS 10.3%, other 14.6%; seats - (201 total) AD 97, COPEI 67, MAS 18, other 19 Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet) Legislative branch: bicameral Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la Republica) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados) Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia) Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government: Interim President Ramon Jose VELASQUEZ (since 5 June 1993); note - President Carlos Andres PEREZ suspended pending trial on corruption charges Member of: AG, CARICOM (observer), CDB, CG, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, MINURSO, NAM, OAS, ONUSAL, OPANAL, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNPROFOR, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Simon Alberto CONSALVI Bottaro chancery: 1099 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: (202) 342-2214 consulates general: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Michael Martin SKOL embassy: Avenida Francisco de Miranda and Avenida Principal de la Floresta, Caracas mailing address: P. O. Box 62291, Caracas 1060-A, or APO AA 34037 telephone: [58] (2) 285-2222 FAX: [58] (2) 285-0336 consulate: Maracaibo Flag: three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), blue, and red with the coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band and an arc of seven white five-pointed stars centered in the blue band

  • Constitution (in Spanish)
  • Central Bank of Venezuela Statute
  • Presidential Decree No. 248 (June 29, 1994) (banking)
  • "Review of the Trade Policies and Practices of Venezuela" by World Trade Organization, Trade Policy Review Body
  • "Venezuela Human Rights Practices, 1995" U.S. State Department

  • Bulgaria: Embassy of Venezuala in Sofia
  • Danish Embassy, Caracas, Venezuela - we cover Venezuela, Barbados, Colombia, Dominica, Ecuador, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago.
  • Japan: Embassy of Venezuela in Tokyo
  • USA: Consulate General of Venezuela in San Francisco - offers detailed information about consular services, business, tourism and other topics.
  • USA: Embassy of Venezuela in Washington DC
  • Acción Democrática - Partido Político. (Español)
  • Agenda Venezuela - Política Económica. (English|Español)
  • Aragua Online - Información General. (Español) 
  • Armada Venezolana - Militar. (Español)
  • Cámara de Diputados - Poder Legislativo (Español)
  • Central Information & Statistics Office -
  • Chacao - Alcaldía del Municipio (Español)
  • Congreso de Venezuela - Poder Legislativo. (English|Español) 
  • Constitución de la República de Venezuela - (Español) 
  • Constitución de la República de Venezuela - Biblioteca Electrónica (Español)
  • Constitución Política de Venezuela (1961) - Archivos de la Universidad de Georgetown (Español)
  • Consulado de Venezuela en Boston - USA - (Español) 
  • Consulado General de Venezuela en Nueva York - (Español) 
  • Consulado General de Venezuela en San Francisco - USA - (English|Español) 
  • Contraloría General de la República- (English|Español)
  • COPEI - Partido Político (Español)
  • Embajada de Venezuela en Italia - (Italiano) 
  • Embajada de Venezuela en Japón - (English|Español) 
  • Embajada de Venezuela en Sofía, Bulgaria - (English) 
  • Embajada de Venezuela en Washington DC - (English) 
  • Estado Falcón - Información General. (English|Español)
  • Estado Lara - Páginas no oficiales (Español)
  • Estado Mérida - Información General. (Español) 
  • Estado Portuguesa - Información General. (Español) 
  • Estado Zulia - Información General. (English|Español)
  • Fondo Intergubernamental para la Descentralización - Ministerio de Relaciones Interiores. (Español)
  • Fundayacucho - Becas, educación. (Español)
  • Fundacite Mérida - Fundación para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y la Tecnología (Español)
  • Ministerio del Ambiente y de los Recursos Naturales no Renovables - (Español)
  • Municipio El Hatillo - Páginas no oficiales (English|Español)
  • Oficina Central de Estadística e Informática - OCEI (Español)
  • Oficina Coordinadora de Hidrografía y Navegación - (Español)
  • Leyes y Sentencias Venezolanas - (Español) 
  • PDVSA - Petróleos de Venezuela. (English|Español) 
  • Profauna - Administración y manejo de la fauna silvestre y acuática. (Español) 
  • Tratado de Libre Comercio entre México, Colombia y Venezuela - G3. (Español)  LawReseach Inc.