The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico () is the controlling government document of Puerto Rico. It is composed of nine articles detailing the structure of the government as well as the function of several of its institutions. The document also contains an extensive and specific bill of rights. It was ratified by Puerto Rico's electorate in a referendum on March 3, 1952, and on July 25, 1952, Governor Luis Muñoz Marín proclaimed that the constitution was in effect. July 25 is known as Constitution Day.
The United States maintains ultimate sovereignty over Puerto Rico. Under this Constitution, Puerto Rico officially identifies as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
History
The United States government authorized Puerto Rico to draft its own constitution with a law passed in 1950. The Constitutional Assembly met for a period of several months between 1951 and 1952 in which the document was written. The law required the framers to follow only two basic requirements: a republican form of government and inclusion of a Bill of Rights.
The proposed constitution was approved overwhelmingly by nearly 82% of the voters in a popular referendum on March 3, 1952. The United States Congress and the President approved it, but required that the Article II (Bill of Rights), Section 20 (guaranteeing the right to education and various economic rights) be stricken and that language be added to Section 3 of Article VII allowing non-governmental schools. On July 10, 1952, the Constitutional Convention of Puerto Rico reconvened and approved a resolution accepting those conditions, which were later ratified in a referendum held in November 1952, by the electorate. On July 25, 1952, Governor Luis Muñoz Marín proclaimed that the constitution was in effect. In a speech on July 25, 2013, Governor Alejandro García Padilla, despite the conditions established by Congress, proclaimed that, henceforth, Sec. 20 would be deemed by his administration to be in effect.
In 1960, 1961, 1964 and 1970 voters approved amendments to the constitution in various referendums.
A continuing debate has dealt with the legal status of Puerto Rico under the Federal Government of the United States. Certain decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States appeared to have interpreted the Territorial Clause of the United States Constitution as still controlling over Puerto Rico. Under this clause, the United States Congress is the recognized sovereign of the island.
In 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified that the purpose of Congress in the 1950 and 1952 legislation was to accord to Puerto Rico the degree of autonomy and independence normally associated with a State of the Union. However, on June 9, 2016, as an outcome of the case known as Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle, the U.S. Supreme Court incited a debate regarding the nature of the relationship established by the 1950 and 1952 legislation, allegedly breaching the compact between the United States and the People of Puerto Rico. The debate was fueled when the Supreme Court decided that the Double Jeopardy Clause bars Puerto Rico and the United States from successively prosecuting a single person for the same conduct under equivalent criminal laws. The Supreme Court ruling stated that, at least in the cases related to criminal offenses, sovereignty of Puerto Rico ultimately resides in the United States Congress. The argument made by the U.S. Supreme Court was interpreted by many as an affirmation of a severely diminished capacity of the constitutional stature that the Puerto Rican government had. This was the same idea of stature that the Puerto Rican government has had for nearly seven decades. Justice Elena Kagan stated that the ruling in the case of 'Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle' was confined solely to the corresponding issue of double jeopardy within a criminal case, not to the whole of Puerto Rico's political status. Still, the outcome fueled a debate regarding the current nature of the political relationship established between Puerto Rico and United States of America.
Proposed amendments
In 1994 and 2012 constitutional amendments were proposed but these were unsuccessful. In 2021 the PPD majority led by Tatito Hernández began a discussion over amending the constitution. The speaker of the House of Representatives proposed increasing the governor's salary, replacing at large representatives by district elections and reducing the number of representatives from 51 to 45. Governor Pedro Pierluisi has favored term limits for legislators but has expressed opposition to proposals for the creation of a recall referendum.