Legal System of Venezuela

Venezuela is located in South America. It is geographically situated in northern south america, bordering the caribbean sea and the north atlantic ocean, between colombia and guyana. The country achieved independence on 5 july 1811 (from spain). The capital is Caracas.

Government Overview

Government Type: federal presidential republic Chief of State: Interim President Delcy Eloína RODRÍGUEZ Gómez (since 5 January 2026) Head of Government: Interim President Delcy Eloína RODRÍGUEZ Gómez (since 5 January 2026) Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president Administrative Divisions: 23 states (estados, singular - estado), 1 capital district* (distrito capital), and 1 federal dependency** (dependencia federal); Amazonas, Anzoátegui, Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Bolivar, Carabobo, Cojedes, Delta Amacuro, Dependencias Federales (Federal Dependencies)**, Distrito Capital (Capital District)*, Falcon, Guárico, La Guairá, Lara, Merida, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Portuguesa, Sucre, Táchira, Trujillo, Yaracuy, Zulia National Holiday: Independence Day, 5 July (1811) Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Legal System

The legal system of Venezuela is described as civil law system based on the Spanish civil code International Law: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Constitutional Framework

The constitution has the following history: many previous; latest adopted 15 December 1999, effective 30 December 1999 Amendment Process: proposed through agreement by at least 39% of the National Assembly membership, by the president of the republic in session with the cabinet of ministers, or by petition of at least 15% of registered voters; passage requires simple majority vote by the Assembly and simple majority approval in a referendum

Judicial Branch

Highest Court(s): Supreme Tribunal of Justice (consists of 32 judges organized into constitutional, political-administrative, electoral, civil appeals, criminal appeals, and social divisions) Judge Selection: judges proposed by the Committee of Judicial Postulation (an independent body of organizations dealing with legal issues and of the organs of citizen power) and appointed by the National Assembly; judges serve nonrenewable 12-year terms Subordinate Courts: Superior or Appeals Courts (Tribunales Superiores); District Tribunals (Tribunales de Distrito); Courts of First Instance (Tribunales de Primera Instancia); Parish Courts (Tribunales de Parroquia); Justices of the Peace (Justicia de Paz) Network

Legislative Branch

The legislative structure consists of unicameral Note: note: in 2020, the National Electoral Council increased the number of seats in the National Assembly from 167 to 277 for the December 2020 election

Citizenship and Suffrage

Citizenship by Birth: yes Citizenship by Descent: yes Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Historical Background

Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830, the others being Ecuador and New Granada (Colombia). For most of the first half of the 20th century, military strongmen ruled Venezuela and promoted the oil industry while allowing some social reforms. Democratically elected governments largely held sway until 1999, but Hugo CHAVEZ, who was president from 1999 to 2013, exercised authoritarian control over other branches of government.

This article provides a summary of the legal system and governmental structure of Venezuela based on the CIA World Factbook. The Factbook is a public domain publication of the United States Central Intelligence Agency.