ABOUT THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF SURINAME

THE YOUNGEST CONSTITUTIONAL COURT IN THE WORLD

Abstract

The Constitutional Court of Suriname was created by the Law of October 4, 2019, and met for the first time on May 7, 2020, following the completion of the election of its members. Established in the country's first Constitution of 1975, following independence from the Netherlands, the Court's institution departed from the Dutch constitutional tradition, marked by the absence of review of the constitutionality of laws. In just four years of judicial practice, the Constitutional Court has issued only six judgments, demonstrating its ability to interpret signals from both the jurisprudence of the Latin American Court of Human Rights in San José and an active segment of public opinion. In its ruling on July 22, 2021, the Court ruled that the 1989 Amnesty Law (in its latest version on April 5, 2012) was incompatible with the country's Constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) of December 19, 1966, and the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR) of November 22, 1969. In the case decided on January 31, 2023, the Constitutional Court addressed the registration of same-sex marriages in Suriname, ruling that recognition of this type of union must be based on a law of the National Assembly on this matter.

Key words: Human Rights; Suriname; Constitutional Court .