Constitution of Uruguay

The Constitution of Uruguay (Constitución de la República Oriental del Uruguay) is the supreme law of Uruguay. Its first version was written in 1830 and its last amendment was made in 2004. Uruguay's first constitution was adopted in 1830, following the conclusion of the three-year-long Cisplatine War in which Argentina and Uruguay acted as a federation: the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. Mediated by the United Kingdom, the 1828 Treaty of Montevideo allowed to build the foundations for a Uruguayan state and constitution. It has been reformed in 1918, 1934, 1942, 1952 and 1967, but it still maintains several articles from its first version of 1830. Constitution of Uruguay of 1830 When it became independent on August 25, 1825, the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (República Oriental del Uruguay) drew up its first constitution, which was promulgated on July 18, 1830. Heavily influenced by the thinking of the French and American revolutions, it divided the government among the executive, legislative, and judicial powers and established Uruguay as a unitary republic with a centralized form of government. The bicameral General Assembly (Asamblea General) was empowered to elect a president with considerable powers to head the executive branch for a four-year term. The president was given control over all of his ministers of government and was empowered to make decisions with the agreement of at least one of the three ministers recognized by the 1830 constitution. Like all of Uruguay's charters since then, the 1830 constitution provided for a General Assembly composed of a Chamber of Senators (Cámara de Senadores), or Senate (Senado), elected nationally, and a Chamber of Representatives (Cámara de Representantes), elected from the departments. Members of the General Assembly were empowered to pass laws but lacked the authority to dismiss the president or his ministers or to issue votes of no confidence. An 1834 amendment, however, provided for juicio político, or impeachment, of the ministers for "unacceptable conduct".