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Publication of Decision of the Constitutional Chamber providing for an interpretation of Article 153 of the National Constitution
Decision No. 967, issued by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, of July 4, 2012 was published in Official Gazette No. 39.975 on July 31, 2012. Such Decision was ruled over the case Pedro Pereira Riera and Ines Parra Wallis and the Venezuelan Exporters Association (AVEX), through which the Chamber provides for a binding interpretation of Article 153 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, as to the applicability of regulations resulting from the Cartagena Agreement, known as the Andean Pact. As per criterion of the Chamber, Article 153 of the Constitution should be interpreted in the sense that the norms adopted within the framework of the integration agreements are considered an integral part of the legal system and are directly applicable and preferred to domestic law, during the effective term of the treaty that originated them, in the terms provided in this decision and under the conditions that the agreement itself establishes for its termination. (Emphasis added). In this regard, the Chamber notes that although the Republic is empowered to compromise the State sovereignty through treaties, conventions or international agreements, under no circumstances it entails the suppression of the Political Power or sovereignty, which will continue in effect, with the possibility of denouncing the Treaty in the light of any offense or threat to sovereignty, since otherwise the existence of a sovereign State or the Constitution as fundamental law would be denied. The Chamber indicates, nevertheless, that this does not prevent government entities from assuming international regulations, incorporating them into the domestic legal system, through express repeal of the former legislation, in which case it would refer to the act with force of law, rather than to the international law in effect. "
"La informacin contenida en el presente boletn, es de carcter estrictamente informativo. Por lo tanto para la toma de decisiones particulares sobre los temas que se comentan, se deber contar con el auxilio del asesor especialista en el tema pertinente". "The contents of this bulletin is strictly informative. Therefore, for specific decision making purposes on the subjects discussed therein, you should ask for the assistance of the advisor specialized on the pertinent subject.
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