Bolivia's Law-Making Process: A Complex Journey

Bolivia is a constitutional, multiparty republic with an elected president and a bicameral legislature. The country's legal system is based on Spanish and old Napoleonic codes, and it is part of the Civil Law Tradition. The process of lawmaking in Bolivia involves the bill being passed through the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, followed by the President signing the bill into law. The President also has the power to veto the bill, which can be overridden by a two-thirds majority vote in Congress. The country has had seventeen constitutions, with the most recent one being passed in 2009, which grants greater power to indigenous peoples and creates a new Congress with seats reserved for Bolivian indigenous groups.

The legislative branch

The Chamber of Deputies has 130 members, with half elected through direct vote and the other half through an indirect procedure when voting for the President, Vice-President, and Senators. The 2009 Constitution also created special deputies for indigenous settlements.

The Chamber of Senators has 36 members, with 4 representatives for each department. The Plurinational Legislative Assembly is presided over by the Vice-President of Bolivia.

The legislative process in Bolivia involves bills passing through the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The President then signs the bill into law or may veto it. However, this veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote of Congress.

Bolivia's newest Constitution was rewritten in 2004 and passed in 2009, with significant changes made by President Evo Morales to grant more rights to indigenous groups. The new Constitution extended rights to the indigenous population, who are the majority, and allowed the President to run for a second five-year term. It also gave autonomy with four levels of decentralised power: departmental, regional, municipal, and indigenous.

The Constitution recognises Bolivia as a "Plurinational Republic", granting the indigenous peoples the right to self-determination. It establishes Spanish as one of the official languages, along with several native and indigenous languages.

The executive branch

Bolivia is a presidential representative democratic republic, with the president as the head of state, head of government, and head of a diverse multi-party system. The executive branch is led by the president, who is directly elected to a five-year term by popular vote. A candidate needs either an absolute majority or 40% of the vote plus a 10-point lead to win the election. If no candidate achieves this in the first vote, a run-off vote is held between the two candidates with the most votes.

The president oversees 21 ministries that make up the executive branch. The executive cabinet is formed of the heads of each of these ministries (the ministers). Ministries include Foreign Affairs, Defense, Government, Education, Autonomy, Economy and Finance, Justice, and Health. The president and ministers are responsible for carrying out the laws passed by the legislative branch.

The president has significant powers, including the ability to reduce sentences for those convicted of minor crimes and drop charges against those held in pretrial detention for minor crimes. The president can also issue presidential decrees, which have been used to retroactively apply changes to criminal law.

The judicial branch

The District Courts are located in each of the 9 administrative departments of Bolivia.

The National Council of the Judiciary is another organ of the Judicial Branch, which acts as an administrative and disciplinary body. It has powers over finances and disciplinary issues that traditionally belonged to the Supreme Court.

The creation of the Constitutional Court was intended to relieve the Supreme Court of its accumulated cases, and both are headquartered in Sucre, along with the Judiciary Council, to give unity to the three organs.

The electoral branch

Bolivia's Electoral Branch is composed of the Supreme Electoral Court, District Courts, Electoral Courts, and Electoral Notaries. The Supreme Electoral Court is the highest instance, composed of seven members elected by the Plurinational Legislative Assembly.

The president and vice-president are directly elected by the people for a five-year term. The president must receive at least 50% of the vote or 40% with a 10% margin over the second-place candidate to avoid a second round. The president and vice-president can be re-elected once consecutively.

The National Congress is the legislature and has two chambers: the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Senators. The Chamber of Deputies has 130 members, with half elected through a direct vote and the other half through an indirect procedure when voting for the president, vice-president, and senators. There are seven special seats reserved for indigenous groups, elected through indigenous customary practices. The Chamber of Senators has 36 members, with four representatives from each of the country's nine departments.

The Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Senators are responsible for approving and sanctioning laws.

The Plurinational Constitutional Court

• As the court of jurisdiction in matters of pure law concerning the unconstitutionality of laws, Autonomous Statutes, Constitutional Charters, decrees, and every type of ordinance and non-judicial resolution.
• The conflicts of jurisdiction and powers among the organs of popular power.
• The conflicts of jurisdiction between the Pluri-National government and the autonomous and decentralized territorial entities, and between the latter.
• The appeals of fees, taxes, rates, licenses, rights, or contributions that are created, modified, or suppressed in violation of that set forth in the Constitution.
• The appeals of resolutions of the Legislative Organ, when its resolutions affect one or more rights, regardless of who might be affected.
• The review of the actions of Liberty, Constitutional Protection, Protection of Privacy, Popular actions, and those for Compliance. This review shall not impede the immediate and obligatory application of the resolution that decided the action.
• The legal consultations of the President of the Republic, of the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly, the Supreme Court of Justice, or the Agro-Environmental Court on the constitutionality of proposed bills. It is obligatory to comply with the decision of the Constitutional Court.
• The legal consultations of the rural native indigenous authorities on the application of their juridical norms as applied in a concrete case. Compliance with the decision of the Constitutional Court is obligatory.
• The review of the constitutionality of international treaties before their ratification.
• The constitutionality of the procedure of partial reform of the Constitution.
• The conflicts of authority between the rural native indigenous jurisdiction and ordinary and agro-environmental jurisdiction.
• The direct appeals of nullity.

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