Constitutional Jurisprudence in the Supreme Court of Venezuela
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CONSTITUTIONAL JURISPRUDENCE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF VENEZUELA By Nelson Richard Dordelli-Rosales Thesis to be submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements For a doctoral degree Faculty of Law University of Ottawa © Nelson Dordelli-Rosales, Ottawa, Canada, 2013 ii ABSTRACT The prime focus of this dissertation consists in exploring constitutional jurisprudence in the Supreme Court of Venezuela over the last five decades, making use of arguments drawn from Venezuelan history and the existing jurisprudential approaches to theories about the general character of law as integrated in numerous public law cases. This study offers a new approach, one that focuses on ensuring that fundamental constitutional principles are aligned with the concrete objectives (purposes) that the Constitution sets out to achieve. This account is developed through a theoretical framework comprising of: I. A historical overview from independence (1811) to democratization (1947 and beyond), emphasizing the fundamentals of the Constitutions of 1961 and 1999, to portray a vivid and accurate picture of the origins of Venezuela’s constitutional democracy; II. A survey, of constitutional cases that illustrates the evolution of the Venezuelan constitutional jurisprudence under the overt or subliminal use of certain default legal theories, namely, legal positivism in the era of the 1961 Constitution, legal realism and Ronald Dworkin’s adjudication theory in the era of the 1999 Constitution III. An insightful discussion of the main arguments of Ronald Dworkin’s principled theory and Justice Aharon Barak’s purposive theory, in an effort to build theorectical support, which links the various points of their respective theories in order to articulate one in the context of the Venezuelan jurisprudence; IV An original attempt to build a theoretical approach based on the Venezuelan constitutional system, history, culture, and identity to bring together the priorities of formalism, particularly the written principles of the Constitution and the priorities of functionalism and social welfare. This is to ensure that the Supreme Court decides accordingly with the constitutional principles as much as their underlying purposes to provide solutions to legal conundrums. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS One of the joys of completion is to take a moment to express gratitude for everyone who helped and supported me along this journey. First and foremost I want to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Peter Oliver, D. Phil., University of Oxford, Professor of King's College University of London and the University of Ottawa, author of the book on constitutional theory –The Constitution of Independence – published in Oxford. This thesis would not have been possible without his invaluable contributions of time, thoughtful guidance, and wise counsel. It has truly been an honour to be his student. I am grateful to Dr. Denis Brearley, Defence Chairperson, and the members of my Committee: Dr. Rene Provost, Dr. Suzane Bouclin, Dr. Pierre Foucher, and Dr. Charles-Maxime Panaccio, for their wise counsel to the successful conclusion of this thesis. I would like to thank professors Brad Morse, Craig Forcese, Shalin Sugunasiri, and Catherine Ventura for their unsurpassed good advice, expertise, and friendship throughout my academic journey. I would like to acknowledge the technical support of Active Assistant Dean, Sarah Rainboth, and the administrative staff of Graduate and Post-Doctoral Studies at the Faculty of Law, particularly Marie-Eve Sylvestre, Nicole Laplante, Genevieve Breton-Harper and Florence Downing for their unequivocal assistance since 2006 at the University of Ottawa. I am most grateful to the Faculty of Graduate and Post-Doctoral Studies for providing me with the Research Travel Grants necessary to present this academic study in different prestigious Universities. I would also like to thank the generosity of the staff of the YMCA and the City of Ottawa for their encouragement and logistic assistance. Finally, yet importantly, I wish to thank my dearest ones, my beloved grandmother Ms. María Olga Rosales for inspiring me with her passion and dedication. My parents, Drs. Carmen L. Rosales-Dordelli and Nelson E. Dordelli Iturriza, who began their own academic journey more than thirty years ago at the University of Ottawa, for inspiring me to pursue what has become my life’s passion. I could not have asked for better role models. Their love, patience, generosity, and guidance throughout my entire life made this possible. I cannot finish without thanking Ms Carine St-Pierre for her kind support and encouragement. I owe them my eternal gratitude. Muchas Gracias iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgments................................................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................. iv INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................................1 Objectives..............................................................................................................................2 Rationale for the Research ....................................................................................................3 The Need for the Study .........................................................................................................4 Research Methodology .........................................................................................................5 Summary .............................................................................................................................11 PART I THE EVOLUTION OF THE CONSTITUTION OF VENEZUELA .................................12 Chapter 1: THE CONSTITUTIONAL HERITAGE OF VENEZUELA: THE SEARCH FOR FREEDOM .........................................................................................................................................14 Emancipation: the Decline of Spanish Empire (Prior to 1810)….......................................15 The Constitution of Independence (1811-1819 and La Gran Colombia (1821-1830)......17 The Constitution of the Autonomous Country (1830-1858) ...............................................27 The Federal Constitution and the Tendency to Deviate to Autocracy (1864-1881) ..........32 The Constitution of Centralization (1901-1935) ................................................................36 The Constitution of Liberation (1936-1946) ......................................................................41 The Constitution of Democratization: Constructing Institutions (1947-60) .......................43 Constitutional Democracy (Constitutions of 1961 and 1999) ............................................50 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 70 Chapter 2: CONSTITUTION OF 1961OF VENEZUELA: THE FUNDAMENTALS OF AN EXCEPTIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY .........................................................................53 Priorities of the Democratic State: Strict Structure and Continuity over Time...................55 Government Framework: Separation of Three Branches of Power ....................................57 The Development of the Judicial Power: The Supreme Court of Justice ...........................58 The Protection of Individual, Social and Economic Rights...............................................60 The Transition to a New Constitution ................................................................................ 64 Summary .............................................................................................................................69 Chapter 3: THE 1999 CONSTITUTION OF THE BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA: THE FUNDAMENTALS OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIAL STATE OF LAW AND JUSTICE ........71 Priorities of the Democratic Social State of Law and Justice .............................................72 The Protection of Social Rights ..........................................................................................75 The Power of Judicial Review: the Constitutional Chamber ..............................................77 Government Framework: Separation of Five Branches of Power.......................................79 Summary ............................................................................................................................82 v PART II THE CONSTITUTIONAL JURISPRUDENCE DEVELOPED BY THE SUPREME COURT OVER THE LAST FIVE DECADES ...................................................................................83 Chapter 4: CONSTITUTIONAL JURISPRUDENCE IN THE ERA OF THE 1961 CONSTITUTION.…. ..........................................................................................................................85 The Early Stage of Venezuelan Jurisprudence..................................................................87 The Supreme Court's Legal Formalism in Constitutional Jurisprudence...........................90 Original Intent: the Sovereignty Commands................................................................92 Lola y Laura Gutiérrez v. Enriquecimiento