Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

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Haiti: Government and Politics
ing of the reforms sought by many Haitians, but that have
proven extremely elusive.
Constitutional Framework
Haitian heads of state, often drafting and abolishing the
nation's constitutions at will, have treated the documents as
their own personal charters. The 1987 constitution, although
drafted by an independent commission and ratified by referendum,
initially suffered the same treatment. Repeatedly, governments
that held power in Haiti between 1986 and 1994 either
ignored constitutional provisions, applied them selectively, or
suspended them altogether. Only following the restoration of
legitimate government in late 1994 was the constitution fully
reinstated.
The 1987 constitution is a modern, progressive document. It
guarantees a series of basic rights to the citizenry. It declares
the intent to establish and maintain democracy in Haiti and
includes ideological pluralism, electoral competition, and the
separation of powers. Mindful of the perfidious manipulation
of constitutions by previous governments, the Haitian jurists
who crafted the 1987 constitution carefully prescribed a complex
process that requires a two-thirds majority approval of
amendments by two consecutive sessions of the National
Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) prior to their enactment
(Articles 282-1 to 284-1). The articles also ban a sitting president
from initiating and enacting amendments during his term
of office (Article 284-2) and eliminate the practice of amendment
by popular referendum (Article 284-3)
Key provisions of the exacting document, which contains
298 articles, have begun to reshape the governmental system
and political tradition bequeathed to Haiti by previous generations
of leaders. In particular, the reduction of the president's
constitutional powers, the decentralization of governmental
authority, and the creation of elected councils for local government
have initiated processes of profound change. The constitution
establishes the segregation of police and army functions,
a point that has become somewhat moot given the 1994—95 dismantling
of the Armed Forces of Haiti, but a key provision at
the time of ratification. The constitution also establishes an
independent judiciary. An extremely popular provision of the
1987 document barred from public office for ten years individuals
who had served as "architects" of the Duvalierist dictatorship,
enriched themselves from public funds, inflicted torture
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