The Paradox of a Revolutionary Constitution: A Reading of the Nicaraguan Constitution

Authors

Christopher P. Barton

Abstract

Nicaragua has recently adopted its first constitution since the 1979 Sandinista Revolution. The Constitution tries to institutionalize and legitimate the power of the FSLN and the Revolution itself within the framework of a basically westernstyle constitution. This Article examines the text of the Nicaraguan Constitution to explore the political philosophy underlying constitutionalism in Nicaragua, with particular attention to the place of the Party and the Revolution in the Constitution. The Article considers tensions in the Constitutional text between legitimating the power of the FSLN and creating institutions that limit that same power. Finally, the Article considers the idea, stated in the Constitution, that the Constitution institutionalizes the Revolution and the Revolutionary process of Nicaragua.

Recommended Citation

Christopher P. Barton, The Paradox of a Revolutionary Constitution: A Reading of the Nicaraguan Constitution, 12 Hastings Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 49 (1988).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_international_comparative_law_review/vol12/iss1/2