Antigua and Barbuda Constitution Order 1981.

The Antigua and Barbuda Constitution Order 1981, which came into effect on 31 October 1981, was promulgated simultaneously with the country's formal independence from Britain. It Consists of 127 Sections divided in ten Chapters: The State and the Constitution (I); Protection of Fundamental Rights andFreedoms of the Individual (II); The Governor-General (III); Parliament (IV); Executive Powers (V); Finance (VI); The Public Service (VII); Citizenship (VII); Judicial Provisions (IX) and Miscellaneous (X). The Constitution provides a basis for possible territorial acquisitions, expands upon fundamental human rights, recognizes and guarantees the rights of opposition parties in government, and provides Barbuda with a large measure of internal self-government. Antigua and Barbuda is federal parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government, with a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. A Governor-General is appointed by the Queen (or other reigning British monarch). Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the Parliament. The bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (seventeen-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Representatives (seventeen seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms.
The Constitution sets forth the rights of citizens, ascribing fundamental rights to each person regardless of race, place of origin, political opinions or affiliations, color, creed, or sex. It further extends these rights to persons born out of wedlock, an important provision in that legitimate and illegitimate persons did not have equal legal status under colonial rule. The Constitution includes provisions to secure life, liberty, and the protection of person, property, and privacy, as well as freedom of speech, association, and worship. In Chapter I, section 9 sets provisions for the protection from deprivation of property: "1 No property of any description shall be compulsorily taken possession of, and no interest in or right to or over property of any description shall be compulsorily acquired, except for public use and except in accordance with the provisions of a law applicable to that taking of possession or acquisition and for the payment of fair compensation within a reasonable time..omissis.. ".