Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
The Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( Korean 조선 민주주의 인민 공화국 사회주의 헌법 ) was adopted on December 27, 1972 at the first session of the fifth legislative period of the Supreme People's Assembly and replaced the first constitution adopted in September 1948. It was changed for the last time in 2019.
Subdivision
The current 2019 Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea consists of 171 articles, which are divided into seven sections as follows:
- preamble
- Section I Policy
- Section II Economy
- Section III Culture
- Section IV National Defense
- Section V Fundamental rights and obligations of citizens
- Section VI State Apparatus
- Section 1 The Supreme People's Assembly
- Section 2 Chairman of the State Affairs Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
- Section 3 The State Affairs Committee
- Section 4 The Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly
- Section 5 The Cabinet
- Section 6 The local people's assemblies
- Section 7 The local people's committees
- Section 8 Public Prosecutor and Court
- Section VII National coat of arms, national flag, national anthem and capital
Constitutional content
The foreword of the constitution describes the steps taken by the eternal President Kim Il-sung to found the People's Republic. Kim Jong-il is portrayed as the “protector of socialist Korea” who “further developed” the state that Kim Il-sung had built. The constitution is defined at the end of the foreword as "Kim Il Sungs and Kim Jong Il's constitution, in which Kim Il Sungs and Kim Jong Il's independent ideas on the structure of the state and their related merits are legally anchored".
The eighteen articles of the first section deal with the political structure of the state. Article 1 describes North Korea as "a sovereign socialist state that represents the interests of the entire Korean people" and Article 12 as a "people's democratic dictatorship". This latter name follows the definition of the People's Republic of China in Article 1 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China . The procedure for filling public office is referred to in Article 5 as “ democratic centralism ”. The leadership of the Labor Party of Korea is enshrined in Article 11. Article 15 states that North Korea "represents the democratic national rights and the legitimate rights generally recognized in international law as well as the interests of Korean compatriots abroad". Power belongs to four explicitly mentioned social groups: the workers, the peasants, members of the army and the working intellectuals. The second section on the economy says that the means of production are owned by the state, social organizations and co-operatives. Article 45 in the third section stipulates that the state should develop general twelve years of compulsory education , including one year of pre-school education. In other articles, the state guarantees free education and grants scholarships to university and technical college students . The fourth section, consisting of only four articles, emphasizes the task of the armed forces , self-defense and the unity between army and people.
The fundamental rights and obligations of citizens are described in detail in the fifth section. The right to vote of citizens is as described as follows: "Every citizen who has reached the age of 17 years, is, regardless of gender, nationality, his profession, his stay, his financial status, his level of education, his party affiliation, his political and religious Views, eligible to vote and can be elected. ”The same is true of citizens who serve in the army. According to Article 67, citizens enjoy freedom of expression , press , assembly , demonstration and association, and Article 68 offers freedom of religion . Article 70 guarantees the right to work and promises citizens work according to their abilities and remuneration according to the quantity and quality of the work done. According to Article 71, citizens have the right to rest , which is guaranteed by fixed working hours, days of rest, fully paid leave, staying in recreation centers and holiday homes at state expense, as well as by cultural institutions. Article 77 ensures gender equality and Article 78 protects marriage and the family . The basic rights are limited, among other things, by the duty "to steadfastly defend the political and ideological unity and unity of the people" (according to Article 81) and "to comply with socialist living standards" (according to Article 82).
The sixth section describes the state apparatus or the executive branch of the state and consists of 81 articles, divided into eight sections. In the seventh chapter , the national coat of arms , the national flag , the “ hymn to the love of the fatherland ” as the national anthem and Pyongyang as the capital were established.
Constitutional amendments
The first constitution was adopted in September 1948 and replaced by a new one on December 27, 1972. Amendments to the 1972 Constitution were made on April 9, 1992, September 5, 1998, April 9, 2009, April 9, 2010, April 13, 2012, April 1, 2013, and June 30, 2016.
The first North Korean constitution of 1948 was based on the Soviet constitution of 1936 and was passed in the 1st Supreme People's Assembly in September 1948. Josef Stalin worked on the constitution personally in Moscow , together with Terentij Shtikov, the de facto Soviet governor of North Korea. Some articles were later rewritten by Soviet superiors. Under the 1948 Constitution, the Supreme People's Assembly was the highest state organ, while the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly was responsible for initiatives and policy making. Unlike later constitutions, the first constitution did not grant the ruling Party of Labor of Korea privileged status. The 1948 constitution was replaced by a new constitution in 1972.
The 2009 version has been expanded by six articles compared to the 1998 version. Paragraph 2 of the sixth section "Chairman of the Defense Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" has been completely added. In Articles 29 and 40 (economy and culture) the word 공산주의 (“ communism ”) has been removed.
In the constitution amended in 2012, North Korea describes itself as a state "in possession of the nuclear weapon".
The constitutional amendment in April 2013 was at the 7th session of the XII. Legislative period of the 12th Supreme People's Assembly adopted.
The constitution was amended in June 2016 at the 4th session of the 13th Supreme People's Assembly . The National Defense Committee has been renamed the Democratic People's Republic of Korea State Affairs Committee . Accordingly, the name was formally changed in the constitution at the same meeting.
Constitution amended on August 29, 2019.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Pyongyang: Publishing House for Foreign Language Literature, 2014
- ↑ a b JH Ahn: N.Korea updates constitution expanding Kim Jong Un's position . In: NK News . June 30, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- ↑ a b (24) Terenti Shtykov: the other ruler of nascent N. Korea
- ^ A b Constitutionalism in Asia: Cases and Materials . By Wen-Chen Chang, Li-ann Thio, Kevin YL Tan, Jiunn-rong Yeh
- ^ Adam Przeworski: Ruling against Rulers . In: Tom Ginsburg, Alberto Simpser (Ed.): Constitutions in Authoritarian Regimes . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2013, ISBN 978-1-107-04766-2 , p. 27.
- ↑ DPRK has quietly amended its Constitution | Leonid Petrov's KOREA VISION . Leonidpetrov.wordpress.com, accessed March 23, 2014.
- ↑ New constitution: North Korea brags about nuclear weapons. Spiegel Online , May 31, 2012, accessed March 23, 2014.
- ↑ https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/nordkorea-regime-staeckt-kim-jong-uns-rolle-in-der-verfassungs-16359705.html
literature
- Robert L. Worden: North Korea. A Country Study . 5th edition. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 2008, ISBN 978-0-8444-1188-0 , pp. 194 ( online ).