Constitution of Palau

The Constitution of Palau was drafted by a constitutional convention between 28 January and 2 April 1979, ratified on 9 July 1980, and took effect on 1 January 1981. It establishes Palau as a republic with an executive branch headed by a president and vice president, a bicameral National Congress made up of a Senate and House of Delegates, and a judiciary headed by a Supreme Court. The constitution bars nuclear power, nuclear weapons, nuclear waste and a foreign power's exercise of eminent domain within Palau, a provision that created friction with the United States, even as the country operates under a Compact of Free Association with it. A second constitutional convention approved further amendments by majority delegate vote on 15 July 2005.