Constitution of Croatia

The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia was ratified and became effective on 22 December 1990, known colloquially as the Christmas Constitution, following Croatia's first multi-party elections in April 1990 and replacing the framework of communist Yugoslavia while dropping the word Socialist from the country's name. Its preamble traces Croatian national continuity from seventh-century principalities through medieval kingdoms to modern statehood, and the document abolished capital punishment, established an initially semi-presidential system that was converted to a parliamentary one in 2000, and abolished the bicameral House of Counties in 2001, leaving a unicameral Croatian Parliament alongside a President, Government and a judiciary of the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court. It protects the rights of national minorities alongside Croatian national identity and has been amended five times, most recently on 1 December 2013.