Constitution of Barbados

Barbados' constitution was ratified on 22 November 1966 and took effect on 30 November 1966, the date of independence from the United Kingdom, modeled on Commonwealth constitutional traditions including the Statute of Westminster. Organized into ten chapters covering citizenship, fundamental rights, the presidency, parliament, the executive, the judiciary, the public service and finance, it has been amended repeatedly, most significantly in 2021, when Barbados became a parliamentary republic with a President elected by Parliament as head of state in place of the British monarch; Sandra Mason became the first President on 30 November 2021. The Prime Minister leads the executive, a bicameral Parliament comprises the House of Assembly and Senate, and the judiciary includes the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Supreme Court and magistrates' courts.