Constitution of the Republic of China

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Constitution of the Republic of China
First page of the original copy of the Constitution
Overview
Original title	中華民國憲法
Jurisdiction	Republic of China
Ratified	25 December 1946; 77 years ago (1946-12-25)
Date effective	25 December 1947; 76 years ago (1947-12-25)
System	Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic
Government structure
Branches	Five (Executive, Legislative, Judicial, Examination, Control)
Head of state	President
Chambers	Tricameral (National Assembly, Legislative Yuan, Control Yuan)[1]
Executive	Premier led Executive Yuan
Judiciary	Judicial Yuan
Federalism	Unitary
Electoral college	Yes (National Assembly)
History
First legislature	29 March 1948 (NA) 8 May 1948 (LY) 5 June 1948 (CY)[2]
First executive	20 May 1948 (President) 24 May 1948 (Premier)
First court	2 July 1948
Repealed	1 October 1949; 74 years ago (1949-10-01) (Mainland China)
Amendments	see Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China
Location	Academia Historica, Zhongzheng, Taipei[3]
Commissioned by	National Constituent Assembly
Author(s)	Carsun Chang and the members of the National Constituent Assembly
Signatories	1,701 of 2,050 delegates, in Nanjing
Supersedes	Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China

The Constitution of the Republic of China is the fifth and current constitution of the Republic of China (ROC), ratified by the Kuomintang during the Constituent National Assembly session on 25 December 1946, in Nanjing, and adopted on 25 December 1947. The constitution, along with its Additional Articles, remains effective in ROC-controlled territories.

Intended for the entire territory of the Republic of China as it was then constituted, it was never extensively nor effectively implemented due to the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War in mainland China at the time of the constitution's promulgation. The newly elected National Assembly soon ratified the Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion on May 10, 1948. The Temporary Provisions symbolises the country's entering into the state of emergency and granted the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China extra-constitutional powers.

Following the ROC government's retreat to Taiwan on 7 December 1949, the Temporary Provisions together with martial law made the country an authoritarian one-party state despite the constitution. Democratization began in the 1980s. Martial law was lifted in 1987, and in 1991 the Temporary Provisions were repealed. The Additional Articles of the Constitution was passed to reflect the government's actual jurisdiction and realization of cross-Strait relations. The Additional Articles also significantly changed the structure of the government to a semi-presidential system with a unicameral parliament, which formed the basis of a multi-party democracy in Taiwan.

During the 1990s and early 2000s, the Constitution's origins in mainland China led to supporters of Taiwan independence to push for a new Taiwanese constitution.^[4][5][6] However, attempts by the Democratic Progressive Party administration to create a new Constitution during the second term of DPP President Chen Shui-bian failed, because the then opposition Kuomintang controlled the Legislative Yuan.^[7][8] It was only agreed to reform the Constitution of the Republic of China, not to create a new one. It was last amended in 2005, with the consent of both the KMT and the DPP. The most recent revision to the constitution took place in 2004.^[9]