Background
The United States government authorized Puerto Rico to draft its own constitution by Pub.L. 81-600, 64 Stat. 319, enacted July 3, 1950. The Constitutional Assembly met for a period of several months between 1951 and 1952 in which the document was written. The framers had to follow only two basic requirements established under Pub.L. 81-600. The first was the document must establish a republican form of government for the island. The second was the inclusion of a Bill of Rights.
The constitution was approved by a popular referendum and ratified by the United States Congress with a few amendments which maintains ultimate sovereignty over Puerto Rico while giving Puerto Ricans a high degree of autonomy. Under this Constitution, Puerto Rico officially designates itself as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. However, an ongoing debate has existed since the creation of the document about the legal status of Puerto Rico under the Federal Government of the United States. The autonomy recognized to the island has been put into doubt following certain decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States which have interpreted the Territorial Clause of the United States Constitution as still controlling over Puerto Rico. Under this clause, the United States Congress is the recognized sovereign of the island. In 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court indicated that the purpose of Congress in the 1950 and 1952 legislation was to accord to Puerto Rico the degree of autonomy and independence normally associated with a State of the Union.
Read more about this topic: Constitution Of Puerto Rico
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