The 1991 constitution of independent Transnistria

Abstract

The legal status of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, which declared its independence in 1990, since that time has unchangingly remained ambiguous. The state has factually existed for almost thirty years so far, although it has not hitherto been recognised by any member of the international community. Its status from the constitutional law viewpoint is contradictory to the one analysed in the light of the international law, according to which Transnistria still formally remains a Moldavian autonomous region of a special status. This paper, being a part of the wider research carried out over Transnistria’s legal status, aims at establishing its primary political system’s grounds. Therefore, it comprises the analysis of the origin and development of Transnistrian first independent basic law, which appeared to be the foundation of the abovementioned solutions. The paper undertakes an attempt to not only analyse, but also evaluate the political system’s primary principles and development of Transnistria as a newly created state in the first years of its functioning. The subject of the work is particularly focused on the shape and content of the first constitution of Transnistria of 1991, which bound during the first four years of the state’s independence till the presently binding constitution of 1995 entered into force, along with observing of how its functioning in practice shaped the constitutional and political reality.