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The Constitution of Saint Kitts and Nevis was adopted on 23 June 1983 and took effect when the country became independent on 19 September 1983. It consists of 11 chapters and various schedules, which establish the rights, responsibilities and definition of the citizens of the federation. It also provides the form and structure of government, and enumerates the powers of the different branches of government. Its treatment of the island of Nevis is rather unusual among federated nations. The current constitution of Saint Kitts and Nevis was prepared in anticipation of the country achieving independence from Britain. It is the only constitution the country has had as an independent nation, however there were several colonial constitutions before it. The union of the islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis has been controversial at least since 1882, leading the constitution to specifically provide for a path to independence for Nevis. This makes Saint Kitts and Nevis unusual among Federations. The government created by the constitution is a constitutional monarchy headed by Elizabeth II, with a unicameral legislature. Nevis is provided with a separate island administration, but Saint Kitts is not. ==Background== The islands of Anguilla, Saint Kitts, and Nevis formed a British crown colony known as Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla from 1882 until Anguilla rebelled in 1971. On 19 September 1983 the remaining two islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, achieved independence from Britain.〔 In preparation for independence, a draft constitution was presented on June 22, 1983 and accepted on June 23, to take effect upon independence.〔 The union of the three islands, and later the two islands was never easy, with Anguilla and Nevis being strongly opposed to the union with Saint Kitts.〔 Nevis protested strongly against being joined with Saint Kitts from the time the idea was first broached by the British Colonial Office in 1867 until the present.〔 The 1983 constitution was not the first constitution for Saint Kitts and Nevis; the CIA World Factbook says there were "several previous" constitutions.〔 However, it was the constitution enacted at the founding of the modern state of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and has not yet been replaced. However, following the failed Nevis independence referendum in 1998, a commission was appointed to make recommendations for future relations between the two islands, and together with a subsequently appointed constitutional task force, recommended a number of changes to the current constitution.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Constitution of Saint Kitts and Nevis」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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