Constitution: 1 August 1976
Legal system: based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Arthur Napoleon Raymond ROBINSON (since 18 March 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Patrick MANNING (since 24 December 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by an electoral college, which consists of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, for a five-year term; election last held 10 December 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); the president usually appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives election results: college vote - 69%
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (31 seats; members appointed by the president for a maximum term of five years) and the House of Representatives (36 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Representatives - last held 10 December 2001 (next to be held by December 2006) note: Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly, with 15 members serving four-year terms election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote - UNC 49.9%, PNM 46.5%; seats by party - UNC 18, PNM 18
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature (comprised of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeals; the chief justice is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission); High Court of Justice; Court of Appeals the highest court of appeal is the Privy Council in London
Political parties and leaders: National Alliance for Reconstruction
or NAR [Hochoy CHARLES]; People's Empowerment Party or PEP [leader NA];
People's National Movement or PNM [Patrick MANNING]; Team Unity or TUN
[Ramesh MAHARAJ]; United National Congress or UNC [Basdeo PANDAY]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Jamaat-al Musilmeen [Yasin BAKR]
International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB,
ECLAC, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS,
OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
(vacant); Charge d'Affaires Mackisack LOGIE chancery: 1708 Massachusetts
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York
FAX: [1] (202) 785-3130 telephone: [1] (202) 467-6490