Resumo

ETCHEVERRY, Juan B.. Building a Democracy respectful of Human Rights: Reflections from the Constitutional Model adopted by East Timor. Bol. Mex. Der. Comp. [online]. 2013, vol.46, n.138, pp.973-995. ISSN 2448-4873.

This paper proposes to show the benefits of adopting a constitutional model that incorporates fundamental rights and judicial review systems in order to build a democracy respectful of human rights. Such goal will be achieved analyzing the constitutional model adopted by the young republic of East Timor. To that end, first we will explain briefly the political background and the roots of the Constitution of this country. Further on, we will present some of the characteristics of the constitutional model of East Timor. Specifically, we will show that this Constitution: i) it is not made up only of rules, but also includes values and principles which are directly applicable, and works as validity standards for the whole legal system; and ii) it recognizes some legal contents -related to human rights- that limit the rules, decisions and actions made by authorities and citizens. Finally, we will point out some challenges that this constitutional models usually face when reviewing authority decisions.

Palavras-chave : East Timor; Transitional Justice; Newconstitutionalism; Human Rights.