Yap Constitution Day in Micronesia Date in the current year: December 24, 2024

Yap is one of the four states that make up the Federated States of Micronesia (the other three are Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae). It occupies an island group of the same name, the island of Satawal and fourteen atolls in the Pacific Ocean.

The Yap Main Islands were first sighted by Spanish explorers in the late 16th century. From the 17th century until 1899, they were a Spanish colony within the Spanish East Indies. During the Philippine Revolution, the Spanish used Yap as a prison for captured revolutionaries. In 1899, Spain sold Yap and its other minor possessions in the Pacific to Germany.

During the First World War, Yap and the rest of the Caroline Islands were occupied by Japan. The archipelago remained under Japanese control until the defeat of the Japanese Empire in the Second World War. Following the war, the islands were administered by the United States.

In 1979, Yap, Chuuk, Kosrae and Pohnpei formed the Federated States of Micronesia and ratified the federal constitution. After that, each state began the development of its own constitution. The Constitution of Yap came into effect on December 24, 1982. It consists of a preamble and 15 articles:

1. Supremacy
2. Fundamental Rights
3. Traditional Leaders and Traditions
4. Suffrage and Elections
5. The Legislature
6. The Executive
7. The Judiciary
8. Local Government
9. Taxation and Finance
10. Amendment
11. Legislature Election Districts
12. Health and Education
13. Conservation and Development of Resources
14. General Provisions (state capital, civil service system, indigenous and official languages, state citizenship, etc.)
15. Transition

It should be emphasized that the supremacy of the Constitution of Yap means that it is the supreme law of the state that overrules any act of government that comes in conflict with the constitution. At the same time, the Constitution of the Federate States of Micronesia is the supreme law of the country that overrules state constitutions.

Since Yap Constitution Day coincides with Christmas Eve and Christmas is a public holiday in Micronesia, the citizens of Yap basically have an extended Christmas holiday; while the rest of the states have just one day off on the occasion of Christmas, Yap has two.