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Appointed by important British official George Price, V.H. Courtenay, Assad Shoman, Said Musa and C.L.B. Rogers took on the Belize Constitution. They were all attourneys at law and Price's most trusted ministers.

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The appointed committee wanted the Constitution to reflect support for a monarchy based on the British Parliament. Delegates, officials and advisers took part in a conference to discuss and determine what should be included in the Constitution.

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Rights to life, liberty, and law were included. There was also protection against inhuman treatment and discrimination. There was freedom of movement, conscience, and expression. Also included were plans for emergencies and protection of detained persons.

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More on basic rights of Belizeans as laid out in the Constitution:

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Basic Constitutional Rights of Belizeans - English

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The Belize Act of 1981 gave Queen Elizabeth II the authority to provide Belize an independence constitution and to set a date for Belize's independence. It also validated Belize's self-governing status. The queen gave the order on July 31.
The new constitution was passed to the governor, who gave his approval on September 20, 1981. Belize became independent the next day.

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At the 1787 Constitutional Convention, after thorough debate, the delegates established three branches of national government. "Checks and Balances" was put into place so that no single branch would overpower the others.
Most delegates signed the Constitution once it was finished, but it had to be ratified by the states. After a series of essays called the Federalist Papers was published and compromises were reached, the Constituion was ratified.

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Constitutional and political development in Belize prior independence in 1981 can be divided into seven stages. The British settlement enjoyed its own legislature, called the Public Meeting, while the crown held executive authority and thus the right to appoint governors.

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Framers wanted a sronger national government with three branches- judicial, legislative, and executive. As stated in the preamble, the main concerns were a better union, justice, domestic tranquility, defense, general welfare, and liberty for all citizens.

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In general, the U.S. Constitution had to go through a much more complex process to be accepted, as our nation had many more conflicting opinions at that time. The people of Belize in the 1980's all had a common goal, and their process was less complex.
Belize's Constitution also served as their "Declaration of Independence" in a way, while the U.S. was already independent. We were mainly concerned with getting away from the Articles of Confederation and shaping a new type of government.