Venezuela is a member of several international and regional organisations that influence refugee protection, human rights and human mobility policies. At the global level, Venezuela is a member of the United Nations (UN) and participates in international refugee and human rights frameworks. Venezuela is a State Party to the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees and has endorsed the Global Compact on Refugees.
At the regional level, Venezuela participates in organisations and integration mechanisms such as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA-TCP), and the Association of Caribbean States (ACS/AEC). These organisations provide forums for regional cooperation on issues including migration, human mobility, human rights and development, which may affect the situation of refugees, asylum-seekers and other forcibly displaced persons.
 

The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela incorporates international human rights law into the domestic legal order. Under Article 23, international treaties, covenants and conventions relating to human rights that have been signed and ratified by Venezuela have constitutional rank and prevail within the domestic legal system where they provide more favourable standards than those established by the Constitution or national legislation. Such instruments are directly and immediately applicable by courts and all other public authorities. 
The Constitution further provides that the State must guarantee and protect human rights in accordance with the Constitution, international human rights treaties ratified by Venezuela, and the laws implementing those rights. It also recognises that the rights and guarantees set out in the Constitution and in international human rights instruments should not be interpreted as excluding other inherent human rights. 
Accordingly, the Venezuelan constitutional framework establishes a system in which ratified international human rights treaties form part of domestic law, may enjoy constitutional status, and may be invoked directly before courts and other state institutions without the need for further implementing legislation.
 

According to the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Venezuela is a federal and decentralised State. Political power is distributed among the national, state, and municipal levels of government. The Constitution recognises the autonomy of states and municipalities in matters falling within their respective competences, while reserving certain powers exclusively to the national government.

At the national level, public authority is organised into five branches: the Legislative, Executive, Judicial, Citizen, and Electoral branches.

The Constitution establishes a system of separation of powers and cooperation among the branches of government. The National Assembly exercises legislative functions and oversight powers, while the Executive Branch is responsible for implementing laws and administering public affairs. The Citizen Branch, composed of the Ombudsperson, the Attorney General, and the Comptroller General, is responsible for promoting accountability and safeguarding ethical conduct in public administration, while the Electoral Branch is responsible for organising and supervising electoral processes.

Although the Constitution establishes a federal structure, it also provides for coordination between the national, state, and municipal levels of government, as well as among the different branches of public authority.
 

The legal system of Venezuela is founded on the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which is the supreme law of the country and the highest-ranking norm within the legal order. All persons and public authorities are subject to the Constitution, and all legislation and state actions must conform to its provisions.

The Constitution establishes a hierarchy of legal norms in which the Constitution prevails over all other legal instruments. Laws are enacted by the National Assembly and must be consistent with constitutional provisions. The Supreme Tribunal of Justice is responsible for ensuring supremacy and uniform interpretation of the Constitution through constitutional review.

International treaties, agreements and conventions relating to human rights that have been ratified by Venezuela form part of the domestic legal order and prevail over national legislation where they establish standards that are more favourable to the enjoyment and exercise of human rights.

The Constitution also recognises legal pluralism to a limited extent. Indigenous authorities may exercise jurisdiction within their ancestral habitats and lands according to their traditions and customs, provided that their decisions are not contrary to the Constitution, the law, or public order. In addition, the Constitution promotes alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, including arbitration, conciliation, mediation, and other means established by law.
 

The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela establishes an independent Judicial Branch responsible for the administration of justice. Judicial authority is exercised through the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Tribunal Supremo de Justicia, TSJ), which is the highest court in the country, and the other courts established by law. The TSJ is responsible for the direction, governance, administration, inspection, and supervision of the judiciary. The Constitution also provides for the organisation of judicial circuits and the establishment of regional courts and tribunals to promote the administrative and jurisdictional decentralisation of the judicial system. 

The Constitution distinguishes between the Judicial Branch and the broader justice system. Under Article 253, the justice system comprises the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, other courts established by law, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Public Defence Service, criminal investigation bodies, court officials, the penitentiary system, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, citizens participating in the administration of justice as provided by law, and authorised legal practitioners. 

Judges should be selected through public competitive examinations designed to ensure the suitability and excellence of candidates. The Constitution provides for citizen participation in the selection and appointment process. Judges are appointed and sworn in by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice and may only be suspended or removed through procedures expressly established by law.

The Constitution also recognises alternative dispute resolution mechanisms as part of the justice system and promotes arbitration, conciliation, mediation, and other means of alternative justice. In addition, Indigenous authorities may exercise jurisdiction within their ancestral habitats and lands, based on their traditions and customs, provided that such decisions are not contrary to the Constitution, the law, or public order.
 

Article 12 of the Organic Law on Refugees and Asylees provides that the primary institution responsible for implementing laws and policies related to refugees and other forcibly displaced persons in Venezuela is the National Commission for Refugees (Comisión Nacional para los Refugiados, CONARE). This inter-institutional body is chaired by a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and includes voting representatives from the Ministry of Interior and Justice and the Ministry of Defence. The Commission is also supported by representatives of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Ombudsperson’s Office, and the National Assembly, who participate with speaking rights. Through this multi-sectoral composition, CONARE is responsible for overseeing refugee status determination procedures and coordinating the implementation of the national legal framework for refugee protection at the national level.
Its roles are: i) To guide and coordinate the actions necessary to provide protection, assistance and legal support to asylum-seekers and refugees; ii) To examine and decide on applications for refugee status determination, as well as on the cessation and withdrawal of refugee status, and to rule on the expulsion of refugees, in accordance with the procedures and criteria established in this Law, its Regulations, and the applicable international instruments; iii) To draft and adopt its own internal rules of procedure.