The Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela declared last month the constitutionality of Decree 3,844, issued on May 10, 2019, by means of which the government of Nicolás Maduro enacted a State of Exception and Economic Emergency throughout the country.

Four factors were taken into consideration by the Constitutional Division of the Supreme Court to support the decision: 1) enforceability of sanctions against Venezuelan oil; 2) the United States blockade of the Venezuelan economy; 3) the decision of the Venezuelan government to request an "arbitration forum" before the World Trade Organization (WTO) for "illegal commercial practices" allegedly carried out by the United States and Colombia; and 4) the signature of 11 bilateral agreements between Russia and Venezuela, covering topics such as oil, finance and trade, among others.