In its decision 378/2017 of 31 May 2017, the Constitutional Chamber (Sala constitucional) of the Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo de Justicia, TSJ), which in the Venezuelan constitutional system is entrusted with constitutional review, instead pronounced the constitutionality of Presidential decree 2830. The TSJ ruled that “it is neither necessary nor constitutionally mandatory, to call for a consultative referendum prior to calling for a National Constituent Assembly, because that is not explicitly established in any of the provisions in Chapter III of Title IX [of the Constitution].” The TSJ distinguished the current situation from that prior to the adoption of the 1999 Convention, when a referendum on whether to convene a constituent national assembly had been held. According to the TSJ, in 1999 a referendum on the convocation of the National Constituent Assembly was needed because the Constitution then in force did not include any provisions on such an assembly.