It was argued by several interlocutors met in Washington that the people of Haiti is currently facing extreme hardship and, once security is restored and elections may be held, would not necessarily consider a lengthy procedure of constitutional amendment to be a priority and would rather expect and demand that a functional State focus on providing basic public goods to its citizens. A certain balance between the needs of legality and democratic legitimacy of the constitutional amendments on the one hand, and priority to effective governance on the other hand will need to be found. The Venice Commission stresses that it will be for the Haitian transitional authorities to decide if constitutional amendments should be prepared, and how extensive they should be. The Venice Commission considers that the people of Haiti should be consulted to the maximum extent possible and that the feedback from the past constitutional amendment consultations should be used for the preparation of the future amendments, given that, at this stage, the security situation and the time pressure would not allow to hold constitutional consultations. In the Venice Commission’s view, therefore, if it is decided to amend the Constitution prior to the new elections, it would be advisable, in the interest of democratic legitimacy, for a referendum to be organised in order for the people of Haiti to endorse, and “own”, these future constitutional changes.