In this paper we introduce a formal framework for the construction of normative multiagent systems, based on Searle's notion of the construction of social reality. Within the structure of normative multiagent systems we distinguish between regulative norms that describe obligations, prohibitions and permissions, and constitutive norms that regulate the creation of institutional facts as well as the modification of the normative system itself. Using the metaphor of normative systems as agents, we attribute mental attitudes to the normative system. In particular,