Constitution

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Revision as of 23:09, 5 February 2009

Chapter 1
The National Territory

Article 1. The national territory comprises the states, the city of _____, and all other territories over which _____ has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas.

Article 2. (1) _____, _____, _____, and _____ are the states of the Republic.

(2) Other states may be admitted into the Republic by a vote of two-thirds of the Senate and two-thirds of the National Assembly; but no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other state, nor shall any state be formed by the junction of two or more states, or parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures of the states concerned, as well as of Parliament.

(3) Parliament shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations concerning the property of the Republic, including the lands thereof.

(4) _____ may acquire new territory, and Parliament shall have power to legislate and provide governments for the inhabitants of all territory belonging to the Republic, lying without the limits of the several states, and may permit them, at such times, and in such manner as it may by law provide, to form states to be admitted into the Republic.

Article 3. (1) The capital of the Republic is the city of _____.

(2) The organization, functioning, and operation of the city of _____ shall be determined by law.

Chapter 2
Citizenship

Article 4. The following are citizens of _____:

(a) Those who are citizens of _____ at the time of the adoption of this Constitution;

(b) Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of _____; and

(c) Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.

Article 5. Natural-born citizens are those who are citizens of _____ from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or perfect their _____ citizenship.

Article 6. _____ citizenship may be lost or reacquired in the manner provided by law.

Article 7. Citizens of _____ who marry aliens shall retain their citizenship, unless by their act or omission, they are deemed, under the law, to have renounced it.

Article 8. Dual citizenship shall not be recognized.

Chapter 3
Declaration of Principles and State Policies

Article 9. ______ is an independent, sovereign, secular, federal, republican state.

Article 10. (1) The principle governing the Republic is "government of the people, by the people and for the people."

(2) Power resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them. No group of people or individual can vest in themselves the exercise of power.

Article 11. The protection of life, liberty, and property and the maintenance of peace and order are the prime duties of the government.

Article 12. The separation of church and state shall be inviolable.

Article 13. (1) The Republic of _____ shall adhere to the principles of international law which are not contrary to the exercise of national sovereignty.

(2) _____ shall pursue an independent foreign policy. In its relations with other states, the paramount consideration shall be national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest, and the right to self-determination.

(3) _______, consistent with the national interest, adopts and pursues a policy of freedom from nuclear weapons in its territory.

(4) The Republic of _____ shall not join any international military organization or permit the establishment of foreign military bases on its national territory. Nor shall foreign military forces remain in or traverse the national territory of the Republic.

Article 14. The Constitution is the supreme law of the Republic. All laws inconsistent with the Constitution shall, to the extent of such inconsistency, be null and void.

Chapter 4
The Bill of Rights

Article 15. Every person shall be equal under the law and shall enjoy the same rights and be subject to the same duties, without distinction as to color, race, ethnic group, gender, place of birth, religion, sexual orientation, ideology, level of education, or economic or social status.

Article 16. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Article 17. (1) No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.

(2) There shall be no censorship.

Article 18. (1) Every person shall be guaranteed freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, including the right to profess, individually or together with others, any religion, or to profess no religion at all, and to freely choose, possess, and disseminate religious and other views and act according to them.

(2) No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights.

Article 19. (1) Every person shall have the right to remain faithful to his opinions or beliefs.

(2) A person's beliefs shall not excuse a violation of the law.

(3) No person shall be held legally responsible because of his opinions of beliefs, nor shall any person be compelled to change them.

Article 20. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, of whatever nature and for any purpose, shall be inviolable, and no search warrant or warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable cause to be determined personally by the judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses he may produce, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.

Article 21. (1) The privacy of communication and correspondence shall be inviolable, except upon lawful order of the court.

(2) Any evidence obtained in violation of this or the preceding Article shall be inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding.

Article 22. The liberty of abode and of changing the same within the limits prescribed by law shall not be impaired except upon lawful order of the court. Neither shall the right to travel be impaired except in the interest of national security, public safety, or public health, as may be provided by law.

Article 23. The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized. Access to official records, and to documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.

Article 24. Every person shall have the right to have and to carry arms for his security and legitimate defense. The law will indicate which arms are prohibited and the penalty for those that will carry prohibited arms.

Article 25. (1) Every person has a right to private property, whether personal or owned in association with others.

(2) Private property, whether individually or collectively owned, is inviolable.

(3) The right to property may not be interfered with except in public interest, in circumstances and procedures determined by law and subject to fair and prior compensation.

Article 26. The right of inheritance shall be guaranteed.

Article 27. No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed.

Article 28. (1) Every person shall have the right to freely choose his sphere of activity, profession, and place of work.

(2) Any worker may defend his rights through trade union action under conditions determined by law.

(3) The right of workers' to strike is permitted and shall be exercised within the limits provided for by the law, but the exercising of this right shall not interfere with the freedom to work which is guaranteed for every individual.

Article 29. The right of the people, including those employed in the public and private sectors, to form unions, associations, or societies for purposes not contrary to law shall not be abridged.

Article 30. No involuntary servitude in any form shall exist except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.

Article 31. (1) Every person has the right to physical and mental integrity.

(2) No person shall be subjected to experimentation without his informed consent. The modalities of such consent and experiments are determined by law.

Article 32. Free access to the courts and to adequate legal assistance shall not be denied to any person by reason of poverty.

Article 33. (1) Any person under investigation for the commission of an offense shall have the right to be informed of his right to remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice. If the person cannot afford the services of counsel, he must be provided with one. These rights cannot be waived except in writing and in the presence of counsel.

(2) No torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means which vitiate the free will shall be used against him. Secret detention places, solitary, incommunicado, or other similar forms of detention are prohibited.

(3) Any confession or admission obtained in violation of this or Article 38 hereof shall be inadmissible in evidence against him.

(4) The law shall provide for penal and civil sanctions for violations of this section as well as compensation to the rehabilitation of victims of torture or similar practices, and their families.

Article 34. All persons, except those charged with offenses punishable by reclusion perpetua when evidence of guilt is strong, shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, or be released on recognizance as may be provided by law. The right to bail shall not be impaired even when the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is suspended. Excessive bail shall not be required.

Article 35. (1) No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law.

(2) In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be presumed innocent until the contrary is proved, and shall enjoy the right to be heard by himself and counsel, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him, to have a speedy, impartial, and public trial, to meet the witnesses face to face, and to have compulsory process to secure the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence in his behalf. However, after arraignment, trial may proceed notwithstanding the absence of the accused: Provided, that he has been duly notified and his failure to appear is unjustifiable.

Article 36. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended except in cases of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it.

Article 37. All persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases before all judicial or administrative bodies.

Article 38. No person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.

Article 39. (1) Excessive fines shall not be imposed, nor cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment inflicted.

(2) The employment of physical, psychological, or degrading punishment against any prisoner or detainee or the use of substandard or inadequate penal facilities under subhuman conditions shall be dealt with by law.

(3) There shall be no death penalty.

Article 40. No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same offense. If an act is punished by a law and an ordinance, conviction or acquittal under either shall constitute a bar to another prosecution for the same act.

Article 41. (1) No person shall be convicted of an act which did not constitute a criminal offense under the law in force at the time the act was committed.

(2) No person shall have a more severe punishment imposed on him than the one that was applicable at the time the offense was committed. If, subsequent to the commission of an offense, the law provides for a lesser punishment, the lesser punishment shall apply.

Article 42. Every person shall have the right to his ethnic and cultural identity. The ethnic and cultural plurality of the nation shall be recognized and protected.

Article 43. Any ______ unable to express himself in English has the right to use his own language before any authority through an interpreter. Foreigners enjoy the same right when summoned before any authority.

Article 44. (1) Extradition may be granted only upon the recommendation of the Supreme Court, in compliance with the law and treaties and based on the principle of reciprocity.

(2) Extradition will not be granted when it is determined that it is sought for the purpose of persecution or punishment based on religion, nationality, opinions, or race.

(3) Those sought for political crimes or related acts will not be extradited. Acts of terrorism, mass murder, and genocide are not classified as such.

Article 45. The government recognizes political asylum. It accepts the status extended by the government granting asylum. In the case of deportation, the individual granted asylum will not be turned over to the country whose government is pursuing him.

Article 46. (1) No person owes obedience to a usurper government or to anyone who assumes public office in violation of the Constitution and the law.

(2) The civil population has the right to rise up in defense of the constitutional order.

(3) The acts of those who usurp public office are null and void.

Chapter 5
Suffrage

Chapter 3
Parliament

Part I: General

Section 1. Legislative power shall be vested in the Parliament of the Republic, which shall consist of the Senate and the National Assembly.

Section 2. Parliament shall have full power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Republic.

Section 3. The President of the Republic may appoint such times for holding the sessions of Parliament as he thinks fit, and may also from time to time, by proclamation or otherwise, prorogue Parliament, and may in like manner dissolve the Senate or the National Assembly or the Senate and the National Assembly simultaneously, provided that the dissolution of the Senate shall not affect any senators nominated by the President of the Republic.

Section 4. After any general election the Parliament shall be summoned to meet not later than thirty days after the day appointed for the return of the writs.

Section 5. There shall be a session of Parliament once at least in every year so that a period of twelve months shall not intervene between the last sitting of Parliament in one session and its first sitting in the next session.

Part II: The Senate

Section 1. The Senate shall be composed of:

(a) Eight senators nominated by the President of the Republic, of whom two shall be nominated from each state; and

(b) Ten senators from each state, appointed by the legislature thereof.

Section 2. (1) The senators nominated by the President of the Republic in terms of paragraph (a) of section 1 shall hold their seats for five years.

(2) The President of the Republic shall when nominating senators have regard to the desirability of ensuring that the senate will as far as practicable consist of persons having knowledge of matters affecting the various inhabitants of the Republic.

(3) If the seat of a senator so nominated becomes vacant, the President of the Republic shall nominate another person to hold the seat until the completion of the period for which the person in whose stead he is nominated, would have held the seat.

Section 3. (1) The senators appointed in terms of paragraph (b) of section 1 shall hold their seats for five years unless the Senate be sooner dissolved.

(2) If the seat of a senator so appointed becomes vacant, the sitting members of the state legislature concerned shall elect a person to hold the seat until the completion of the period for which the person in whose stead he is appointed, would have held the seat.

Part III: The National Assembly

Section 1. The National Assembly shall be composed of 150 members, directly chosen by the voters of the Republic in constituencies delimited as hereinafter provided.

Section 2. (1) ______ shall be divided into as many constituencies as there are members of the National Assembly in such manner as the competent authority, acting with the approval of each house of Parliament signified by resolution, may prescribe.

(2) No constituency shall form part of more than one state and the boundaries of each constituency shall be such that the number of inhabitants thereof is as nearly equal to the population quota as is reasonably practicable, provided that the number of inhabitants of a constituency may be greater or less than the population quota in order to take account of means of communication, geographical features, the distribution of different communities, and the boundaries of the states.

(3) The competent authority shall review the division of ______ into constituencies at intervals of not less than five and not more than ten years and may alter the constituencies in accordance with the provisions of this section to such extent as it may consider desirable in the light of the review: Provided that that authority may at any time carry out such a review and alter the constituencies in accordance with the provisions of this section to such extent as it considers necessary in consequence of any amendment to section 3 or 38 of this Constitution or any provision replacing either of those sections or by reason of the holding of a census of the population of _____ in pursuance of an Act of Parliament.

(4) Where the boundaries of any constituency established under this section are altered in accordance with the provisions of this section, that alteration shall come into effect upon the next dissolution of Parliament after the alteration has been approved by both houses of Parliament.

(5) In this section "population quota" means the number obtained by dividing the number of the inhabitants of _____ by the number of constituencies into which _____ is divided under this section.

(6) For the purposes of this section the number of inhabitants of _____ or any part thereof shall be ascertained by reference to the latest census of the population of _____ held in pursuance of an Act of Parliament.

(7) In this section "the competent authority" means the Electoral Commission of the Republic or such other authority consisting of a chairman appointed by the President of the Republic, and of members appointed in like manner to represent the states (each state being equally represented) as may be established in that behalf by Parliament.

Section 3. (1) Every constituency established under section 2 of this Constitution shall return to the National Assembly one member who shall be directly elected in such manner as may be prescribed by Parliament.

(2) The registration of voters and the conduct of elections shall be subject to the direction and supervision of the Electoral Commission of the Republic.

No person shall be qualified for selection as a senator or election to the National Assembly:

(a) If he has voluntarily acquired citizenship of a country other than _____ or has made a declaration of allegiance to such a country;

(b) If under any law in force in any part of _____ he is adjudged to be a lunatic or otherwise declared to be of unsound mind;

(c) If he is under a sentence of death imposed on him by any court of law in _____ or a sentence of imprisonment (by whatever name called) exceeding six months imposed on him by such a court or substituted by competent authority for some other sentence imposed on him by such a court;

(d) If he is an undischarged bankrupt, having been adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law in force in any part of _______;

(e) Save as otherwise provided by Parliament, if he is a member of the public service of the Republic or the public service of a state, a member of the armed forces, or the holder of any other office or emolument under the Republic.

Electoral Commission of the Republic

Section 1. There shall be an Electoral Commission for the Republic.

Section 2. The members of the Electoral Commission of the Republic shall be:

(a) A Chief Electoral Commissioner, who shall be chairman; and

(b) Five members from each state.

Section 3. The members of the Electoral Commission of the Republic shall be appointed by the President of the Republic, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister.

Section 4. Before tendering any advice for the purposes of this section in relation to the appointment of the member of the Electoral Commission of the Republic representing a state, the Prime Minister shall consult the governor of that state.

Section 5. A person shall not be qualified to hold the office of a member of the Electoral Commission of the Republic if he is a member of either house of Parliament, a member of a legislative house of a state, a Minister of the Government of the Republic, a Minister of the Government of a state, or a member of the public service of the Republic or the public service of a state.

Section 6. Subject to the provisions of this section, a member of the Electoral Commission of the Republic shall vacate his office:

(a) At the expiration of five years from the date of his appointment; or

(b) If any circumstances arise that, if he were not a member of the Commission, would came him to be disqualified for appointment as such.

Section 7. (1) A member of the Electoral Commission of the Republic may be removed from office by the President of the Republic, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, for inability to discharge the functions of his office (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or any other cause) or for misbehavior.

(2) A member of the Electoral Commission of the Republic shall not be removed from office except in accordance with the provisions of this section.

Section 8. In the exercise of its functions under this Constitution the Electoral Commission of the Republic shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.

The President shall be elected by direct ballot, with an absolute majority of the votes validly cast. The election shall be held ninety days before the end of the administration of the President then holding office in the manner determined by law. Should there be more than two candidates in the presidential election, none of them obtaining more than half of the votes validly cast, a new election shall be held, in the manner determined by law, fifteen days after the Elections Qualifying Court makes the corresponding statement within the term indicated in the following Article. This election shall be limited to the two candidates with the highest relative majorities. In relation to the provisions contained in the two preceding paragraphs, blank and null and void votes will be considered as if they had not been cast.

Article 27.- The process of qualification of the presidential election is to be concluded within forty days following the first election or within twenty-five days following the second election. The Elections Qualifying Court shall immediately communicate the President of the Senate the proclamation of the President-elect. Plenary Congress convened in public session ninety days after the first or sole election, with the members in attendance, shall take cognizance of the decision by virtue of which the Elections Qualifying Court proclaims the President-elect. In this same act, the President-elect shall be bound by oath before the President of the Senate to faithfully perform his duties as President of the Republic, to preserve the independence of the Nation, comply with and enforce compliance with the Constitution and the law, and he shall take office immediately thereafter.

Article 28.- Should the President-elect be unable to take office, the President of the Senate shall assume, in the meantime, in the capacity of Vice-President of the Republic; in his absence, the President of the Supreme Court, and in the absence of the latter, the President of the Chamber of Deputies. Nevertheless, should the inability of the President-elect be absolute or should it continue indefinitely, the Vice-President within the term of ten days following the Senate agreement adopted in accordance with Article 49, No 7, shall issue the appropriate orders for steps to be taken within a period of sixty days to proceed with a new election in the manner prescribed for by the Constitution and the Electoral law.

Article 29.- If, because of temporary incapacity, either illness, absence from the country or some other serious reason, the President of the Republic is unable to hold office, he shall be replaced by the incumbent Minister of State as Vice-President of the Republic, in accordance with the order of legal precedence. In the absence of such Minister, the Minister who follows in the order of precedence shall succeed him; and in the absence of all of them, the President of the Senate, the President of the Supreme Court and the President of the Chamber of Deputies, successively, shall substitute for him. In case of vacancy in the Presidency of the Republic, the successor shall be appointed by the Senate with an absolute majority of its members in office and shall remain in office until the next general election of members of Congress when a new presidential election shall be held for the period referred to in the second paragraph of Article 25. The Senate shall make its appointment within ten days following the date of the vacancy. In the meantime, the substitution procedures referred to in the preceding paragraph shall apply. The President thus designated may not become a candidate in the following presidential election.

Article 30.- The President shall leave office on the same day on which his term is completed and shall be succeeded by the newly-elected President.

Article 31.- The President designated by the Senate, or, as the case may be, the Vice-President of the Republic, shall have all the authority which the Constitution confers upon the President of the Republic; however, he shall not be empowered to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies.