Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay, 1940

From Roach Busters

CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF PARAGUAY

The Paraguayan Nation, with the aid of Almighty God, Supreme Legislator of the Universe, for the purpose of ensuring justice, preserving domestic tranquility, providing for the national defense, promoting the welfare and progress of the Republic, and making the benefits of liberty lasting for its people, orders, decrees, and establishes this Constitution.

General Statements

Article 1. Paraguay is and shall always be free and independent, constitutes itself a Republic, one and indivisible, and adopts representative democracy as its form of government.

Article 2. Sovereignty resides essentially in the people, who delegate its exercise to the authorities created by this Constitution.

Article 3. The Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion is the state religion, but other cults not opposed to morality and public order are tolerated. The head of the Paraguayan Church and the bishops must be native citizens.

Article 4. This Constitution, the laws enacted as a result of it, and the treaties concluded with foreign countries constitute the supreme law of the Nation.

Article 5. The City of Asunción is the Capital of the Republic and seat of the powers of the State.

Article 6. The principles, guarantees, obligations, and rights proclaimed by this Constitution may not be altered by the laws that regulate their exercise. Every law, decree, or regulation opposed to its provisions is null and void.

Article 7. Equality is the basis of public service. The Government provides for state expenses out of revenue from taxes, assessments, and levies determined by law; the sale and lease of public lands; the operation of mines; profits from public services and state monopolies; and loans and other credit operations.

Article 8. The goods resulting from national production or manufacture shall move within the territory of the Republic duty-free. Navigation on inland rivers is open to ships of all flags, subject to any regulations issued by the House of Representatives.

Article 9. The Government shall encourage American and European immigration and shall regulate the entry of foreigners into the country.

Article 10. Elementary education is compulsory and free. The Government shall encourage secondary, professional, and university education.

Article 11. Health care for the people, social welfare, and the moral, spiritual, and physical education of youth are fundamental duties of the State.

Article 12. The Government shall seek to strengthen its relations of peace and commerce with foreign nations by means of treaties inspired by the national interest and the principles of public law proclaimed by this Constitution. It shall devote particular attention to the policy of cooperation and solidarity with the peoples of America.

Article 13. In no case shall private interests prevail over the general interest of the Paraguayan Nation. All citizens are obliged to cooperate for the benefit of the State and of the Paraguayan Nation. The law shall determine in what cases they will be obliged to accept public functions, according to their qualifications.

Article 14. The exploitation of man by man is proscribed. In order to secure for every worker a standard of living compatible with human dignity, the system of labor contracts and social security and the safety and health conditions of establishments shall be under the supervision and control of the State.

Article 15. The State shall regulate the national economic life. It alone has the authority to coin or issue money, establish systems of weights and measures, and control trademarks. Combinations tending toward a monopoly of consumer goods, the artificial raising or lowering of prices, or restraints upon free competition shall not be permitted. The manufacture of and traffic in articles harmful to health and good customs are prohibited. The law shall establish penalties for acts in violation of these principles. The State may, by payment of compensation, nationalize public services and monopolize the production, circulation, and sale of basic commodities.

Article 16. The House of Representatives may not grant the Executive Power special powers outside the limits of this Constitution, or supreme authority such that the life, honor, and property of Paraguayans are at the mercy of the Government or of any individual.

Article 17. All higher authorities, officials, and public employees are individually responsible for the misdemeanors and crimes they commit in the performance of their duties, without prejudice to any indirect responsibility of the State that may be fixed by law. In no case may they exercise authority beyond their jurisdiction, and their acts must at all times conform with the law. Strikes by public officials, as well as the collective abandonment of their posts, are prohibited.

Article 18. The custody and defense of the order, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and honor of the Repblic, as well as the defense of this Constitution, are entrusted to the Armed Forces of the Nation. The President of the Republic is the Commander in Chief of these forces, but he may delegate actual troop command to a general officer. The Armed Forces of the Nation are organized on a permanent basis.

Rights, Obligations, and Guarantees

Article 19. All inhabitants of the Republic enjoy the following rights, according to the laws that regulate their exercise: to choose a profession; to work and to engage in any lawful trade or industry, subject to any limitations imposed by law for social and economic reasons of national interest; to assemble peaceably; to petition the authorities; to publish their ideas in the press without prior censorship, provided they refer to matters of general interest; to dispose of their property; to associate for lawful purposes; to exercise their religion freely; to learn and to teach.

Article 20. The law shall determine which professions require degrees for their practice, the conditions to be met in order to obtain such degrees, and the authority that issues them. The system and the inspection of education are responsibilities of the State.

Article 21. The Constitution guarantees private property, whose nature and limits shall be determined by law, giving attention to its social function. No one may be deprived of his property except through a judgment based upon law. Ownership of every kind of goods may be legally transformed through expropriaton by reason of social utility as defined by law, which will at the same time determine the form of indemnity. The law may fix the maximum amount of land that an individual or a legally organized company may own, and the excess must be sold at public auction or expropriated by the State for distribution.

Article 22. All inhabitants of the Republic are under obligation to earn a livelihood through their own lawful work. Every Paraguayan home ought to stand on its own individual piece of land.

Article 23. The civil rights of women shall be regulated by law, attention being given to family unity, equality as between women and men, and the differences in their respective functions in society.

Article 24. No personal service may be demanded except by virtue of law. Every author or inventor owns his work, invention, or discovery for the period of time fixed by law.

Article 25. In no case shall the death penalty or the confiscation of property by applied for political considerations.

Article 26. No law shall have retroactive effect. No inhabitant may be punished without a previous trial based upon a law enacted prior to the act subject of the trial, nor may he be tried in special courts. No one may be forced to testify againt himelf; neither may he be arrested without a written warrant issued by a responsible authority, or detained more than twenty-four hours without being advised as to the reason for his detention, nor may he be detained except in his own house or in public places designated for the purpose. Every inhabitant is guaranteed the petition of habeas corpus. The law assumes the innocence of anyone who has not been declared guilty or legally suspect of being so by the ruling of a competent judge. The crime or dishonorable act for which a person is liable does not legally affect his relatives.

Article 27. Defense in a suit against a person or rights is inviolable. Also inviolable are the home, letters, and private papers. The law shall determine in what cases the inviolability of the home and correspondence may be suspended.

Article 28. Jails must be healthy and clean. Torture and whipping are prohibited.

Article 29. Excessive bail shall not be required nor excessive fines imposed.

Article 30. Private acts that do not offend public order and morals or damage third parties in any way are exempt from the authority of magistrates. No one may be forced to do anything not required by law, or prevented from doing anything not forbidden by law. The law may authorize the Executive Power or specified administrative authorities to issue general police regulations and to impose the corresponding punishments, within the fields and limitations fixed by the law itself.