Constitution of the Republic of Venezuela, 1961
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CONSTITUTION OF THE
REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA
REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA
having called for the vote of the Legislative Assemblies of the States of Anzoátegui, Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Bolívar, Carabobo, Cojedes, Falcón, Guárico, Lara, Mérida, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Portuguesa, Sucre, Táchira, Trujillo, Yaracuy, and Zulia, and in view of the favorable result of the voting,
in representation of the Venezuelan people, for whom the protection of God Omnipotent is invoked;
with the aim of maintaining the independence and territorial integrity of the Nation, strengthening its unity, ensuring the freedom, peace, and stability of its institutions;
protecting and uplifting labor, upholding human dignity, promoting the general well-being and social security; achieving an equitable participation by all in the enjoyment of wealth, according to principles of social justice, and promoting the development of the economy in the service of man;
maintaining social and legal equality, without discriminations due to race, sex, creed or social condition;
cooperating with all other nations and especially with the sister Republics of the Hemisphere, in the aims of the international community, on the basis of mutual respect for sovereignties, the self-determination of peoples, the universal guarantee of the individual and social rights of the human person, and the repudiation of war, conquest and economic predominance as instruments of international policy;
supporting the democratic order as the sole and irrenounceable means of ensuring the rights and dignity of citizens and favoring their peaceful extension to all the peoples of the earth;
and preserving and increasing the moral and historic patrimony of the Nation, forged by the people in their struggles for freedom and justice and by the thoughts and deeds of the great servants of their country, whose highest expression is Simón Bolívar, the Liberator, decrees the following
TITLE I
The Republic, its Territory and Political Divisions
The Republic, its Territory and Political Divisions
Chapter I
Fundamental Provisions
Fundamental Provisions
Article 1. The Republic of Venezuela is irrevocably and forever free and independent from any domination or protection by a foreign power.
Article 2. The Republic of Venezuela is a federal state, within the terms affirmed by this Constitution.
Article 3. The government of the Republic of Venezuela is and always shall be democratic, representative, responsible, and alternating.
Article 4. Sovereignty resides in the people, who exercise it, by means of suffrage, through the branches of the Public Power.
Article 5. The national flag, with the colors yellow, blue, and red; the national hymn "Glory to a brave people", and the coat of arms of the Republic, are the symbols of our country.
The law shall determine their characteristics and regulate their use.
Article 6. The official language is Spanish.
Chapter II
The Territory and Political Divisions
The Territory and Political Divisions
Article 7. The national territory is that which belonged to the Captaincy General of Venezuela before the political transformation initiated in 1810, with the modifications resulting from treaties validly concluded by the Republic.
The sovereignty, authority and vigilance over the territorial sea, the contiguous maritime zone, the continental shelf, and the air space, as well as the ownership and exploitation of property and resources contained within them, shall be exercised to the extent and conditions determined by law.
Article 8. The national territory may never be ceded, transferred, or leased or alienated in any way, even partially or temporarily, to a foreign power.
Foreign States may acquire, within a specified area, under guarantee of reciprocity and with limitations established by law, only real property that is necessary for the seat of their diplomatic and consular representation. The acquisition of real property by international organizations may be authorized only in accordance with conditions and restrictions established by law. In al these cases sovereignty over the land is retained.
Article 9. The national territory is divided for the purposes of the political organization of the Republic into the States, the Federal District, the Federal Territories, and the Federal Dependencies.
Article 10. States may merge, alter their present boundaries, and grant compensations or cessions of territory through the agreements approved by their Legislative Assemblies and ratified by the Senate. Alternations of boundaries, compensations or cessions of territory between the Federal District or the Federal Territories or Dependencies and the States may be accomplished through agreements between the National Executive and the respective States, ratified by the corresponding Legislative Assemblies and by the Senate.
Article 11. The city of Caracas is the capital of the Republic and the permanent seat of the supreme branches of the National Power.
The provisions of this article shall not prevent the temporary exercise of the National Power in other places in the Republic.
A special law shall coordinate the different jurisdictions existing within metropolitan area of Caracas, without impairing municipal autonomy.
Article 12. The Federal District and the Federal Territories shall be organized by organic laws in which municipal autonomy shall be maintained.
Article 13. A special law may give a Federal Territory the status of a State, alloting to it all or a part of the respective Territory.
Article 14. The Federal Dependencies are those portions of the territory of the Republic not included in the States, Territories and Federal District, as well as the islands which may be formed or appear in the territorial sea or in the sea covering the continental shelf. Their system of government and administration shall be established by law.
Article 15. The law may establish a special juridical system for those territories wich, by the free determination of their inhabitants and with the approval of Congress, are incorporated into the Republic.
Chapter III
The States
The States
Article 16. The States are autonomous and equal as political entities. They are obliged to maintain the independence and integrity of the Nation; and to comply with and enforce the Constitution and the laws of the Republic.
They shall give faith and credit to the public acts issuing from the national authorities, the other States, and the Municipalities and shall see that they are executed.
Each State may preserve its present name or change it.
Article 17. The following are within the competence of each State:
1. The organization of its public powers, in conformity with this Constitution;
2. The organization of its Municipalities and other local entities and their political and territorial division, in accordance with this Constitution and the national laws.
3. The administration of its property and expenditures of the constitutional allotment and other revenues pertaining to it, subject to the provisions of Articles 229 and 235 of this Constitution;
4. The use of the public credit, subject to the limitations and requirements established by national laws;
5. The organization of the urban and rural police and determination of what branches of this service shall be within municipal jurisdiction;
6. Matters entrusted to it in accordance with Article 137;
7. Anything which, in conformity with this Constitution, does not pertain to national or municipal jurisdiction.
Article 18. The States may not:
1. Create custom houses or taxes on imports, export taxes, or taxes on transit of foreign or domestic goods, or on other revenue items under national or municipal jurisdiction;
2. Tax consumer goods before they enter into circulation within their territory;
3. Prohibit consumption of goods produced outside their territory, or tax them differently from those produced within their jurisdiction;
4. Levy taxes on livestock or on their products or by-products.
Article 19. The Legislative Power in each State is exercised by a Legislative Assembly whose members must meet the same requirements as those indicated in this Constitution to be a Deputy, and they shall be elected by direct vote with proportional representation of minorities, according to law.
The Legislative Assembly is competent to examine and control any act of the public state administration.
Members of the Legislative Assemblies shall enjoy immunity within the territory of the respective State from ten days before the beginning of sessions until ten days after their termination or after a member ceases to function. This immunity is governed by the rules of this Constitution relative to the immunity of Senators and Deputies, in so far as applicable.
Article 20. The powers of the Legislative Assembly are:
1. To legislate on matters within state competence;
2. To approve or disapprove annually the actions of the Governor, in a special session called for that purpose;
3. To sanction the Budget Law of the State;
The total expenditures authorized by the Budget Law may in no case exceed the estimate of revenues for the respective period made by the Governor in the bill submitted to the Legislative Assembly;
4. Any others attributed to it by law.
Article 21. The government and administration of each State pertains to a Governor, who in addition to being executive head of the State is the agent of the National Executive in his respective district.
To be a Governor one must be a Venezuelan by birth, over thirty years of age and a layman.
Article 22.
