Constitution of the Republic of Venezuela, 1961

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CONSTITUTION OF THE
REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA

THE CONGRESS OF THE 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

CONSTITUTION

TITLE I
The Republic, its Territory and Political Divisions

Chapter I
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

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

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. The law may establish the manner of electing and removing Governors, in accordance with the principles set forth in Article 3 of this Constitution. The respective bill must first be introduced to the Chambers in joint session, by a vote of two thirds of their members. The respective law shall not be subject to veto by the President of the Republic. Until the law provided in this article is enacted, the Governors shall be freely appointed and removed by the President of the Republic.

Article 23. The powers and duties of a Governor are:

1. To comply with and enforce this Constitution and the laws, and to execute and see to the execution of orders and resolutions received from the National Executive;

2. To appoint and remove the officials and employees under him, if their designation is not attributed to some other authority, without prejudice to laws governing the administrative career;

3. To submit to the Legislative Assembly a report of his administration for the year immediately preceding;

4. To submit to the Legislative Assembly the bill for the Budget Law.

Article 24. Disapproval of the acts of a Governor shall mean his immediate removal in the event that the latter is expressly agreed upon by a vote of two thirds of the members of the Legislative Assembly.

Chapter IV
Municipalities

Article 25. The Municipalities constitute the primary and autonomous political units within the national organization. They are juridical persons and their representation shall be exercised by those agencies determined by law.

Article 26. The organization of Municipalities and other local entities shall be governed by this Constitution, by rules following constitutional principles established in national organic laws, and by legal provisions enacted by the States in conformity therewith.

Article 27. The laws may establish different systems for the organization, government, and administration of Municipalities, based on population, economic development, geographical location, and other important factors. In all cases the municipal organization must be democratic and respond to the actual nature of the local government.

Article 28. Municipalities may be grouped into Districts. Municipalities may also be constituted as joint communities (mancomunidades) for specified purposes within their competence.

Article 29. Municipal autonomy includes:

1. Election of its authorities;

2. Free action on matters within its competence;

3. The creation, collection and expenditure of its revenues;

Acts of Municipalities may not be challenged except before jurisdictional authorities, in accordance with this Constitution and the laws.

Article 30. The government and administration of interests peculiar to the entity are within municipal competence, particularly in relation to its property and revenue and matters proper to local life, such as urban development, supplies, traffic, culture, health, social assistance, public credit institutions, tourist travel, and municipal police.

The law may grant municipalities exclusive competence in specific matters and may also impose on them a compulsory minimum of services.

Article 31. Municipalities shall have the following revenues:

1. The proceeds from their communal lands (ejidos) and their own property;

2. Excise taxes from the use of their property and services;

3. Licenses on industry, commerce and vehicles, and taxes on urban real property and public entertainment;

4. Fines imposed by municipal authorities and others attributed to them by law;

5. State or national subsidies and donations;

6. Any other special taxes, excises and contributions that are imposed according to law.

Article 32. The communal lands (ejidos) are inalienable and imprescriptible. They may be alienated only for constructions in those cases established by municipal ordinances and after compliance with formalities indicated therein. Those specified by law may also be alienated for purposes of agrarian reform, but there must always be left untouched lands required for the development of urban centers.

Article 33. Municipalities may make use of public credit subject to such limitations and requirements as are imposed by law.

Article 34. Municipalities shall be subject to the limitations established in Article 18 of this Constitution and they may not impose on the products of agriculture, stock-raising, or fishing of edible animals, taxes other than those on retail trade.

TITLE II
Nationality

Article 35. The following are Venezuelans by birth:

1. Those born in the territory of the Republic;

2. Those born in foreign territory of a native-born Venezuelan father and mother;

3. Those born in foreign territory of a native-born Venezuelan father or a native-born Venezuelan mother, provided they establish their residence in the territory of the Republic or declare their intention of accepting Venezuelan nationality;

4. Those born in foreign territory of a naturalized Venezuelan father or naturalized Venezuelan mother, provided that before reaching eighteen years of age they establish their residence in the territory of the Republic and before reaching reaching twenty-five years of age they declare their intention of accepting Venezuelan nationality.

Article 36. Foreigners who obtain a certificate of naturalization are Venezuelans by naturalization.

Foreigners who by birth have the nationality of Spain or of a Latin American State shall be entitled to special facilities in obtaining a certificate of naturalization.

Article 37. The following are Venezuelans by naturalization whenever they declare their intention to be such:

1. A foreign woman married to a Venezuelan;

2. Foreign minors as of the date of naturalization of the person who has parental authority over them, if they reside in the territory of the Republic and make the declaration before they reach twenty-five years of age; and

3. Foreign minors adopted by Venezuelans, if they reside in the territory of the Republic and make the declaration before reaching twenty-five years of age.

Article 38. A Venezuelan woman who marries a foreigner retains her nationality unless she declares her intention to the contrary and, in accordance to the national law of her husband, she acquires his nationality.

Article 39. Venezuelan nationality is lost:

1. By voluntary option or acquisition of another nationality;

2. By revocation of naturalization by judicial sentence according to law.

Article 40. Venezuelan nationality by birth is recovered whenever the person who lost it becomes domiciled in the territory of the Republic and declares his intention to recover it, or whenever he remains in the country for a period of not less than two years.

Article 41. The declaration of intention contemplated in Articles 35, 37, and 40 shall be made in proper form by the interested party if over eighteen years of age, or by his legal representative if he has not reached that age.

Article 42. The law shall enact, in accordance with the spirit of the foregoing provisions, the substantive and procedural rules relating to the acquisition, option, loss, and recovery of Venezualan nationality, shall resolve conflicts of nationality, shall establish the requirements, favorable circumstances and formalities, and shall regulate the loss and voidance of naturalization by indication of intention and by obtaining a naturalization certificate.

TITLE III
Duties, Rights and Guarantees

Chapter I
General Provisions

Article 43. Everyone has the right to the free development of his personality, with no other limitations than those deriving from the rights of others and from the public and social order.

Article 44. No legislative provision shall have retroactive effect except when it imposes a lesser penalty. Procedural laws shall apply from the time they enter into force, even in cases that are pending; but in criminal trials evidence already introduced, insofar as it is beneficial to the defendant, shall be weighed in accordance with the law in force at the time the trial begins.

Article 45. Foreigners have the same duties and rights as Venezuelans, with those limitations and exceptions established by this Constitution and the laws.

Political rights are reserved to Venezuelans, except as provided in Article 111.

Venezuelans by naturalization who entered the country before reaching seven years of age and resided therein permanently until attaining majority shall enjoy the same rights as Venezuelans by birth.

Article 46. Every act of the Public Power which violates or impairs the rights guaranteed by this Constitution is void, and the public officials and employees who order or execute it shall be held criminally, civilly or administratively liable, as the case may be, and orders of superiors manifestly contrary to the Constitution and the laws may not serve as an excuse.

Article 47. In no case may Venezuelans or foreigners claim indemnity from the Republic, the States, or Municipalities for damages, loss or expropriation that have not been caused by legitimate authorities in the exercise of their public office.

Article 48. Every agent of authority who executes measures restricting freedom must be identified as such when so demanded by the persons affected.

Article 49. The courts shall protect every inhabitant of the Republic in the enjoyment and exercise of the rights and guarantees established in this Constitution, in conformity with the law.

Proceedings shall be brief and summary and the competent judge shall have the power to reestablish immediately the infringed juridical situation.

Article 50. The enunciation of rights and guarantees in this Constitution must not be construed as a denial of others which, being inherent in the human person, are not expressly mentioned herein.

The lack of a law regulating these rights does not impair the exercise thereof.

Chapter II
Duties

Article 51. Venezuelans have the duty to honor and defend their country, and to safeguard and protect the interests of the Nation.

Article 52. Both Venezuelans and foreigners must comply with and obey the Constitution and the laws, and the decrees, resolutions and orders issued by legitimate agencies of the Public Power in the exercise of their functions.

Article 53. Military service is compulsory and shall be rendered without distinction as to class or social condition, in the periods and occasions fixed by law.

Article 54. Labor is a duty of every person fit to perform it.

Article 55. Education is compulsory within the degree and conditions fixed by law. Parents and representatives are responsible for compliance with this duty, and the State shall provide the means by which all may comply with it.

Article 56. Everyone is obligated to contribute to the public expenditures.

Article 57. The obligations that pertain to the State with respect to the assistance, education and well-being of the people do not exclude those which, by virtue of social solidarity, are incumbent on individuals according to their capacity. The law may impose compliance with these obligations in those cases where it may be necessary. It also may impose on persons who aspire to practice specified professions, the duty of rendering service for a certain time in places and under conditions indicated.

Chapter III
Individual Rights

Article 58. The right to life is inviolable. No law may establish the death penalty nor any authority carry it out.

Article 59. Every person has the right to be protected against injury to his honor, reputation or private life.

Article 60. Personal liberty and safety are inviolable, and consequently:

1. No one may be arrested or detained, unless caught in flagrante, except by virtue of a written order of an official authorized to decree the detention, in the cases and with the formalities prescribed by law. The summary proceedings may not be prolonged beyond the maximum legally fixed limit.

The accused shall have access to the charges against him in the summary hearing and to all means of defense prescribed by law as soon as the corresponding writ of detention is issued.

In the event that a punishable act has been committed, the police authorities may adopt provisional measures of necessity or urgency, indispensable to ensure investigation of the act and trial of the guilty parties. The law shall fix a brief and peremptory time limit in which the judicial authorities must be notified of such measures, and shall also establish a period in which the latter shall rule on them, it being understood that they have been revoked and are without effect, unless confirmed within that period.

2. No one may be deprived of his liberty for obligations the non-compliance with which has not been defined by law as a crime or misdemeanor.

3. No one may be held incommunicado nor subject to torture or to other proceedings which cause physical or moral suffering. Any physical or moral attack inflicted on a person subjected to restriction of his liberty is punishable.

4. No one may be required to take an oath nor compelled to make a statement or to acknowledge guilt in a criminal trial against himself, nor against his spouse or the person with whom he lived as married, nor against his relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or second of affinity.

5. No one may be convicted in a criminal trial without first having been personally notified of the charges and heard in the manner prescribed by law.

Persons accused of an offense against the res publica may be tried in absentia, with the guarantees and in the manner prescribed by law.

6. No one shall continue to be held after the issuance of an order for release by a competent authority or after fulfilling the penalty imposed. The establishment of bail required by law for granting provisional liberty of the person detained shall not be subject to a tax of any kind.

7. No one may be sentenced to perpetual or infamous punishment. Punishment involving restriction of liberty may not exceed thirty years.

8. No one may be tried for the same acts by virtue of which he has been judged previously.

9. No one may be the object of forced recruitment nor subjected to military service except for terms outlined by law.

10. Measures of social interest against dangerous individuals may be taken only by fulfillment of conditions and formalities established by law. Such measures shall in all cases be directed toward readaption of the individual to life in society.

Article 61. Discrimination based on race, sex, creed, or social condition shall not be permitted.

Documents of identification for acts of civil life shall contain no mention of any kind respecting filiation.

No official form of address shall be used other than "citizen" (ciudadano) and "you" (usted), except in diplomatic formulas.

Titles of nobility or hereditary distinction shall not be recognized.

Article 62. The home is inviolable. It may not be broken into except to prevent the consummation of a crime or to carry out decisions of the courts, in accordance with the law.

Sanitary inspections which are to be made in conformity with the law may be undertaken only after prior notice from the officials who order them or who are to make them.

Article 63. Correspondence in all its forms is inviolable. Letters, telegrams, private papers and any other means of correspondence may not be seized except by judicial authority, with the fulfillment of legal formalities and always maintaining secrecy respecting domestic and private affairs that have no relation to the corresponding proceeding. Books, receipts and accounting documents may be inspected or audited only by competent authorities, in conformity with the law.

Article 64. Every one may travel freely through the national territory, change his domicile or residence, leave and return to the Republic, bring his property into the country or take it out, with no other limitations than those established by law. Venezuelans may enter the country without the necessity of any authorization whatever. No act of the Public Power may establish against Venezuelans the penalty of banishment from the national territory, except as commutation of some other punishment and at the request of the guilty party himself.

Article 65. Everyone has the right to profess his religious faith and to practice his religion privately or publicly, provided it is not contrary to the public order or to good customs.

Religious faiths shall be subject to the supreme inspection of the National Executive, in conformity with the law.

No one may invoke religious beliefs or disciplines in order to avoid complying with the laws or to prevent another from exercising his rights.

Article 66. Everyone has the right to express his thoughts by the spoken word or in writing and to make use of any means of dissemination, without prior censorship; but statements which constitute offenses are subject to punishment, according to law.

Anonymity is not permitted. Likewise, propaganda for war, that which offends public morals, and that for the purpose of inciting disobedience of the laws shall not be permitted, but this shall not repress analysis or criticism of legal principles.

Article 67. Everyone has the right to present or address petitions to any public entity or official, concerning matters that are within their competence, and to obtain appropriate reply.

Article 68. Everyone may utilize the agencies of the administration of justice in order to protect his rights and interests, under the terms and conditions established by law, which shall fix rules that ensure the exercise of this right by anyone who does not have sufficient means to do so.

Defense is an inviolable right at every stage and grade of a trial.

Article 69. No one may be judged except by his regular judge nor sentenced to a punishment not established by a pre-existing law.

Article 70. Everyone has the right of association for lawful ends, in conformity with the law.

Article 71. Everyone has the right to meet with others, publicly or privately without previous permission, for lawful ends and without arms. Meetings in public places shall be governed by law.

Chapter IV
Social Rights

Article 72. The State shall protect associations, corporate bodies, societies and communities that have as their purpose the better fulfillment of the aims of human beings and of social life, and shall promote the organization of cooperatives and other institutions devoted to the improvement of the public economy.

Article 73. The State shall protect the family as the fundamental nucleus of society, and shall see to the betterment of its moral and economic position.

The law shall protect marriage, shall promote the organization of the unattachable family patrimony, and shall provide whatever may help every family to acquire comfortable and hygienic housing.

Article 74. Motherhood shall be protected, regardless of the civil status of the mother. Necessary measures shall be enacted to ensure full protection to every child, without discrimination of any kind, from his conception until he is full grown, under favorable material and moral conditions.

Article 75. The law shall provide whatever may help every child, regardless of his filiation, to know his parents so that the latter may fulfill their duty of aiding, feeding, and educating their children, and so that infancy and youth may be protected against abandonment, exploitation or abuse.

Filiation by adoption shall be protected by law. The State shall share with the parents, in a subsidiary manner and according to the possibilities of the latter, the responsibility incumbent on them in the rearing of children.

The support and protection of minors shall be the object of special legislation and of special courts and agencies.

Article 76. Everyone shall have the right to protection of his health.

The authorities shall oversee the maintenance of public health and shall provide the means of prevention and attention for those who lack them.

Everyone is obliged to submit to health measures established by law, within limits imposed by respect for the human person.

Article 77. The State shall strive to improve the living conditions of the rural population.

The law shall establish an exceptional system required for the protection of Indian communities and their progressive incorporation into the life of the Nation.

Article 78. Everyone has the right to an education. The State shall create and maintain schools, institutions and services sufficiently endowed to ensure an access to education and to culture, with no other limitations than those deriving from the vocation and from aptitudes.

Education provided by public institutions shall be gratuitous in all phases. However, the law may establish exceptions with respect to higher and special education, when persons with means are concerned.

Article 79. Every natural or juridical person may freely devote himself to the arts or sciences, and, by demonstration of his capacity, establish professorships and educational establishments under the supreme inspection and supervision of the State.

The State shall stimulate and protect private education provided in accordance with the principles contained in this Constitution and the laws.

Article 80. Education shall have as its aim the full development of the personality, the training of citizens adapted to life and for the practice of democracy, the promotion of culture, and the development of a spirit of human solidarity.

The State shall organize and guide the educational system toward achieving the fulfillment of the aims set forth herein.

Article 81. Education shall be entrusted to persons of recognized morality and proven fitness for teaching, according to law.

The law shall guarantee to teachers occupational stability and a labor system and standard of living in accord with their elevated mission.

Article 82. The law shall determine what professions require a degree and the conditions that must be met to practice them.

Professional association (colegiación) is compulsory for the practice of university professions so designated by law.

Article 83. The State shall promote culture in its diverse forms and shall see to the protection and conservation of works, objects and monuments of historic or artistic value found within the country and shall strive to use them in the promotion of education.

Article 84. Everyone has the right to work. The State shall endeavor to achieve that every fit person may obtain employment that will provide him with a worthy and decent living.

Freedom of labor shall not be subject to any other restrictions than those established by law.

Article 85. Labor shall be the object of special protection. The law shall provide whatever is necessary to improve the material, moral and intellectual conditions of workers. The provisions established by law in favor of or to protect workers cannot be renounced.

Article 86. The law shall limit the maximum duration of working hours. Save for exceptions provided for, the normal duration of work shall not exceed eight hours a day or forty-eight hours a week, and for night work, in those cases in which this is permitted, it shall not exceed seven hours a day or forty-two hours a week.

All workers shall be entitled to a renumerated weekly day of rest and to paid vacations in conformity with the law.

A progressive diminution in working hours shall be promoted, within the scope of the social interest and in determined areas of activity, and suitable provisions shall be made for a better utilization of leisure time.

Article 87. The law shall provide means conducive to obtaining fair wages; it shall establish norms for ensuring to every worker at least a minimum wage; it shall guarantee equal wages for equal work, without discrimination of any kind; it shall fix the participation that should pertain to workers in the profits of enterprises; and it shall protect wages and social benefits by making them unattachable in the proportion and cases specified and by any other privileges and guarantees that it may prescribe.

Article 88. The law shall adopt measures intended to guarantee stability of labor and shall establish the benefits to compensate for seniority of service of a worker and to protect him in case of unemployment.

Article 89. The law shall determine the responsibility incumbent on the natural or juridical person to whose profit a service is rendered through an intermediary or contractor, without prejudice to the joint and several liability of the latter.

Article 90. The law shall favor the development of the collective relationships of labor and shall establish adequate regulations of collective negotiations and the peaceful solution of disputes. Collective agreements are to be supported and the union clause may be included therein, under the conditions prescribed by law.

Article 91. Unions of workers and of employers shall not be subject to any other requirements, as to their existence and operation, than those established by law for the purpose of ensuring a better accomplishment of their proper functions and of guaranteeing the rights of their members. The law shall protect in their employment, in a special manner, the promotors and directors of labor unions during the time and under the conditions required for ensuring union freedom.

Article 92. Workers have the right to strike, under conditions fixed by law. In public services this right shall be exercised in those cases which the law may determine.

Article 93. Women and minor workers shall receive special protection.

Article 94. A system of social security shall be developed progressively, designed to protect all inhabitants of the Republic against work accidents, illness, disability, old age, death, unemployment, and any other risks that can be covered by social security, and also against the charges derived from family life.

Persons who lack the economic means and who are not in a position to obtain them shall have the right to social assistance if they are incorporated in the social security system.

Chapter V
Economic Rights

Article 95. The economic system of the Republic shall be based on principles of social justice that ensure to all a dignified existence useful to the community.

The State shall promote economic development and the diversification of production, in order to create new sources of wealth, to increase the income level of the population, and to strengthen the economic sovereignty of the country.

Article 96. Everyone may freely engage in the lucrative activity of his choice, with no other limitations than those provided in this Constitution and those established by law for reasons of safety, health, or others of social interest.

The law shall enact rules to prevent usury, undue price increases and, in general, abusive maneuvers directed toward obstructing or restricting economic freedom.

Article 97. Monopolies shall not be permitted. There may be authorized, in conformity with the law, only exclusive concessions, for a limited period, for the establishment and exploitation of works and services of public interest.

The State may reserve to itself specified industries, exploitations or services of public interest, for reasons of national advantage, and shall promote the creation and development of a basic heavy industry under its control.

The law shall govern matters relating to industries promoted and directed by the State.

Article 98. The State shall protect private initiative, without prejudice to its power to enact measures for planning, rationalizing and promoting production and to regulate the circulation, distribution and consumption of wealth in order to stimulate the economic development of the country.

Article 99. The right to own property is guaranteed. By virtue of its social function property shall be subject to the taxes, restrictions and obligations imposed by law for purposes of public benefit or the general interest.

Article 100. Rights in scientific, literary, and artistic works, inventions, names, trademarks, and slogans shall be entitled to protection for the time and under the conditions indicated by law.

Article 101. The expropriation of any kind of property may be declared only on grounds of public benefit, by final judgment and the payment of fair compensation. In the expropriation of real property, for reasons of agrarian reform or the expansion and improvement of towns, and in those cases of serious national interest specified by law, deferment of payment may be established for a specified time, or partial cancellation by the issuance of bonds of compulsory acceptance, with sufficient guarantee.

Article 102. Confiscation may not be decreed or executed except in those cases permitted by Article 250. There are excepted from this, with respect to foreigners, those measures accepted by international law.

Article 103. Lands acquired for purposes of exploration or exploitation of mining concessions, including hydrocarbons and other combustible minerals, shall revert to full ownership by the Nation, without indemnity of any kind, when the respective concession is terminated for any reason.

Article 104. Railways, highways, pipelines and other means of communication or transportation constructed by enterprises exploiting natural resources shall be at the service of the public, under the conditions and with the limitations established by law.

Article 105. The system of latifunda is contrary to the social interest. The law shall provide whatever is conducive to its elimination, and shall establish norms directed toward granting land to rural workers and inhabitants who lack it, as well as providing them with the means necessary for making it productive.

Article 106. The State shall give attention to the protection and conservation of the natural resources within its territory, and the exploitation thereof shall be directed primarily toward the collective benefit of Venezuelans.

Article 107. The law shall establish rules relative to the participation of foreign capital in the national economic development.

Article 108. The Republic shall favor Latin American economic integration. To this end it shall strive to coordinate resources and efforts to promote economic development and increase the common well-being and security.

Article 109. The law shall regulate the composition, organization, and powers of the advisory bodies deemed necessary to hear the opinions of private economic sectors, the consuming public, organizations of workers, professional associations, and the universities, in matters of interest to economic life.

Chapter VI
Political Rights

Article 110. Voting is a right and a public function. Its exercise shall be compulsory, within the limits and conditions established by law.

Article 111. All Venezuelans who have reached eighteen years of age and who are not subject to civil interdiction or political disqualification are voters.

Voting in municipal elections may be extended to foreigners, under residence and other requirements that the law may establish.

Article 112. Voters who can read and write and who are over twenty-one years of age may be elected to and are fit to hold public office, with no other restrictions than those established in this Constitution and those derived from the requirements of fitness prescribed by law for holding specified positions.

Article 113. Legislation on voting shall ensure freedom and secrecy of the vote, and shall include the right of proportional representation of minorities.

Electoral bodies shall be composed in such a way that no political party or group predominates, and their members shall be entitled to the privileges established by law to ensure independence in the performance of their functions.

Competing political parties have the right of supervision over the electoral process.

Article 114. All Venezuelans qualified to vote have the right to associate together in political parties in order to participate, by democratic methods, in the guidance of national policy.

The lawmaker shall regulate the organization and activities of political parties in order to safeguard their democratic character and to guarantee their equality before the law.

Article 115. Citizens have the right to demonstrate peacefully and without arms, with no other requirements than those established by law.

Article 116. The Republic recognizes asylum in behalf of any person subject to persecution or who is in danger, for political reasons, under the conditions and requirements established by law and rules of international law.

TITLE IV
The Public Power

Chapter I
General Provisions

Article 117. The Constitution and the laws define the powers of the Public Power, and their exercise must be subject thereto.

Article 118. Each of the branches of the Public Power has its own functions, but the agencies on which their exercise is incumbent shall collaborate with each other in the accomplishment of the aims of the State.

Article 119. Any usurped authority is without effect and its acts are null and void.

Article 120. Any decision arrived at through direct or indirect requisition by force or by a meeting of individuals with subversive intent is null and void.

Article 121. The exercise of the Public Power carries with it individual responsibility for abuse of power or for violation of the law.

Article 122. The law shall establish the administrative career with standards for entrance, advancement, transfer, suspension and retirement of employees in the National Public Administration, and shall provide for their incorporation in the social security system.

Public employees are in the service of the State, and have no political partisanship.

Every political official or employee is obligated to comply with the requirements established by law for holding his position.

Article 123. No one may hold more than one renumerated public position at the same time, except for academic, temporary, welfare, teaching, aldermanic or electoral positions specified by law. Acceptance of a second position not excepted by this article implies resignation from the first, save in those cases provided for in Article 141 or in the cases of alternates as long as a principal is not definitively replaced.

Article 124. No one in the service of the Republic, of the States, the Municipalities, or of any other public juridical person, may make a contract with them, either directly or through an intermediary or in representation of another, with such exceptions as may be established by law.

Article 125. No public official or employee may accept offices, honors, or compensation from foreign governments without prior authorization from the Senate.

Article 126. Without the approval of Congress no contract involving the national interest may be entered into, except those that are necessary for the normal conduct of the public administration or those permitted by law. They may in no case relate to the granting of new concessions of hydrocarbons or other natural resources specified by law, unless authorized by the Chambers in joint session, duly informed by the National Executive as to all pertinent circumstances, and under the conditions they fix without waiving the fulfillment of legal requirements.

Likewise, no contract involving the national, state, or municipal interest may be entered into with foreign states or public agencies, or with companies domiciled in Venezuela, and they may not be transferred thereto without the approval of Congress.

The law may require specified conditions as to nationality, domicile, or others, or may require special guarantees, in contracts involving the public interest.

Article 127. In contracts involving the public interest, when not unnecessary because of the nature thereof, there shall be considered incorporated, even if not expressly stated, a clause by which any questions and disputes which may arise concerning such contracts and which are not amicably settled by the contracting parties shall be decided by competent courts of the Republic, in accordance with its laws, and they may not for any reason or cause give rise to foreign claims.

Article 128. International treaties or conventions concluded by the National Executive must be approved by a special law in order to be valid, unless they concern the execution or completion of pre-existing obligations of the Republic, the application of principles expressly recognized by it, the execution of ordinary acts in international relations, or the exercise of powers which the law expressly bestows on the National Executive. However, the Delegated Committees of Congress may authorize the provisional execution of international treaties or conventions when urgency so requires, and these are to be submitted in all cases to the subsequent approval or disapproval of Congress.

In all cases, the National Executive shall report to Congress, at its next sessions, all international juridical agreements entered into, with a precise indication of their nature and contents, whether subject to its approval or not.

Article 129. In international treaties, conventions and agreements concluded by the Republic, there shall be inserted a clause by which the parties bind themselves to decide by peaceful means recognized by international law or previously agreed to by them, if such is the case, all controversies that may arise between the parties by reason of their interpretation or execution, if not inapplicable, and if permitted by the procedure followed in their conclusion.

Article 130. Since the Republic possesses the Right of Ecclesiastical Patronage, this will be exercised according to law. However, treaties or conventions may be concluded to regulate relations between the Church and the State.

Article 131. Military and civilian authority may not be exercised simultaneously by one and the same official, except by the President of the Republic, who shall be, by reason of his office, Commander in Chief of the National Armed Forces.

Article 132. The National Armed Forces form a non-political, obedient, and non-deliberative institution, organized by the State to ensure the national defense, the stability of democratic institutions, and respect for the Constitution and the laws, the observance of which shall always be above any other obligation. The National Armed Forces shall be in the service of the Republic, and in no case in that of any person or political partisanship.

Article 133. Only the State may possess arms of war. All those in existence, that are manufactured, or that are imported into the country shall become the property of the Republic, without compensation or proceedings. The manufacture, trade in, possession, and use of other arms shall be regulated by law.

Article 134. The States and Municipalities may organize only police force, according to law.

Article 135. The constitutional terms of the National Power shall be five years, save for special provision in this Constitution.

The terms of the state and municipal public powers shall be fixed by national law and may not be less than two nor more than five years.

Chapter II
Competence of the National Power

Article 136. The following are within the competence of the National Power:

1. The International relations of the Republic;

2. The protection and supreme supervision of the general interests of the Republic, the preservation of the public peace, and the correct application of the laws throughout the national territory;

3. The flag, coat of arms, hymn, holidays, decorations and honors of a national character;

4. The naturalization, admission, extradition, and expulsion of foreigners;

5. The identification and national police services;

6. The organization and government of the Federal District, and of the Federal Territories and Dependencies;

7. The monetary system and the circulation of foreign currencies;

8. The organization, collection, and control of taxes on income, capital, and estates and gifts; of charges imposed on imports and for registrations and fiscal stamps, and those levied on the production and consumption of goods which are in whole or in part reserved to the National Power, such as taxes on alcohol, liquors, cigarettes, matches and salt beds; on mines and hydrocarbons, and other taxes, excises, and revenues not attributed to the States or to Municipalities, which the law imposes as national in character;

9. The organization and operation of the customs;

10. The operation and administration of mines and hydrocarbons, salt beds, public lands, and oyster and pearl beds; and the conservation, development, and utilization of forests, waters and other natural resources of the country.

The National Executive may, in conformity with the law, sell, lease or make free grants of public lands; but salt beds may not be alienated, and mining concessions may not be granted for an indefinite period.

The law shall establish a system of special appropriations in behalf of States within whose territory property mentioned herein is located, without prejudice to establishing other special appropriations in behalf of other States. In all cases these appropriations shall be subject to the coordination standards provided in Article 229 of this Constitution.

Public lands existing on marine, river, or lake islands may not be alienated, and concessions for their use may be granted only in a way not involving a transfer of the ownership of the land, directly or indirectly;

11. The organization and operation of the National Armed Forces;

12. The system of weights and measures;

13. The national census and statistics;

14. The establishment, coordination and unification of technical standards and procedures for engineering works, architecture, and urban development;

15. The execution of public works of national interest;

16. The bases and directives for national education;

17. The technical direction, establishment of administrative standards, and the coordination of services devoted to the protection of public health. The law may provide for the nationalization of these public services in accordance with the collective interest;

18. The conservation and stimulation of agricultural, livestock, fishery, and forest production;

19. The promotion of low-cost housing;

20. Matters relating to land transportation, air, maritime, river and lake navigation, and to docks and other port works;

21. The opening and maintenance of national means of communication; air traction cable and railways, even if located within the boundaries of a State, with the exception of urban streetcars or cable cars which are concessions of and regulated by the respective Municipalities;

22. The mails and telecommunications;

23. The administration of justice and the creation, organization and competence of the courts; the prosecution service (Ministerio Público);

24. Legislation regulating the guarantees affirmed in this Constitution; civil, commercial, criminal, and penitentiary, legislation and procedures; legislation on elections; legislation on expropriation by reason or public or social benefit; on public credit; on intellectual, artistic, and industrial property; agrarian legislation; on immigration and settlement; on tourism; on labor, welfare, and social security; on plant and animal hygiene; on notaries and public registers; on banks and other institutions of credit; on lotteries, racetracks, and betting in general; and legislation relating to all matters within the national competence;

25. Any other matter which the present Constitution assigns to the National Power or which pertains to it by its nature of kind.

Article 137. Congress, by a vote of two thirds of the members of each Chamber, may grant to the States or Municipalities specific matters of national competence, in order to promote administrative decentralization.

TITLE V
The National Legislative Power

Chapter I
General Provisions

Article 138. The Legislative Power is exercised by Congress, consisting of two Chambers: the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.

The Senate and Chamber of Deputies shall meet in joint session in those cases indicated in this Constitution and the laws, and to enact the regulations for Congress or whenever both Chambers decide that it is necessary.

The President of the Senate and the President of the Chamber of Deputies shall preside over Congress as President and Vice President respectively. The regulations shall establish the manner of filling theit temporary or occasional vacancies.

The Delegated Committee of Congress and all other Committees formed by the Chambers shall perform the functions given to them by this Constitution and the regulations.

Article 139. Congress shall legislate on matters of national competence and on the functioning of the different branches of the National Power.

It is a privilege of Congress to decree amnesties, which is to be done by special law.

Congress also exercises control of the National Public Administration within the terms established by this Constitution.

Article 140. The following may not be elected Senators or Deputies:

1. The President of the Republic, the Ministers, the Secretary to the President of the Republic, and the Presidents and Directors of the Autonomous Institutes until three months after permanent separation from their posts;

2. The Governors and Secretaries of Government of the States, the Federal District, and Federal Territories until three months after permanent separation from their posts, if the representation corresponds to their jurisdiction, or while holding the position if another jurisdiction is concerned; and

3. National, state, or municipal officials and employees and those of autonomous institutes or of enterprises in which the State has a deciding participation, if the election will take place in the jurisdiction where they serve, except in cases of a temporary, electoral, welfare, teaching, or academic positions, or of legislative or municipal representation.

The law may establish the ineligibility of certain electoral officials.

Article 141. Senators and Deputies may accept the post of Minister, Secretary to the President of the Republic, Governor, chief of diplomatic mission, or President of an Autonomous Institute, without losing their invested office.

To hold the new post they must be separated from the respective Chamber, but may be reincorporated when the new functions terminate. Acceptance of different mandates by popular election, in those cases permitted by law, does not authorize holding the positions simultaneously.

Article 142. Senators or Deputies may not be held liable at any time for votes cast or opinions expressed in the exercise of their functions. They shall be liable only to their respective body in accordance with this Constitution and the regulations.

Article 143. Senators and Deputies shall be entitled to immunity from the date they are proclaimed elected until twenty days after the end of their term of their resignation, and consequently they may not be arrested, detained, confined, or subjected to criminal trial, search of their person or home, nor restrained in the performance of their functions.

In case of a serious offense in flagrante committed by a Senator or Deputy, a competent authority may hold him in custody at his residence and immediately notify the respective Chamber or the Delegated Committee of the fact, with a daily substantiated report. This measure shall cease if within a period of ninety-six hours the respective Chamber or the Delegated Committee does not authorize it to continue until a decision is reached in the seizure.

Public officials or employees who violate the immunity of Senators and Deputies shall be held for criminal liability and punished according to law.

Article 144. The court that hears accusations or denouncements of any member of Congress shall undertake the necessary proceedings and transmit them to the Supreme Court of Justice for the purposes of section 2 of Article 215 of this Constitution. If the Court rules that there are grounds for continuation of the case, the trial will not be held until the holding of the accused is first accepted by the respective Chamber or by the Delegated Committee.

Article 145. The Chambers or the Delegated Committee may not agree to holding the accused except at a session expressly convoked, at least twenty-four hours in advance, and by a deliberated decision approved by an absolute majority of the members.

Article 146. In those cases to which the holding of the accused has been approved by the Delegated Committee, the respective Chamber may revoke this at its sessions immediately following.

Article 147. Parliamentary immunity is suspended for a Senator or Deputy while he is holding a public office that involves separation from the Chamber or while enjoying leave of absence for a time exceeding twenty days, providing his respective alternate has been called upon to serve, in accordance with regulations.

Alternates shall be entitled to immunity while representing their principals, from the time they are called upon to serve until twenty days after the representation ceases.

Constitution of the Republic of Venezuela, 1961

From Roach Busters

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