Constitution of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, 1951
From Roach Busters
CONSTITUTION
OF THE ORIENTAL
REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY
OF THE ORIENTAL
REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY
SECTION I
The Nation and Its Sovereignty
The Nation and Its Sovereignty
Article 1. The Oriental Republic of Uruguay is the political association of all inhabitants included within its territory.
Article 2. It is and always shall be free and independent of any foreign power.
Article 3. It shall never be the patrimony of any person or of any family.
Article 4. Sovereignty to its full extent resides fundamentally in the Nation, which has the exclusive authority to enact its laws in the manner which will be hereinafter set forth.
Article 5. All religious sects are free in Uruguay. The State supports no religion whatever. It recognizes the right of the Catholic Church to ownership of all temples which have been built wholly or partly from funds of the National Treasury, with the sole exception of chapels dedicated for use by asylums, hospitals, prisons, or other public establishments. It likewise declares exempt from all forms of taxes the temples dedicated to worship by the various religious sects.
Article 6. In international treaties which the Republic may conclude there shall be proposed a clause to the effect that all differences which may arise between the contracting parties shall be settled by arbitration or other peaceful means.
SECTION II
Rights, Duties and Guarantees
Rights, Duties and Guarantees
Article 7. The inhabitants of the Republic have the right of protection in the enjoyment of life, honor, liberty, security, labor, and property. No one may be deprived of these rights except in conformity with laws which may be enacted for reasons of general interest.
Article 8. All persons are equal before the law, no other distinctions being recognized among them save those of talent and virtue.
Article 9. The establishment of primogenital entailments is prohibited.
No authority of the Republic may grant any title of nobility or hereditary honors or distinctions.
Article 10. Private actions of persons which do not in any way affect the public order or prejudice others shall be outside the jurisdiction of the magistrates.
No inhabitant of the Republic shall be obliged to do what the law does not require, or prevented from doing what it does not prohibit.
Article 11. The sanctity of the home is inviolable. No one may enter it by night without the consent of its master, and by day only at the express order of a competent judge, in writing, and in cases determined by law.
Article 12. No one may be punished or imprisoned without due process of law and a legal sentence.
Article 13. Ordinary law may establish trial by jury in criminal cases.
Article 14. The penalty of confiscation of property may not be imposed for reasons of a political nature.
Article 15. No one may be arrested except in cases of flagrante delicto or by written order of a competent judge based on reasonable grounds.
Article 16. In any of the cases contemplated in the preceding article, the judge, under the gravest responsibility, shall take the declaration of the person under arrest within twenty-four hours and shall begin the summary process within forty-eight hours at the most. The declaration of the accused must be taken in the presence of his defender. The latter shall also have the right to attend all summary hearings.
Article 17. In the event of unlawful detention, the interested party or any other person may apply to the competent judge for a writ of habeas corpus to the end that the detaining authority shall immediately explain and justify the legal grounds for such detention, the decision of the aforementioned judge being final.
Article 18. The laws shall establish the procedure and formalities of trials.
Article 19. Trials by commission are prohibited.
Article 20. The taking of an oath by the accused in making a declaration or confession regarding his own acts is abolished; and it is prohibited that the accused shall be treated as a criminal.
Article 21. Criminal trials in absentia are likewise abolished. The law shall make suitable provision to this effect.
Article 22. Every criminal trial shall begin with an accusation by a complaining witness, or by the public prosecutor, secret examinations being abolished.
Article 23. All judges are responsible before the law for the slightest infringement of the rights of individuals as well as for deviation from the established order of procedure in that respect.
Article 24. The State, the Departmental Governments, the Autonomous Entities, the Decentralized Services, and in general any agency of the State, shall be civilly liable for injury caused to third parties, in the performance of public services, entrusted to their action or direction.
Article 25. Whenever the injury has been caused by their officials, in the performance of their duties or by reason of such performance, in the event they have been guilty of gross negligence or fraud, the corresponding public agency may reclaim from them whatever has been paid as compensation.
Article 26. The death penalty shall not be applied to anyone.
In no case shall prisons be permitted to use brutal treatment; they shall be used only as a means of assuring that convicts and prisoners are reeducated, acquire an aptitude for work, and become rehabilitated.
Article 27. In any stage of a criminal trial which will not result in a penitentiary sentence, judges may place the accused at liberty, under a bond as determined by law.
Article 28. The papers of private individuals, their correspondence, whether epistolary, telegraphic, or of any other nature, are inviolable, and they may never be searched, examined, or intercepted except in conformity with laws which may be enacted for reasons of public interest.
Article 29. The expression of opinion on any subject by word of mouth, private writing, publication in the press, or by any other method of dissemination is entirely free, without prior censorship; but the author, printed or publisher as the case may be, may be held liable, in accordance with law, for abuses which they may commit.
Article 30. Every inhabitant has the right of petition to all or any of the authorities of the Republic.
Article 31. Individual security may not be suspended except with the consent of the General Assembly or, during its recess, the Permanent Commission and in the event of an extraordinary case of treason or conspiracy against the country; and even then such suspension may be used only for the apprehension of the guilty parties, without prejudice to the provisions of section 17 of Article 168.
Article 32. The right of property is inviolable, but is subject to the provisions of laws which may be enacted for reasons of general interest.
No one may be deprived of his property rights except in case of public necessity or utility established by law, and in such cases the National Treasury shall always pay just compensation in advance.
Whenever expropriation is ordered for reasons of public necessity or utility, the property owners may be indemnified for loss or damages they may suffer on account of delay, whether the expropriation is actually carried out or not.
Article 33. Intellectual property, the rights of authors, inventors, or artists shall be recognized and protected by law.
Article 34. All the artistic or historical wealth of the country, whoever may be its owner, constitutes the cultural treasure of the Nation; it shall be placed under the protection of the State and the law shall establish what is deemed necessary for such protection.
Article 35. No one shall be compelled to render aid of any kind to the army, or to permit his house to be used for the billeting of troops except by order of a civil magistrate according to law, and in such cases he shall receive from the Republic indemnification for loss that may be incurred.
Article 36. Every person may engage in labor, farming, industry, commerce, a profession, or any other lawful activity, save for the limitations imposed by general interest which the law may enact.
Article 37. The entry of any person into the Republic, his residence therein, and his departure with his property, are free, if he obeys the laws, except in cases of prejudice to third parties.
Immigration shall be regulated by law, but in no case shall an immigrant be admitted who has physical, mental, or moral defects which may injure society.
Article 38. The right of peaceful and unarmed public meetings is guaranteed. The exercise of this right may not be denied by any authority of the Republic except in accordance with law, and only insofar as such exercise may prejudice public health, safety or order.
Article 39. All persons have the right to form associations, for any purpose whatsoever, provided they do not form an association which the law has declared unlawful.
Article 40. The State shall safeguard the social development of the family.
Article 41. The care and education of children, so that they may attain their fullest physical, intellectual, and social capacity, is the duty and the right of parents. Those who have large families to support are entitled to compensatory aid if they need it.
The law shall provide the necessary measures for the protection of infancy and youth against physical, intellectual, or moral neglect by their parents or guardians, as well as against exploitation and abuse.
Article 42. Parents have the same duties toward children born outside of wedlock as toward children born within it.
Maternity, regardless of the condition or circumstances of the mother, is entitled to the protection of society and to its assistance in case of destitution.
Article 43. The law shall provide that juvenile delinquency shall be dealt with under a special system in which women will be allowed to participate.
Article 44. The State shall legislate on all questions connected with public health and hygiene, endeavoring to attain the physical, moral, and social improvement of all inhabitants of the country.
It is the duty of all inhabitants to take care of their health as well as to receive treatment in case of illness. The State will provide gratis the means of prevention and treatment to both indigents and those lacking sufficient means.
Article 45. The law shall promote hygienic and economical housing for workers, by sponsoring the construction of housing and communities which meet these conditions.
Article 46. The State shall give asylum to indigent persons or those lacking sufficient means who, because of chronic physical or mental inferiority, may be incapacitated for work.
Article 47. The State shall combat social vices by means of the law and international conventions.
Article 48. The right of inheritance is guaranteed within the limits established by law. Lineal ascendants and descendants shall have preferential treatment in the laws regarding taxation.
Article 49. The "family property" (bien de familia), its constitution, conservation, enjoyment, and transmission shall be protected by special legislation.
Article 50. Every commercial or industrial organization in the form of a trust shall be subject to control by the State.
Article 51. The establishment and enforcement of rates for public services operated by firms holding concessions shall be conditioned upon their approval by the State or Departmental Governments, as the case may be.
The concessions to which this article refers may in no case be granted in perpetuity.
Article 52. Usury is prohibited. The law fixing a maximum limit on interest rates on loans is of a public character. This law will fix the penalties to be applied to offenders thereunder.
No one may be deprived of his liberty for debts.
Article 53. Labor is under the special protection of the law.
It is the duty of every inhabitant of the Republic, without prejudice to his freedom, to apply his intellectual or physical energies in a manner which will redound to the benefit of the community, which will endeavor to afford him, with preference to citizens, the possibility of earning his livelihood through the development of some economic activity.
Article 54. The law must recognize the right of every person, performing labor or services as a worker or employee, to independence of moral and civic consciousness; just remuneration; limitation of the working day; a weekly day of rest; and physical and moral health.
The labor of women and of minors under eighteen years of age shall be specially regulated and limited.
Article 55. The law shall regulate the impartial and equitable distribution of labor.
Article 56. Every enterprise, the nature of which requires that the personnel reside on the premises, shall be obliged to provide adequate food and lodging in accordance with conditions which the law may establish.
Article 57. The law shall promote the organization of trade unions, according them charters and issuing regulations for their recognition as juridical persons.
It shall likewise promote the creation of tribunals of conciliation and arbitration.
The strike is declared to be a right of trade unions. Regulations shall be made governing its exercise and effect, on that basis.
Article 58. Public officials are in the service of the Nation and not of a political party. Any activity alien to their duties is prohibited and political propaganda (proselitismo) on their part, at their offices or during office hours, shall be considered unlawful.
They may not organize groups for propaganda purposes by using the name of public agencies or any connection their positions may bear to membership in such organizations.
Article 59. The law shall establish civil service regulations (Estatuto del Funcionario) on the fundamental basis that the official exists for the office and not the office for the official.
Its principles shall apply to subordinate officials:
A) of the Executive Power, with the exception of the military, police and diplomatic officials, who shall be governed by special laws;
B) of the Judicial Power and of the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal except with respect to judgeships;
C) of the Tribunal of Accounts;
D) of the Electoral Court and its agencies, without prejudice to regulations enacted for the control of political parties;
E) of the Decentralized Services, without prejudice to whatever may be provided in special laws covering the diverse nature of their functions.
Article 60. An administrative career service is established for officials covered by the budget of the central administration, who are declared to have permanent status, without prejudice to provisions of law that may be enacted on the subject by an absolute majority of the votes of the full membership of each Chamber or under the third paragraph of this article.
They may be dismissed only in accordance with rules established by this Constitution.
Officials who are political in character or who have duties of personal trust (de particular confianza) are not included if given such character by law approved by an absolute majority of votes of the full membership of each Chamber, and they shall be appointed and are subject to dismissal by the appropriate administrative organ.
Article 61. The civil service regulations (Estatuto del Funcionario) shall establish the conditions for admission for career officials and shall regulate the right to permanent status, advancement, weekly days of rest, and the system of annual and sick leave; grounds for suspension or transfer; their official duties; and administrative recourses against rulings that may affect them, without prejudice to the provisions of Section XVII.
Article 62. The Departmental Governments shall adopt these regulations (Estatuto) for their officials in accordance with the rules set forth in the preceding articles, and until this is done the provisions established by law governing public officials shall apply.
To grant permanent status to their officials and to establish positions that are political or of personal trust shall require the approval of three fifths of the membership of a Departmental Board (Junta Departamental).
Article 63. Within one year following the promulgation of this Constitution, the Autonomous Entities shall adopt civil service regulations for their officials, such regulations to be subject to the approval of the National Council of Government.
These regulations shall contain provisions designed to ensure normal operation of the services and the guarantees established in the preceding article for public officials, insofar as they can be reconciled with the specific purposes of each Autonomous Entity.
Article 64. By a two-thirds vote of the total membership of each Chamber, the law may establish special regulations which, by their general scope or nature, may be applicable to the officials of all Departmental Governments and all Autonomous Entities, or only to certain ones, as the case may be.
Article 65. The law may authorize the organization of representative personnel committees within the Autonomous Entities, for purposes of collaboration with their directors in the enforcement of the regulations, study of budgetary requirements, organization of the services, labor regulations and the application of disciplinary measures.
In public services administered directly or by concession holders, the law provide for the formation of competent organs to hear disputes between authorities of the services and their employees; and to consider methods and procedures to be used by the public authority to maintain continuity of service.
Article 66. No parliamentary or administrative investigation of irregularities, neglect, or malfeasance shall be considered as completed until the accused official has had an opportunity to submit his answer and to present his defense.
Article 67. The general retirement and social security funds shall be organized in such a way as to guarantee to all workers, employers, employees, and laborers adequate retirement pensions and subsidies in case of accident, sickness, disability, enforced unemployment, etc.; and in case of death, the corresponding pension to their families. The old age pension is the right of those who have reached the limit of their productive age, after long residence in the country, and who lack the means to provide for the necessities of life.
Article 68. Freedom of education is guaranteed.
The law shall regulate state intervention for the sole purpose of maintaining hygiene, morality, safety and public order.
Every parent or guardian has the right to select the teachers or institutions he desires for the education of his children or wards.
Article 69. Private educational institutions which give free classes to a number of students, in accordance with regulations which the law shall prescribe, and cultural institutions, shall be exempted from national and municipal taxes as a subsidy for their services.
Article 70. Primary education is compulsory.
The State will make the necessary provisions for its accomplishment.
Article 71. Free official primary, intermediate, advanced, industrial, artistic, and physical education is declared to be of social utility, as well as the creation of scholarships for continued study and specialization in cultural, scientific and occupational fields, and the establishment of public libraries.
In all educational institutions special attention shall be paid to the formation of the moral and civic character of students.
Article 72. The enumeration of rights, duties, and guarantees made in this Constitution does not exclude others which are inherent in human beings or which are derived from a republican form of government.
SECTION III
Citizenship and Suffrage
Citizenship and Suffrage
Article 73. Citizens of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay are natural or legal.
Article 74. All men and women born at any place within the territory of the Republic are natural citizens. Children of Uruguayan fathers or mothers are also natural citizens, wherever they may have been born, provided that they take up residence in the country and register themselves in the Civil Register.
Article 75. The following have the right to legal citizenship:
A) Foreign men and women of good conduct, and having a family within the Republic, who possess some capital or property in the country, or are engaged in some profession, craft, or industry, and have resided habitually in the Republic for three years;
B) Foreign men and women of good conduct, without families in the Republic, who possess any of the qualifications mentioned in the preceding paragraph and who have resided habitually in the country for five years;
C) Foreign men and women who obtain special courtesy from the General Assembly for noteworthy service or outstanding merit.
Proof of residence must necessarily be based on a public or private document of proven date.
The rights appertaining to legal citizenship may not be exercised by foreigners included in paragraph (A) and (B) until three years after the issuance of the respective citizenship papers.
The existence of any of the grounds for suspension referred to in Article 80 shall bar the granting of citizenship papers.
Article 76. Any citizen may hold public employment: Legal citizens may not be appointed until three years after obtaining citizenship papers.
Citizenship shall not be required for a position as professor in institutions of higher learning.
Article 77. Every citizen is a member of the sovereignty of the Nation; as such he is a voter and eligible for election in the cases and in accordance with the procedure which will be set forth.
Suffrage shall be exercised in the manner determined by law, but on the following bases:
1) Compulsory inscription in the Civil Register;
2) Secret and compulsory vote;
3) Integral proportional representation;
4) Judicial magistrates, members of the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal and the Tribunal of Accounts, directors of the Autonomous Entities and the Decentralized Services, persons in active military service regardless of rank, and police officials of whatever category, must abstain, under penalty of dismissal and withdrawal of eligibility to hold any other public office for from two to ten years, from membership in political committees or clubs, from signing party proclamations and, in general, from any other public or private act of a political character, with the exception of voting. The participation of directors of the Autonomous Entities and the Decentralized Services in party organizations engaged in the specific task of the study of government, legislation, and administration, is not regarded as included in these prohibitions.
The Electoral Court shall be competent to take cognizance of and impose penalties for the above-mentioned electoral offenses. The accusation should be made before the Electoral Court through the intermediary of the national party authorities.
Without prejudice to the above provisions, the facts shall in all cases be referred to the ordinary courts for such additional action as they may deem appropriate.
5) The neutral members of the Electoral Court to whom paragraph 1 of Article 324 refers, may not belong to political committees or clubs, nor hold directive positions in party organizations, nor take part in any way in political election propaganda;
6) All electoral boards which may be designated to intervene in questions of suffrage must be elected with the guarantees provided in this article.
7) Any new law concerning the Civil Register or elections, as well as any amendment or interpretation of the existing laws, shall require a two-thirds vote of the full membership of each Chamber. This special majority shall apply only to the guarantees of suffrage and election, composition, functions, and procedure of the Electoral Court and electoral boards. For action in matters of expenditures, budgets, and internal regulations, a simple majority will be sufficient.
8) By a two-thirds vote of the full membership of each Chamber, the law may extend the prohibitions contained in paragraphs (4) and (5) to include other officials.
9) The election of members of both Chambers of the Legislative Power, of the National Council of Government, of the Departmental Boards and Councils, and of any organ for which the law may provide that its members are to be elected by the people, shall take place on the last Sunday in November every four years.
The lists of candidates for these positions shall be included jointly on a single ballot, under one party label (lema), without prejudice to the provisions of Article 79.
Article 78. Foreign men and women of good conduct, having a family in the Republic, who possess some capital or property within the country or are engaged in some profession, craft, or industry and have habitually resided at least fifteen years in the Republic have the right to vote without the necessity of previously obtaining legal citizenship.
Proof of residence must be based on a public or private document of proven date, and if the evidence is satisfactory to the authority competent to pass upon it, the foreigner will be entitled to exercise the right to vote from the time he inscribed in the Civil Register, as authorized by a certificate issued by the same authority for this purpose.
Article 79. Only permanent parties may "accumulate" votes for any elective office, without prejudice to compliance in all cases, for the election of Representatives, with the terms of the first part of Article 88.
The accumulation of votes is authorized, however, for factions which belonged to the same party and which subsequently acquired or used a new party label, and may be done under the label of any one of them or by each retaining its own label jointly or separately in the lists of candidates for National Councilor, Senator, Representative, members of the Departmental Councils and Boards and the electoral organizations. In the event that the political factions to which this clause refers decide to make use of the right of accumulation to which they are entitled, they shall give notice thereof, through their national officers, to the Electoral Court or the departmental electoral organizations, as the case may be, at least thirty days in advance of the election, and in addition must state on the respective ballots the accumulative character of the lists included in the agreement.
Persons connected with factions which belonged to the same party and which subsequently acquired or used a new party label may be included without distinction in the lists of candidates of such factions for members of both Chambers of the Legislative Power, of the National Council of Government, of the Departmental Councils and Boards, and of any organ for which the laws provide that the members shall be chosen by the people through the elective process.
Article 80. Citizenship is suspended:
1) By physical or mental ineptitude which prevents free and reflective action;
2) By having the status of a soldier of the line, whether classified as a musician, bugler, trumpeter, drummer, marksman or any other rank below that of corporal, with the exception of cadets of the military academies;
3) By being under indictment on a criminal charge which may result in a penitentiary sentence;
4) By being under eighteen years of age;
5) By being under sentence which imposes the penalty of exile, prison, penitentiary, or loss of political rights during the term of the sentence;
6) By habitually engaging in morally dishonest activities which shall be specified by law in accordance with subsection 7 of Article 77;
7) By being a member of social or political organizations which advocate the destruction of the fundamental bases of the Nation by violence. Those mentioned in Sections I and II of this Constitution are considered to be such for the purposes of this provision.
8) By a continuing lack of good conduct as required by Article 75.
The last two grounds shall apply only with respect to legal citizens.
Exercise of the right granted by Article 78 is suspended on the grounds listed above.
Article 81. Nationality is not lost even by naturalization in another country, it being sufficient for the purpose of regaining the rights of citizenship merely to take up residence in the Republic and register in the Civil Register.
Legal citizenship is lost by any other form of subsequent naturalization.
SECTION IV
The Form of Government and Its Various Powers
The Form of Government and Its Various Powers
Article 82. The Nation adopts the democratic-republican form of government.
Its sovereignty shall be exercised directly by the voters (cuerpo electoral) through election, initiative, and referendum, and indirectly by the representative powers which this Constitution establishes; all in conformity with the rules herein set forth.
SECTION V
The Legislative Power
The Legislative Power
Article 83. The Legislative Power shall be exercised by the General Assembly.
Article 84. The latter shall be composed of two Chambers: one of Representatives and the other of Senators, which shall function jointly or separately according to the various provisions of this Constitution.
Article 85. The General Assembly is competent:
1) To enact and order the publication of the Codes;
2) To establish Tribunals and regulate the administration of justice and of contentious-administrative matters;
3) To enact laws relating to the independence, security, tranquility, and decorum of the Republic; the protection of all individual rights and the fostering of education, agriculture, industry, and domestic and foreign trade;
4) To impose the necessary taxes to meet budgetary expenditures, provide for their distribution, collection and appropriation, and to repeal, modify, or increase those in existence;
5) To approve or disapprove, in whole or in part, the accounts presented by the Executive Power;
6) To authorize, on the initiative of the Executive Power, the National Public Debt, to consolidate it, to provide for its guaranties, and to regulate the public credit, an absolute majority of the full membership of each Chamber being necessary in the three first-mentioned cases;
7) To declare war and to approve or disapprove, by an absolute majority of the full membership of both Chambers, the treaties of peace, alliance, commerce, and conventions or contracts of any nature which the Executive Power may make with foreign powers;
8) To designate each year the armed forces that may be necessary. Military effectives may be increased only by an absolute majority of the votes of the full membership of each Chamber;
9) To create new Departments by a vote of two-thirds majority of the full membership of each Chamber; to establish their boundaries; to establish ports of entry; to establish customhouses and export and import duties, applying, with respect to the latter, the provisions of Article 87;
10) To establish the weight, standard and value of monies; to fix the rates and denominations thereof; and to provide a system of weights and measures;
11) To permit or prohibit the entry of foreign troops into the territory of the Republic, and in the former case, to fix the time when they must depart. Excepted from the above are forces which may enter for the sole purpose of doing honor and whose entry shall be authorized by the Executive Power;
12) To refuse or permit the expedition of national forces outside the Republic, in the latter case fixing the time for their return to the country;
13) To create or abolish public offices, determining their functions, compensation and retirement regulations, and to approve, disapprove, or decrease the budgets of expenditures presented by the Executive Power; to grant pensions and other classes of pecuniary compensation and to decree public honors as a reward for distinguished services;
14) To grant pardons by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of the General Assembly in joint session, and to grant amnesties in extraordinary cases, by an absolute majority vote of the full membership of each Chamber;
15) To issue regulations concerning the militia and to fix their number and designate the times they shall be called to service;
16) To select the place where the principal authorities of the Nation must reside;
17) To grant monopolies by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of each Chamber. To establish a monopoly in favor of the State or of a Departmental Government requires an absolute majority of the votes of the full membership of each Chamber;
18) To elect, in joint session of both Chambers, the members of the Supreme Court of Justice, of the Electoral Court, of the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal, and of the Tribunal of Accounts, subject to the provisions of the respective sections;
19) To pass political judgment on the conduct of the Ministers of State, in accordance with the provisions of Section VIII;
20) To interpret the Constitution, without prejudice to the power of the Supreme Court of Justice under Articles 256 to 261.
Article 86. The creation and abolishment of public offices and services; the fixing and changing of salaries, and the authorization of expenditures, shall be effected through the budgetary laws, subject to the provisions of Section XIII.
Any other law which involves expenses to be borne by the National Treasury must indicate the revenues from which they shall be paid; but the initiative in the creation of offices, increases in salaries and retirement pay, the granting or increasing of pensions or pecuniary compensation, shall be vested solely in the Executive Power.
Article 87. An affirmative vote of the absolute majority of the full membership of each Chamber shall be necessary to authorize taxes.
Article 88. The Chamber of Representatives shall consist of ninety-nine members elected directly by the people, under a system of proportional representation which takes into account the votes cast in favor of each party throughout the country.
Each Department shall have at least two Representatives.
The number of Representatives may be changed by law, the enactment of which shall require a two-thirds vote of the full membership of each Chamber.
Article 89. Representatives shall hold office for four years and their election shall be effected under the guaranties and rules of suffrage provided in Section III.
Article 90. To be a Representative it is necessary to be a natural citizen in full exercise of civil rights, or a legal citizen who has exercised his civil rights for five years, and in both cases, to have attained twenty-five years of age.
Article 91. The following may not be Representatives:
1) Members of the Executive Power, the Judicial Power, the Electoral Court, the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal, the Tribunal of Accounts, the Departmental Boards and Councils, or of salaried Councils or Boards of Directors of the Autonomous Entities and the Decentralized Services;
2) Military employees or civil employees of the Executive, Legislative or Judicial Powers, the Electoral Court, Contentious-Administrative Tribunal, Tribunal of Accounts, the Departmental Governments, the Autonomous Entities and the Decentralized Services, if they receive a salary, but excepting retired or pensioned employees. This provision does not apply to university teaching positions or university technicians with teaching functions, but if the elected Representative chooses to continue in such position, it must be honorary during his term of office. Military persons who resign their posts and salary in order to serve in the Legislature shall retain their rank but for the duration of their legislative functions they may not be promoted; they shall be exempt from all military discipline and the time during which they hold their legislative position shall not be counted for purposes of seniority for promotion.
Article 92. The National Councilors, judges and prosecuting attorneys (fiscales letrados) and police officials in the Departments in which they hold office, and military officers in the districts in which they command forces or actively exercise any military function, may not be candidates for Representative unless they resign and terminate their positions three months prior to the election. Likewise, members of the boards of directors or councils of the Administrative Entities and Decentralized Services may not be candidates unless they have acted in accordance with the provisions of Article 203.
Article 93. The Chamber of Representatives has the exclusive right of impeachment, before the Senate Chamber, of the National Councilors and Ministers of State, the members of both Chambers, of the Supreme Court of Justice, the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal, and the Electoral Court, for violation of the Constitution or the laws, or other serious offenses, after taking cognizance of the matter upon petition of a party or by one of its members, and having decided that there are grounds for prosecution.
Article 94. The Senate shall be composed of thirty-one members, elected by the people, considering the Republic as a single electoral district, in accordance with the guaranties and rules concerning suffrage contained in Section III and stated in subsequent articles.
The Presidency of the Senate and of the General Assembly shall be occupied by the person heading the list which received the most votes within the party receiving the most votes. In the event of a permanent vacancy, the Presidency will be held by the next person on the same list.
Article 95. The Senators shall be elected by the system of integral proportional representation.
Article 96. The distribution of Senate seats obtained by different factions (sub-lemas) of the same party shall also be based on the number of votes cast in favor of the respective lists.
Article 97. Senators shall have a term of office of four years.
Article 98. To be a Senator it is necessary to be a natural citizen in full exercise of civil rights, or a legal citizen who has exercised these rights for seven years, and in both cases to have attained thirty years of age.
Article 99. The disqualifications to which Article 91 refers are applicable to Senators, with such exceptions as are stated therein.
Article 100. Judges and prosecuting attorneys, police officials, and military officers in command of forces or engaged in some military activity may not be candidates for Senator, unless they resign and terminate their position three months prior to the election.
Article 101. A citizen who has been elected both as a Senator and as a Representative may choose between the two offices.
Article 102. The Senate is competent to initiate the public trial of those impeached by the Chamber of Representatives or a Departmental Board, as the case may be, and to pronounce sentence, by a two-thirds vote of its full membership, and such sentence shall have the sole effect of removal from office.
Article 103. An impeached person whom the Senate has removed from office in accordance with the preceding article shall nevertheless be subject to trial according to law.
SECTION VI
Sessions of the General Assembly. Provisions Common
to Both Chambers. The Permanent Commission.
Sessions of the General Assembly. Provisions Common
to Both Chambers. The Permanent Commission.
Article 104. The General Assembly shall begin its sessions on the fifteenth of March of each year, meeting until the fifteenth of December, or only until October fifteenth, in the event that there are elections, and the new Assembly must in that event begin its sessions on the fifteenth of the following February.
The General Assembly shall meet on the dates indicated, without the necessity of special convocation by the Executive Power.
Only for grave and urgent reasons may the General Assembly, or either of its Chambers, or the Executive Power, terminate the recess, and then exclusively for the purpose of dealing with the questions which have given rise to the convocation.
Article 105. Each Chamber shall be governed internally by such regulations as it may issue, and when they meet jointly in General Assembly, by such rules as the General Assembly may make.
Article 106. Each Chamber shall appoint its President and Vice Presidents, with the exception of the president of the Senate, whose appointment is governed by the provisions of Article 94.
Article 107. Each Chamber shall appoint its secretaries and personnel, in conformity with regulations which must be established in accordance with the guaranties provided in Articles 58 to 66, wherever appropriate.
Article 108. Within the first twelve months of each legislative term, each Chamber shall adopt its budget of salaries and expenses, by an absolute majority of its full membership, and shall notify the Executive Power, in order that he may include them in the general budget.
Such changes as are deemed strictly necessary may be made during the legislative term.
Article 109. Neither Chamber may open its sessions unless more than half of its members are present, and if such is not the case on the day designated by the Constitution, the minority may meet for the purpose of compelling absent members to attend under penalties which they may prescribe.
Article 110. The Chambers shall communicate in writing between themselves and with the other public Powers through their respective presidents and with the authorization of a secretary.
Article 111. The granting of special pensions shall be decided by secret vote and require approval by an absolute majority of the full membership of each Chamber.
The regulations of each Chamber may provide for a secret vote in cases of pardons and appointments.
Article 112. Senators and Representatives shall never be held liable for the votes they cast or opinions expressed during the discharge of their duties.
Article 113. No Senator or Representative, from the day of his election until that of his retirement, may be arrested except in case of flagrante delicto and then notice shall immediately be given to the respective Chamber, with a summary report of the case.
Article 114. No Senator or Representative, from the day of his election until that of his retirement, may be indicted on a criminal charge, or even for common offenses which are not specified in Article 93, except before his own Chamber, which, by two thirds of the votes of its full membership, shall decide whether or not there are grounds for prosecution, and if so, shall declare him suspended from office, and he shall be placed at the disposition of a competent tribunal.
Article 115. Each Chamber may reprimand any of its members for disorderly conduct in the discharge of his duties, and may even suspend him by a two-thirds vote of its full membership.
By the same number of votes it may remove a member for physical or mental incapacity which developed after he took office.
A simple majority of those present shall be sufficient to accept voluntary resignation.
Article 116. Vacancies which may occur for any reason during each legislature, shall be filled by the alternates designated at the time of the elections, in the manner to be provided by law, and without a new election.
The law may also authorize the substitution of alternates in cases of temporary disability or absence of the principals.
Article 117. Senators and Representatives shall be compensated for their services by a monthly salary which they shall receive during their term of office and which shall be fixed by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of the General Assembly in joint session in the last period of each legislature, to affect the members of the following legislature. This compensation shall be paid with absolute independence from the Executive Power.
Article 118. Any legislator may ask the Minister of State, the Supreme Court of Justice, the Electoral Court, the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal, and the Tribunal of Accounts, for such data and information as he may consider necessary for the discharge of his duties. The request shall be made in writing and through the intermediary of the president of the respective Chamber, who will transmit it immediately to the appropriate agency. If the latter does not supply the information within the period to be fixed by law, the legislator may request it through the Chamber to which he belongs, which will make final decision in the case.
Matters pertaining to the jurisdictional business and competence of the Judicial Power and of the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal may not be the object of such a request.
Article 119. Each Chamber has the right, by a resolution of one third of its full membership, to require the presence on its floor of the Ministers of State in order to question them and receive from them information which it considers appropriate, whether for legislative purposes or for purposes of inspection or investigation, without prejudice to the provisions of Section VIII.
When such information refers to Autonomous Entities or Decentralized Services, the Ministers may require the simultaneous attendance of a representative of the corresponding council or board of directors.
Article 120. Each Chamber may appoint parliamentary committees for making investigations or for obtaining data for legislative purposes.
Article 121. In the cases contemplated in the three preceding articles, either Chamber may make statements, without prejudice to the provisions of Section VIII.
Article 122. Senators and Representatives, after they have taken their seats in their respective Chambers, may not hold salaried positions under the State, the Departmental Governments, the Autonomous Entities, the Decentralized Services, or any other public agency, or perform remunerative services of any kind for them, without the consent of the Chamber to which they belong, and in all such cases their seats shall be considered vacated by the act of accepting such a position or rendering such service.
Whenever Senators and Representatives are called to serve temporarily as National Councilors, to be Ministers or Undersecretaries of State, their legislative functions are suspended, and during such suspension, their corresponding alternates shall replace them.
Article 123. The legislative function is likewise incompatible with the holding of any other elective public office, regardless of its nature.
Article 124. Senators and Representatives, during their term of office, are likewise prohibited from:
1) Participating as directors, administrators, or employees of enterprises under contract for works or services with the State, the Departmental Governments, Autonomous Entities, Decentralized Services or any other public agency;
2) Carrying on or directing matters in behalf of third parties before the central administration, Departmental Governments, Autonomous Entities or the Decentralized Services.
Nonobservance of the provisions of this article will entail immediate loss of the legislative office.
Article 125. The prohibition provided in the first paragraph of Article 122 shall apply to Senators and Representatives until one year after the end of their term of office, except by the express authorization of the respective Chamber.
Article 126. The law, by an absolute majority of votes of the full membership of each Chamber may enact regulations on the prohibitions set forth in the preceding two articles or may establish others or extend them to include persons in other agencies.
Article 127. There shall be a Permanent Commission composed of four Senators and seven Representatives elected by the proportional system and designated by their respective Chambers. The President shall be a Senator of the Majority.
The designation is to be made annually within fifteen days after the organization of the General Assembly or after the beginning of each period of regular sessions of the legislature.
Article 128. At the same time that this election is held, an alternate is to be elected for each of the eleven members, who shall replace the member in case of his illness, death, or other impediment.
Article 129. The Permanent Commission shall be the guardian of the observance of the Constitution and the laws, and shall make the necessary representations to the Executive Power in this respect, under responsibility to the existing or following General Assembly, as the case may be.
Article 130. In the event the aforementioned representations, if made for the second time, do not produce any effect, the Commission may, according to the importance and gravity of the matter in question, convoke the General Assembly on its own responsibility.
Article 131. It shall exercise its functions while the General Assembly is in recess and until its ordinary sessions are resumed.
Nevertheless, if the recess is interrupted, and during extraordinary sessions, the General Assembly or either Chamber may, when they so decide, assume jurisdiction in matters within their competence which are under consideration by the Permanent Commission, upon notice to the latter body.
If the powers of the Senators and Representatives have lapsed by reason of the expiration of their constitutional terms, and the newly elected Senators and Representatives have not been proclaimed, the Permanent Commission shall continue to exercise the functions conferred upon it by this Chapter, until the new Chambers are organized.
In such case, when each Chamber is organized it shall proceed with the designation of new members of the Permanent Commission.
Article 132. The Permanent Commission shall likewise be competent to give or withhold its consent in all cases in which the Executive Power requires it in accordance with the present Constitution, and it shall have the authority conferred on the Chambers in Article 118 et seq., without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 13 of Article 168.
SECTION VII
Introduction, Discussion, Passage
and Promulgation of the Laws
Introduction, Discussion, Passage
and Promulgation of the Laws
Article 133. Any bill may originate in either of the two Chambers on the proposal of any of its members or by the Executive Power through the intermediary of its Ministers, without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 6 of Article 85 and Article 86.
Article 134. If the Chamber in which a bill originated approves it, it shall be transmitted to the other in order that, after discussion therein, it may be approved, amended, amplified, or rejected.
Article 135. If either of the two Chambers to which a bill has been sent returns it with additions or objections and the Chamber which sent it agrees to them, it shall give notice to that effect and the bill shall be sent to the Executive Power, but if the latter Chamber is not in accord and insists on maintaining the bill in the form in which it was originally submitted, it may in that case request a joint session of both Chambers and, according to the result of the discussion, there shall be adopted whatever may be decided by a two-thirds vote, which may modify the divergent bills or even approve a new one.
Article 136. If the Chamber to which a bill has been sent has no objection to offer, it shall approve it and by merely notifying the Chamber which submitted it, shall submit it to the Executive Power in order that it may be published.
Bills which have not passed both Chambers in the same legislature shall be considered as having originated in the Chamber which last passed them.
Article 137. If, upon receipt of a bill, the Executive Power has objections or observations to make, the bill shall be returned with them to the General Assembly within the prescribed period of ten days.
Article 138. Whenever a bill shall have been returned by the Executive Power with objections or observations, the General Assembly shall be convoked and the matter shall be decided by a three-fifths vote of the members present.
Article 139. If the objections of the Executive Power refer to a part of the bill, the Assembly, by an absolute majority of the members present, may pass the bill modifying it in accordance with the objections.
Article 140. If the Chambers in joint session disapprove the bill returned by the Executive Power it shall be considered null and void for the time being and may not again be presented until the following legislature.
Article 141. In all cases of the reconsideration of a bill returned by the Executive, the voting shall be by name and by "ayes" and "nays", and both the names and reasons of those voting, as well as the objections or observations of the Executive Power, shall be immediately published in the press.
Article 142. Whenever a bill passed by one Chamber shall be rejected by the other at the beginning, it shall be considered as null and void for the time and may not again be introduced until the following period of the legislature.
Article 143. If the Executive Power has no objection to offer to a bill which has been submitted to it, it shall immediately give notice to that effect, the bill being thereby approved, and promulgated without delay.
Article 144. If the Executive does not return a bill within the ten days provided in Article 137, it shall be come law and shall be complied with as such, the Chamber which sent it having the right to demand such action if this is not done.
Article 145. When a bill returned by the Executive Power with objections or observations has been considered by the Chambers in joint session and has again been approved, it shall be considered as finally passed and shall be communicated to the Executive Power, which shall promulgate it immediately without further objections.
Article 146. When a law has been passed, the following formula shall invariably be used for its promulgation:
"The Senate and the Chamber of Representatives of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, met in General Assembly, decree:"
SECTION VIII
Relations Between the Legislative Power
and the Executive Power
Relations Between the Legislative Power
and the Executive Power
Article 147. Either of the Chambers may pass judgment on the conduct of Ministers of State by proposing that the General Assembly, in joint session shall declare that their acts of administration or of government are censured.
Whenever motions to this effect are presented, the Chamber in which they are made shall be specially convoked, within a period of not over forty-eight hours, to decide upon its course of action.
If the motion is approved by a majority of those present, notice shall be given to the General Assembly, which shall be called within forty-eight hours.
If upon the first convocation of the General Assembly there are not a sufficient number of members present to hold a meeting, a second convocation shall be made and the General Assembly shall be considered organized with the number of legislators who attend.
Article 148. The censure, adopted by an absolute majority of the full membership of the General Assembly, shall require the immediate resignation of the Minister or Ministers affected by it.
SECTION IX
The Executive Power
The Executive Power
Article 149. The Executive Power shall be exercised by the National Council of Government.
Article 150. The National Council of Government shall consist of nine members elected directly by the people, together with a double number of alternates, for a period of four years, with the guaranties and in accordance with the rules of suffrage set forth in Section III, the Republic to be considered as a single electoral district. In the election of the National Councilors, votes may be accumulated by parties but accumulation by factions (sub-lemas) is prohibited.
Article 151. The party receiving the most votes shall have six Councilors, and three shall go to the one with the next highest number of votes.
The six posts of the majority shall be allotted to the list having the most votes within a party. But if within the party of the majority, another list differentiated by its own permanent label (sub-lema) distinct from the list which received the majority and the use of which is independent of the administrative authority of the majority party, or of one of the parties to which Article 79 refers, receives more than one sixth of the votes cast for the party, five posts shall be allotted to the list having the highest number of votes and one to the party with the next highest number and which fulfills the conditions set forth herein.
The three posts corresponding to the minority shall be distributed proportionately among all lists running under one party label or the parties to which the second paragraph of Article 79 refers.
The law, by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of each Chamber, may provide a system of proportional representation for the majority posts among the party or parties referred to in the second paragraph of Article 79. The use of this system shall be optional for the authorities of the respective party or parties.
Article 152. To be a National Councilor a person must be:
1) A natural citizen in the exercise of his civil rights;
2) At least thirty-five years of age.
Article 153. The National Councilors may not be reelected except after an interval of one term between termination of office and the date they may begin assume such position.
Alternates are considered included in this prohibition if they have held office as a replacement for their principal for more than one year, continuously or at intervals.
Article 154. On the first of March following their election, the National Councilors shall take office, after first making the following declaration before the General Assembly in joint session:
"I (N.N.) promise on my honor loyally to fulfill the office which has been entrusted to me, and to guard and defend the Constitution of the Republic".
Article 155. If on the date when the National Council of Government is to take office the new National Councilors have as yet not been proclaimed, the Supreme Court of Justice shall temporarily assume this office and its functions.
Article 156. The National Council of Government shall represent the State both at home and abroad.
Article 157. The remuneration of the National Councilors shall be fixed by law, prior to each election, and may not be changed during a term of office.
Article 158. The Presidency of the National Council of Government shall be by rotation, by yearly periods, among the members elected by the party which obtained a majority and by order of their place on the respective list.
In the event of the absence, vacancy or temporary impediment or leave of the Councilor serving as President, he shall be replaced by the member who followed him on the said list, who shall also occupy the Presidency for the year corresponding to him by virtue of the above provision.
In the case provided for in the last paragraph of Article 151, the Presidency shall be occupied by the members from the majority list in order of their position thereon, beginning with the one who received the most votes.
Article 159. The National Council of Government shall meet regularly on the days and hours it may determine, and extraordinarily at any time by the decision of the President or two of its members.
Article 160. The Council shall be in session if at least five members are present. The President of the Council has the right to speak and to vote.
Article 161. All decisions of the Council may be revoked by a vote of the majority of its members.
Article 162. A discussion in the Council may be terminated at any time by majority vote. The motion to this effect shall not be discussed.
Article 163. Councilors shall not be entitled to leave with salary for more than six months, nor for more than one year without salary, and nonattendance without leave at twenty meetings within a period of two years, regardless of reason, shall terminate the office.
Article 164. If a Councilor is granted leave for more than fifteen days, or if for any reason a permanent or temporary vacancy occurs, the corresponding alternate shall be called to serve.
Article 165. The internal affairs of the Council shall be governed by such regulations as it may issue.
Article 166. Every Council shall appoint a Secretary, who shall go out of office with it, unless reappointed, and he may be removed or temporarily replaced at any time.
Article 167. The President shall represent the National Council of Government. He shall preside over its meetings and sign the resolutions and communications of the Council together with the Minister or Ministers whom the matter concerns and with the Secretary of the Council, and with the latter only with respect to internal matters, and without such signature no one is compelled to obey them. However, the Council may provide that certain decisions shall take effect by a general act issued in accordance with the same requirements as the preceding.
The National Councilors may not individually give orders of any kind.
Article 168. The National Council of Government, acting with the respective Minister or Ministers, has the following duties:
1) The preservation of internal order and tranquility and external security;
2) The supreme command of all armed forces;
3) To grant retirement and regulate the pensions of civilian and military employees, in accordance with the laws;
4) To publish and circulate without delay all laws which, in accordance with Section VII, are ready to be published and circulated; to enforce them and see that they are enforced, and to issue such special regulations as may be necessary for their execution;
5) To inform the Legislative Power, at the beginning of regular sessions, of the state of the Republic and of the improvements and reforms which it considers worthy of its attention;
6) To set forth objections or make observations concerning bills which the Legislative Power sends it, and to suspend or oppose their promulgation in the manner provided in Section VII;
7) To propose bills to the Chambers or amendments to laws previously enacted;
8) To convoke the Legislative Power to extraordinary sessions, specifying the matters which give rise to the convocation, in accordance with the provisions of Article 104;
9) To confer military and civilian offices in accordance with the Constitution and the laws;
10) To remove employees for inefficiency, dereliction of duty or malfeasance, with the consent of the Senate in all cases, or during its recess, with that of the Permanent Commission; in cases of malfeasance, the matter shall be submitted to the courts. Diplomatic and consular officers may likewise be dismissed with the previous consent of the Senate for the commission of acts which affect their good name or the prestige of the country and of the office they hold. If the Senate or Permanent Commission does not take definitive action within ninety days, the Executive Power may proceed with the dismissal without the consent required;
11) To grant military promotions in accordance with the laws, the consent of the Senate, or during its recess, of the Permanent Commission, being required for promotions to colonel or higher ranks;
12) To appoint consular and diplomatic personnel, the consent of the Senate or during its recess, of the Permanent Commission, being necessary for the appointment of Chiefs of Missions;
13) To appoint the Court Prosecutor (Fiscal de Corte) and other prosecuting attorneys (fiscales letrados) in the Republic, with the consent of the Senate or of the Permanent Commission, as the case may be, by a three-fifths vote of the full membership.
Such consent shall not be necessary for appointment of the State Attorney (Procurador del Estado) for the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal or for the prosecutors in the Ministries of Government and Treasury;
14) To remove on its own initiative military and police employees and others which the law declares removable;
15) To receive diplomatic agents and authorize foreign consuls to exercise their functions;
16) To decree the severance of relations, and in accordance with a prior resolution of the General Assembly, to declare war, provided that arbitration or other pacific means to avoid it have been unsuccessful;
17) To take prompt measures of security in grave and unforeseen cases of foreign attack or internal disorder, giving an account within twenty-four hours to a joint session of the General Assembly, or during its recess, to the Permanent Commission, of the action taken and its motives, the decision of the latter bodies being final.
With respect to persons, the prompt measures of security authorize only their arrest or removal from one place in the territory of the country to another provided they do not elect to leave it. This measure, like the others, must be submitted within twenty-four hours to a joint session of the General Assembly or to the Permanent Commission, which will make the final decision;
18) To collect the revenues through its agencies in conformity with the laws and to appropriate them in accordance therewith;
19) To prepare and submit the general budget annually to the General Assembly, in accordance with the provisions of Section XIII, and to render an itemized account of the expenditures made during the preceding year;
20) To conclude and sign treaties, the approval of the Legislative Power being necessary for their ratification;
21) To grant industrial privileges in accordance with the laws;
22) To grant or withhold authorization to create any proposed banks;
23) To lend, at the request of the Judicial Power, the assistance of the police force.
Article 169. It may not permit the payment of salary for other reasons than active service, superannuation, retirement or pension, in accordance with the laws.
Article 170. The National Councilors may not leave the territory of the Republic for more than seven days, without the authorization of the General Assembly.
Article 171. The National Councilors shall enjoy the same immunities and be subject to the same disqualifications and prohibitions as Senators and Representatives.
Article 172. The National Councilors may not be impeached except in the manner indicated in Article 93, and even then, only while they hold office or within six months thereafter, during which time they are subject to residence requirements, unless authorization to leave the country is granted by an absolute majority of the votes of the full membership of the General Assembly meeting in joint session.
If the impeachment is approved by a two-thirds vote of the total membership of the Chamber of Representatives, a National Council shall be suspended from office.
Article 173. In each Department of the Republic there shall be a Chief of Police who shall be appointed for the respective period by the National Council of Government, from among citizens who meet the qualifications for being Senator.
The National Council of Government may remove or dismiss them whenever this is deemed appropriate.
SECTION X
The Ministers of State
The Ministers of State
Article 174. There shall be nine Ministries, each of which shall have its own name and such powers and authority in its separate functions as may be specified by law passed by an absolute majority of the full membership of each Chamber.
The Ministers shall be appointed and removed by resolution of the National Council of Government, without prejudice to the provisions of Section VIII.
Their number may also be modified by law, requiring in each case a favorable vote of two thirds of the full membership of each Chamber.
Article 175. A Minister or Ministers shall be responsible for such decrees or orders as they may sign or issue with the President of the National Council of Government. This responsibility shall become effective in accordance with the provisions f Articles 93, 102, and 103.
Article 176. The same qualifications shall be required for a Minister as for a Senator.
Article 177. Upon the opening of each legislative period, the Ministers shall submit a concise report to the General Assembly, on all matters concerning their respective Ministries.
Article 178. Upon termination of their office, Ministers remain subject to six months' residence, and may not leave the territory of the Republic except by authorization granted by an absolute majority of votes of the full membership of the General Assembly meeting in joint session.
Article 179. Ministers shall not be exempt from responsibility for crime even if they invoke the written or verbal order of the National Council of Government.
Article 180. Ministers may attend the sessions of the General Assembly of either Chamber, of the Permanent Commission, or of their respective standing committees, and may take part in debate but shall have no vote.
The Undersecretaries of State have the same right with respect to attendance at committee meetings, whenever the respective Ministers so direct. Likewise, by resolution of the latter, they may attend in a body the sessions of the General Assembly, either Chamber, or the Permanent Commission. In both cases, the Undersecretaries shall act under the responsibility of the Ministers.
Article 181. The powers and duties of the Ministers, in their respective portfolios and in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Executive Power, are as follows:
1) To enforce the Constitution, laws, decrees, and resolutions;
2) To formulate and submit to the consideration of superior authority, such projects of laws, decrees and resolutions as they may deem appropriate;
3) To effect, within the limits of their functions, the payment of recognized debts of the State;
4) To grant leaves of absence to the employees of their departments;
5) To propose the appointment or discharge of employees of their divisions;
6) To supervise administrative functions and adopt the necessary measures for their proper conduct, and to impose disciplinary penalties;
7) To sign and communicate the resolutions of the Executive Power.
Article 182. The functions of the Ministers and Undersecretaries shall be regulated by the Executive Power.
Article 183. Each Ministry shall have an Undersecretary who shall be proposed by and take office with the Minister, and whose services will terminate with the latter, unless reappointed.
Article 184. In the event of absence of the Ministers, the National Council of Government may authorize the Undersecretaries to assume their functions.
SECTION XI
The Autonomous Entities and Decentralized Services
The Autonomous Entities and Decentralized Services
Article 185. The various state-controlled industrial and commercial services shall be administered by autonomous councils or boards of directors.
Article 186. The services of Posts and Telegraph, Customs and Port Administration, and Public Health may not be decentralized in the form of Autonomous Entities, although the law may grant them a degree of autonomy compatible with control by the Executive Power.
Article 187. The councils or boards of directors, if composed of salaried members, shall consist of five or seven members, as the law may establish in each case, who shall be designated at a meeting of the National Council of Government, three by a plurality of votes of the majority and two by a plurality of votes of the minority, in the first case, and four and three, respectively, in the second case. These designations shall be made known to the Senate which, within the fifteen days following, may make objections concerning the personal, functional, or technical qualifications of the appointees to these posts. If the objections are supported by three fifths of the membership of the Senate, the designations objected to shall be void, and new appointments must be made in the manner described above. Likewise, the National Council of Government, at the request of the majority or minority who made a designation which was objected to, may void such designation within fifteen days after receiving the corresponding communication from the Senate, even if the objection was sustained by less than a three-fifths vote of the Senate membership, and shall propose a new designation in the manner previously indicated.
Article 188. For the purposes of the provisions of the preceding article, majority and minority mean the National Councilors elected by the parties that obtained such representation on the National Council of Government.
Article 189. Permanent vacancies on the boards of directors or councils of the Autonomous Entities and Decentralized Services shall be filled, when necessary, by the same procedure as outlined in Article 187.
The law, by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of each Chamber, shall regulate the filling of temporary vacancies.
Article 190. The same rules as outlined in the preceding articles shall apply, insofar as they are appropriate and without the requirement contained in the second paragraph of Article 187, for the designation of honorary directors, councils or commissions for permanent agencies.
Excepted from this provision are those agencies that are merely advisory, those that function without assets of their own, those that administer funds for welfare, insurance or compensation composed mainly of contributions from employers and workers, with the exception of retirement funds, and all those for which the law by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of each Chamber, may adopt some other form of membership in accordance with the nature or technical peculiarities of the functions to be performed.
Article 191. The law, by a three-fifths vote of the full membership of each Chamber, may declare the members of the councils or boards of directors to be elective and shall specify in each case the persons or groups with an interest in the service who may participate in such election.
In such case, if the council or board of directors consists of five members, the law may also, by the same majority, increase the number of members to seven.
Article 192. In order that the law may admit private capital in the constitution or extension of the assets of the Autonomous Entities or Decentralized Services as well as to regulate the participation that may be granted to shareholders in such cases in the councils and boards of directors, a three-fifths vote of the full membership of each Chamber shall be required.
The amount of private capital and the representation thereof on the councils or boards of directors shall never be greater than that of the State.
Article 193. The creation of new Autonomous Entities, the dissolution of those existing, or an increase in the number of directors, shall require a two-thirds vote of the full membership of each Chamber.
Article 194. The Autonomous Entities and Decentralized Services may not conduct any business foreign to that specifically assigned to them by law, nor may they devote any of their resources to purposes foreign to their normal activities.
The law shall determine the conditions and circumstances under which they may acquire, encumber, or sell real property, for which purpose a favorable vote of four or five directors or council members shall be required, according to whether the respective board or council is composed of five or seven members.
Article 195. The Autonomous Entities, Decentralized Services, and in general all autonomous administrative agencies with their own assets, regardless of their juridical nature, shall publish periodic statements which shall clearly show their financial condition. The law shall specify the content and yearly number thereof and each shall be countersigned by the Tribunal of Accounts.
Article 196. The members of the councils or boards of directors shall terminate their positions when the National Council of Government replacing the one which appointed them makes the designation for a new period. They may be reelected or designated for some other board or council, provided their conduct has not been subject to objection by the Tribunal of Accounts by a vote of at least five of its members.
Article 197. The outgoing councils or boards of directors must submit an accounting of their work to the Executive Power, after report by the Tribunal of Accounts, without prejudice to liabilities incurred, in accordance with the provisions of Section XII.
Article 198. The final decisions of the boards or councils of the Autonomous Entities may only be appealed or reviewed before the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal or the Judicial Power, as provided in this Constitution or the laws, without prejudice to the provisions of subsequent articles.
Article 199. Whenever the Executive Power shall consider any act of the councils or boards to be inappropriate or illegal, it may make such objections as are deemed pertinent. Should these be disregarded, the Executive Power may place them before the Senate and may also propose corrective measures or request such removals it may deem appropriate. The Senate shall act by a three-fifths vote of its full membership.
The law shall regulate the authority of the Executive Power in matters to which this article refers.
Article 200. The provisions of the preceding article shall not affect authority of the Executive Power to remove directors or members of councils, with the approval of the Senate, in cases of inefficiency, neglect or malfeasance in the exercise of their functions; or for the commission of acts which affect their reputation or the prestige of the institution with which they are connected.
If the Senate does not act within a period of ninety days, the Executive Power may effect the removal.
Article 201. Amendment to the organic charter of the State banks requires an absolute majority of the votes of the full membership of each Chamber.
Article 202. The members of councils or boards of the Autonomous Entities and Decentralized Services may not be appointed to posts, not even to honorary posts, which directly or indirectly are connected with the institution to which they belong. This provision does not include council members or directors of educational services, who may be reelected as teachers or professors and appointed to the post of dean or honorary teaching positions.
This inhibition shall be effective for a period of one year following the termination of the functions on which it is based, whatever may be the reason for such termination, and shall include any other post, professional or otherwise, even though not permanent in character nor with fixed remuneration.
Nor may members of councils or boards of the Autonomous Entities or Decentralized Services simultaneously practice professions or perform activities which directly or indirectly bear relation to the institution with which they are connected.
The provisions of the two preceding paragraphs are not applicable to teachers.
Article 203. In order to become candidates for Representatives, directors of the Autonomous Entities and the Decentralized Services must terminate their positions at least ten months prior to the date of the election.
In such cases, the mere presentation of a resignation based on these grounds shall effect an immediate termination of office.
Electoral organizations shall not certify lists which include candidates who have not complied with this requirement.
Article 204. Higher, secondary, primary, normal, industrial and artisitc public education shall be governed by one or more autonomous councils of directors (consejos directivos).
Other State teaching services shall also be entrusted to autonomous councils of directors if the law so provides by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of each Chamber.
The Public Education Entities shall be consulted, by the parliamentary committees, for advisory purposes, in the drafting of laws relating to their services. Each Chamber may fix a time for such consultations.
Article 205. The councils of directors for teaching services shall be appointed or elected in such manner as may be provided by law by an absolute majority of votes of the full membership of each Chamber.
The Council of Directors of the University of the Republic shall be appointed by the organs of which it is composed, and the councils of these organs shall be elected by teachers, students, and alumni, in accordance with provisions of a law to be passed by the majority indicated in the preceding paragraph.
Article 206. The councils of directors shall have such powers and duties as may be determined by a law approved by an absolute majority of the full membership of each Chamber.
These councils shall establish statutes for their officials in conformity with the bases provided in Articles 58 and 61 and such fundamental rules as the law may provide, taking into consideration the special features of the Entity.
Article 207. Articles 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 200, 202 and 203 shall be applicable, wherever pertinent, to the various educational services.
SECTION XII
The Tribunal of Accounts
The Tribunal of Accounts
Article 208. The Tribunal of Accounts shall be composed of seven members who must meet the same qualifications as those required of a Senator.
They shall be appointed by the General Assembly by a two-thirds vote of its full membership.
The prohibitions contained in Articles 122, 123, 124, and 125 shall apply in this respect.
The terms of members shall end when the General Assembly which replaces the one that appointed them makes appointments for the new period.
They may be reelected, and for each member there shall be three alternates for cases of vacancy, temporary disability or leave of absence.
Article 209. The members of the Tribunal of Accounts are responsible to the General Assembly, in joint session, for the faithful and accurate fulfilment of their functions. The General Assembly may remove them in case of inefficiency, neglect, or malfeasance, by a two-thirds vote of its full membership.
Article 210. The Tribunal of Accounts shall have functional autonomy, which shall be regulated by a law to be drafted by the Tribunal itself. The law also give it other functions not specified in this Section.
Article 211. It shall be the province of the Tribunal of Accounts:
A) To deliver opinions and furnish information on budget matters;
B) To supervise expenditures and payments, in accordance with the rules and regulations to be established by law, for the sole purpose of certifying as to their legality, appending whenever necessary any pertinent objections. Should the respective auditor persist, he shall communicate the matter to the Tribunal, without prejudice to compliance with the order.
Should the Tribunal of Accounts in turn maintain its objections, it shall communicate detailed information to the General Assembly, or to whoever may be acting in its stead, for appropriate action.
In the Departmental Governments, Autonomous Entities and Decentralized Services, the duties to which this paragraph refers may be performed under like conditions through the intermediary of the respective accountants or officials acting in their stead, who shall perform such duties under the supervision of the Tribunal of Accounts, subject to the provisions of law, which may extend this rule to other public services administering funds;
C) To deliver opinions and furnish information with respect to the submission of accounts and activities of all the organs of the State, including Departmental Governments, Autonomous Entities and Decentralized Services, regardless of their nature, as well as, insofar as appropriate action in cases of responsibility is concerned, setting forth the pertinent considerations and objections;
D) To present to the General Assembly an annual report relative to the rendering of accounts required under the preceding paragraph;
E) To intervene in all matters relating to the financial activities of the organs of the State, the Departmental Governments, Autonomous Entities and Decentralized Services, and to report to the appropriate authority all irregularities in the management of public funds or infractions of budgetary and accounting laws;
F) To issue ordinances on accounting which shall be binding on all organs of the State, Departmental Governments, Autonomous Entities and Decentralized Services, regardless of their nature;
G) To draft its budget, which it shall submit to the Executive Power to be included in the general budget. The Executive Power, with such modifications as it may see fit to make, shall transmit it to the Legislative Power for final action.
Article 212. The Tribunal of Accounts shall exercise supervision in all matters within its competence and subject to the provisions of its organic law, over all offices of accounts, collections and payments of the State, Departmental Governments, Autonomous Entities and Decentralized Services, regardless of their nature, and it may propose, to appropriate officials, such changes as it may consider advisable.
Article 213. The Tribunal of Accounts shall present to the Executive Power the draft of a law on accounting and financial administration, and the Executive Power shall submit it to the Legislative Power with such suggestions as it may deem appropriate. Such draft shall include regulatory provisions covering financial and economic administration, and particularly the organization of the accounting and collection services; the requisites, for purposes of supervision, for the acquisition and alienation of property and the making of contracts affecting the public wealth and for making effective preventive supervision of receipts, expenditures and payments; and the responsibilities and guaranties which shall be exacted from officials who have to do with the handling of the patrimony of the State.
SECTION XIII
The Public Wealth
The Public Wealth
Article 214. The Executive Power and the Departmental Councils shall prepare the budgets for salaries, expenditures and revenues for their term of government and shall submit them to the Legislative Power and Departmental Boards, respectively, within the first twelve months of their term of office. The budget of expenditures, including the global items for payment of wages and contracted services, may be submitted jointly or separately from the budget for salaries.
Article 215. The Executive Power and the Departmental Councils shall submit to the Legislative Power and the Departmental Boards, respectively, within six months after the close of each fiscal year, which shall coincide with the calendar year, a statement of accounts and of the budgetary balance corre€sponding to that year. Jointly therewith they may propose such changes as are deemed necessary in the budgets for salaries, expenditures and revenues.
Article 216. A special section in the budgets may be established by law which shall comprise the ordinary permanent expenditures of the administration, for which a periodic revision is not necessary.
Items shall not be included in the budgets when they cover a period longer than the term of office of the Government or which do not refer exclusively to its interpretation or execution.
Article 217. All budgetary drafts shall be transmitted to the appropriate official for consideration and approval, including a comparison with the current budgets.
Article 218. The Legislative Power and the Departmental Boards may not create positions on their own initiative, nor increase allotments for salaries and expenses in the draft budget submitted by the Executive Power or the Departmental Councils.
Article 219. Each Chamber must consider the draft budgets within three months after they are submitted.
At the expiration of this period, the Chamber shall be convoked in extraordinary and permanent session for their approval or rejection.
Fifteen days after meeting, if the Chamber has not acted, the draft budgets shall be considered rejected.
Article 220. If a draft approved by one Chamber is amended by the other, the Chamber that originally approved it must act on the amendments within thirty days after they are received. If such period has expired or the amendments are rejected, the draft shall go to the General Assembly, which shall have thirty days for its consideration.
If this period expires without action by the General Assembly, it shall be convoked in extraordinary and permanent session, and if it then fails to act within ten days the draft shall be considered rejected.
Article 221. The Judicial Power, the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal, the Electoral Court, the Tribunal of Accounts, the Autonomous Entities and Decentralized Services, with the exception of those included in the article following, shall draft their respective budgets and present them to the Executive Power, which shall include them in the draft general budget. The Executive Power may modify the original drafts and submit them, with the modifications, to the Legislative Power.
Article 222. The budgets of the industrial or commercial Entities of the State shall be drafted by each of these and submitted for approval to the Executive Power, after report by the Tribunal of Accounts. The Executive Power may object to the budgets and in this case, as well as in those in which objections are made by the Tribunal of Accounts, shall return them to the respective agency.
If the entity accepts the objections of the Executive Power and the report of the Tribunal of Accounts, it shall return the papers in the case to the Executive Power for approval of the budget.
In the absence of the acceptance mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, the budgetary drafts shall be sent to the General Assembly, together with the papers in the case. The General Assembly, in joint session of both Chambers, shall render decisions concerning discrepancies and global items, subject to the provisions of Article 218. If the General Assembly fails to act within a period of forty days, the budget shall be considered as approved with inclusion of the objections made by the Executive Power.
The report of the Tribunal of Accounts requires the affirmative vote of a majority of its members and shall be communicated to the Entity concerned within the period prescribed by law.
The approved budgets shall be incorporated in the general budget, for purposes of information.
After reports by the respective agencies and the Tribunal of Accounts, as well as the opinion of the Executive Power, the law shall fix the percentages which an agency may reserve for salaries and expenses of management and administration.
Article 223. The Departmental Boards shall consider the draft budgets prepared by the Departmental Councils within six months after they are submitted.
Article 224. The Departmental Boards may modify the draft budgets only to increase revenues or decrease expenditures and may not give approval to any draft which indicates a deficit, and they may not create positions on their own initiative.
Prior to approval of the budget, the Board shall request reports from the Tribunal of Accounts, which shall act within twenty days, and may offer objections only as to errors in the calculation of revenues, the omission of budgetary obligations, or the violation of applicable constitutional or legal provisions.
If the Board accepts the objections of the Tribunal of Accounts, or does not dispute them, the budget is definitively approved.
In any case the Board may not make other changes subsequent to the report submitted by the Tribunal of Accounts.
If the Departmental Board does not accept the objections offered by the Tribunal of Accounts, the budget and statement of facts of the case shall be submitted to the General Assembly which, meeting in joint session, shall pass on the discrepancies within a period of forty days, and if no decision is reached, the budget shall be considered approved.
Article 225. Upon expiration of the period provided in Article 223, if the Departmental Board has not taken final action, the draft budget shall be considered to be rejected.
Article 226. Budgets of the Departmental Governments which are declared to be in effect shall be communicated to the Executive Power for inclusion in the general budget, as information, and to the Tribunal of Accounts with the facts concerning its objections if there were any.
Article 227. Supervision of the execution of the budgets and the exercise of control in all matters relating to the public wealth shall be vested in the Tribunal of Accounts.
Article 228. As long as a draft budget has not been approved, the previous budget shall continue to be in effect.
Article 229. The Executive Power, the Autonomous Entities, the Decentralized Services and the Departmental Councils may not propose the creation of new offices, increases in salaries or in debits or items for wages or contracted services within twelve months prior to the date of the regular elections.
Article 230. The Legislative Power and the Departmental Boards may not approve budgets, create offices, make increases in salaries and other debits or approve increases in items for wages and contracted services within twelve months prior to the date of the regular elections, with the exception of the allotments referred to in Articles 117 and 157.
SECTION XIV
The Council of National Economy
The Council of National Economy
Article 231. The law may create a Council of National Economy, advisory or honorary in character, composed of representatives of the economic and professional interests of the country. The law shall prescribe its form of organization and its functions.
Article 232. The Council of National Economy shall communicate with the Public Powers in writing but it may have its opinions supported before legislative committees by one or more of its members.
SECTION XV
The Judicial Power
The Judicial Power
Article 233. The Judicial Power shall be vested in the Supreme Court of Justice and in the tribunals and courts as prescribed by law.
Article 234. The Supreme Court of Justice shall be composed of five members.
Article 235. The following qualifications are required in order to be a member of the Supreme Court of Justice:
1) Forty years of age or over;
2) Native citizenship in exercise of the rights thereof, or legal citizenship with ten years exercise thereof and twenty-five years of residence in the country;
3) To have been a lawyer for ten years, or as such to have been a member of the judiciary or the Public Ministry for a period of eight years.
Article 236. The members of the Supreme Court of Justice shall be appointed by the General Assembly by a two-thirds vote of its full membership.
In cases of vacancy as long as they are not filled, and of challenge, excuse, or disability in fulfilling the judicial function, the Supreme Court shall be constituted in the manner prescribed by law.
Article 237. The members of the Supreme Court of Justice shall serve for ten years, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 250, and they may not be reelected until after a lapse of five years following the previous term.
Article 238. Their compensation shall be fixed by the Legislative Power.
Article 239. The Supreme Court of Justice shall:
1) Try all violators of the Constitution, without exception; offenses against the Law of Nations and cases in admiralty; questions relating to treaties, pacts and conventions with other States; and take cognizance of cases involving diplomatic representatives in such cases as are contemplated in International Law.
In the aforementioned matters and in all others in which the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction, it shall be the province of the law to decide on the procedure to be followed, which in any case shall be public and shall require final judgments, with opinions and express references to the law that is applied;
2) Exercise directive, corrective, advisory, and economic supervision over the tribunals, courts and other dependencies of the Judicial Power;
3) Prepare the draft budgets of the Judicial Power and transmit them in due course to the Executive Power for inclusion in the draft of the general budget, together with such modifications as may be deemed appropriate;
4) With the approval of the Senate, or during its recess with that of the Permanent Commission, to appoint the citizens who shall compose the Appeals Tribunals, such appointments to be contingent upon the following:
A) A favorable vote of three of its members, for candidates who belong to the judiciary or the Public Ministry;
B) A favorable vote of four, for candidates not having the qualifications of the foregoing paragraph;
5) Appoint the lawyer judges (jueces letrados) of all grades and classes, an absolute majority of all members of the Supreme Court being required in each case.
These appointments shall be permanent in character from the moment they are made whenever the candidates concerned are citizens who have served at least two years in the judiciary, the Public Ministry, or as a justice of peace, in positions which must be filled by lawyers.
If such officials had less seniority in their respective posts, they shall be considered as interim lawyer judges for a period of two years, counting from the date of their appointment, and citizens newly taken into the magistracy shall have a like classification for the same period.
During such interim period the Supreme Court may at any time remove the interim judge by absolute majority of all its members. At the end of the period the appointment shall be considered confirmed in full right;
6) Appoint the permanent official defenders and justice of peace by absolute majority of all members of the Supreme Court of Justice;
7) Appoint, promote, or remove, by a vote of four of its members, the employees of the Judicial Power, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 58 to 66, wherever pertinent;
8) Perform such other duties as the law may prescribe.
Article 240. In the exercise of its functions, it shall address itself directly to the other Powers of the State, and its President shall be empowered to attend the parliamentary committees, with a voice in discussions but no vote, when they deal with matters of interest to the administration of justice, and may promote therein the progress of bills for judicial reforms and amendments to the Codes of Procedure.
Article 241. There shall be established such Appellate Tribunals as the law may determine, and with such powers as the law may confer upon them. Each of such Tribunals shall consist of three members.
Article 242. To be a member of an Appellate Tribunal requires the following qualifications:
1) Thirty-five years of age or more;
2) Native citizenship in full exercise of such rights, or legal citizenship exercised for at least seven years;
3) To have been a lawyer for at least eight years or to have been engaged in such capacity in the judiciary or Public Ministry for six years.
Article 243. The members of the Appellate Tribunals shall remain in office during good conduct, up to the limit imposed by Article 250.
Article 244. The law shall fix the number of lawyer courts (juzgados letrados) in the Republic, consistent with the exigencies of a more prompt and efficient administration of justice, and shall indicate the location of the seat of each of these, its powers, and the manner of exercising them.
Article 245. To be a lawyer judge (juez letrado) the following requirements must be met:
1) Twenty-eight years of age or more;
2) Native citizenship in full exercise thereof, or legal citizenship for four years or more;
3) To have been a lawyer for at least four years or to have been engaged in such capacity in the Public Ministry or as a Justice of Peace for at least two years.
Article 246. Lawyer judges who render effective service shall remain in office during good conduct, up to the limit imposed by Article 250. Notwithstanding, and for reasons of the good of the service, the Supreme Court may transfer them at any time, from their office or place or from both, provided such transfer is decided upon after hearing the Court prosecutor, and subject to the following conditions:
1) Vote of approval of three members of the Supreme Court in favor of the transfer, if the new office does not imply a reduction in grade or remuneration or both, as compared with the former;
2) Vote of approval of four of its members in favor of the transfer if the new office does imply a reduction in grade or remuneration, or both, as compared with the former.
Article 247. To be a Justice of Peace the following requirements are prescribed:
1) Twenty-five years of age or more;
2) Native citizenship in full exercise thereof, or legal citizenship for two years.
To the qualifications stated there should be added the requirement that candidates for Justice of Peace in the Department of Montevideo must be lawyers, and either lawyer or notary public in the capitals and cities of the other Departments or in any other town of the Republic where the judicial activity so demands, in the opinion of the Supreme Court.
Article 248. There shall be as many Peace Courts in the Republic as there are judicial districts into which the territory of the Departments is divided.
Article 249. Justices of Peace shall hold office for four years and may be removed at any time, if the best interests of the public service so demand.
Article 250. The services of all members of the Judicial Power shall cease upon their attaining the age of seventy years.
Article 251. Positions under the judiciary shall be incompatible with any other salaried public office, with the exception of professorships in law in higher public education, and with any other permanent honorary function except those particularly connected with the judiciary.
To occupy any such position the prior authorization of the Supreme Court of Justice shall be required, by an absolute majority of all its members.
Article 252. Magistrates and all persons attached to internal offices and sections of the Supreme Court, tribunals and courts shall be prohibited, under penalty of immediate dismissal, from conducting, defending, or handling judicial cases, or from acting, except as required by their official duties, in any way in connection therewith, even by voluntary jurisdiction. The violation shall be officially declared as soon as it becomes known. This prohibition shall be without effect solely with respect to personal matters of the official or of his wife, children and parents.
With reference to the personnel of offices or sections, these may also be subject to such exceptions as may be established by law.
The law may also lay down individual prohibitions with respect to officials or employees of staffs not covered by the first paragraph of this article.
Article 253. Military jurisdiction shall be limited to military offenses and to a state of war.
Common offenses committed by the military in time of peace, regardless of the place in which they are committed, shall be subject to the ordinary courts.
Article 254. The administration of justice shall be gratis for those who are declared paupers according to law. In suits in which such a declaration has been made in favor of the plaintiff, the defendant shall enjoy a like privilege up to the time of final judgment, which shall confirm his right thereto if such judgment declares the plaintiff guilty of bringing suit without sufficient cause.
Article 255. No suit in a civil cause may be brought without first showing that settlement has been attempted before a Justice of Peace, save for those exceptions established by law.
Article 256. Laws may be declared unconstitutional by reason of form or content, in accordance with the provisions of the succeeding articles.
Article 257. The Supreme Court of Justice has original and exclusive jurisdiction in the hearing and decision of such matters; and must render its decision in accordance with the requirement for final decisions.
Article 258. The declaration of the unconstitutionality of a law and the inapplicability of the provisions affected thereby, may be requested by any person who considers that his direct, personal, and legitimate interest is injured:
1) By means of lawsuit, which must be filed before the Supreme Court of Justice;
2) By plea of exception, which may be made in any judicial proceeding.
A judge or court which hears any judicial proceeding, or the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal, as the case may be, may also request the declaration of unconstitutionality of a law and its inapplicability, before rendering a decision.
In this case and in that provided in subparagraph 2 above, the proceedings shall be suspended and the case referred to the Supreme Court of Justice.
Article 259. The decision of the Supreme Court of Justice shall refer exclusively to the concrete case and shall have effect solely on the proceedings for which it was rendered.
Article 260. Decrees of the Departmental Governments which have the force of law within their jurisdictions may also be declared unconstitutional, subject to the provisions of the preceding articles.
Article 261. The law shall prescribe the pertinent procedure.
SECTION XVI
The Government and Administration
of the Departments
The Government and Administration
of the Departments
Article 262. The Government and administration of the Departments, with the exception of public security services, shall be exercised by a Departmental Board (Junta Departamental) and a Departmental Council (Concejo Departamental), which shall function in the capital city of each Department and shall take office on the fifteenth of February following an election.
Article 263. The Departmental Boards shall be composed of sixty-five members in the Department of Montevideo and thirty-one members in the remaining Departments.
Article 264. To be a member of a Departmental Board a person must meet these requirements: be twenty-three years of age or over; have native or legal citizenship exercised for three years; be a native of the Department or a resident thereof for at least three years preceding.
Article 265. Members of the Departmental Boards shall hold office for four years. Three times as many alternates as the number of members shall be elected at the same time.
Article 266. The Departmental Councils shall consist of seven members in the Department of Montevideo and five in the other Departments.
Article 267. To be a member of a Departmental Council requires the same qualifications as for Representative and in addition being a native of the Department or a resident thereof for at least three years preceding.
Article 268. Councilors shall hold office for four years and may be reelected once only. Three times as many alternates as the number of councilors shall be elected at the same time, and they may be called to serve in case of vacancy, temporary disability or leave of absence of a member.
Article 269. The law, by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of each Chamber, may change the number of members on Departmental Boards and Councils.
Article 270. The Departmental Boards and Councils shall be elected directly by the people, under the guaranties and in accordance with the rules of suffrage prescribed in Section III.
Article 271. In the election of members of the Departmental Councils votes may be accumulated by parties but accumulation by factions is prohibited.
The party or group of parties receiving the highest number of votes, as referred to in Article 79 shall be given four members in the Department of Montevideo and three in the other Departments; and three or two members, respectively, shall be given to the party or group of parties with the next highest vote. In the Department of Montevideo the number of members corresponding to each party or group of parties shall be allotted to the list having the highest number of votes within each. In the other Departments, the members corresponding to each party or group of parties shall be distributed among all lists therein in proportion to the number of votes for each such list.
The law, by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of each Chamber, may raise to nine the number of members of the Departmental Council of Montevideo, and if this is done, provide for the same method of allotment of posts as for the National Council of Government, described in Article 151, relative to distribution among parties and among the lists which have participated under each party.
The law may also, by a two-thirds vote of each Chamber, raise to nine the number of members of the Departmental Council of Montevideo with the six members of the majority and three for the minority to be distributed proportionally among the lists of each party.
Article 272. The positions of members of the Departmental Boards shall be distributed among the various parties in proportion to the number of votes of each, without prejudice to the provisions of the succeeding paragraphs.
If the party or group of parties to which Article 79 refers, which obtained the majority on the Departmental Council, may have obtained only a plurality, this party or group of parties shall be allotted a majority of the members of the Departmental Board, distributed proportionately among all its lists.
The other posts shall be distributed by the system of integral proportional representation among those parties which did not obtain representation under the previous allotment.
The law, by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of each Chamber, may eliminate the exceptions established in the two preceding paragraphs.
Article 273. The Departmental Board shall exercise the legislative and supervisory functions of the Departmental Government.
Its jurisdiction shall extend throughout the territory of the Department.
In addition to whatever the law may prescribe, the Departmental Board shall have these powers:
1) To issue, at the instance of the Departmental Council or on its own initiative, such decrees and resolutions as it may deem necessary;
2) To approve the budgets submitted to its consideration by the Departmental Council, in accordance with the provisions of Section XIII;
3) To create or fix the amount, at the instance of the Departmental Council, of taxes, excises, rates and charges. The creation of taxes and excises shall require an absolute majority of its members, except for the imposition of taxes provided for under numeral one of Article 297, which shall require a two-thirds vote of its full membership;
4) To requisition the intervention of the Tribunal of Accounts for advice concerning questions relating to departmental finances or administration. Such requisition must always be made if requested by one third of the members of the Board.
5) To remove from office, at the instance of the Council and by a majority vote of all members, the members of nonelective Local Councils;
6) To adopt, within the first twelve months of its term of office, its budget for salaries and expenditures, by an absolute majority of the votes of all its members, and transmit them to the Departmental Council for inclusion in its general budget;
In the course of its term of office, such modifications may be made as are deemed strictly necessary;
7) To appoint the employees of its staff, and discipline, suspend or remove them in cases of inefficiency, neglect, or malfeasance, in the latter case referring the matter to the courts;
8) To grant concessions for local or departmental public services, at the instance of the Council, and by an absolute majority of the votes of its full membership;
9) To create new Local Councils, at the instance of the Departmental Councils;
10) To consider requests for authorization or concurrence submitted by the Council;
11) To petition the Legislative Power directly for amendments or additions to the Organic Law on Departmental Governments.
Article 274. The Departmental Council exercises the executive functions of the Departmental Government.
In addition to whatever the law may prescribe, its powers are as follows:
1) To comply with and enforce the Constitution and the laws;
2) To promulgate and publish the decrees sanctioned by the Departmental Board, issuing such regulations and resolutions as may be deemed appropriate for the administration thereof;
3) To prepare the budgets for expenditures and salaries and submit them to the approval of the Departmental Board, in accordance with the provisions of Section XIII;
4) To propose taxes, excises, rates and charges for approval by the Departmental Board;
5) To appoint the employees of its staff and discipline, or suspend them. To remove them in case of inefficiency, neglect or malfeasance, on the authorization of the Departmental Board, which must take action within forty days. If it fails to act, the removal shall be considered as effected. In case of malfeasance the matter shall also be referred to the courts;
6) To present drafts of decrees and resolutions to the Departmental Boards and offer objections to those which the Board approves, within ten days from the date of notification of passage;
7) To give notice of property to be expropriated for reasons of public necessity or utility, with the approval of the Departmental Board;
8) To appoint the members of the Local Councils, with the approval of the Departmental Board;
9) To oversee public health and primary, secondary, preparatory, industrial and artistic education and propose to competent authorities suitable measures for their improvement.
Article 275. The presiding officer of a Departmental Council shall be the member highest on the list receiving the most votes under the party with the highest number of votes. In case of temporary or permanent vacancy the presiding officer shall be one of the members elected on the same list, in order of their position thereon, or if none are present, one of the alternates for the president.
Article 276. The Council shall meet if at least a majority of its members are present. The president of the Council has a voice in discussions and a vote.
Article 277. All resolutions of the Council may be revoked by the majority of its members.
Article 278. Debate in the Council may be terminated at any time by a majority vote. The motion offered to this effect shall not be debated.
Article 279. The Council shall be governed internally by such regulations as it may adopt.
Article 280. The president shall represent the Council and preside over its sessions; he shall sign the resolutions and communications of the Council together with the secretary or other official designated by the Council. The secretary shall be appointed by each Council and his functions shall terminate with it, unless he is reappointed, and he may be removed or temporarily replaced at any time.
Article 281. Decrees adopted by the Departmental Board, to be effective, must first be promulgated by the Departmental Council.
The latter may object to those deemed unsuitable, but the Board may sustain its position by a three-fifths vote of its full membership, and in such case the decree will take effect immediately.
If the Departmental Council does not return a decree within ten days after receipt, it shall be considered promulgated and is to be enforced as such.
Objections may not be made to budgets which have gone to the General Assembly by the procedure provided in Article 224.
Article 282. Councilors may attend meetings of the Departmental Board and its committees and may take part in discussions but cannot vote.
Article 283. The Departmental Councils or Boards may bring suit before the Supreme Court of Justice for any alleged injury to the autonomy of the Department, in the matter that the law may prescribe.
Article 284. Any member of a Departmental Board may request from the Council any information or data deemed necessary to fulfill his functions. The request must be made in writing through the intermediary of the president of the Board, who shall immediately transmit it to the Council.
If the Council does not furnish the information within a period of twenty days, the member of the Departmental Board may request it through the intermediary of the Board itself.
Article 285. The Board is empowered, by a resolution adopted by one third of all its members, to cause the Departmental Council to appear before it in order that it may request and receive such information as it may deem suitable, for either legislative or supervisory purposes. The Council, in this event, shall be represented by the Councilor or Councilors it may designate, who may be accompanied by any officials of its staff considered necessary acting under the responsibility of the Councilors selected.
Article 286. The Departmental Board may appoint investigating committees to obtain such data as is considered necessary in carrying out its functions, and the Council and offices subordinate to it are required to furnish the data requested.
Article 287. In any community beyond the city limits of the capital of a Department there may be a Local Council whose members shall be appointed, insofar as possible, on the basis of the proportional representation of parties on the Departmental Board. There shall be five members, who shall have the same qualifications as are required for members of the Departmental Board and they must be residents of the locality; members of the Departmental Council or Board may not be members. Its president shall represent the Local Council and execute its resolutions.
Article 288. The law shall prescribe the conditions for the creation of the Local Councils and their powers, and by an absolute majority of votes of the full membership of each Chamber and at the initiative of the respective Departmental Government may broaden their scope of action in communities which though not the capital of a Department have over ten thousand inhabitants or are of special national interest for the development of tourist travel. The law may also, by meeting the same requirements, provide that the members of these autonomous Local Boards shall be elected by the people.
Chapter VIII</center>
<u>Article 289. The office of Councilor is incompatible with any other public office or employment with the exception of teaching, or with any other personal situation in which a salary or remuneration is received for services to an enterprise under contract with the Departmental Government. Councilors may not make contracts with the Departmental Government.
Article 290. Employees of a Departmental Government or persons receiving a salary or remuneration for services to private enterprises under contract with a Departmental Government may not be members of Departmental Boards or of Local Councils.
Likewise, those officials mentioned in paragraph four of Article 77 may not be members of these bodies.
Article 291. Councilors, and members of the Departmental Boards or the Local Councils, during their term of office, are likewise prohibited from:
1) Acting as directors or administrators of enterprises which contract for works or supplies for a Departmental Government or for any other public agency related thereto;
2) Handling or conducting business for themselves or for third parties with the Departmental Government.
Article 292. Violation of the provisions of the preceding articles shall result in immediate dismissal from office.
Article 293. The position of member of a Departmental Board is incompatible with that of Councilor, but this provision shall not apply to members of Departmental Boards who are called upon to hold the position of Councilor temporarily. In this event, their functions as members of the Departmental Board will be suspended and the position occupied, during the suspension, by their alternates.
Article 294. The offices of Councilor and members of Departmental Boards are incompatible with the exercise of any other elective public office, regardless of its nature.
Article 295. The positions of members of the Departmental Boards and of the Local Councils shall be honorary.
Councilors shall receive such remuneration as may be fixed by the Departmental Board prior to their election. The amount may not be changed during their term of office.
Article 296. Councilors and members of a Departmental Board may be impeached by the Senate by a vote of one third of the members of the Departmental Board, on the grounds provided in Article 93.
The Senate may separate them from office by a two-thirds vote of its full membership.
Article 297. The sources of revenue of the Departmental Governments, decreed and administered by them, shall be the following:
1) Taxes on real property located within their jurisdictions, excluding improvements on rural real property, and with the exception of national supplementary taxes in existence or subsequently imposed.
2) The tax on idle lands (baldíos) and on inappropriate building construction in urban and suburban districts of cities, towns, villages, and populated centers;
3) Taxes levied for the benefit of the Departmental Governments and those that may be imposed by law in the future for the same purpose on sources not enumerated in this article;
4) Special levies for improvements to real estate benefited by departmental public works;
5) Excises, fees and charges for the utilization, supply, or benefits obtained from services supplied by the Departmental Government, and special taxes on enterprises holding exclusively departmental concessions;
