History for ready reference, Volume 1, A-Elba

by J. N. Larned

signification of pleasure on bills reserved,--shall extend and
apply to the Legislatures of the several Provinces as if those
provisions were here re-enacted and made applicable in terms
to the respective Provinces and the Legislatures thereof, with
the substitution of the Lieutenant Governor of the Province
for the Governor General, of the Governor General for the
Queen and for a Secretary of State, of one year for two years,
and of the Province for Canada.
91. It shall be lawful for the Queen, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate and House of Commons, to make laws
for the peace, order, and good government of Canada, in
relation to all matters not coming within the classes of
subjects by this Act assigned exclusively to the Legislatures
of the Provinces; and for greater certainty, but not so as to
restrict the generality of the foregoing terms of this
section, it is hereby declared that (notwithstanding anything
in this Act) the exclusive legislative authority of the
Parliament of Canada extends to all matters coming within the
classes of subjects next hereinafter enumerated, that is to
say,--
1. The Public Debt and Property.
2. The regulation of Trade and Commerce.
3. The raising of money by any mode or system of Taxation.
4. The borrowing of money on the public credit.
5. Postal service.
6. The Census and Statistics.
7. Militia, Military and Naval Service, and Defence.
8. The fixing of and providing for the salaries and allowances
of civil and other officers of the Government of Canada.
9. Beacons, Buoys, Lighthouses, and Sable Island.
10. Navigation and Shipping.
11. Quarantine and the establishment and maintenance of Marine
Hospitals.
12. Sea coast and inland Fisheries.
13. Ferries between a Province and any British or Foreign
country, or between two Provinces.
14. Currency and Coinage.
15. Banking, incorporation of banks, and the issue of paper
money.
16. Savings Banks.
17. Weights and Measures.
18. Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes.
19. Interest.
20. Legal tender.
21. Bankruptcy and Insolvency.
22. Patents of invention and discovery.
23. Copyrights.
24. Indians, and lands reserved for the Indians.
25. Naturalization and Aliens.
26. Marriage and Divorce.
27. The Criminal Law, except the Constitution of Courts of
Criminal Jurisdiction, but including the Procedure in Criminal
Matters.
28. The Establishment, Maintenance, and Management of
Penitentiaries.
29. Such classes of subjects as are expressly excepted in the
enumeration of the classes of subjects by this Act assigned
exclusively to the Legislatures of the Provinces. And any
matter coming within any of the classes of subjects enumerated
in this section shall not be deemed to come within the class
of matters of a local or private nature comprised in the
enumeration of the classes of subjects by this Act assigned
exclusively to the Legislatures of the Provinces.
92. In each Province the Legislature may exclusively make laws
in relation to matters coming within the classes of subjects
next hereinafter enumerated; that is to say,--
1. The amendment from time to time, notwithstanding anything
in this Act, of the Constitution of the Province, except as
regards the office of Lieutenant Governor.
2. Direct Taxation within the Province in order to the raising
of a Revenue for Provincial purposes.
3. The borrowing of money on the sole credit of the Province.
4. The establishment and tenure of Provincial offices and the
appointment and payment of Provincial officers.
5. The management and sale of the Public Lands belonging to
the Province and of the timber and wood thereon.
6. The establishment, maintenance, and management of public
and reformatory prisons in and for the Province.
7. The establishment, maintenance, and management of
hospitals, asylums, charities, and eleemosynary institutions
in and for the Province, other than marine hospitals.
8. Municipal institutions in the Province.
9. Shop, saloon, tavern, auctioneer, and other licenses in
order to the raising of a revenue for Provincial, local, or
municipal purposes.
10. Local works and undertakings other than such as are of the
following classes,
a. Lines of steam or other ships, railways, canals,
telegraphs, and other works and undertakings connecting the
Province with any other or others of the Provinces, or
extending beyond the limits of the Province:
b. Lines of steamships between the Province and any
British or foreign country.
c. Such works as, although wholly situate within the
Province, are before or after their execution declared by the
Parliament of Canada to be for the general advantage of Canada
or for the advantage of two or more of the Provinces.
11. The incorporation of companies with Provincial objects.
12. The solemnization of marriage in the Province.
13. Property and civil rights in the Province.
14. The administration of justice in the Province, including
the constitution, maintenance, and organization of Provincial
Courts, both of civil and of criminal jurisdiction, and
including procedure in Civil matters in those Courts.
15. The imposition of punishment by fine, penalty, or
imprisonment for enforcing any law of the Province made in
relation to any matter coming within any of the classes of
subjects enumerated in this section.
16. Generally all matters of a merely local or private nature
in the Province.
93. In and for each Province the Legislature may exclusively
make laws in relation to education, subject and according to
the following provisions:
(1) Nothing in any such law shall prejudicially affect any
right or privilege with respect to denominational schools
which any class of persons have by law in the Province at the
Union.
(2) All the powers, privileges, and duties at the Union by law
conferred and imposed in Upper Canada on the separate schools
and school trustees of the Queen's Roman Catholic subjects
shall be and the same are hereby extended to the dissentient
schools of the Queen's Protestant and Roman Catholic subjects
in Quebec.
(3) Where in any Province a system of separate or dissentient
schools exists by law at the Union or is thereafter,
established by the Legislature of the Province, an appeal
shall lie to the Governor General in Council from any Act or
decision of any Provincial authority affecting any right or
privilege of the Protestant or Roman Catholic minority of the
Queen's subjects in relation to education:
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(4) In case any such Provincial law as from time to time seems
to the Governor General in Council requisite for the due
execution of the provisions of this section is not made, or in
case any decision of the Governor General in Council on any
appeal under this section is not duly executed by the proper
Provincial authority in that behalf, then find in every such
case, and as far only as the circumstances of each case
require, the Parliament of Canada may make remedial laws for
the due execution of the provisions of this section and of any
decision of the Governor General in Council under this
section.
94. Notwithstanding anything in this Act, the Parliament of
Canada may make provision for the uniformity of all or any of
the laws relative to property and civil rights in Ontario,
Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and of the procedure of all or
any of the Courts in those three Provinces; and from and after
the passing of any Act in that behalf the power of the
Parliament of Canada to make laws in relation to any matter
comprised in any such Act shall, notwithstanding anything in
this Act, be unrestricted; but any Act of the Parliament of
Canada making provision for such uniformity shall not have
effect in any Province unless and until it is adopted and
enacted as law by the Legislature thereof.
95. In each Province the Legislature may make laws in relation
to Agriculture in the Province, and to Immigration into the
Province; and it is hereby declared that the Parliament of
Canada may from time to time make laws in relation to
Agriculture in all or any of the Provinces, and to Immigration
into all or any of the Provinces; and any law of the
Legislature of a Province relative to Agriculture or to
Immigration shall have effect in and for the Province as long
and as far only as it is not repugnant to any Act of the
Parliament of Canada.
96. The Governor General shall appoint the Judges of the
Superior, District, and County Courts in each Province, except
those of the Courts of Probate in Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick.
97. Until the laws relative to property and civil rights in
Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and the procedure of
the Courts in those Provinces, are made uniform, the Judges of
the Courts of those Provinces appointed by the Governor
General shall be selected from the respective Bars of those
Provinces.
98. The Judges of the Courts of Quebec shall be selected from
the Bar of that Province.
99. The Judges of the Superior Courts shall hold office during
good behaviour, but shall be removable by the Governor General
on address of the Senate and House of Commons.
100. The salaries, allowances, and pensions of the Judges of
the Superior, District, and County Courts (except the Courts
of Probate in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick), and of the
Admiralty Courts in cases where the Judges thereof are for the
time being paid by salary, shall be fixed and provided by the
Parliament of Canada.
101. The Parliament of Canada may, notwithstanding anything in
this Act, from time to time, provide for the constitution,
maintenance, and organization of a general Court of Appeal for
Canada, and for the establishment of any additional Courts for
the better administration of the Laws of Canada.
102. All duties and revenues over which the respective
Legislatures of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick before
and at the Union had and have power of appropriation, except
such portions thereof as are by this Act reserved to the
respective Legislatures of the Provinces, or are raised by
them in accordance with the special powers conferred on them
by this Act, shall form one Consolidated Revenue Fund, to be
appropriated for the public service of Canada in the manner
and subject to the charges in this Act provided.
103. The Consolidated Revenue Fund of Canada shall be
permanently charged with the costs, charges, and expenses
incident to the collection, management, and receipt thereof,
and the same shall form the first charge thereon, subject to
be reviewed and audited in such manner as shall be ordered by
the Governor General in Council until the Parliament otherwise
provides.
104. The annual interest of the public debts of the several
Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick at the
Union shall form the second charge on the Consolidated Revenue
Fund of Canada.
105. Unless altered by the Parliament of Canada, the salary of
the Governor General shall be ten thousand pounds sterling
money of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of Canada, and
the same shall form the third charge thereon.
106. Subject to the several payments by this Act charged on
the Consolidated Revenue Fund of Canada, the same shall be
appropriated by the Parliament of Canada for the public
service.
107. All stocks, cash, banker's balances, and securities for
money belonging to each Province at the time of the Union,
except as in this Act mentioned, shall be the property of
Canada, and shall be taken in reduction of the amount of the
respective debts of the Provinces at the Union.
108. The public works and property of each Province,
enumerated in the third schedule to this Act, shall be the
property of Canada.
109. All lands, mines, minerals, and royalties belonging to
the several Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
at the Union, and all sums then due or payable for such lands,
mines, minerals, or royalties, shall belong to the several
Provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in
which the same are situate or arise, subject to any trusts
existing in respect thereof, and to any interest other than
that of the Province in the same.
110. All assets connected with such portions of the public
debt of each Province as are assumed by that Province shall
belong to that Province.
111. Canada shall be liable for the debts and liabilities of
each Province existing at the Union.
112. Ontario and Quebec conjointly shall be liable to Canada
for the amount (if any) by which the debt of the Province of
Canada exceeds at the Union sixty-two million five hundred
thousand dollars, and shall be charged with interest at the
rate of five per centum per annum thereon.
113. The assets enumerated in the fourth Schedule to this Act
belonging at the Union to the Province of Canada shall be the
property of Ontario and Quebec conjointly.
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114. Nova Scotia shall be liable to Canada for the amount (if
any) by which its public debt exceeds at the Union eight
million dollars, and shall be charged with interest at the
rate of five per centum per annum thereon.
115. New Brunswick shall be liable to Canada for the amount
(if any) by which its public debt exceeds at the Union seven
million dollars, and shall be charged with interest at the
rate of five per centum per annum thereon.
116. In case the public debt of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
do not at the Union amount to eight million dollars and seven
million dollars respectively, they shall respectively receive
by half-yearly payments in advance from the Government of
Canada interest at five per centum per annum on the difference
between the actual amounts of their respective debts and such
stipulated amounts.
117. The several provinces shall retain all their respective
public property not otherwise disposed of in this Act, subject
to the right of Canada to assume any lands or public property
required for fortifications or for the defence of the country.
118. The following sums shall be paid yearly by Canada to the
several Provinces for the support of their Governments and
Legislatures: Ontario, eighty thousand dollars; Quebec,
seventy thousand dollars; Nova Scotia, sixty thousand dollars;
New Brunswick, fifty thousand dollars; [total] two hundred and
sixty thousand dollars; and an annual grant in aid of each
Province shall be made, equal to eighty cents per head, of the
population us ascertained by the census of one thousand eight
hundred and sixty-one, and in the case of Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick, by each subsequent decennial census until the
population of each of those two Provinces amounts to four
hundred thousand souls, at which rate such grant shall
thereafter remain. Such grant shall be in full Settlement of
all future demands on Canada, and shall be paid half-yearly in
advance to each Province; but the Government of Canada shall
deduct from such grants, as against any Province, all sums
chargeable as interest on the Public Debt of that Province in
excess of the several amounts stipulated in this Act.
119. New Brunswick shall receive by half-yearly payments in
advance from Canada, for the period of ten years from the
Union, an additional allowance of sixty-three thousand dollars
per annum; but as long as the Public Debt of that Province
remains under seven million dollars a deduction equal to the
interest at five per centum per annum on such deficiency shall
be made from that allowance of sixty-three thousand dollars.
120. All payments to be made under this Act, or in discharge
of liabilities created under any Act of the Provinces of
Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick respectively, and
assumed by Canada, shall, until the Parliament of Canada
otherwise directs, be made in such form and manner as may from
time to time be ordered by the Governor General in Council.
121. All articles of the growth, produce, or manufacture of
anyone of the Provinces shall, from and after the Union, be
admitted free into each of the other Provinces.
122. The Customs and Excise Laws of each Province shall,
subject to the provisions of this Act, continue in force until
altered by the Parliament of Canada.
123. Where Customs duties are, at the Union, leviable on any
goods, wares or merchandises in any two Provinces, those
goods, wares and merchandises may, from and after the Union,
be imported from one of those Provinces into the other of them
on proof of payment of the Customs duty leviable thereon in
the Province of exportation, and on payment of such further
amount (if any) of Customs duty as is leviable thereon in the
Province of importation.
124. Nothing in this Act shall affect the right of New
Brunswick to levy the lumber dues provided in chapter fifteen,
of title three, of the Revised Statutes of New Brunswick, or
in any Act amending that act before or after the Union, and
not increasing the amount of such dues; but the lumber of any
of the Provinces other than New Brunswick stall not be
subjected to such dues.
125. No lands or property belonging to Canada or any Province
shall be liable to taxation.
126. Such portions of the duties and revenues over which the
respective Legislatures of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New
Brunswick had before the Union power of appropriation as are
by this Act reserved to the respective Governments or
Legislatures of the Provinces, and all duties and revenues
raised by them in accordance with the special powers conferred
upon them by this act, shall in each Province form one
Consolidated Revenue Fund to be appropriated for the public
service of the Province.
127. If any person being at the passing of this Act a member
of the Legislative Council of Canada, Nova Scotia, or New
Brunswick, to whom a place in the Senate is offered, does not
within thirty days thereafter, by writing under his hand,
addressed to the Governor General of the Province of Canada,
or to the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia or New Brunswick
(as the case may be), accept the same, he shall be deemed to
have declined the same; and any person who, being at the
passing of this Act a member of the Legislative Council of
Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, accepts a place in the Senate,
shall thereby vacate his seat in such Legislative Council.
128. Every member of the Senate or House of Commons of Canada
shall before taking his seat therein, take and subscribe
before the Governor General or some person authorized by him,
and every member of a Legislative Council or Legislative
Assembly of any Province shall before taking his seat therein,
take and subscribe before the Lieutenant Governor of the
Province, or some person authorized by him, the oath of
allegiance contained in the fifth Schedule to this Act; and
every member of the Senate of Canada and every member of the
Legislative Council of Quebec shall also, before taking his
seat therein, take and subscribe before the Governor General,
or some person authorized by him, the declaration of
qualification contained in the same Schedule.
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129. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, all laws in
force in Canada, Nova Scotia, or New Brunswick at the Union,
and all courts of civil and criminal jurisdiction, and all
legal commissions, powers and authorities, and all officers,
judicial, administrative, and ministerial, existing therein at
the Union, shall continue in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and
New Brunswick respectively, as if the Union had not been made,
subject nevertheless (except with respect to such as are
enacted by or exist under Acts of the Parliament of Great
Britain or of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland), to be repealed, abolished or altered by
the Parliament of Canada, or by the Legislature of the
respective Province, according to the authority of the
Parliament or of that Legislature under this Act.
130. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, all
officers of the several Provinces having duties to discharge
in relation to matters other than those coming within the
classes of subjects by this Act assigned exclusively to the
Legislatures of the Provinces shall be officers of Canada, and
shall continue to discharge the duties of their respective
offices under the same liabilities, responsibilities and
penalties as if the Union had not been made.
131. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, the
Governor General in Council may from time to time appoint such
officers as the Governor General in Council deems necessary or
proper for the effectual execution of this Act.
132. The Parliament and Government of Canada shall have all
powers necessary or proper for performing the obligations of
Canada or of any Province thereof, as part of the British
Empire towards foreign countries, arising under treaties
between the Empire and such foreign countries.
133. Either the English or the French language may be used by
any person in the debates of the Houses of Parliament of
Canada and of the Houses of the Legislature of Quebec; and
both those languages shall be used in the respective records
and journals of those Houses; and either of those languages
may be used by any person or in any pleading or process in or
issuing from any Court of Canada established under this Act,
and in or from all or any of the Courts of Quebec. The Acts of
the Parliament of Canada and of the Legislature of Quebec
shall be printed and published in both those languages.
134. Until the Legislature of Ontario or of Quebec otherwise
provides, the Lieutenant Governors of Ontario and Que bee may
each appoint under the Great Seal of the Province the
following officers, to hold office during pleasure, that is to
say,--the Attorney General, the Secretary and Registrar of the
Province, the Treasurer of the Province, the Commissioner of
Crown Lands and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Public
Works, and, in the case of Quebec, the Solicitor General; and
may, by order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council from time
to time prescribe the duties of those officers and of the
several departments over which they shall preside or to which
they shall belong, and of the officers and clerks thereof; and
may also appoint other and additional officers to hold office
during pleasure, and may from time to time prescribe the
duties of those officers, and of the several departments over
which they shall preside or to which they shall belong, and of
the officers and clerks thereof.
130. Until the Legislature of Ontario or Quebec otherwise
provides, all rights, powers, duties, functions,
responsibilities or authorities at the passing of this Act
vested in or imposed on the Attorney General, Solicitor
General, Secretary and Registrar of the Province of Canada,
Minister of Finance, Commissioner of Crown Lands, Commissioner
of Public Works, and Minister of Agriculture and Receiver
General, by any law, statute or ordinance of Upper Canada,
Lower Canada, or Canada, and not repugnant to this Act, shall
be vested in or imposed on any officer to be appointed by the
Lieutenant Governor for the discharge of the same or any of
them; and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works
shall perform the duties and functions of the office of
Minister of Agriculture at the passing of this Act imposed by
the law of the Province of Canada as well as those of the
Commissioner of Public Works.
136. Until altered by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the
Great Seals of Ontario and Quebec respectively, shall be the
same or of the same design, as those used in the Provinces of
Upper Canada and Lower Canada respectively before their Union
as the Province of Canada.
137. The words "and from thence to the end of the then next
ensuing Session of the Legislature," or words to the same
effect, used in any temporary Act of the Province of Canada
not expired before the Union, shall be construed to extend and
apply to the next Session of Parliament of Canada, if the
subject matter of the Act is within the powers of the same as
defined by this Act, or to the next Sessions of the
Legislatures of Ontario and Quebec respectively, if the
subject matter of the Act is within the powers of the same as
defined by this Act.
138. From and after the Union, the use of the words "Upper
Canada," instead of "Ontario," or "Lower Canada" instead of
"Quebec," in any deed, writ, process, pleading, document,
matter or thing, shall not invalidate the same.
139. Any Proclamation under the Great Seal of the Province of
Canada, issued before the Union to take effect at a time which
is subsequent to the Union, whether relating to that Province
or to Upper Canada, or to Lower Canada, and the several
matters and things therein proclaimed shall be and continue of
like force and effect as if the Union had not been made.
140. Any proclamation which is authorized by any Act of the
Legislature of the Province of Canada to be issued under the
Great Seal of the Province of Canada, whether relating to that
Province or to Upper Canada, or to Lower Canada, and which is
not issued before the Union, may be issued by the Lieutenant
Governor of Ontario or of Quebec, as its subject matter
requires, under the Great Seal thereof; and from and after the
issue of such Proclamation the same and the several matters
and things therein proclaimed shall be and continue of the
like force and effect in Ontario or Quebec as if the Union had
not been made.
141. The Penitentiary of the Province of Canada shall, until
the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, be and continue
the Penitentiary of Ontario and of Quebec.
142. The division and adjustment of the debts, credits,
liabilities, properties and assets of Upper Canada and Lower
Canada shall be referred to the arbitrament of three
arbitrators, one chosen by the Government of Ontario, one by
the Government of Quebec, and one by the Government of Canada;
and the selection of the Arbitrators shall not be made until
the Parliament of Canada and the Legislatures of Ontario and
Quebec have met; and the arbitrator chosen by the Government
of Canada shall not be a resident either in Ontario or in
Quebec.
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143. The Governor General in Council may from time to time
order that such and so many of the records, books, and
documents of the Province of Canada as he thinks fit shall be
appropriated and delivered either to Ontario or to Quebec, and
the same shall henceforth be the property of that Province:
and any copy thereof or extract therefrom, duly certified by
the officer having charge of the original thereof shall be
admitted as evidence.
144. The Lieutenant Governor of Quebec may from time to time,
by Proclamation under the Great Seal of the Province, to take
effect from a day to be appointed therein, constitute
townships in those parts of the Province of Quebec in which
townships are not then already constituted, and fix the metes
and bounds thereof.
145. Inasmuch as the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New
Brunswick have joined in a declaration that the construction
of the Intercolonial Railway is essential to the consolidation
of the Union of British North America, and to the assent thereto
of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and have consequently agreed
that provision should be made for its immediate construction
by the Government of Canada: Therefore, in order to give
effect to that agreement, it shall be the duty of the
Government and Parliament of Canada to provide for the
commencement, within six months after the Union, of a railway
connecting the River St. Lawrence with the City of Halifax in
Nova Scotia, and for the construction thereof without
intermission, and the completion thereof with all practicable
speed.
146. It shall be lawful for the Queen, by and with the advice
of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, on Addresses
from the Houses of the Parliament of Canada, and from the
Houses of the respective Legislatures of the Colonies or
Provinces of Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and British
Columbia, to admit those Colonies or Provinces, or any of
them, into the Union, and on Address from the Houses of the
Parliament of Canada to admit Rupert's Land and the
North-western Territory, or either of them, into the Union, on
such terms and conditions in each case as are in the Addresses
expressed and as the Queen thinks fit to approve, subject to
the provisions of this Act, and the provisions of any Order in
Council in that behalf shall have effect as if they had been
enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland.
147. In case of the admission of Newfoundland and Prince
Edward Island, or either of them, each shall be entitled to a
representation in the Senate of Canada of four members, and
(notwithstanding anything in this Act) in case of the
admission of Newfoundland the normal number of Senators shall
be seventy-six and their maximum number shall be eighty-two;
but Prince Edward Island when admitted shall be deemed to be
comprised in the third of the three divisions into which
Canada is, in relation to the constitution of the Senate,
divided by this Act, and accordingly, after the admission of
Prince Edward Island, whether Newfoundland is admitted or not,
the representation of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in the
Senate shall, as vacancies occur, be reduced from twelve to
ten members respectively; and the representation of each of
those Provinces shall not be increased at any time beyond ten,
except under the provisions of this Act for the appointment of
three or six additional Senators under the direction of the
Queen.
CONSTITUTION OF CANADA: A. D. 1871.
British North America Act, 1871.
An Act respecting the Establishment of Provinces in the
Dominion of Canada. [29TH JUNE, 1871.]
WHEREAS doubts have been entertained respecting the powers of
the Parliament of Canada to establish Provinces in territories
admitted, or which may hereafter be admitted, into the
Dominion of Canada, and to provide for the representation of
such Provinces in the said Parliament, and it is expedient to
remove such doubts, and to vest such powers in the said
Parliament: Be it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent
Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords,
Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons in this present Parliament
assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
1. This Act may be cited for all purposes as The British North
America Act, 1871.
2. The Parliament of Canada may from time to time establish
new Provinces in any territories forming for the time being
part of the Dominion of Canada, but not included in any
Province thereof, and may, at the time of such establishment,
make provision for the constitution and administration of any
such Province, and for the passing of laws for the peace,
order and good government of such Province, and for its
representation in the said Parliament.
3. The Parliament of Canada may from time to time, with the
consent of the Legislature of any Province of the said
Dominion, increase, diminish, or otherwise alter the limits of
such Province, upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed
to by the said Legislature, and may, with the like consent,
make provision respecting the effect and operation of any such
increase or diminution or alteration of territory in relation
to any Province affected thereby.
4. The Parliament of Canada may from time to time make
provision for the administration, peace, order, and good
government of any territory not for the time being included in
any Province.
5. The following Acts passed by the said Parliament of Canada,
and intituled respectively: "An Act for the temporary
government of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory
when united with Canada;" and "An Act to amend and continue
the Act thirty-two and thirty-three Victoria, chapter three,
and to establish and provide for the government of the
Province of Manitoba," shall be and be deemed to have been
valid and effectual for all purposes whatsoever from the date
at which they respectively received the assent, in the Queen's
name, of the Governor General of the said Dominion of Canada.
6. Except as provided by the third section of this Act, it
shall not be competent for the Parliament of Canada to alter
the provisions of the last mentioned Act of the said
Parliament in so far as it relates to the Province of
Manitoba, or of any other Act hereafter establishing new
Provinces in the said Dominion, subject always to the right of
the Legislature of the Province of Manitoba to alter from time
to time the provisions of any law respecting the qualification
of electors and members of the Legislative Assembly, and to
make laws respecting elections in the said Province.
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CONSTITUTION OF CANADA: A. D. 1875.
Parliament of Canada Act, 1875.
An Act to remove certain doubts with respect to the powers of
the Parliament of Canada, under Section 18 of the British
North America Act, 1867. [19TH JULY, 1875.]
WHEREAS by section 18 of The British North America Act, 1867,
it is provided as follows:-
"The privileges, immunities, and powers to be held, enjoyed,
and exercised by the Senate and by the House of Commons, and
by the members thereof respectively, shall be such as are from
time to time defined by Act of the Parliament of Canada, but
so that the same shall never exceed those at the passing of
this Act held, enjoyed, and exercised by the Commons House of
Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
and by the members thereof." And whereas doubts have arisen
with regard to the power of defining by an Act of the
Parliament of Canada, in pursuance of the said section, the
said privileges, powers or immunities; and it is expedient to
remove such doubts: Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's
Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of
the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as
follows:-
1. Section 18 of The British North America Act, 1867, is
hereby repealed, without prejudice to anything done under that
section, and the following section shall be substituted for
the section so repealed:--The privileges, immunities, and
powers to be held, enjoyed and exercised by the Senate and by
the House of Commons, and by the members thereof respectively,
shall be such as are from time to time defined by Act of the
Parliament of Canada, but so that any Act of the Parliament of
Canada defining such privileges, immunities and powers shall
not confer any privileges, immunities, or powers exceeding
those at the passing of such Act held, enjoyed, and exercised
by the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, and by the members thereof.
2. The Act of the Parliament of Canada passed in the
thirty-first year of the reign of her present Majesty, chapter
twenty-four, intituled An Act to provide for oaths to
witnesses being administered in certain cases for the purposes
of either House of Parliament, shall be deemed to be valid,
and to have been valid as from the date at which the royal
assent was given thereto by the Governor General of the
Dominion of Canada.
3. This Act may be cited as The Parliament of Canada Act,
1875.
CONSTITUTION OF CANADA: A. D, 1886.
British North America Act, 1886.
An Act respecting the Representation in the Parliament of
Canada of Territories which for the time being form part of
the Dominion of Canada, but are not included in any Province.
[25TH JUNE, 1886.]
WHEREAS it is expedient to empower the Parliament of Canada to
provide for the representation in the Senate and House of
Commons of Canada, or either of them, of any territory which
for the time being forms part of the Dominion of Canada, but
is not included in any Province: Be it therefore enacted by
the Queen's. Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice
and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons,
in the present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of
the same, as follows:--
1. The Parliament of Canada may from time to time make
provision for the representation in the Senate and House of
Commons of Canada, or in either of them, of any territories
which for the time being form part of the Dominion of Canada,
but are not included in any Province thereof.
2. Any Act passed by the Parliament of Canada before the
passing of this Act for the purpose mentioned in this Act
shall, if not disallowed by the Queen, be, and shall be deemed
to have been, valid and effectual from the date at which it
received the assent, in Her Majesty's name, of the
Governor-General of Canada. It is hereby declared that any Act
passed by the Parliament of Canada, whether before or after
the passing of this Act, for the purpose mentioned in this
Act, or in The British North America Act, 1871, has effect,
notwithstanding anything in The British North America Act,
1867, and the number of Senators or the number of Members of
the House of Commons specified in the last-mentioned Act is
increased by the number of Senators or of Members, as the case
may be, provided by any such Act of the Parliament of Canada
for the representation of any provinces or territories of
Canada.
3. This Act maybe cited as The British North America Act,
1886. This Act and The British North America Act, 1867, and
The British North America Act, 1871, shall be construed
together, and may be cited together as The British North
America Acts, 1861 to 1886.
----------CONSTITUTION OF CANADA: End----------
CONSTITUTION OF (OR FOR) THE CAROLINAS (Locke's).
See NORTH CAROLINA: A. D. 1669-1693.
CONSTITUTION OF CHILE.
See CHILE: A. D. 1833-1884, and 1885-1891.
CONSTITUTION OF CLEISTHENES.
See ATHENS: B. C. 510-507.
CONSTITUTION OF COLOMBIA.
See COLOMBIAN STATES: A. D. 1830-1886, and 1885-1891.
CONSTITUTION OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1861 (FEBRUARY).
CONSTITUTION OF CONNECTICUT
(1639--the Fundamental Agreement of New Haven).
See CONNECTICUT; A. D. 1636-1639, and 1639.
CONSTITUTION OF DENMARK.
See SCANDINAVIAN STATES (DENMARK-ICELAND): A. D. 1849-1874.
CONSTITUTION OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC, or the United Netherlands.
See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1584-1585.
{538}
CONSTITUTION OF ENGLAND.
"Our English Constitution was never made, in the sense in
which the Constitutions of many other countries have been
made. There never was any moment when Englishmen drew out
their political system in the shape of a formal document,
whether as the carrying out of any abstract political theories
or as the imitation of the past or present system of any other
nation. There are indeed certain great political documents,
each of which forms a landmark in our political history. There
is the Great Charter [see ENGLAND: A. D. 1215], the Petition
of Rights [ENGLAND: A. D. 1625-1628, and 1628], the Bill of
Rights [ENGLAND: A. D. 1689 (October)]. But not one of these
gave itself out as the enactment of anything new. All claimed
to set forth, with new strength, it might be, and with new
clearness, those rights of Englishmen which were already old.
... The life and soul of English law has ever been precedent;
we have always held that whatever our fathers once did their
sons have a right to do again."
E. A. Freeman, The Growth of the English
Constitution, chapter 2.
"It is, in the first place, necessary to have a clear
understanding of what we mean when we talk about 'the English
Constitution.' Few terms in our language have been more laxly
employed. ... Still, the term, 'the English Constitution' is
susceptible of full and accurate explanation: though it may
not be easy to set it lucidly forth, without first
investigating the archaeology of our history, rather more
deeply than may suit hasty talkers and superficial thinkers.
... Some furious Jacobins, at the close of the last century,
used to clamour that there was no such thing as the English
Constitution, because it could not be produced in full written
form, like that of the United States. ... But an impartial and
earnest investigator may still satisfy himself that England
has a constitution, and that there is ample cause why she
should cherish it. And by this it is meant that he will
recognise and admire, in the history, the laws and the
institutions of England, certain great leading principles,
which have existed from the earliest period of our nationality
down to the present time; expanding and adapting themselves to
the progress of society and civilization, advancing and
varying in development, but still essentially the same in
substance and spirit. These great primeval and enduring
principles are the principles of the English Constitution. And
we are not obliged to learn them from imperfect evidences or
precarious speculation; for they are imperishably recorded in
the Great Charter, and in Charters and Statutes connected with
and confirmatory of Magna Charta [see ENGLAND: A. D. 1215].
... These great primeval and enduring principles of our
Constitution are as follows: The government of the country by
an hereditary sovereign, ruling with limited powers, and bound
to summon and consult a parliament of the whole realm,
comprising hereditary peers and elective representatives of
the commons. That without the sanction of parliament no tax of
any kind can be imposed; and no law can be made, repealed, or
altered. That no man be arbitrarily fined or imprisoned, that
no man's property or liberties be impaired, and that no man be
in any way punished, except after a lawful trial. Trial by jury.
That justice shall not be sold or delayed. These great
constitutional principles can all be proved, either by express
terms or by fair implication, from Magna Carta, and its ...
supplement [the statute 'Confirmatio Cartarum ']. Their
vigorous development was aided and attested in many subsequent
statutes, especially in the Petition of Rights and the Bill of
Rights. ... Lord Chatham called these three 'The Bible of the
English Constitution,' to which appeal is to be made on every
grave political question."
E. S. Creasy, Rise and Progress of the English
Constitution, chapter 1.
"The fact that our constitution has to be collected from
statutes, from legal decisions, from observation of the course
of conduct of the business of politics; that much of what is
written is of a negative sort, stating what the Crown and its
ministers cannot do; that there is no part of it which an
omnipotent Parliament may not change at will; all this is a
puzzle not only to foreign jurists who are prepared to say,
with De Tocqueville, that the English constitution does not
exist, but to ourselves who are prepared to maintain that it
is a monument, if only we can find it, of political sagacity.
Those who praise it call it flexible; those who criticise it
unstable."
Sir W. R. Anson, The Law and Custom of the
Constitution, part 1, page 35.
ALSO IN:
William Stubbs, Constitutional History of England
in its Origin and Development.
H. Hallam, Constitutional History of England:
Henry VII. to George II.
T. E. May, Constitutional History of England, 1760-1860.
R. Gneist, History of the English Constitution.
E. Fischel, The English Constitution.
W. Bagehot, The English Constitution.
E. Boutmy, The English Constitution.
See, also, PARLIAMENT, THE ENGLISH,
and CABINET, THE ENGLISH.
----------CONSTITUTION OF ENGLAND: End----------
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE.
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: A. D. 1791.
The Constitution accepted by Louis XVI.
See FRANCE: A. D. 1789-1791,
and 1791 (JULY-SEPTEMBER).
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: A. D. 1793 (or the Year One).
The Jacobin Constitution.
See FRANCE: A. D. 1793 (JUNE-OCTOBER).
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: A. D. 1795 (or the Year Three).
The Constitution of the Directory.
See FRANCE: A. D. 1795 (JUNE-SEPTEMBER).
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: A. D. 1799.
The Constitution of the Consulate.
See FRANCE: A. D. 1799 (NOVEMBER-DECEMBER).
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: A. D. 1814.
The Constitution of the Restoration.
See FRANCE: A. D. 1814 (APRIL-JUNE).
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: A. D. 1848.
The Constitution of the Second Republic.
See FRANCE: A. D. 1848 (APRIL-DECEMBER).
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: A. D. 1852.-
The Constitution of the Second Empire.
See FRANCE: A. D. 1851-1852.
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: A. D. 1875-1889.
The Constitution of the Third Republic.
The circumstances of the framing and adoption in 1875 of the
Constitution of the Third Republic will be found narrated
under FRANCE: A. D. 1871-1876.
The following is the text of the organic law of 1875, with the
later amendatory and supplemental enactments, down to July 17,
1889, as translated and edited, with an historical
introduction, by Mr. Charles F. A. Currier, and published in
the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social
Science, March, 1893. It is reproduced here with the kind
permission of the President of the Academy, Professor Edmund
J. James:
{539}
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: 1875.
Law on the Organization of the Public Powers. February 25.
ARTICLE 1.
The legislative power is exercised by two assemblies: the
Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Chamber of Deputies is
elected by universal suffrage, under the conditions determined
by the electoral law.
[Footnote: See law of November 30, 1875, infra.]
The composition, the method of election, and the powers of the
Senate shall be regulated by a special law.
[Footnote: See laws of February 24, and August 2, 1875, infra.]
ARTICLE 2.
The President of the Republic is chosen by an absolute
majority of votes of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies united
in National Assembly. He is elected for seven years. He is
re-eligible.
ARTICLE 3.
The President of the Republic has the initiative of the laws,
concurrently with the members of the two Chambers. He
promulgates the laws when they have been voted by the two
Chambers; he looks after and secures their execution. He has
the right of pardon; amnesty can be granted by law only. He
disposes of the armed force. He appoints to all civil and
military positions. He presides over national festivals;
envoys and ambassadors of foreign powers are accredited to
him. Every act of the President of the Republic must be
countersigned by a Minister.
ARTICLE 4.
As vacancies occur on and after the promulgation of the
present law, the President of the Republic appoints, in the
Council of Ministers, the Councilors of State in ordinary
service. The Councilors of State thus chosen may be dismissed
only by decree rendered in the Council of Ministers. The
Councilors of State chosen by virtue of the law of May 24,
1872, cannot, before the expiration of their powers, be
dismissed except in the manner determined by that law. After
the dissolution of the National Assembly, revocation may be
pronounced only by resolution of the Senate.
ARTICLE 5.
The President of the Republic may, with the advice of the
Senate, dissolve the Chamber of Deputies before the legal
expiration of its term. [In that case the electoral colleges
are summoned for new elections within the space of three
months.]
[Footnote: Amended by constitutional law of
August 14, 1884, infra.]
ARTICLE 6.
The Ministers are jointly and severally ('solidairement')
responsible to the Chambers for the general policy of the
government, and individually for their personal acts. The
President of the Republic is responsible in case of high
treason only.
[Footnote: See ARTICLE 12, law of July 16, 1875, infra.]
ARTICLE 7.
In case of vacancy by death or for any other reason, the two
Chambers assembled together proceed at once to the election of
a new President. In the meantime the Council of Ministers is
invested with the executive power.
[Footnote: See ARTICLES. 3 and 11, law of July 16, 1875, infra.]
ARTICLE 8.
The Chambers shall have the right by separate resolutions,
taken in each by an absolute majority of votes, either upon
their own initiative or upon the request of the President of
the Republic, to declare a revision of the Constitutional Laws
necessary. After each of the two Chambers shall have come to
this decision, they shall meet together in National Assembly
to proceed with the revision. The acts effecting revision of
the constitutional laws, in whole or in part, must be by an
absolute majority of the members composing the National
Assembly. [During the continuance, however, of the powers
conferred by the law of November 20, 1873, upon Marshal de
MacMahon, this revision can take place only upon the
initiative of the President of the Republic.]
[Footnote: Amended by constitutional law of
August 14, 1884, infra.]
[ARTICLE 9.
The seat of the Executive Power and of the two Chambers is at
Versailles.]
[Footnote: Repealed by constitutional law
of June 21, 1879, infra.]
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: 1875.
Law on the Organization of the Senate. February 24.
[Footnote: By the constitutional law of
August 14, 1884, it was provided that Articles 1 to 7
of this law should no longer have a constitutional
character; and they were repealed
by the law of December 9, 1884, infra.]
[ARTICLE 1.
The Senate consists of three hundred members: Two hundred and
twenty-five elected by the departments and colonies, and
seventy-five elected by the National Assembly.]
[ARTICLE 2.
The departments of the Seine and Nord elect each five
senators. The following departments elect four senators each:
Seine-Inférieure, Pas-dc-Calais, Gironde, Rhône, Finistère,
Côtes-du-Nord. The following departments elect three senators
each: Loire-Inférieure, Saône-et-Loire, Ille-et-Vilaine,
Seine-et-Oise, Isère, Puy-de-Dôme, Somme, Bouches-du-Rhône,
Aisne, Loire, Manche, Maine-et-Loire, Morbihan, Dordogne,
Haute-Garonne, Charente-Inférieure, Calvados, Sarthe, Hérault,
Basses-Pyrénées, Gard, Aveyron, Vendée, Orne, Oise, Vosges,
Allier. All the other departments elect two senators each. The
following elect one senator each: The Territory of Belfort,
the three departments of Algeria, the four colonies:
Martinique, Guadeloupe, Reunion and the French Indies.]
[ARTICLE 3.
No one can be senator unless he is a French citizen, forty
years of age at least, and enjoying civil and political
rights.]
[ARTICLE 4.
The senators of the departments and colonies are elected by an
absolute majority and by 'scrutin de liste', by a college
meeting at the capital of the department or colony and
composed: (1) of the deputies; (2) of the general councilors;
(3) of the arrondissement councilors; (4) of delegates
elected, one by each municipal council, from among the voters
of the commune. In the French Indies the members of the
colonial council or of the local councils are substituted for
the general councilors, arrondissement councilors and

delegates from the municipal councils. They vote at the
capital of each district.]
[ARTICLE 5.
The senators chosen by the Assembly are elected by 'scrutin de
liste' and by an absolute majority of votes.]
[ARTICLE 6.
The senators of the departments and colonies are elected for
nine years and renewable by thirds every three years. At the
beginning of the first session the departments shall be
divided into three series containing an equal number of
senators each. It shall be determined by lot which series
shall be renewed at the expiration of the first and second
triennial periods.]
[ARTICLE 7.
The senators elected by the Assembly are irremovable.
Vacancies by death, by resignation, or for any other reason,
shall, within the space of two months, be filled by the Senate
itself.]
{540}
ARTICLE 8.
The Senate has, concurrently with the Chamber of Deputies, the
initiative and passing of laws. Money bills, however, must
first be introduced in, and passed by the Chamber of Deputies.
ARTICLE 9.
The Senate may be constituted a Court of Justice to judge
either the President of the Republic or the Ministers, and to
take cognizance of attacks made upon the safety of the State.
ARTICLE 10.
Elections to the Senate shall take place one month before the
time fixed by the National Assembly for its own dissolution.
The Senate shall organize and enter upon its duties the same
day that the National Assembly is dissolved.
ARTICLE 11.
The present law shall be promulgated only after the
passage of the law on the public powers.
[Footnote: i. e., the law of February 25, 1875, supra.]
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE; 1875.
Law on the Relations of the Public Powers. July 16.
ARTICLE 1.
The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies shall assemble each
year the second Tuesday of January, unless convened earlier by
the President of the Republic. The two Chambers continue in
session at least five months each year. The sessions of each
begin and end at the same time. [On the Sunday following the
opening of the session, public prayers shall be addressed to
God in the churches and temples, to invoke His aid in the
labors of the Chambers.]
[Footnote: Repealed by law of August 14, 1884, infra.]
ARTICLE 2.
The President of the Republic pronounces the closure of the
session. He may convene the Chambers in extra session. He must
convene them if, during the recess, an absolute majority of
the members of each Chamber request it. The President may
adjourn the Chambers. The adjournment, however, must not
exceed one month, nor take place more than twice in the same
session.
ARTICLE 3.
One month at least before the legal expiration of the powers
of the President of the Republic, the Chambers must be called
together in National Assembly and proceed to the election of a
new President. In default of a summons, this meeting shall
take place, as of right, the fifteenth day before the
expiration of those powers. In case of the death or
resignation of the President of the Republic, the two Chambers
shall reassemble immediately, as of right. In case the Chamber
of Deputies, in consequence of Article 5 of the law of
February 25, 1875, is dissolved at the time when the
presidency of the Republic becomes vacant, the electoral
colleges shall be convened at once, and the Senate shall
reassemble as of right.
ARTICLE 4.
Every meeting of either of the two Chambers which shall be
held at a time other than the common session of both is
illegal and void, except the case provided for in the
preceding article, and that when the Senate meets as a court
of justice; and in this last case, judicial duties alone shall
be performed.
ARTICLE 5.
The sittings of the Senate and of the Chamber of Deputies are
public. Nevertheless each Chamber may meet in secret session,
upon the request of a fixed number of its members, determined
by the rules. It decides by absolute majority whether the
sitting shall be resumed in public upon the same subject.
ARTICLE 6.
The President of the Republic communicates with the Chambers
by messages, which are read from the tribune by a Minister.
The Ministers have entrance to both Chambers, and must be
heard when they request it. They may be represented, for the
discussion of a specific bill, by commissioners designated by
decree of the President of the Republic.
ARTICLE 7.
The President of the Republic promulgates the laws within the
month following the transmission to the Government of the law
finally passed. He must promulgate, within three days, laws
whose promulgation shall have been declared urgent by an
express vote in each Chamber. Within the time fixed for
promulgation the President of the Republic may, by a message
with reasons assigned, request of the two Chambers a new
discussion, which cannot be refused.
ARTICLE 8.
The President of the Republic negotiates and ratifies
treaties. He communicates them to the Chambers as soon as the
interests and safety of the State permit. Treaties of peace,
and of commerce, treaties which involve the finances of the
State, those relating to the persons and property of French
citizens in foreign countries, shall become definitive only
after having been voted by the two Chambers. No cession, no
exchange, no annexation of territory shall take place except
by virtue of a law.
ARTICLE 9.
The President of the Republic cannot declare war except by the
previous assent of the two Chambers.
ARTICLE 10.
Each Chamber is the judge of the eligibility of its members,
and of the legality of their election; it alone can receive
their resignation.
ARTICLE 11.
The bureau of each Chamber is elected each year for the entire
session, and for every extra session which may be held before
the ordinary session of the following year. When the two
Chambers meet together as a National Assembly, their bureau
consists of the President, Vice-Presidents and Secretaries of
the Senate.
[Footnote: The bureau of the Senate consists of a president,
four vice-presidents, six secretaries and three questors; the
bureau of the Chamber of Deputies is the same, except that
there are eight secretaries instead of six.]
ARTICLE 12.
The President of the Republic may be impeached by the Chamber
of Deputies only, and tried by the Senate only. The Ministers
may be impeached by the Chamber of Deputies for offences
committed in the performance of their duties. In this case
they are tried by the Senate. The Senate may be constituted a
court of Justice, by a decree of the President of the
Republic, issued in the Council of Ministers, to try all
persons accused of attempts upon the safety of the State. If
procedure is begun by the ordinary courts, the decree
convening the Senate may be issued any time before the
granting of a discharge. A law shall determine the method of
procedure for the accusation, trial and judgment.
[Footnote: Fixed by law of April 10, 1880.]
ARTICLE 13.
No member of either Chamber shall be prosecuted or held
responsible on account of any opinions expressed or votes cast
by him in the performance of his duties.
{541}
ARTICLE 14.
No member of either Chamber shall, during the session, be
prosecuted or arrested for any offence or misdemeanor, except
on the authority of the Chamber of which he is a member,
unless he be caught in the very act. The detention or
prosecution of a member of either Chamber is suspended for the
session, and for its [the Chamber's] entire term, if it
demands it.
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: 1879.
Law Revising Article 9 of the Constitutional Law of
February 25,1875, June 21.
Article 9 of the constitutional law of February 25, 1875, is
repealed.
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: 1884.
Law Partially Revising the Constitutional Laws, August 14.
ARTICLE 1.
Paragraph 2 of Article 5 of the constitutional law of February
25, 1875, on the Organization of the Public Powers, is amended
as follows: "In that case the electoral colleges meet for new
elections within two months, and the Chamber within the ten
days following the close of the elections."
ARTICLE 2.
To Paragraph 3 of Article 8 of the same law of February 25,
1875, is added the following: "The Republican form of the
Government cannot be made the subject of a proposed revision.
Members of families that have reigned in France are ineligible
to the presidency of the Republic."
ARTICLE 3.
Articles 1 to 7 of the constitutional law of February 24,
1875, on the Organization of the Senate, shall no longer have
a constitutional character.
[Footnote: And may therefore be amended by ordinary
legislation. See the law of December 9, 1884, infra.]
ARTICLE 4.
Paragraph 3 of Article 1 of the constitutional law of July 16,
1875, on the Relation of the Public Powers, is repealed.
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: 1875.
Law on the Election of Senators. August 2.
ARTICLE 1.
A decree of the President of the Republic, issued at least six
weeks in advance, determines the day for the elections to the
Senate, and at the same time that for the choice of delegates
of the municipal councils. There must be an interval of at
least one month between the choice of delegates and the
election of senators.
ARTICLE 2.
Each municipal council elects one delegate. The election is
without debate, by secret ballot, and by an absolute majority
of votes. After two ballots a plurality is sufficient, and in
case of an equality of votes, the oldest is declared elected.
If the Mayor is not a member of the municipal council, he
presides, but shall not vote.
[Footnote: Amended by Article 8, law of December 9, 1884,
infra.]
On the same day and in the same way an alternate is elected,
who takes the place of the delegate in case of refusal or
inability to serve.
[Footnote: See Article 4, law of February 24, 1875, supra.]
The choice of the municipal councils shall not extend to a
deputy, a general councilor, or an arrondissement councilor.
[Footnote: See Article 4, law of February 24, 1875, supra. ]
All communal electors, including the municipal councilors, are
eligible without distinction.
ARTICLE 3.
In the communes where a municipal committee exists, the
delegate and alternate shall be chosen by the old council.
[Footnote: Amended by Article 8,
law of December 9, 1884, infra. ]
ARTICLE 4.
If the delegate was not present at the election, the Mayor
shall see to it that he is notified within twenty-four hours.
He must transmit to the Prefect, within five days, notice of
his acceptance. In case of refusal or silence, he is replaced
by the alternate, who is then placed upon the list as the
delegate of the commune.
[Footnote: See Article 8, law of December 9, 1884, infra.]
ARTICLE 5.
The official report of the election of the delegate and
alternate is transmitted at once to the Prefect; it states the
acceptance or refusal of the delegates and alternates, as well
as the protests raised, by one or more members of the
municipal council, against the legality of the election. A
copy of this official report is posted on the door of the town
hall.
[Footnote: See Article 8, law of December 9, 1884, infra.]
ARTICLE 6.
A statement of the results of the election of delegates and
alternates is drawn up within a week by the Prefect; this is
given to all requesting it, and may be copied and published.
Every elector may, at the bureaux of the prefecture, obtain
information and a copy of the list, by communes, of the
municipal councilors of the department, and, at the bureaux of
the sub-prefectures a copy of the list, by communes, of the
municipal councilors of the arrondissement.
ARTICLE 7.
Every communal elector may, within three days, address
directly to the Prefect a protest against the legality of the
election. If the Prefect deems the proceedings illegal, he may
request that they be set aside.
ARTICLE 8.
Protests concerning the election of the delegate or alternate
are decided, subject to an appeal to the Council of State, by
the council of the prefecture, and, in the colonies, by the
privy council. A delegate whose election is annulled because
he does not satisfy the conditions demanded by law, or on
account of informality, is replaced by the alternate. In case
the election of the delegate and alternate is rendered void,
as by the refusal or death of both after their acceptance, new
elections are held by the municipal council on a day fixed by
an order of the Prefect.
[Footnote: See Article 8, law of December 9, 1884, infra.]
ARTICLE 9.
Eight days, at the latest, before the election of senators,
the Prefect, and, in the colonies, the Director of the
Interior, arranges the list of the electors of the department
in alphabetical order. The list is communicated to all
demanding it, and may be copied and published. No elector has
more than one vote.
ARTICLE 10.
The deputies, the members of the general council, or of the
arrondissement councils, who have been announced by the
returning committees, but whose powers have not been verified,
are enrolled upon the list of electors and are allowed to
vote.
ARTICLE 11.
In each of the three departments of Algeria the electoral
college is composed: (1) of the deputies; (2) of the members
of the general councils, of French citizenship; (3) of
delegates elected by the French members of each municipal
council from among the communal electors of French
citizenship.
ARTICLE 12.
The electoral college is presided over by the President of the
civil tribunal of the capital of the department or colony. The
President is assisted by the two oldest and two youngest
electors present at the opening of the meeting. The bureau
thus constituted chooses a secretary from among the electors.
If the President is prevented [from presiding] his place is
taken by the Vice-President [of the civil tribunal], and, in
his absence, by the oldest justice.
{542}
ARTICLE 13.
The bureau divides the electors in alphabetical order into
sections of at least one hundred voters each. It appoints the
President and Inspectors of each of these sections. It decides
all questions and contests which may arise in the course of
the election, without, however, power to depart from the
decisions rendered by virtue of Article 8 of the present law.
ARTICLE 14.
The first ballot begins at eight o'clock in the morning and
closes at noon. The second begins at two o'clock and closes at
four o'clock. The third, if it takes place, begins at six
o'clock and closes at eight o'clock. The results of the
ballotings are determined by the bureau and announced the same
day by the President of the electoral college.
[Footnote: See Article 8, law of December 9, 1884, infra.]
ARTICLE 15.
No one is elected senator on either of the first two ballots
unless he receives: (1) an absolute majority of the votes
cast; and (2) a number of votes equal to one-fourth of the
total number of electors registered. On the third ballot a
plurality is sufficient, and, in case of an equality of votes,
the oldest is elected.
ARTICLE 16.
Political meetings for the nomination of senators may take
place conformably to the rules laid down by the law of June 6,
1868 subject to the following conditions:
[Footnote: France is divided Into twenty-six judicial
districts, in each of which there is a cour d'appel. There are
similar courts in Algeria and the colonies. The Cour de
Cassation is the supreme court of appeal for all France,
Algeria and the colonies.]
I. These meetings may be held from the date of the election of
delegates up to the day of the election [of senators]
inclusive;
II. They must be preceded by a declaration made, at latest,
the evening before, by seven senatorial electors of the
arrondissement, and indicating the place, the day and the hour
the meeting is to take place, and the names, occupation and
residence of the candidates to be presented;
III. The municipal authorities will see to it that no one is
admitted to the meeting unless he is a deputy, general
councilor, arrondissement councilor, delegate or candidate.
The delegate will present, as a means of identification, a
certificate from the Mayor of his commune, the candidate a
certificate from the official who shall have received the
declaration mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
[Footnote: See Article 8, law of December 9, 1884, infra.]
ARTICLE 17.
Delegates who take part in all the ballotings shall, if they
demand it, receive from the State, upon the presentation of
their letter of summons, countersigned by the President of the
electoral college, a remuneration for traveling expenses,
which shall be paid to them upon the same basis and in the
same manner as that given to jurors by Articles 35, 90 and
following, of the decree of June 18, 1811. A public
administrative regulation shall determine the method of fixing
the amount and the method of payment of this remuneration.
[Footnote: Done by decree of December 26, 1875.]
ARTICLE 18.
Every delegate who, without lawful reason, shall not take part
in all the ballotings, or, having been hindered, shall not
have given notice to the alternate in sufficient season,
shall, upon the demand of the public prosecutor, be punished
by a fine of fifty francs by the civil tribunal of the
capital.
[Footnote: Of the department.] The same penalty may be
imposed upon the alternate who, after having been notified by
letter, telegram, or notice personally delivered in due
season, shall not have taken part in the election.
ARTICLE 19.
Every attempt at corruption by the employment of means
enumerated in Articles 177 and following, of the Penal Code,
to influence the vote of an elector, or to keep him from
voting, shall be punished by imprisonment of from three months
to two years, and a fine of from fifty to five hundred francs,
or by one of these two penalties alone. Article 463 of the
Penal Code shall apply to the penalties imposed by the present
article.
[Footnote: See Article 8, Jaw of December 9, 1884,
infra. ]
ARTICLE 20.
It is incompatible for a senator to be:
I. Councilor of State, Maitre de Requêtes, Prefect or
Sub-Prefect, except Prefect of the Seine and Prefect of
Police;
II. Member of the courts of appeal ("appel, ") or of the
tribunals of first instance, except public prosecutor at the
court of Paris;
[Footnote: France is divided Into twenty-six judicial
districts, in each of which there is a cour d'appel. There are
similar courts in Algeria and the colonies. The Cour de
Cassation is the supreme court of appeal for all France,
Algeria and the colonies.]
III. General Paymaster, Special Receiver, official or employé
of the central administration of the ministries.
ARTICLE 21.
The following shall not be elected by the department or the
colony included wholly or partially in their jurisdiction,
during the exercise of their duties and during the six months
following the cessation of their duties by resignation,
dismissal, change of residence, or other cause:
I. The First Presidents, Presidents, and members of the courts
of appeal ("appel");
II. The Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Examining Magistrates,
and members of the tribunals of first instance;
III. The Prefect of Police; Prefects and Sub-Prefects, and
Prefectorial General Secretaries; the Governors, Directors of
the Interior, and General Secretaries of the Colonies;
V. The Chief Arrondissement Engineers and Chief Arrondissement
Road-Surveyors;
V. The School Rectors and Inspectors;
VI. The Primary School Inspectors;
VII. The Archbishops, Bishops, and Vicars General;
VIII. The officers of all grades of the land and naval force;
IX. The Division Commissaries and the Military Deputy
Commissaries;
X. The General Paymasters and Special Receivers of Money;
XI. The Supervisors of Direct and Indirect Taxes, of
Registration of Lands and of Posts;
XII. The Guardians and Inspectors of Forests.
ARTICLE 22.
A senator elected in several departments, must let his choice
be known to the President of the senate within ten days
following the verification of the elections. If a choice is
not made in this time, the question is settled by lot in open
session. The vacancy shall be filled within one month and by
the same electoral body. The same holds true in case of an
invalidated election.
ARTICLE 23.
If by death or resignation the number of senators of a
department is reduced by one·half, the vacancies shall be
filled within the space of three months, unless the vacancies
occur within the twelve months preceding the triennial
elections. At the time fixed for the triennial elections, all
vacancies shall be filled which have occurred, whatever their
number and date.
[Footnote: See Article 8, law of December 9, 1884, infra. ]
[ARTICLE 24.
The election of senators chosen by the National Assembly takes
place in public sitting, by "scrutin de liste," and by an
absolute majority of votes, whatever the number of ballotings.]
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[ARTICLE 25.
When it is necessary to elect successors of senators chosen by
virtue of Article 7 of the law of February 24, 1875, the
Senate proceeds in the manner indicated in the preceding
article].
[Footnote: Articles 24 and 25 repealed by law of December 9,
1584, infra.]
ARTICLE 26.
Members of the Senate receive the same salary as members of
the Chamber of Deputies.
[Footnote: See Article 17, law of November 30, 1875, infra. ]
ARTICLE 27.
There are applicable to elections to the Senate all the
provisions of the electoral law relating:
I. to cases of unworthiness and incapacity;
II. to offences, prosecutions, and penalties;
III. to election proceedings, in all respects not contrary to
the provisions of the present law.
Temporary Provisions.
ARTICLE 28.
For the first election of members of the Senate, the law which
shall determine the date of the dissolution of the National
Assembly shall fix, without regard to the intervals
established by Article 1, the date on which the municipal
councils shall meet for the election of delegates and the day
for the election of Senators. Before the meeting of the
municipal councils, the National Assembly shall proceed to the
election of those Senators whom it is to choose.
ARTICLE 20.
The provisions of Article 21, by which an interval of six
months must elapse between the cessation of duties and
election, shall not apply to officials, except Prefects and
Sub-Prefects, whose duties shall have ceased either before the
promulgation of the present law or within twenty days
following.
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: 1875.
Law on the Election of Deputies. November 30.
[Footnote: See infra, the laws of June 10,1885, and
February 13, 1889, amending the electoral law. ]
ARTICLE 1.
The deputies shall be chosen by the voters registered:
I. upon the lists drawn up in accordance with the law of July 7, 1874;
II. upon the supplementary list including those who have lived
in the commune six months. Registration upon the supplementary
list shall take place conformably to the laws and regulations
now governing the political electoral lists, by the committees
and according to the forms established by Articles 1, 2 and 3
of the law of July 7, 1874. Appeals relating to the formation
and revision of either list shall be carried directly before
the Civil Chamber of the Court of Appeal ("Cassation"). The
electoral lists drawn up March 31, 1875, shall serve until
March 31, 1876.
ARTICLE 2.
The soldiers of all ranks and grades, of both the land and
naval forces, shall not vote when they are with their
regiment, at their post or on duty. Those who, on election
day, are in private residence, in non-activity or in
possession of a regular leave of absence, may vote in the
commune on the lists of which they are duly registered. This
last provision applies equally to officers on the unattached
list or on the reserve list.
ARTICLE 3.
During the electoral period, circulars and platforms
("professions de foi") signed by the candidates, placards and
manifestoes signed by one or more voters, may, after being
deposited with the public prosecutor, be posted and
distributed without previous authorization. The distribution
of ballots is not subjected to this deposit.
[Footnote: See, however, a law of December 20, 1878, by which
deposit is made necessary.]
Every public or municipal official is forbidden to distribute
ballots, platforms and circulars of candidates. The provisions
of Article 19 of the organic law of August 2, 1875, on the
elections of Senators, shall apply to the elections of
deputies.
ARTICLE 4.
Balloting shall continue one day only. The voting occurs at
the chief place of the commune; each commune may nevertheless
be divided, by order of the Prefect, into as many sections as
may be demanded by local circumstances and the number of
voters. The second ballot shall take place the second Sunday
following the announcement of the first ballot, according to
the provisions of Article 65, of the law of March 15, 1849.
ARTICLE 5.
The method of voting shall be according to the provisions of
the organic and regulating decrees of February 2, 1852. The
ballot is secret. The voting lists used at the elections in
each section, signed by the President and Secretary, shall
remain deposited for eight days at the Secretary's office at
the town hall, where they shall be communicated to every voter
requesting them.
ARTICLE 6.
Every voter is eligible, without any tax qualification, at the
age of twenty-five years.
ARTICLE 7.
No soldier or sailor forming part of the active forces of land
or sea may, whatever his rank or position, be elected a member
of the Chamber of Deputies. This provision applies to soldiers
and sailors on the unattached list or in non-activity, but
does not extend to officers of the second section of the list
of the general staff, nor to those who, kept in the first
section for having been commander-in-chief in the field, have
ceased to be employed actively, nor to officers who, having
privileges acquired on the retired list, are sent to or
maintained at their homes while awaiting the settlement of
their pension. The decision by which the officer shall have
been permitted to establish his rights on the retired list
shall become, in this case, irrevocable. The rule laid down in
the first paragraph of the present Article shall not apply to
the reserve of the active army nor to the territorial army.
ARTICLE 8.
The exercise of public duties paid out of the treasury of the
State is incompatible with the office of deputy. Consequently
every official elected deputy shall be superseded in his
duties if, within the eight days following the verification of
powers, he has not signified that he does not accept the
office of deputy. There are excepted from the preceding
provisions the duties of Minister, Under Secretary of State,
Ambassador, Minister Plenipotentiary, Prefect of the Seine,
Prefect of Police, First President of the Court of Appeal
("cassation,") First President of the Court of Accounts, First
President of the Court of Appeal ("appel") of Paris, Attorney
General at the Court of Appeal ("cassation,") Attorney General
at the Court of Accounts, Attorney General at the Court of
Appeal ("appel") of Paris, Archbishop and Bishop, Consistorial
Presiding Pastor in consistorial districts whose capital has
two or more pastors, Chief Rabbi of the Central consistory,
Chief Rabbi of the Consistory of Paris.
ARTICLE 9.
There are also excepted from the provisions of Article 8:
I. titular professors of chairs which are filled by
competition or upon the nomination of the bodies where the
vacancy occurs;
II. persons who have been charged with a temporary mission.
All missions continuing more than six months cease to be
temporary and are governed by Article 8 above.
{544}
ARTICLE 10.
The official preserves the rights which he has acquired to a
retiring pension, and may, after the expiration of his term of
office, be restored to active service. The civil official who,
having had twenty years of service at the date of the
acceptance of the office of deputy, and shall be fifty years
of age at the time of the expiration of this term of office,
may establish his rights to an exceptional retiring pension.
This pension shall be regulated according to the third
Paragraph of Article 12 of the law of June 9, 1853. If the
official is restored to active service after the expiration of
his term of office, the provisions of Article 3, Paragraph 2,
and Article 28 of the law of June 9, 1853, shall apply to him.
In duties where the rank is distinct from the employment, the
official, by the acceptance of the office of deputy, loses the
employment and preserves the rank only.
ARTICLE 11.
Every deputy appointed or promoted to a salaried public
position ceases to belong to the Chamber by the very fact of
his acceptance; but he may be re-elected, if the office which
he occupies is compactible with the office of deputy. Deputies
who become Ministers or Under-Secretaries of State are not
subjected to a re-election.
ARTICLE 12.
There shall not be elected by the arrondissement or the colony
included wholly or partially in their jurisdiction, during the
exercise of their duties or for six months following the
expiration of their duties due to resignation, dismissal,
change of residence, or any other cause:
I. The First-Presidents, Presidents, and members of the Courts
of Appeal ("appel");
II. The Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Titular Judges, Examining
Magistrates, and members of the tribunals of first instance;
III. The Prefect of Police; the Prefects and General
Secretaries of the Prefectures; the Governors, Directors of
the Interior, and General Secretaries of the Colonies;
IV. The Chief Arrondissement Engineers and Chief
Arrondissement Road-Surveyors;
V. The School Rectors and Inspectors;
VI. The Primary School Inspectors;
VII. The Archbishops, Bishops, and Vicars General;
VIII. The General Paymasters and Special Receivers of Money;
IX. The Supervisors of Direct and Indirect Taxes, of
Registration of Lands, and of Posts;
X. The Guardians and Inspectors of Forests. The Sub-Prefects
shall not be elected in any of the arrondissements of the
department where they perform their duties.
ARTICLE 13.
Every imperative mandate is null and void.
ARTICLE 14.
Members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected by single
districts. Each administrative arrondissement shall elect one
deputy. Arrondissements having more than 100,000 inhabitants
shall elect one deputy in addition for every additional
100,000 inhabitants or fraction of 100,000. Arrondissements of
this kind shall be divided into districts whose boundaries
shall be established by law and may be changed only by law.
ARTICLE 15.
Deputies shall be chosen for four years. The Chamber is
renewable integrally.
ARTICLE 16.
In ease of vacancy by death, resignation, or otherwise, a new
election shall be held within three months of the date when
the vacancy occurred. In case of option, the vacancy shall be
filled within one month.
[Footnote: i. e., when a deputy had been elected from two or
more districts.]
ARTICLE 17.
The deputies shall receive a salary. This salary is regulated
by Articles 96 and 97 of the law of March 15, 1849, and by the
provisions of the law of February 16, 1872.
ARTICLE 18.
No one is elected on the first ballot unless he receives: (1)
an absolute majority of the votes cast; (2) a number of votes
equal to one-fourth of the number of voters registered. On the
second ballot a plurality is sufficient. In case of an equality
of votes, the oldest is declared elected.
ARTICLE 19.
Each department of Algeria elects one deputy.
ARTICLE 20.
The voters living in Algeria in a place not yet made a
commune, shall be registered on the electoral list of the
nearest commune. When it is necessary to establish electoral
districts, either for the purpose of grouping mixed communes
in each of which the number of voters shall be insufficient,
or to bring together voters living in places not formed into
communes the decrees for fixing the seat of these districts
shall be issued by the Governor-General, upon the report of
the Prefect or of the General commanding the division.
ARTICLE 21.
The four colonies to which senators have been assigned by the
law of February 24, 1875, on the organization of the Senate,
shall choose one deputy each.
ARTICLE 22.
Every violation of the prohibitive provisions of Article 3,
Paragraph 3, of the present law shall be punished by a fine of
from sixteen francs to three hundred francs. Nevertheless the
criminal courts may apply Article 463 of the Penal Code. The
provisions of Article 6 of the law of July 7, 1874, shall
apply to the political electoral lists. The decree of January
29, 1871, and the laws of April 10, 1871, May 2, 1871, and
February 18, 1873, are repealed. Paragraph 11 of Article 15 of
the organic decree of February 2, 1852, is also repealed, in
so far as it refers to the law of May 21, 1836, on lotteries,
reserving, however, to the courts the right to apply to
convicted persons Article 42 of the Penal Code. The provisions
of the laws and decrees now in force, with which the present
law does not conflict, shall continue to be applied.
ARTICLE 23.
The provision of Article 12 of the present law by which an
interval of six months must elapse between the expiration of
duties and election, shall not apply to officials, except
Prefects and Sub-Prefects, whose duties shall have ceased
either before the promulgation of the present law or within
the twenty days following it.
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: 1879.
Law Relating to the Seat of the Executive Power and of the
Chambers at Paris. July 22.
ARTICLE 1.
The seat of the Executive Power and of the two Chambers is at
Paris.
ARTICLE 2.
The Palace of the Luxemburg and the Palais-Bourbon are
assigned, the first to the use of the Senate, the second to
that of the Chamber of Deputies. Nevertheless each of the
Chambers is authorized to choose, in the city of Paris, the
palace which it wishes to occupy.
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ARTICLE 3.
The various parts of the palace of Versailles now occupied by
the Senate and Chamber of Deputies preserve their
arrangements. Whenever, according to Articles 7 and 8 of the
law of February 25, 1875, on the organization of the public
powers, a meeting of the National Assembly takes place, it
shall sit at Versailles, in the present hall of the Chamber of
Deputies. Whenever, according to Article 9 of the law of
February 24, 1875, on the organization of the Senate, and
Article 12 of the constitutional law of July 16, 1875, on the
relations of the public powers, the Senate shall be called
upon to constitute itself a Court of Justice, it shall
indicate the town and place where it proposes to sit.
ARTICLE 4.
The Senate and Chamber of Deputies will sit at Paris on and
after November 3 next.
ARTICLE 5.
The Presidents of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies are
charged with the duty of securing the external and internal
safety of the Chambers over which they preside. To this end
they have the right to call upon the armed force and every
authority whose assistance they judge necessary. The demands
may be addressed directly to all officers, commanders, or
officials, who are bound to obey immediately, under the
penalties established by the laws. The Presidents of the
Senate and Chamber of Deputies may delegate to the questors or
to one of them their right of demanding aid.
ARTICLE 6.
Petitions to either of the Chambers can be made and presented
in writing only. It is forbidden to present them in person or
at the bar.
ARTICLE 7.
Every violation of the preceding article, every provocation,
by speeches uttered publicly, or by writings, or printed
matter, posted or distributed, to a crowd upon the public
ways, having for an object the discussion, drawing up, or
carrying to the Chambers or either of them, of petitions,
declarations, or addresses--whether or not any results follow
such action--shall be punished by the penalties enumerated in
Paragraph 1 of Article 5 of the law of June 7, 1848.
ARTICLE 8.
The preceding provisions do not diminish the force of the law
of June 7, 1848, on riotous assemblies.
ARTICLE 9.
Article 463 of the Penal Code applies to the offences
mentioned in the present law.
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: 1884.
Law Amending the Organic Laws on the Organization of the
Senate and the Elections of Senators. December 9.
ARTICLE 1.
The Senate consists of three hundred members, elected by the
departments and the colonies. The present members, without any
distinction between senators elected by the National Assembly
or the Senate and those elected by the departments and
colonies, maintain their term of office during the time for
which they have been chosen.
ARTICLE 2.
The department of the Seine elects ten senators. The
department of the Nord elects eight senators. The following
departments elect five senators each: Côtes-du-Nord,
Finistère, Gironde. Ille-et-Vilaine, Loire, Loire-Inférieure,
Pas-de-Calais, Rhône, Saône-et-Loire, Seine-Inférieure. The
following departments elect four senators each: Aisne,
Bouches-du-Rhône, Charente-Inférieure, Dordogne,
Haute-Garonne, Isère, Maine-et-Loire, Manche, Morbihan,
Puy-de-Dome, Seine-et-Oise, Somme. The following departments
elect three senators each: Ain, Allier, Ardèche, Ardennes,
Aube, Aude, Aveyron, Calvados, Charente, Cher, Corrèze, Corse,
Côte·d'Or, Creuse, Doubs, Drôme, Eure, Eure-et-Loir, Gard,
Gers, Hérault, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Jura, Landes,
Loir-et-Cher, Haute-Loire, Loiret, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne, Marne,
Haute-Marne, Mayenne, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Nièvre, Oise,
Orne, Basses-Pyréneées, Haute-Saône, Sarthe, Savoie,
Haute-Savoie, Seine-et-Marne, Deux-Sèvres, Tarn, Var, Vendée,
Vienne, Haute-Vienne, Vosges, Yonne. The following departments
elect two senators each: Basses-Alpes, Hautes-Alpes,
Alpes-Maritimes, Ariège, Cantal, Lozère, Hautes-Pyrénées,
Pyrénées-Orientales, Tarn-et-Garonne, Vancluse. The following
elect one senator each: the Territory of Belfort, the three
departments of Algeria, the four colonies: Martinique,
Guadeloupe, Réunion and French Indies.
ARTICLE 3.
In the departments where the number of senators is increased
by the present law, the increase shall take effect as
vacancies occur among the life senators. To this end, within
eight days after the vacancy occurs, it shall be determined by
lot what department shall be called upon to elect a senator.
This election shall take place within three months of the
determination by lot. Furthermore, if the vacancy occurs
within six months preceding the triennial election, the
vacancy shall be filled at that election. The term of office
in this case shall expire at the same time as that of the
other senators belonging to the same department.
ARTICLE 4.
No one shall be a senator unless he is a French citizen, forty
years of age, at least, and enjoying civil and political
rights. Members of families that have reigned in France are
ineligible to the Senate.
ARTICLE 5.
The soldiers of the land and naval forces cannot be elected
senators. There are excepted from this provision:
I. The Marshals and Admirals of France;
II. The general officers maintained without limit of age in
the first section of the list of the general staff and not
provided with a command;
III. The general officers placed in the second section of the
list of the general staff;
IV. Soldiers of the land and naval forces who belong either to
the reserve of the active army or to the territorial army.
ARTICLE 6.
Senators are elected by "scrutin de liste," by a college
meeting at the capital of the department or colony, and
composed:
(1) of the Deputies;
(2) of the General Councilors;
(3) of the Arrondissement Councilors;
(4) of delegates elected from among the voters of the commune,
by each Municipal Council.
Councils composed of ten members shall elect one delegate.
Councils composed of twelve members shall elect two delegates.
Councils composed of sixteen members shall elect three
delegates. Councils composed of twenty-one members shall elect
six delegates. Councils composed of twenty-three members shall
elect nine delegates. Councils composed of twenty-seven
members shall elect twelve delegates. Councils composed of
thirty members shall elect fifteen delegates. Councils
composed of thirty-two members shall elect eighteen delegates.
Councils composed of thirty-four members shall elect
twenty-one delegates. Councils composed of thirty-six members
or more shall elect twenty-four delegates. The Municipal
Council of Paris shall elect thirty delegates. In the French
Indies the members of the local councils take the place of
Arrondissement Councilors. The Municipal Council of Pondichéry
shall elect five delegates. The Municipal Council of Karikal
shall elect three delegates. All the other communes shall
elect two delegates each. The balloting takes place at the
capital of each district.
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ARTICLE 7.
Members of the Senate are elected for nine years. The Senate
is renewed every three years according to the order of the
present series of departments and colonies.
ARTICLE 8.
Articles 2 (paragraphs 1 and 2), 3, 4, 5, 8, 14, 16, 19 and 23
of the organic law of August 2, 1875, on the Elections of
Senators are amended as follows:
"Article 2 (paragraphs 1 and 2). In each Municipal Council the
election of delegates takes place without debate and by secret
ballot, by "scrutin de liste" and by an absolute majority of
votes cast. After two ballots a plurality is sufficient, and
in case of an equality of votes the oldest is elected. The
procedure and method is the same for the election of
alternates. Councils having one, two, or three delegates to
choose shall elect one alternate. Those choosing six or nine
delegates elect two alternates. Those choosing twelve or
fifteen delegates elect three alternates. Those choosing
eighteen or twenty-one delegates elect four alternates. Those
choosing twenty-four delegates elect five alternates. The
Municipal Council of Paris elects eight alternates; The
alternates take the place of delegates in case of refusal or
inability to serve, in the order determined by the number of
votes received by each of them.
Article 3.
In communes where the duties of a Municipal Council are
performed by a special delegation organized by virtue of
Article 44 of' the law of April 5, 1884, the senatorial
delegates and alternates shall be chosen by the old council.
Article 4.
If the delegates were not present at the election, notice is
given them by the Mayor within twenty-four hours. They must
within five days notify the Prefect of their acceptance. In
case of declination or silence they shall be replaced by the
alternates, who are then placed upon the list as the delegates
of the commune.
Article 5.
The official report of the election of delegates and
alternates is transmitted at once to the Prefect. It indicates
the acceptance or declination of the delegates and alternates,
as well as the protests made by one or more members of the
Municipal Council against the legality of the election. A copy
of this official report is posted on the door of the town
hall.
Article 8.
Protests concerning the election of delegates or alternates
are decided, subject to an appeal to the Council of State, by
the Council of the Prefecture, and, in the colonies, by the
Privy Council. Delegates whose election is set aside because
they do not satisfy the conditions demanded by law, or because
of informality, are replaced by the alternates. In case the
election of a delegate and of an alternate is rendered void,
as by the refusal or death of both after their acceptance, new
elections are held by the Municipal Council on a day fixed by
decree of the Prefect.
Article 14.
The first ballot begins at eight o'clock in the morning and
closes at noon. The second begins at two o'clock and closes at
four o'clock. The third begins at seven o'clock and closes at
ten o'clock. The results of the ballotings are determined by
the bureau and announced immediately by the President of the
electoral college.
Article 16.
Political meetings for the nomination of senators may be held
from the date of the promulgation of the decree summoning the
electors up to the day of the election inclusive. The
declaration prescribed by Article 2 of the law of June 30,
1881, shall be made by two voters, at least. The forms and
regulations of this Article, as well as those of Article 3,
shall be observed. The members of Parliament elected or
electors in the department, the senatorial electors, delegates
and alternates, and the candidates, or their representatives,
may alone be present at these meetings. The municipal
authorities will see to it that no other person is admitted.
Delegates and alternates shall present as a means of
identification a certificate from the Mayor of the commune;
candidates or their representatives a certificate from the
official who shall have received the declaration mentioned in
Paragraph 2.
Article 19.
Every attempt at corruption or constraint by the employment of
means enumerated in Articles 177 and following of the Penal
Code, to influence the vote of an elector or to keep him from
voting, shall be punished by imprisonment of from three months
to two years, and by a fine of from fifty francs to five
hundred francs, or by one of these penalties alone. Article
463 of the Penal Code is applicable to the penalties provided
for by the present article.
Article 23.
Vacancies caused by the death or resignation of senators shall
be filled within three months; moreover, if the vacancy occurs
within the six months preceding the triennial elections, it
shall be filled at those elections."
ARTICLE 9.
There are repealed:
(1) Articles 1 to 7 of the law of February 24, 1875, on the
organization of the Senate;
(2) Articles 24 and 25 of the law of August 2, 1875, on the
elections of senators.
Temporary Provision.
In case a special law on parliamentary incompatibilities shall
not have been passed at the date of the next senatorial
elections, Article 8, of the law of November 30, 1875, shall
apply to those elections. Every official affected by this
provision, who has had twenty years of service and is fifty
years of age at the date of his acceptance of the office [of
senator], may establish his right to a proportional retiring
pension, which shall be governed by the third paragraph of
Article 12, of the law of June 9, 1853.
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: 1885.
Law Amending the Electoral Law. June 16.
[Footnote: Articles 1, 2 and 3 repealed
by the law of February 13 1889, infra.]
[ARTICLE 1.
The members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected by "scrutin
de liste.">[
[ARTICLE 2.
Each department elects the number
of deputies assigned to it in the table
(Footnote: This table may be found in the Bulletin des Lois,
twelfth series, No. 15,518; and in the Journal Officiel for
June 17, 1885, page 3074.)
annexed to the present law, on the basis of one deputy for
seventy thousand inhabitants, foreign residents not included.
Account shall be taken, nevertheless, of every fraction
smaller than seventy thousand.
(Footnote: i. e., fractions of less than 70,000 are entitled
to a deputy.)
Each department elects at least three deputies. Two deputies
are assigned to the territory of Belfort, six to Algeria, and
ten to the colonies, as is indicated by the table. This table
can be changed by law only.]
[ARTICLE 3.
The department forms a single electoral district.]
ARTICLE 4.
Members of families that have reigned in France are ineligible
to the Chamber of Deputies.
{547}
ARTICLE 5.
No one is elected on the first ballot unless he receives: (1)
an absolute majority of the votes cast; (2) a number of votes
equal to one-fourth of the total number of voters registered.
On the second ballot a plurality is sufficient. In case of an
equality of votes, the oldest of the candidates is declared
elected.
ARTICLE 6.
Subject to the case of a dissolution foreseen and regulated by
the Constitution, the general elections take place within
sixty days preceding the expiration of the powers of the
Chamber of Deputies.
ARTICLE 7.
Vacancies shall not be filled which occur in the six months
preceding the renewal of the Chamber.
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: 1887.
Law on Parliamentary Incompatibilities. December 26.

Until the passage of a special law on parliamentary
incompatibilities, Articles 8 and 9 of the law of November
30, 1875, shall apply to senatorial elections. Every official
affected by this provision who has had twenty years of service
and is fifty years of age at the time of his acceptance of the
office [of senator]. may establish his rights to a
proportional retiring pension, which shall be governed by the
third paragraph of Article 12 of the law of June 9, 1853.
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: 1889.
Law Re-establishing Single Districts for the Election of
Deputies. February 13.
ARTICLE 1.
Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the law of June 16, 1885, are repealed.
ARTICLE 2.
Members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected by single
districts. Each administrative arrondissement in the
departments, and each municipal arrondissement at Paris and at
Lyons, elects one deputy. Arrondissements whose population
exceeds one hundred thousand inhabitants elect an additional
deputy for every one hundred thousand or fraction of one
hundred thousand inhabitants. The arrondissements are in this
case divided into districts, a table of which is annexed to
the present law and can be changed by a law only.
[Footnote: This table may be found in the Journal
Officiel for February 14, 1889. pages 76 and following; and
in the Bulletin des Lois, twelfth series, No. 20,475.]
ARTICLE 3.
One deputy is assigned to the territory of Belfort, six to
Algeria, and ten to the colonies, as is indicated by the
table.
ARTICLE 4.
On and after the promulgation of the present law, until the
renewal of the Chamber of Deputies, vacancies occurring in the
Chamber of Deputies shall not be filled.
CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: 1889.
Law on Multiple Candidatures. July 17.
ARTICLE 1.
No one may be a candidate in more than one district.
ARTICLE 2.
Every citizen who offers himself or is offered at the general
or partial elections must, by a declaration signed or
countersigned by himself, and duly legalized, make known in
what district he means to be a candidate. This declaration is
deposited, and a provisional receipt obtained therefor, at the
Prefecture of the department concerned, the fifth day, at
latest, before the day of election. A definitive receipt shall
be delivered within twenty-four hours.
ARTICLE 3.
Every declaration made in violation of Article 1 of the
present law is void and not to be received. If declarations
are deposited by the same citizen in more than one district,
the earliest in date is alone valid. If they bear the same
date, all are void.
ARTICLE 4.
It is forbidden to sign or post placards, to carry or
distribute ballots, circulars, or platforms in the interest of
a candidate who has not conformed to the requirements of the
present law.
ARTICLE 5.
Ballots bearing the name of a citizen whose candidacy is put
forward in violation of the present law shall not be included
in the return of votes. Posters, placards, platforms, and
ballots posted or distributed to support a candidacy in a
district where such candidacy is contrary to the law, shall be
removed or seized.
ARTICLE 6.
A fine of ten thousand francs shall be imposed on the
candidate violating the provisions of the present law, and one
of five thousand francs on all persons acting in violation of
Article 4 of the present law.
----------CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE: End----------
CONSTITUTION OF GERMANY.
CONSTITUTION OF GERMANY: 13th-17th Centuries.
The Old (Holy Roman) Empire.
The Golden Bull.
See GERMANY: A. D. 1125-1152; 1347-1493;
and DIET, THE GERMANIC.
CONSTITUTION OF GERMANY: A. D. 1815.-
The Confederation.
See GERMANY: A. D. 1814-1820.
CONSTITUTION OF GERMANY: A. D. 1871.
The New Empire.
On the 18th day of January, 1871, at Versailles, King William
of Prussia assumed the title of German Emperor. On the 16th of
April following the Emperor issued a proclamation, by and with
the consent of the Council of the German Confederation, and of
the Imperial Diet, decreeing the adoption of a constitution
for the Empire.
See GERMANY: A. D. 1871 (JANUARY) and (APRIL).
The following is a translation of the text of the Constitution,
as transmitted by the American Minister at Berlin to his
Government:
His Majesty the King of Prussia, in the name of the North
German Union, His Majesty the King of Bavaria, His Majesty the
King of Würtemberg, His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of
Baden, and His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Hesse, and by
Rhine for those parts of the Grand Duchy of Hesse which are
situated south of the Main, conclude an eternal alliance for
the protection of the territory of the confederation, and of
the laws of the same, as well as for the promotion of the
welfare of the German people. This confederation shall bear
the name of the German Empire, and shall have the following
constitution.
I. Territory.
Article I.
The territory of the confederation shall consist of the States
of Prussia, with Lauenburg, Bavaria, Saxony, Würtemberg,
Baden, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Saxe-Weimar,
Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg, Brunswick, Saxe-Meiningen,
Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Anhalt,
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershnusen, Waldeck,
Reuss of the elder branch, Reuss of the younger branch,
Schaumburg-Lippe, Lippe, Lubeck, Bremen, and Hamburg.
{548}
II. Legislation of the Empire.
Article 2.
Within this territory the Empire shall have the right of
legislation according to the provisions of this constitution,
and the laws of the Empire shall take precedence of those of
each individual state. The laws of the Empire shall be
rendered binding by imperial proclamation, such proclamation
to be published in a journal devoted to the publication of the
laws of the Empire, (Reichsgesetzblatt.) If no other period
shall be designated in the published law for it to take
effect, it shall take effect on the fourteenth day after the
day of its publication in the law-journal at Berlin.
Article 3.
There is one citizenship for all Germany, and the citizens or
subjects of each state of the federation shall be treated in
every other state thereof as natives, and shall have the right
of becoming permanent residents, of carrying on business, of
filling public offices, and may acquire all civil rights on
the same conditions as those born in the state, and shall also
have the same usage as regards civil prosecutions and the
protection of the laws. No German shall be limited, in the
exercise of this privilege, by the authorities of his native
state, or by the authorities of any other state of the
confederation. The regulations governing the care of paupers,
and their admission into the various parishes, are not
affected by the principle enunciated in the first paragraph.
In like manner those treaties shall remain in force which have
been concluded between the various states of the federation in
relation to the custody of persons who are to be banished, the
care of sick, and the burial of deceased citizens. With regard
to the rendering of military service to the various states,
the necessary laws will be passed hereafter. All Germans in
foreign countries shall have equal claims upon the protection
of the Empire.
Article 4.
The following matters shall be under the supervision of the
Empire and its legislature:
1. The privilege of carrying on trade in more than one place;
domestic affairs and matters relating to the settlement of
natives of one state in the territory of another; the right of
citizenship; the issuing and examination of passports;
surveillance of foreigners and of manufactures, together with
insurance business, so far as these matters are not already
provided for by article 3 of this constitution, (in Bavaria,
however, exclusive of domestic affairs and matters relating to
the settlement of natives of one state in the territory of
another;) and likewise matters relating to colonization and
emigration to foreign countries.
2. Legislation concerning customs duties and commerce, and
such imposts as are to be applied to the uses of the Empire.
3. Regulation of weights and measures of the coinage, together
with the emission of funded and unfunded paper money.
4. Banking regulations in general.
5. Patents for inventions.
6. The protection of literary property.
7. The organization of a general system of protection for
German trade in foreign countries; of German navigation, and
of the German flag on the high seas; likewise the organization
of a general consular representation of the Empire.
8. Railway matters, (subject in Bavaria to the provisions of
article 46,) and the construction of means of communication by
land and water for the purposes of home defense and of general
commerce.
9. Rafting and navigation upon those waters which are common
to several States, and the condition of such waters, as
likewise river and other water dues.
10. Postal and telegraphic affairs; but in Bavaria and Hungary
these shall be subject to the provisions of article 52.
11. Regulations concerning the execution of judicial sentences
in civil matters, and the fulfillment of requisitions in
general.
12. The authentication of public documents.
13. General legislation regarding the law of obligations,
criminal law, commercial law, and the law of exchange;
likewise judicial proceedings.
14. The imperial army and navy.
15. The surveillance of the medical and veterinary
professions.
16. The press, trades' unions, &c.
Article 5.
The legislative power of the Empire shall be exercised by the
federal council and the diet. A majority of the votes of both
houses shall be necessary and sufficient for the passage of a
law. When a law is proposed in relation to the army or navy,
or to the imposts specified in article 35, the vote of the
presiding officer shall decide; in case of a difference of
opinion in the federal council, if said vote shall be in favor
of the retention of the existing arrangements.
III. Federal Council.
Article 6.
The federal council shall consist of the representatives of
the states of the confederation, among whom the votes shall be
divided in such a manner that Prussia, including the former
votes of Hanover, the electorate of Hesse, Holstein, Nassau,
and Frankfort shall have 17 votes; Bavaria, 6 votes; Saxony, 4
votes; Würtemberg, 4 votes; Baden, 3 votes; Hesse, 3 votes;
Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 2 votes; Saxe-Weimar, 1 vote;
Mecklenburg-Strelitz, 1 vote; Oldenburg, 1 vote; Brunswick, 2
votes; Saxe-Meiningen, 1 vote; Saxe-Altenburg, 1 vote;
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, 1 vote; Anhalt, 1 vote;
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, 1 vote; Schwarzburg-Sondershansen, 1
vote; Waldeck, 1 vote; Reuss, elder branch, 1 vote; Reuss,
younger branch, 1 vote; Schaumburgh-Lippe, 1 vote; Lippe, 1
vote; Lubeck, 1 vote; Bremen, 1 vote; Hamburgh, 1 vote; total
58 votes. Each member of the confederation shall appoint as
many delegates to the federal council as it has votes; the
total of the votes of each state shall, however, be cast by
only one delegate.
Article 7.
The federal council shall take action upon--
1. The measures to be proposed to the diet and the resolutions
passed by the same.
2. The general provisions and regulations necessary for the
execution of the laws of the Empire, so far as no other
provision is made by said laws.
3. The defects which may be discovered in the execution of the
laws of the Empire, or of the provisions and regulations
heretofore mentioned. Each member of the confederation shall
have the right to introduce motions, and it shall be the duty
of the presiding officer to submit them for deliberation.
Legislative action shall take place by simple majority, with
the exceptions of the provisions in articles 5, 37, and 78.
Votes not represented or instructed shall not be counted. In
the case of a tie, the vote of the presiding officer shall
decide. When legislative action upon a subject which does not
affect, according to the provisions of this constitution, the
whole Empire is taken, the votes of only those states of the
confederation shall be counted which shall be interested in
the matter in question.
{549}
Article 8.
The federal council shall appoint from its own members
permanent committees--
1. On the army and the fortifications.
2. On naval affairs.
3. On duties and taxes.
4. On commerce and trade.
5. On railroads, post offices, and telegraphs.
6. On the judiciary.
7. On accounts.
In each of these committees there shall be representatives of
at least four states of the confederation, beside the
presiding officer, and each state shall be entitled to only
one vote in the same. In the committee on the army and
fortifications Bavaria shall have a permanent seat; the
remaining members of it, as well as the members of the
committee on naval affairs, shall be appointed by the Emperor;
the members of the other committees shall be elected by the
federal council. These committees shall be newly formed at
each session of the federal council, i. e., each year, when
the retiring members shall again be eligible. Besides, there
shall be appointed in the federal council a committee on
foreign affairs, over which Bavaria shall preside, to be
composed of the plenipotentiaries of the Kingdoms of Bavaria,
Saxony, and Würtemberg, and of two plenipotentiaries of the
other states of the Empire, who shall be elected annually by
the federal council. Clerks shall be placed at the disposal of
the committees to perform the necessary work appertaining
thereto.
Article 9.
Each member of the federal council shall have the right to
appear in the diet, and shall be heard there at any time when
he shall so request, to represent the views of his government,
even when the same shall not have been adopted by the majority
of the council. Nobody shall be at the same time a member of
the federal council and of the diet.
Article 10.
The Emperor shall afford the customary diplomatic protection
to the members of the federal council.
IV. Presidium.
Article II.
The King of Prussia shall be the president of the
confederation, and shall have the title of German Emperor. The
Emperor shall represent the Empire among nations, declare war,
and conclude peace in the name of the same, enter into
alliances and other conventions with foreign countries,
accredit embassadors, and receive them. For a declaration of
war in the name of the Empire, the consent of the federal
council shall be required, except in case of an attack upon
the territory of the confederation or its coasts. So far as
treaties with foreign countries refer to matters which,
according to article 4, are to be regulated by the legislature
of the Empire, the consent of the federal council shall be
required for their ratification, and the approval of the diet
shall be necessary to render them valid.
Article 12.
The Emperor shall have the right to convene the federal
council and the diet, and to open, adjourn, and close them.
Article 13.
The convocation of the federal council and the diet shall take
place annually, and the federal council may be called together
for the preparation of business without the diet; the latter,
however, shall not be convoked without the federal council.
Article 14.
The convocation of the federal council shall take place as
soon as demanded by one-third of its members.
Article 14.
The chancellor of the Empire, who shall be appointed by the
Emperor, shall preside in the federal council, and supervise
the conduct of its business. The chancellor of the Empire
shall have the right to delegate the power to represent him to
any member of the federal council.
Article 16.
The necessary bills shall be laid before the diet in the name
of the Emperor, in accordance with the resolutions of the
federal council, and they shall be represented in the diet by
members of the federal council or by special commissioners
appointed by said council.
Article 17.
To the Emperor shall belong the right to prepare and publish
the laws of the Empire. The laws and regulations of the
Emperor shall be published in the name of the Empire, and
require for their validity the signature of the chancellor of
the Empire, who thereby becomes responsible for their
execution.
Article 18.
The Emperor shall appoint the officers of the Empire, require
them to take the oath of allegiance, and dismiss them when
necessary. Officials appointed to an office of the Empire from
one of the states of the confederation shall enjoy the same
rights to which they were entitled in their native states by
their official position, provided no other legislative
provision shall have been made previously to their entrance
into the service of the Empire.
Article 19.
If states of the confederation shall not fulfill their
constitutional duties, proceedings may be instituted against
them by military execution. This execution shall be ordered by
the federal council, and enforced by the Emperor.
V. Diet.
Article 20.
The members of the diet shall be elected by universal
suffrage, and by direct secret ballot. Until regulated by law,
which is reserved by section 5 of the election law of May 31,
1869 (Bundesgesetzblatt, 1869, section 145,) 48 delegates
shall be elected in Bavaria, 17 in Würtemberg, 14 in Baden, 6
in Hesse, south of the river Main, and the total number of
delegates shall be 382.
Article 21.
Officials shall not require a leave of absence in order to
enter the diet. When a member of the diet accepts a salaried
office of the Empire, or a salaried office in one of the
states of the confederation, or accepts any office of the
Empire, or of a state, with which a high rank or salary is
connected, he shall forfeit his seat and vote in the diet, but
may recover his place in the same by a new election.
Article 22.
The proceedings of the diet shall be public. Truthful reports
of the proceedings of the public sessions of the diet shall
subject those making them to no responsibility.
Article 23.
The diet shall have the right to propose laws within the
jurisdiction of the Empire, and to refer petitions addressed
to it to the federal council or the chancellor of the Empire.
Article 24.
Each legislative period of the diet shall last three years.
The diet may be dissolved by a resolution of the federal
council, with the consent of the Emperor.
Article 25.
In the case of a dissolution of the diet, new elections shall
take place within a period of 60 days, and the diet shall
reassemble within a period of 90 days after the dissolution.
Article 26.
Unless by consent of the diet, an adjournment of that body
shall not exceed the period of 30 days, and shall not be
repeated during the same session, without such consent.
Article 27.
The diet shall examine into the legality of the election of
its members and decide thereon. It shall regulate the mode of
transacting business, and its own discipline, by establishing
rules therefor, and elect its president, vice-presidents, and
secretaries.
{550}
Article 28.
The diet shall pass laws by absolute majority. To render the
passage of laws valid, the presence of the majority of the
legal number of members shall be required. When passing laws
which do not affect the whole Empire, according to the
provisions of this constitution, the votes of only those
members shall be counted who shall have been elected in those
states of the confederation which the laws to be passed shall
affect.
Article 29.
The members of the diet shall be the representatives of the
entire people, and shall not be subject to orders and
instructions from their constituents.
Article 30.
No member of the diet shall at any time suffer legal
prosecution on account of his vote, or on account of
utterances made while in the performance of his functions, or
be held responsible outside of the diet for his actions.
Article 31.
Without the consent of the diet, none of its members shall be
tried or punished, during the session, for any offense
committed, except when arrested in the act of committing the
offense, or in the course of the following day. The same rule
shall apply in the case of arrests for debt. At the request of
the diet, all legal proceedings instituted against one of its
members, and likewise imprisonment, shall be suspended during
its session.
Article 32.
The members of the diet shall not be allowed to draw any
salary, or be compensated as such.
VI. Customs and Commerce.
Article 33.
Germany shall form a customs and commercial union, having a
common frontier for the collection of duties. Such territories
as cannot, by reason of their situation, be suitably embraced
within the said frontier, shall be excluded. It shall be
lawful to introduce all articles of commerce of a state of the
confederation into any other state of the confederation,
without paying any duty thereon, except so far as such
articles are subject to taxation therein.
Article 34.
The Hanseatic towns, Bremen and Hamburg, shall remain free
ports outside of the common boundary of the customs union,
retaining for that purpose a district of their own, or of the
surrounding territory, until they shall request to be admitted
into the said union.
Article 35.
The Empire shall have the exclusive power to legislate
concerning everything relating to the customs, the taxation of
salt and tobacco manufactured or raised in the territory of
the confederation; concerning the taxation of manufactured
brandy and beer, and of sugar and sirup prepared from beets or
other domestic productions. It shall have exclusive power to
legislate concerning the mutual protection of taxes upon
articles of consumption levied in the several states of the
Empire; against embezzlement; as well as concerning the
measures which are required, in granting exemption from the
payment of duties, for the security of the common customs
frontier. In Bavaria, Würtemberg, and Baden, the matter of
imposing duties on domestic brandy and beer is reserved for
the legislature of each country. The states of the
confederation shall, however, endeavor to bring about uniform
legislation regarding the taxation of these articles.
Article 36.
The imposing of duties and excises on articles of consumption,
and the collection of the same (article 35,) is left to each
state of the confederation within its own territory, so far as
this has been done by each state heretofore. The Emperor shall
have the supervision of the institution of legal proceedings
by officials of the empire, whom he shall designate as
adjuncts to the custom or excise offices, and boards of
directors of the several states, after hearing the committee
of the Confederate Council on customs and revenues. Notices
given by these officials as to defects in the execution of the
laws of the Empire (article 35) shall be submitted to the
confederate council for action.
Article 37.
In taking action upon the rules and regulations for the
execution of the laws of the Empire, (article 35,) the vote of
the presiding officer shall decide, whenever he shall
pronounce for upholding the existing rule or regulation.
Article 38.
The amounts accruing from customs and other revenues
designated in article 35 of the latter, so far as they are
subject to legislation by the diet, shall go to the treasury
of the Empire. This amount is made up of the total receipts
from the customs and other revenues, after deducting
therefrom--
I. Tax compensations and reductions in conformity with
existing laws or regulations.
2. Reimbursements for taxes unduly imposed.
3. The costs for collection and administration, viz.:
a. In the department of customs, the costs which are
required for the protection and collection of customs on the
frontiers and in the frontier districts.
b. In the department of the duty on salt, the costs
which are used for the pay of the officers charged with
collecting and controlling these duties in the salt mines.
c. In the department of duties on beet-sugar and
tobacco, the compensation which is to be allowed, according to
the resolutions of the confederate council, to the several
state governments for the costs of the collection of these
duties.
d. Fifteen per cent. of the total receipts in the
departments of the other duties.
The territories situated outside of the common customs
frontier shall contribute to the expenses of the Empire by
paying an 'aversum,' (a sum of acquittance.) Bavaria,
Würtemberg, and Baden shall not share in the revenues from
duties on liquors and beer, which go into the treasury of the
Empire, nor in the corresponding portion of the aforesaid
'aversum.'
Article 39.
The quarterly statements to be regularly made by the revenue
officers of the federal states at the end of every quarter,
and the final settlements (to be made at the end of the year,
and after the closing of the account-books) of the receipts
from customs, which have become due in the course of the
quarter, or during the fiscal year, and the revenues of the
treasury of the Empire, according to article 38, shall be
arranged by the boards of directors of the federal states,
after a previous examination in general summaries in which
every duty is to be shown separately; these summaries shall be
transmitted to the federal committee on accounts. The latter
provisionally fixes, every three months, taking as a basis
these summaries, the amount due to the treasury of the Empire
from the treasury of each state, and it shall inform the
federal council and the federal States of this act;
furthermore, it shall submit to the federal council, annually,
the final statement of these amounts, with its remarks. The
federal council shall act upon the fixing of these amounts.
{551}
Article 40.
The terms of the customs-union treaty of July 8, 1867, remain
in force, so far as they have not been altered by the
provisions of this constitution, and as long as they are not
altered in the manner designated in articles 7 and 78.
VII. Railways.
Article 41.
Railways, which are considered necessary for the defense of
Germany or for purposes of general commerce, may be built for
the account of the Empire by a law of the Empire, even in
opposition to the will of those members of the confederation
through whose territory the railroads run, without detracting
from the rights of the sovereign of that country; or private
persons may be charged with their construction and receive
rights of expropriation. Every existing railway company is
bound to permit new railroad lines to be connected with it, at
the expense of these latter. All laws granting existing
railway companies the right of injunction against the building
of parallel or competition lines are hereby abolished
throughout the Empire, without detriment to rights already
acquired. Such right of injunction can henceforth not be
granted in concessions to be given hereafter.
Article 42.
The governments of the federal states bind themselves, in the
interest of general commerce, to have the German railways
managed as a uniform net-work, and for this purpose to have
the lines constructed and equipped according to a uniform
system.
Article 43.
Accordingly, as soon as possible, uniform arrangements as to
management, shall be made, and especially shall uniform
regulations be instituted for the police of the railroads. The
Empire shall take care that the administrative officers of the
railway lines keep the roads always in such a condition as is
required for public security, and that they be equipped with
the necessary rolling stock.
Article 44.
Railway companies are bound to establish such passenger trains
of suitable velocity as may be required for ordinary travel,
and for the establishment of harmonizing schedules of travel;
also, to make provision for such freight trains as may be
necessary for commercial purposes, and to establish, without
extra remuneration, offices for the direct forwarding of
passengers and freight trains, to be transferred, when
necessary, from one road to another.
Article 45.
The Empire shall have control over the tariff of fares. The
same shall endeavor to cause--
1. Uniform regulations to be speedily introduced on all German
railway lines.
2. The tariff to be reduced and made uniform as far as
possible, and particularly to cause a reduction of the tariff
for the transport of coal, coke, wood, minerals, stone, salt,
crude iron, manure, and similar articles, for long distances,
as demanded by the interests of agriculture and industry, and
to introduce a one-penny tariff as soon as practicable.
Article 46.
In case of distress, especially in case of an extraordinary
rise in the price of provisions, it shall be the duty of the
railway companies to adopt temporarily a low special tariff,
to be fixed by the Emperor, on motion of the competent
committee, for the forwarding of grain, flour, vegetables, and
potatoes. This tariff shall, however, not be less than the
lowest rate for raw produce existing on the said line. The
foregoing provisions, and those of articles 42 to 45, shall
not apply to Bavaria. The imperial government has, however,
the power, also with regard to Bavaria, to establish, by way
of legislation, uniform rules for the construction and
equipment of such railways as may be of importance for the
defense of the country.
Article 47.
The managers of all railways shall be required to obey,
without hesitation, requisitions made by the authorities of
the Empire for the use of their roads for the defense of
Germany. Particularly shall the military and all material of
war be forwarded at uniform reduced rates.
VIII. Mails and Telegraphs.
Article 48.
The mails and telegraphs shall be organized and managed as
state institutions throughout the German Empire. The
legislation of the empire in regard to postal and telegraphic
affairs, provided for in article 4, does not extend to those
matters whose regulation is left to the managerial
arrangement, according to the principles which have controlled
the North German administration of mails and telegraphs.
Article 49.
The receipts of mails and telegraphs are a joint affair
throughout the Empire. The expenses shall be paid from the
general receipts. The surplus goes into the treasury of the
Empire. (Section 12.).
Article 50.
The Emperor has the supreme supervision of the administration
of mails and telegraphs. The authorities appointed by him are
in duty bound and authorized to see that uniformity be
established and maintained in the organization of the
administration and in the transaction of business, as also in
regard to the qualifications of employés. The Emperor shall
have the power to make general administrative regulations, and
also exclusively to regulate the relations which are to exist
between the post and telegraph offices of Germany and those of
other countries. It shall be the duty of all officers of the
post-office and telegraph department to obey imperial orders.
This obligation shall be included in their oath of office. The
appointment of superior officers (such as directors,
counselors, and superintendents,) as they shall be required
for the administration of the mails and telegraphs, in the
various districts; also the appointment of officers of the
posts and telegraphs (such as inspectors or comptrollers,)
acting for the aforesaid authorities in the several districts,
in the capacity of supervisors, shall be made by the Emperor
for the whole territory of the German Empire, and these
officers shall take the oath of fealty to him as a part of
their oath of office. The governments of the several states
shall be informed in due time, by means of imperial
confirmation and official publication, of the aforementioned
appointments, so far as they may relate to their territories.
Other officers required by the department of mails and
telegraphs, as also all officers to be employed at the various
stations, and for technical purposes, and hence officiating at
the actual centers of communication, &c., shall be appointed
by the respective governments of the states. Where there is no
independent administration of inland mails or telegraphs, the
terms of the various treaties are to be enforced.
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Article 51.
In assigning the surplus of the post-office department to the
treasury of the Empire for general purposes, (article 49,) the
following proceeding is to be observed in consideration of the
difference which has heretofore existed in the clear receipts
of the post-office departments of the several territories, for
the purpose of securing a suitable equalization during the
period of transition below named. Of the post-office surplus,
which accumulated in the several mail districts during the
five years from 1861 to 1865, an average yearly surplus shall
be computed, and the share which every separate mail district
has had in the surplus resulting therefrom for the whole
territory of the Empire shall be fixed upon by a percentage.
In accordance with the proportion thus made, the several
states shall be credited on the account of their other
contributions to the expenses of the empire with their quota
accruing from the postal surplus in the Empire, for a period
of eight years subsequent to their entrance into the
post-office department of the Empire. At the end of the said
eight years this distinction shall cease, and any surplus in
the post-office department shall go, without division, into
the treasury of the Empire, according to the principle
enunciated in article 49. Of the quota of the post-office
department surplus resulting during the aforementioned period
of eight years in favor of the Hanseatic towns, one-half shall
every year be placed at the disposal of the Emperor, for the
purpose of providing for the establishment of uniform
post-offices in the Hanseatic towns.
Article 52.
The stipulations of the foregoing articles 48 to 51 do not
apply to Bavaria and Würtemberg. In their stead the following
stipulation shall be valid for these two states of the
confederation. The Empire alone is authorized to legislate
upon the privileges of the post-office and telegraph
departments, on the legal position of both institutions toward
the public, upon the franking privilege and rates of postage,
and upon the establishment of rates for telegraphic
correspondence into Hanseatic towns. Exclusive, however, of
managerial arrangements, and the fixing of tariffs for
internal communication within Bavaria and Würtemberg. In the
same manner the Empire shall regulate postal and telegraphic
communication with foreign countries, excepting the immediate
communication of Bavaria and Würtemberg with their neighboring
states, not belonging to the Empire, in regard to which
regulation the stipulations in article 49 of the postal treaty
of November 23, 1867, remains in force. Bavaria and Würtemberg
shall not share in the postal and telegraphic receipts which
belong to the treasury of the Empire.
IX. Marine and Navigation.
Article 53.
The navy of the Empire is a united one, under the supreme
command of the Emperor. The Emperor is charged with its
organization and arrangement, and he shall appoint the
officers and officials of the navy, and in his name these and
the seamen are to be sworn in. The harbor of Kiel and the
harbor of the Iade are imperial war harbors. The expenditures
required for the establishment and maintenance of the navy and
the institutions connected therewith shall be defrayed from
the treasury of the Empire. All sea-faring men of the Empire,
including machinists and hands employed in ship-building, are
exempt from service in the army, but obliged to serve in the
imperial navy. The apportionment of men to supply the wants of
the navy shall be made according to the actual sea-faring
population, and the quota furnished in accordance herewith by
each state shall be credited to the army account.
Article 54.
The merchant vessels of all states of the confederation shall
form a united commercial marine. The Empire shall determine
the process for ascertaining the tonnage of sea-going vessels,
shall regulate the issuing of tonnage-certificates and
sea-letters, and shall fix the conditions to which a permit
for commanding a sea-going vessel shall be subject. The
merchant vessels of all the states of the confederation shall
be admitted on an equal footing to the harbors, and to all
natural and artificial water-courses of the several states of
the confederation, and shall receive the same usage therein.
The duties which shall be collected from sea-going vessels, or
levied upon their freights, for the use of naval institutions
in the harbors, shall not exceed the amount required for the
maintenance and ordinary repair of these institutions. On all
natural water-courses, duties are only to be levied for the
use of special establishments, which serve for facilitating
commercial intercourse. These duties, as well as the duties
for navigating such artificial channels, which are property of
the state, are not to exceed the amount required for the
maintenance and ordinary repair of the institutions and
establishments. These rules apply to rafting, so far as it is
carried on on navigable water-courses. The levying of other or
higher duties upon foreign vessels or their freights than
those which are paid by the vessels of the federal states or
their freights does not belong to the various states, but to
the Empire.
Article 55.
The flag of the war and merchant navy shall be black, white,
and red.
X. Consular Affairs.
Article 56.
The Emperor shall have the supervision of all consular affairs
of the German Empire, and he shall appoint consuls, after
hearing the committee of the federal council on commerce and
traffic. No new state consulates are to be established within
the jurisdiction of the German consuls. German consuls shall
perform the functions of state consuls for the states of the
confederation not represented in their district. All the now
existing state consulates shall be abolished, as soon as the
organization of the German consulates shall be completed, in
such a manner that the representation of the separate
interests of all the federal states shall be recognized by the
federal council as secured by the German consulates.
XI. Military Affairs of the Empire.
Article 57.
Every German is subject to military duty, and in the discharge
of this duty no substitute can be accepted.
Article 58.
The costs and the burden of all the military system of the
Empire are to be borne equally by all the federal states and
their subjects, and no privileges or molestations to the
several states or classes are admissible. Where an equal
distribution of the burdens cannot be effected 'in natura'
without prejudice to the public welfare, affairs shall be
equalized by legislation in accordance with the principles of
justice.
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Article 59.
Every German capable of bearing arms shall serve for seven
years in the standing army, ordinarily from the end of his
twentieth to the beginning of his twenty-eighth year; the
first three years in the army of the field, the last four
years in the reserve; during the next five years he shall
belong to the militia. In those states of the confederation in
which heretofore a longer term of service than twelve years
was required by law, the gradual reduction of the required
time of service shall take place in such a manner as is
compatible with the interests and the war-footing of the army
of the Empire. As regards the emigration of men belonging to
the reserve, only those provisions shall be in force which
apply to the emigration of members of the militia.
Article 60.
The strength of the German army in time of peace shall be,
until the 31st December, 1871, one per cent. of the population
of 1867, and shall be furnished by the several federal states
in proportion to their population. In future the strength of
the army in time of peace shall be fixed by legislation.
Article 61.
After the publication of this constitution the full Prussian
military system of legislation shall be introduced without
delay throughout the Empire, as well the statutes themselves
as the regulations, instructions, and ordinances issued for
their execution, explanation, or completion; thus, in
particular, the military penal code of April 3, 1845; the
military orders of the penal court of April 3, 1845; the
ordinance concerning the courts of honor of July 20, 1843; the
regulations with respect to recruiting, time of service,
matters relating to the service and subsistence, to the
quartering of troops, claims for damages, mobilizing, &c., for
times of peace and war. Orders for the attendance of the
military upon religious services is, however, excluded. When a
uniform organization of the German army shall have been
established, a comprehensive military law for the Empire shall
be submitted to the diet and the federal council for their
action in accordance with the constitution.
Article 62.
For the purpose of defraying the expenses of the whole German
army, and the institutions connected therewith, the sum of 225
(two hundred and twenty-five) thalers, shall be placed at the
disposal of the Emperor until the 31st of December, 1871, for
each man in the army on the peace-footing, according to
article 60. (See section 12.) After the 31st of December,
1871, the payment of these contributions of the several states
to the imperial treasury must be continued: The strength of
the army in time of peace, which has been temporarily fixed in
article 60, shall be taken as a basis for calculating these
amounts until it shall be altered by a law of the Empire. The
expenditure of this sum for the whole army of the Empire and
its establishments shall be determined by a budget law. In
determining the budget of military expenditures, the lawfully
established organization of the imperial army, in accordance
with this constitution, shall be taken as a basis.
Article 63.
The total land force of the Empire shall form one army, which,
in war and in peace, shall be under the command of the
Emperor. The regiments, &c., throughout the whole German army
shall bear continuous numbers. The principal colors and the
cut of the garments of the Royal Prussian army shall serve as
a pattern for the rest of the army. It is left to commanders
of contingent forces to choose the external badges, cockades,
&c. It shall be the duty and the right of the Emperor to take
care that, throughout the German army, all divisions be kept
full and well equipped, and that unity be established and
maintained in regard to organization and formation, equipment,
and command in the training of the men, as well as in the
qualification of the officers. For this purpose the Emperor
shall be authorized to satisfy himself at any time of the
condition of the several contingents, and to provide remedies
for existing defects. The Emperor shall determine the
strength, composition, and division of the contingents of the
imperial army, and also the organization of the militia, and
he shall have the right to designate garrisons within the
territory of the confederation, as also to call any portion of
the army into active service. In order to maintain the
necessary unity in the care, arming, and equipment of all
troops of the German army, all orders hereafter to be issued
for the Prussian army shall be communicated in due form to the
commanders of the remaining contingents by the committee on
the army and fortifications, provided for in article 8, No. 1.
Article 64.
All German troops are bound implicitly to obey the orders of
the Emperor. This obligation shall be included in the oath of
allegiance. The commander-in-chief of a contingent, as well as
all officers commanding troops of more than one contingent,
and all commanders of fortresses, shall be appointed by the
Emperor. The officers appointed by the Emperor shall take the
oath of fealty to him. The appointment of generals, or of
officers performing the duties of generals, in a contingent
force, shall be in each case subject to the approval of the
Emperor. The Emperor has the right with regard to the transfer
of officers, with or without promotion, to positions which are
to be filled in the service of the Empire, be it in the
Prussian army or in other contingents, to select from the
officers of all the contingents of the army of the Empire.
Article 65.
The right to build fortresses within the territory of the
Empire shall belong to the Emperor, who, according to section
12, shall ask for the appropriation of the necessary means
required for that purpose, if not already included in the
regular appropriation.
Article 66.
If not otherwise stipulated, the princes of the Empire and the
senates shall appoint the officers of their respective
contingents, subject to the restriction of article 64. They
are the chiefs of all the troops belonging to their respective
territories, and are entitled to the honors connected
therewith. They shall have especially the right to hold
inspections at any time, and receive, besides the regular
reports and announcements of changes for publication, timely
information of all promotions and appointments concerning
their respective contingents. They shall also have the right
to employ, for police purposes, not only their own troops but
all other contingents of the army of the Empire who are
stationed in their respective territories.
Article 67.
The unexpended portion of the military appropriation shall,
under no circumstances, fall to the share of a single
government, but at all times to the treasury of the Empire.
Article 68.
The Emperor shall have the power, if the public security of
the Empire demands it, to declare martial law in any part
thereof, until the publication of a law regulating the
grounds, the form of announcement, and the effects of such a
declaration, the provisions of the Prussian law of June 4,
1851, shall be substituted therefor. (Laws of 1851, page 451.)
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Addition to section XI.
The provisions contained in this section shall go into effect
in Bavaria as provided for in the treaty of alliance of
November 23, 1870, ( Bundesgesetzblatt, 1871, section 9,)
under III, section 5, in Würtemberg, as provided for in the
military convention of November 21-25, 1870, (
Bundesgesetzblatt, 1870, section 658.)
XII. Finances of the Empire.
Article 69.
All receipts and expenditures of the Empire shall be estimated
yearly, and included in the financial estimate. The latter
shall be fixed by law before the beginning of the fiscal year,
according to the following principles:
Article 70.
The surplus of the previous year, as well as the customs
duties, the common excise duties, and the revenues derived
from the postal and telegraph service, shall be applied to the
defrayal of all general expenditure. In so far as these
expenditures are not covered by the receipts, they shall be
raised, as long as no taxes of the Empire shall have been
established, by assessing the several states of the Empire
according to their population, the amount of the assessment to
be fixed by the Chancellor of the Empire in accordance with
the budget agreed upon.
Article 71.
The general expenditure shall be, as a rule, granted for one
year; they may, however, in special cases, be granted for a
longer period. During the period of transition fixed in
Article 60, the financial estimate, properly classified, of
the expenditures of the army shall be laid before the federal
council and the diet for their information.
Article 72.
An annual report of the expenditure of all the receipts of
the Empire shall be rendered to the federal council and the
diet, through the Chancellor of the Empire.
Article 73.
In cases of extraordinary requirements, a loan may be
contracted in accordance with the laws of the Empire, such
loan to be granted by the Empire.
Addition to section XII.
Articles 69 and 71 apply to the expenditures for the Bavarian
army only according to the provisions of the addition to
section XI of the treaty of November 23, 1870; and article 72
only so far as is required to inform the federal council and
the diet of the assignment to Bavaria of the required sum for
the Bavarian army.
XIII. Settlement of Disputes and Modes of Punishment.
Article 74.
Every attempt against the existence, the integrity, the
security, or the constitution of the German Empire; finally,
any offense committed against the federal council, the diet, a
member of the federal council, or of the diet, a magistrate or
public official of the Empire, while in the execution of his
duty, or with reference to his official position, by word,
writing, printing, signs, or caricatures, shall be judicially
investigated, and upon conviction punished in the several
states of the Empire, according to the laws therein existing,
or which shall hereafter exist in the same, according to which
laws a similar offense against anyone of the states of the
Empire, its constitution, legislature, members of its
legislature, authorities or officials is to be judged.
Article 75.
For those offenses, specified in Article 74, against the
German Empire, which, if committed against one of the states
of the Empire, would be deemed high treason, the superior
court of appeals of the three free Hanseatic towns at Lubeck
shall be the competent deciding tribunal in the first and last
resort. More definite provisions as to the competency and the
proceedings of the superior court of appeals shall be adopted
by the Legislature of the Empire. Until the passage of a law
of the Empire, the existing competency of the courts in the
respective states of the Empire, and the provisions relative
to the proceedings of those courts, shall remain in force.
Article 76.
Disputes between the different states of the confederation, so
far as they are not of a private nature, and therefore to be
decided by the competent authorities, shall be settled by the
federal council, at the request of one of the parties.
Disputes relating to constitutional matters in those of the
states of the confederation whose constitution contains no
provision for the settlement of such differences, shall be
adjusted by the federal council, at the request of one of the
parties, or, if this cannot be done, they shall be settled by
the legislative power of the confederation.
Article 77.
If in one of the states of the confederation justice shall be
denied, and no sufficient relief can be procured by legal
measures, it shall be the duty of the federal council to
receive substantiated complaints concerning denial or
restriction of justice, which are to be judged according to

the constitution and the existing laws of the respective
states of the confederation, and thereupon to obtain judicial
relief from the confederate government in the matter which
shall have given rise to the complaint.
XIV. General Provision.
Amendments of the constitution shall be made by legislative
enactment. They shall be considered as rejected when 14 votes
are cast against them in the federal council. The provisions
of the constitution of the Empire, by which fixed rights of
individual states of the confederation are established in
their relation to the whole, shall only be modified with the
consent of that state of the confederation which is
immediately concerned.
----------CONSTITUTION OF GERMANY: End----------
CONSTITUTION OF JAPAN.
The following text of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan,
promulgated by the Emperor, February 11, 1889, is from a
pamphlet published at Johns Hopkins University on the occasion
of a meeting of professors, students and guests, April 17,
1889, to celebrate its promulgation:
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Having, by virtue of the glories of Our Ancestors, ascended
the throne of a lineal succession unbroken for ages eternal;
desiring to promote the welfare of, and to give development to
the moral and intellectual faculties of Our beloved subjects,
the very same that have been favoured with the benevolent care
and affectionate vigilance of Our Ancestors; and hoping to
maintain the prosperity of the State, in concert with Our
people and with their support, We hereby promulgate, in
pursuance of Our Imperial Rescript of the 14th day of the 10th
month of the 14th year of Meiji, a fundamental law of State,
to exhibit the principles, by which We are to be guided in Our
conduct, and to point out to what Our descendants and Our
subjects and their descendants are forever to conform. The
rights of sovereignty of the State, We have inherited from Our
Ancestors, and We shall bequeath them to Our descendants.
Neither We nor they shall in future fail to wield them, in
accordance with the provisions of the Constitution hereby
granted. We now declare to respect and protect the security of
the rights and of the property of Our people, and to secure to
them the complete enjoyment of the same, within the extent of
the provisions of the present Constitution and of the law. The
Imperial Diet shall first be convoked for the 23d year of
Meiji, and the time of its opening shall be the date, when the
present Constitution comes into force. When in the future it
may become necessary to amend any of the provisions of the
present Constitution, We or Our successors shall assume the
initiative right, and submit a project for the same to the
Imperial Diet. The Imperial Diet shall pass its vote upon it,
according to the conditions imposed by the present
Constitution, and in no otherwise shall Our descendants or Our
subjects be permitted to attempt any alteration thereof. Our
Ministers of State, on Our behalf, shall be held responsible
for the carrying out of the present Constitution, and Our
present and future subjects shall forever assume the duty of
allegiance to the present Constitution. [His Imperial
Majesty's Sign-Manual.] The 11th day of the 2nd month of the
22nd year of Meiji. [Countersigned by Ministers.]
Chapter I.
Article I.
The Empire of Japan shall be reigned over and governed by a
line of Emperors unbroken for ages eternal.
Article II.
The Imperial Throne shall be succeeded to by Imperial male
descendants, according to the provisions of the Imperial House
Law.
Article III.
The Emperor is sacred and inviolable.
Article IV.
The Emperor is the head of the Empire, combining in Himself
the rights of sovereignty, and exercises them, according to
the provisions of the present Constitution.
Article V.
The Emperor exercises the legislative power with the consent
of the Imperial Diet.
Article VI.
The Emperor gives sanction to laws, and orders them to be
promulgated and executed.
Article VII.
The Emperor convokes the Imperial Diet, opens, closes, and
prorogues it, and dissolves the House of Representatives.
Article VIII.
The Emperor, in consequence of an urgent necessity to maintain
public safety or to avert public calamities, issues, when the
Imperial Diet is not sitting, Imperial Ordinances in the place
of law. Such Imperial Ordinances are to be laid before the
Imperial Diet at its next session, and when the Diet does not
approve the said Ordinances, the Government shall declare them
to be invalid for the future.
Article IX.
The Emperor issues, or causes to be issued, the Ordinances
necessary for the carrying out of the laws, or for the
maintenance of the public peace and order, and for the
promotion of the welfare of the subjects. But no Ordinance
shall in any way alter any of the existing laws.
Article X.
The Emperor determines the organization of the different
branches of the administration, and the salaries of all civil
and military officers, and appoints and dismisses the same.
Exceptions especially provided for in the present Constitution
or in other laws, shall be in accordance with the respective
provisions (bearing thereon).
Article XI.
The Emperor has the supreme command of the Army and Navy.
Article XII.
The Emperor determines the organization and peace standing of
the Army and Navy.
Article XIII.
The Emperor declares war, makes peace, and concludes treaties.
Article XIV.
The Emperor proclaims the law of siege. The conditions and
effects of the law of siege shall be determined by law.
Article XV
The Emperor confers titles of nobility, rank, orders, and
other marks of honor.
Article XVI.
The Emperor orders amnesty, pardon, commutation of punishment,
and rehabilitation.
Article XVII.
A Regency shall be instituted in conformity with the
provisions of the Imperial House Law. The Regent shall
exercise the powers appertaining to the Emperor in His name.
Chapter II.
Article XVIII.
The conditions necessary for being a Japanese subject shall be
determined by law.
Article XIX.
Japanese subjects may, according to qualifications determined
in law or ordinances, be appointed to civil or military
offices equally, and may fill any other public offices.
Article XX.
Japanese subjects are amenable to service in the Army or Navy,
according to the provisions of law.
Article XXI.
Japanese subjects are amenable to the duty of paying taxes,
according to the provisions of law.
Article XXII.
Japanese subjects shall have the liberty of abode and of
changing the same within the limits of law.
Article XXIII.
No Japanese subject shall be arrested, detained, tried, or
punished, unless according to law.
Article XXIV.
No Japanese subject shall be deprived of his right of being
tried by the judges determined by law.
Article XXV.
Except in the cases provided for in the law, the house of no
Japanese subject shall be entered or searched without his
consent.
Article XXVI.
Except in the cases mentioned in the law, the secrecy of the
letters of every Japanese subject shall remain inviolate.
Article XXVII.
The right of property of every Japanese subject shall remain
inviolate. Measures necessary to be taken for the public
benefit shall be provided for by law.
Article XXVIII.
Japanese subjects shall, within limits not prejudicial to
peace and order, and not antagonistic to their duties as
subjects, enjoy freedom of religious belief.
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Article XXIX.
Japanese subjects shall, within the limits of law, enjoy the
liberty of speech, writing, publication, public meetings, and
associations.
Article XXX.
Japanese subjects may present petitions, by observing the
proper forms of respect, and by complying with the rules
specially provided for the same.
Article XXXI.
The provisions contained in the present Chapter shall not
affect the exercise of the powers appertaining to the Emperor
in times of war or in cases of a national emergency.
Article XXXII.
Each and everyone of the provisions contained in the preceding
Articles of the present Chapter, that are not in conflict with
the laws or the rules and discipline of the Army and Navy,
shall apply to the officers and men of the Army and of the
Navy.
Chapter III.
Article XXXIII.
The Imperial Diet shall consist of two Houses, a House of
Peers and a House of Representatives.
Article XXXIV.
The House of Peers shall, in accordance with the Ordinance
concerning the House of Peers, be composed of the members of
the Imperial Family, of the orders of nobility, and of those
persons who have been nominated thereto by the Emperor.
Article XXXV.
The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members
elected by the people according to the provisions of the Law
of Election.
Article XXXVI.
No one can at one and the same time be a member of both
Houses.
Article XXXVII.
Every law requires the consent of the Imperial Diet.
Article XXXVIII.
Both Houses shall vote upon projects of law submitted to it by
the Government, and may respectively initiate projects of law.
Article XXXIX.
A Bill, which has been rejected by either the one or the other
of the two houses, shall not be again brought in during the
same session.
Article XL.
Both Houses can make representations to the Government, as to
laws or upon any other subject. When, however, such
representations are not accepted, they cannot be made a second
time during the same session.
Article XLI.
The Imperial Diet shall be convoked every year.
Article XLII.
A session of the Imperial Diet shall last during three months.
In case of necessity, the duration of a session may be
prolonged by Imperial Order.
Article XLI II.
When urgent necessity arises, an extraordinary session may be
convoked, in addition to the ordinary one. The duration of an
extraordinary session shall be determined by Imperial Order.
Article XLIV.
The opening, closing, prolongation of session, and prorogation
of the Imperial Diet, shall be effected simultaneously for
both Houses. In case the House of Representatives has been
ordered to dissolve, the House of Peers shall at the same time
be prorogued.
Article XLV.
When the House of Representatives has been ordered to
dissolve, Members shall be caused by Imperial Order to be
newly elected, and the new House shall be convoked within five
months from the day of dissolution.
Article XLVI.
No debate can be opened and no vote can be taken in either
House of the Imperial Diet, unless not less than one-third of
the whole number of the members thereof is present.
Article XLVII.
Votes shall be taken in both Houses by absolute majority. In
the case of a tie vote, the President shall have the casting
vote.
Article XLVIII.
The deliberations of both Houses shall be held in public. The
deliberations may, however, upon demand of the Government or
by resolution of the House, be held in secret sitting.
Article XLIX.
Both Houses of the Imperial Diet may respectively present
addresses to the Emperor.
Article L.
Both Houses may receive petitions presented by subjects.
Article LI.
Both Houses may enact, besides what is provided for in the
present Constitution and in the Law of the Houses, rules
necessary for the management of their internal affairs.
Article LII.
No member of either House shall be held responsible outside
the respective Houses, for any opinion uttered or for any vote
given in the House. When, however, a Member himself has given
publicity to his opinions by public speech, by documents in
printing or in writing, or by any other similar means he
shall, in the matter, be amenable to the general law.
Article LIII.
The members of both Houses shall, during the session, be free
from arrest, unless with the consent of the House, except in
cases of flagrant delicts, or of offences connected with a
state of internal commotion or with a foreign trouble.
Article LIV.
The Ministers of State and the Delegates of the Government
may, at any time, take seats and speak in either House.
Chapter IV.
Article LV.
The respective Ministers of State shall give their advice to
the Emperor, and be responsible for it. All Laws, Imperial
Ordinances, and Imperial Rescripts of whatever kind, that
relate to the affairs of the State, require the
countersignature of a Minister of State.
Article LVI.
The Privy Council shall, in accordance with the provisions for
the organization of the Privy Council, deliberate upon
important matters of State, when they have been consulted by
the Emperor.
Chapter V.
Article LVII.
The Judicature shall be exercised by the Courts of Law
according to law, in the name of the Emperor. The organization
of the Courts of Law shall be determined by law.
Article LVIII.
The judges shall be appointed from among those, who possess
proper qualifications according to law. No judge shall be
deprived of his position, unless by way of criminal sentence
or disciplinary punishment. Rules for disciplinary punishment
shall be determined by law.
Article LIX.
Trials and judgments of a Court shall be conducted publicly.
When, however, there exists any fear that such publicity may
be prejudicial to peace and order, or to the maintenance of
public morality, the public trial may be suspended by
provision of law or by the decision of the Court of Law.
Article LX.
All matters, that fall within the competency of a special
Court, shall be specially provided for by law.
{557}
Article LXI.
No suit at law, which relates to rights alleged to have been
infringed by the legal measures of the executive authorities,
and which shall come within the competency of the Court of
Administrative Litigation specially established by law, shall
be taken cognizance of by a Court of Law.
Chapter VI.
Article LXII.
The imposition of a new tax or the modification of the rates
(of an existing one) shall be determined by law. However, all
such administrative fees or other revenue having the nature of
compensation shall not fall within the category of the above
clause. The raising of national loans and the contracting of
other liabilities to the charge of the National Treasury,
except those that are provided in the Budget, shall require
the consent of the Imperial Diet.
Article LXIII.
The taxes levied at present shall, in so far as they are not
remodelled by new law, be collected according to the old
system.
Article LXIV.
The expenditure and revenue of the State require the consent
of the Imperial Diet by means of an annual Budget. Any and all
expenditures overpassing the appropriations set forth in the
Titles and Paragraphs of the Budget, or that are not provided
for in the Budget, shall subsequently require the approbation
of the Imperial Diet.
Article LXV.
The Budget shall be first laid before the House of
Representatives.
Article LXVI.
The expenditures of the Imperial House shall be defrayed every
year out of the National Treasury, according to the present
fixed amount for the same, and shall not require the consent
thereto of the Imperial Diet, except in case an increase
thereof is found necessary.
Article LXVII.
Those already fixed expenditures based by the Constitution
upon the powers appertaining to the Emperor, and such
expenditures as may have arisen by the effect of law, or that
appertain to the legal obligations of the Government, shall be
neither rejected nor reduced by the Imperial Diet, without the
concurrence of the Government.
Article LXVIII.
In order to meet special requirements, the Government may ask
the consent of the Imperial Diet to a certain amount as a
Continuing Expenditure Fund, for a previously fixed number of
years.
Article LXIX.
In order to supply deficiencies which are unavoidable, in the
Budget, and to meet requirements unprovided for in the same, a
Reserve Fund shall be provided in the Budget.
Article LXX.
When the Imperial Diet cannot be convoked, owing to the
external or internal condition of the country, in case of
urgent need for the maintenance of public safety, the
Government may take all necessary financial measures, by means
of an Imperial Ordinance. In the case mentioned in the
preceding clause, the matter shall be submitted to the
Imperial Diet at its next session, and its approbation shall
be obtained thereto.
Article LXXI.
When the Imperial Diet has not voted on the Budget, or when
the Budget has not been brought into actual existence, the
Government shall carry out the Budget of the preceding year.
Article LXXII.
The final account of the expenditures and revenue of the State
shall be verified and confirmed by the Board of Audit, and it
shall be submitted by the Government to the Imperial Diet,
together with the report of verification of the said Board.
The organization and competency of the Board of Audit shall be
determined by law separately.
Chapter VII.
Article LXXIII.
When it has become necessary in future to amend the provisions
of the present Constitution, a project to that effect shall be
submitted to the Imperial Diet by Imperial Order. In the above
case, neither House can open the debate, unless not less than
two-thirds of the whole number of Members are present, and no
amendment can be passed, unless a majority of not less than
two-thirds of the Members present is obtained.
Article LXXIV.
No modification of the Imperial House Law shall be required to
be submitted to the deliberation of the Imperial Diet. No
provision of the present Constitution can be modified by the
Imperial House Law.
Article LXXV.
No modification can be introduced into the Constitution, or
into the Imperial House Law, during the time of a Regency.
Article LXXVI.
Existing legal enactments, such as laws, regulations,
Ordinances, or by whatever names they may be called, shall, so
far as they do not conflict with the present Constitution,
continue in force. All existing contracts or orders, that
entail obligations upon the Government, and that are connected
with expenditure shall come within the scope of Article LXVII.
----------CONSTITUTION OF JAPAN: End----------
CONSTITUTION OF LYCURGUS.
"The constitution of Lykourgos was especially adapted to make
heroes, and it made them. To serve his country and die for
her, this was the Spartan's chief ambition. 'Victory or
death!' was their war-cry; honor, their supreme law. 'That
most to be admired in Lykourgos,' says Xenophon, 'is that he
was able to make a noble death seem preferable to a dishonored
life. This great lawgiver provided for the happiness of the
brave man, and devoted the coward to infamy. ... At Sparta men
would be ashamed to sit at table with the coward, to touch his
weapons or his hand: in the games neither party will receive
him. He has the lowest place at the dances and the dramatic
representations. In the street he is pushed aside by younger
men. His daughters share in his disgrace; they are excluded
from public feasts, and can obtain no husbands.'"
V. Duruy, History of Greece, volume 1, section 2, page 467.
Mr. Grote remarks upon the "unparalleled steadiness" of the
Spartan constitution ascribed to Lycurgus, which was
maintained "for four or five successive centuries, in the
midst of governments like the Grecian, all of which had
undergone more or less of fluctuation. No considerable
revolution--not even any palpable or formal change--occurred
in it from the days of the Messenian war down to those of Agis
III.: in spite of the irreparable blow which the power and
territory of the state sustained from Epameinondas and the
Thebans, the form of government nevertheless remained
unchanged. It was the only government in Greece which could
trace an unbroken peaceable descent from a high antiquity and
from its real or supposed founder."
G. Grote, History of Greece, part 2, chapter 6 (volume 2).
See SPARTA, THE CONSTITUTION.
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CONSTITUTION OF MEXICO.
The following translated text of the Constitution of Mexico is
from Bulletin No. 9 of the Bureau of the American Republics,
published in July, 1891:
Preamble.
In the name of God and with the authority of the Mexican
people. The representatives of the different States, of the
District and Territories which compose the Republic of Mexico,
called by the Plan proclaimed in Ayutla the 1st of March,
1854, amended in Acapulco the 11th day of the same month and
year, and by the summons issued the 17th of October, 1855, to
constitute the nation under the form of a popular,
representative, democratic republic, exercising the powers
with which they are invested, comply with the requirements of
their high office, decreeing the following political
Constitution of the Mexican Republic, on the indestructible
basis of its legitimate independence, proclaimed the 16th of
September, 1810, and completed the 27th of September, 1821.
Article I.
The Mexican people recognize that the rights of man are the
basis and the object of social institutions. Consequently they
declare that all the laws and all the authorities of the
country must respect and maintain the guarantees which the
present Constitution establishes.
Article 2.
In the Republic all are born free. Slaves who set foot upon
the national territory recover, by that act alone, their
liberty, and have a right to the protection of the laws.
Article 3.
Instruction is free. The law shall determine what professions
require a diploma for their exercise, and with what requisites
they must be issued.
Article 4.
Every man is free to adopt the profession, industrial pursuit,
or occupation which suits him, the same being useful and
honorable, and to avail himself of its products. Nor shall
anyone be hindered in the exercise of such profession,
industrial pursuit, or occupation, unless by judicial sentence
when such exercise attacks the rights of a third party, or by
governmental resolution, dictated in terms which the law marks
out, when it offends the rights of society.
Article 5.
No one shall be obliged to give personal services without just
compensation, and without his full consent. The state shall
not permit any contract, pact, or agreement to be carried into
effect which has for its object the diminution, loss, or
irrevocable sacrifice of the liberty of man, whether it be for
the sake of labor, education, or a religious vow. The law,
consequently, may not recognize monastic orders, nor may it
permit their establishment, whatever may be the denomination
or object with which they claim to be formed.
[Footnote: This sentence was introduced into the original
article September 25, 1873, with other less important
amendments.]
Neither may an agreement be permitted in which anyone
stipulates for his proscription or banishment.
Article 6.
The expression of ideas shall not be the object of any
judicial or administrative inquisition, except in case it
attacks morality, the rights of a third party, provokes some
crime or misdemeanor, or disturbs public order.
Article 7.
The liberty to write and to publish writings on any subject
whatsoever is inviolable. No law or authority shall establish
previous censure, nor require security from authors or
printers, nor restrict the liberty of the press, which has no
other limits than respect of private life, morality, and the
public peace. The crimes which are committed by means of the
press shall be judged by the competent tribunals of the
Federation, or by those of the States, those of the Federal
District and the Territory of Lower California, in accordance
with their penal laws.
[Footnote: This article was amended May 15, 1883, by
introducing the last sentence as a substitute for the
following: "The crimes of the press shall be judged by one
jury which attests the fact and by another which applies the
law and designates the punishment.">[
Article 8.
The right of petition, exercised in writing in a peaceful and
respectful manner, is inviolable; but in political matters
only citizens of the Republic may exercise it. To every
petition must be returned a written opinion by the authority
to whom it may have been addressed, and the latter is obliged
to make the result known to the petitioner.
Article 9.
No one may be deprived of the right peacefully to assemble or
unite with others for any lawful object whatsoever, but only
citizens of the Republic may do this in order to take part in
the political affairs of the country. No armed assembly has a
right to deliberate.
Article 10.
Every man has a right to possess and carry arms for his
security and legitimate defence. The law shall designate what
arms are prohibited and the punishment which those shall incur
who carry them.
Article 11.
Every man has a right to enter and to go out of the Republic,
to travel through its territory and change his residence,
without the necessity of a letter of security, passport,
safe-conduct, or other similar requisite. The exercise of this
right shall not prejudice the legitimate faculties of the
judicial or administrative authority in cases of criminal or
civil responsibility.
Article 12.
There are not, nor shall there be recognized in the Republic,
titles of nobility, or prerogatives, or hereditary honors.
Only the people, legitimately represented, may decree
recompenses in honor of those who may have rendered or may
render eminent services to the country or to humanity.
Article 13.
In the Mexican Republic no one may be judged by special law
nor by special tribunals. No person or corporation may have
privileges, or enjoy emoluments, which are not compensation
for a public service and are established by law. Martial law
may exist only for crimes and offences which have a definite
connection with military discipline. The law shall determine
with all clearness the cases included in this exception.
Article 14.
No retroactive law shall be enacted. No one may be judged or
sentenced except by laws made prior to the act, and exactly
applicable to it, and by a tribunal which shall have been
previously established by law.
Article 15.
Treaties shall never be made for the extradition of political
offenders, nor for the extradition of those violators of the
public order who may have held in the country where they
committed the offence the position of slaves; nor agreements
or treaties in virtue of which may be altered the guarantees
and rights which this Constitution grants to the man and to
the citizen.
{559}
Article 16.
No one may be molested in his person, family, domicile, papers
and possessions, except in virtue of an order written by the
competent authority, which shall establish and assign the
legal cause for the proceedings. In the case of in flagrante
delicto any person may apprehend the offender and his
accomplices, placing them without delay at the disposal of the
nearest authorities.
Article 17.
No one may be arrested for debts of a purely civil character.
No one may exercise violence in order to reclaim his rights.
The tribunals shall always be prompt to administer justice.
This shall be gratuitous, judicial costs being consequently
abolished.
Article 18.
Imprisonment shall take place only for crimes which deserve
corporal punishment. In any state of the process in which it
shall appear that such a punishment might not be imposed upon
the accused, he shall be set at liberty under bail. In no case
shall the imprisonment or detention be prolonged for default
of payment of fees, or of any furnishing of money whatever.
Article 19.
No detention shall exceed the term of three days, unless
justified by a writ showing cause of imprisonment and other
requisites which the law establishes. The mere lapse of this
term shall render responsible the authority that orders or
consents to it, and the agents, ministers, wardens, or jailers
who execute it. Any maltreatment in the apprehension or in the
confinement of the prisoners, any injury which may be
inflicted without legal ground, any tax or contribution in the
prisons, is an abuse which the laws must correct and the
authorities severally punish.
Article 20.
In every criminal trial the accused shall have the following
guarantees:
I. That the grounds of the proceedings and the name of the
accuser, if there shall be one, shall be made known to him.
II. That his preparatory declaration shall be taken within
forty-eight hours, counting from the time he may be placed at
the disposal of the judge.
III. That he shall be confronted with the witnesses who
testify against him.
IV. That he shall be furnished with the data which he requires
and which appear in the process, in order to prepare for his
defence.
V. That he shall be heard in defence by himself or by counsel,
or by both, as he may desire. In case he should have no one to
defend him, a list of official defenders shall be presented to
him, in order that he may choose one or more who may suit him.
Article 21.
The application of penalties properly so called belongs
exclusively to the judicial authority. The political or
administrative authorities may only impose fines, as
correction, to the extent of five hundred dollars, or
imprisonment to the extent of one month, in the cases and
manner which the law shall expressly determine.
Article 22.
Punishments by mutilation and infamy, by branding, flogging,
the bastinado, torture of whatever kind, excessive fines,
confiscation of property, or any other unusual or
extraordinary penalties, shall be forever prohibited.
Article 23.
In order to abolish the penalty of death, the administrative
power is charged to establish, as soon as possible, a
penitentiary system. In the meantime the penalty of death
shall be abolished for political offences, and shall not be
extended to other cases than treason during foreign war,
highway robbery, arson, parricide, homicide with treachery,
premeditation or advantage, to grave offences of the military
order, and piracy, which the law shall define.
Article 24.
No criminal proceeding may have more than three instances. No
one shall be tried twice for the same offence, whether by the
judgment he be absolved or condemned. The practice of
absolving from the instance is abolished.
Article 25.
Sealed correspondence which circulates by the mails is free
from all registry. The violation of this guarantee is an
offence which the law shall punish severely.
Article 26.
In time of peace no soldier may demand quarters, supplies, or
other real or personal service without the consent of the
proprietor. In time of war he shall do this only in the manner
prescribed by the law.
Article 27.
Private property shall not be appropriated without the consent
of the owner, except for the sake of public use, and with
previous indemnification. The law shall determine the
authority which may make the appropriation and the conditions
under which it may be carried out. No corporation, civil or
ecclesiastical, whatever may be its character, denomination,
or object, shall have legal capacity to acquire in
proprietorship or administer for itself real estate, with the
single exception of edifices destined immediately and directly
to the service and object of the institution.
[Footnote: See Article 3 of Additions to the Constitution.]
Article 28.
There shall be no monopolies, nor places of any kind for the
sale of privileged goods, nor prohibitions under titles of
protection to industry. There shall be excepted only those
relative to the coining of money, to the mails, and to the
privileges which, for a limited time, the law may concede to
inventors or perfectors of some improvement.
Article 29.
In cases of invasion, grave disturbance of the public peace,
or any other cases whatsoever which may place society in great
danger or conflict, only the President of the Republic in
concurrence with the Council of Ministers and with the
approbation of the Congress of the Union, and, in the recess
thereof, of the permanent deputation, may suspend the
guarantees established by this Constitution, with the
exception of those which assure the life of man; but such
suspension shall be made only for a limited time, by means of
general provisions, and without being limited to a determined
person. If the suspension should take place during the session
of Congress, this body shall concede the authorizations which
it may esteem necessary in order that the Executive may meet
properly the situation. If the suspension should take place
during the recess, the permanent deputation shall convoke the
Congress without delay in order that it may make the
authorizations.
Article 30.
Mexicans are--
I. All those born, within or without the Republic, of Mexican
parents.
II. Foreigners who are naturalized in conformity with the laws
of the Federation.
III. Foreigners who acquire real estate in the Republic or
have Mexican children; provided they do not manifest their
resolution to preserve their nationality.
Article 31.
It is an obligation of every Mexican--
I. To defend the independence, the territory, the honor, the
rights and interests of his country.
II. To contribute for the public expenses, as well of the
Federation as of the State and municipality in which he
resides, in the proportional and equitable manner which the
laws may provide.
{560}
Article 32.
Mexicans shall be preferred to foreigners in equal
circumstances, for all employments, charges, or commissions of
appointment by the authorities, in which the condition of
citizenship may not be indispensable. Laws shall be issued to
improve the condition of Mexican laborers, rewarding those who
distinguish themselves in any science or art, stimulating
labor, and founding practical colleges and schools of arts and
trades.
Article 33.
Foreigners are those who do not possess the qualifications
determined in Article 30. They have a right to the guarantees
established by ... [Articles 1-29] of the present
Constitution, except that in all cases the Government has the
right to expel pernicious foreigners. They are under
obligation to contribute to the public expenses in the manner
which the laws may provide, and to obey and respect the
institutions, laws, and authorities of the country, subjecting
themselves to the judgments and sentences of the tribunals,
without power to seek other protection than that which the
laws concede to Mexican citizens.
Article 34.
Citizens of the Republic are all those who, having the quality
of Mexicans, have also the following qualifications:
I. Eighteen years of age if married, or twenty-one if not
married.
II. An honest means of livelihood.
Article 35.
The prerogatives of the citizen are--
I. To vote at popular elections.
II. The privilege of being voted for for any office subject to
popular election, and of being selected for any other
employment or commission, having the qualifications
established by law.
III. To associate to discuss the political affairs of the
country.
IV. To take up arms in the army or in the national guard for
the defence of the Republic and its institutions.
V. To exercise in all cases the right of petition.
Article 36.
Every citizen of the Republic is under the following
obligations:
I. To be inscribed on the municipal roll, stating the property
which he has, or the industry, profession, or labor by which
he subsists.
II. To enlist in the national guard.
III. To vote at popular elections in the district to which he
belongs.
IV. To discharge the duties of the offices of popular election
of the Federation, which in no case shall be gratuitous.
Article 37.
The character of citizen is lost--
I. By naturalization in a foreign country.
II. By serving officially the government of another country or
accepting its decorations, titles, or employments without
previous permission from the Federal Congress; excepting
literary, scientific, and humanitarian titles, which may be
accepted freely.
Article 38.
The law shall prescribe the cases and the form in which may be
lost or suspended the rights of citizenship and the manner in
which they may be regained.
Article 39.
The national sovereignty resides essentially and originally in
the people. All public power emanates from the people, and is
instituted for their benefit. The people have at all times the
inalienable right to alter or modify the form of their
government.
Article 40.
The Mexican people voluntarily constitute themselves a
democratic, federal, representative republic, composed of
States free and sovereign in all that concerns their internal
government, but united in a federation established according
to the principles of this fundamental law.
Article 41.
The people exercise their sovereignty by means of Federal
officers in cases belonging to the Federation, and through
those of the States in all that relates to the internal
affairs of the States within the limits respectively
established by this Federal Constitution, and by the special
Constitutions of the States, which latter shall in no case
contravene the stipulations of the Federal Compact.
Article 42.
The National Territory comprises that of the integral parts of
the Federation and that of the adjacent islands in both
oceans.
Article 43.
The integral parts of the Federation are: the States of
Aguascalientes, Colima, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Durango,
Guanajuato, Guerrero, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan, Nuevo Leon
and Coahuila, Oajaca, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosi,
Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlascala, Valle de
Mexico, Veracruz, Yucatan, Zacatecas, and the Territory of
Lower California.
Article 44.
The States of Aguascalientes, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Durango,
Guerrero, Mexico, Puebla, Queretaro, Sinaloa, Sonora,
Tamaulipas, and the Territory of Lower California shall
preserve the limits which they now have.
Article 45.
The States of Colima and Tlascala shall preserve in their new
character of States the limits which they have had as
Territories of the Federation.
Article 46.
The State of the Valley of Mexico shall be formed of the
territory actually composing the Federal District, but the
erection into a State shall only have effect when the supreme
Federal authorities are removed to another place.
Article 47.
The State of Nuevo Leon and Coahuila shall comprise the
territory which has belonged to the two distinct States of
which it is now formed, except the part of the hacienda of
Bonanza, which shall be reincorporated in Zacatecas, on the
same terms in which it was before its incorporation in
Coahuila.
Article 48.
The States of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Oajaca, San Luis
Potosi, Tabasco, Veracruz, Yucatan, and Zacatecas shall
recover the extension and limits which they had on the 31st of
December, 1852, with the alterations the following Article
establishes.
Article 49.
The town of Contepec, which has belonged to Guanajuato, shall
be incorporated in Michoacan. . The municipality of Ahualulco,
which has belonged to Zacatecas, shall be incorporated in San
Luis Potosi. The municipalities of Ojo-Caliente and San
Francisco de los Adames, which have belonged to San Luis, as
well as the towns of Nueva Tlascala and San Andres del Teul,
which have belonged to Jalisco, shall be incorporated in
Zacatecas. The department of Tuxpan shall continue to form a
part of Veracruz. The canton of Huimanguillo, which has
belonged to Veracruz, shall be incorporated in Tabasco.
[Footnote: Besides the twenty-four States which are mentioned
in this section there have been created subsequently,
according to executive decrees issued in accordance with the
Constitution, the four following:
XXV. That of Campeche, separated from Yucatan.
XXVI. That of Coahuila, separated from Nuevo Leon.
XXVII. That of Hidalgo, in territory of the ancient State
of Mexico, which formed the second military district.
XXVIII. That of Morelos, in territory also of the ancient
State of Mexico, which formed the third military district.]
{561}
Article 50.
The supreme power of the Federation is divided for its
exercise into legislative, executive, and judicial. Two or
more of these powers shall never be united in one person or
corporation, nor the legislative power be deposited in one
individual.
Article 51.
The legislative power of the nation is deposited in a general
Congress, which shall be divided into two houses, one of
Deputies and the other of Senators.
[Footnote: The original form of this article was as
follows: "The exercise of the supreme legislative power is
vested in one assembly, which shall be denominated Congress of
the Union.">[
Article 52.
The House of Deputies shall be composed of representatives of
the nation, elected in their entire number every two years by
Mexican citizens.
Article 53.
One deputy shall be elected for each forty thousand
inhabitants, or for a fraction which exceeds twenty thousand.
The territory in which the population is less than that
determined in this article shall, nevertheless, elect one
deputy.
Article 54.
For each deputy there shall be elected one alternate.
Article 55.
The election for deputies shall be indirect in the first
degree, and by secret ballot, in the manner which the law
shall prescribe.
Article 56.
In order to be eligible to the position of a deputy it is
required that the candidate be a Mexican citizen in the
enjoyment of his rights; that he be fully twenty-five years of
age on the day of the opening of the session; that he be a
resident of the State or Territory which makes the election,
and that he be not an ecclesiastic. Residence is not lost by
absence in the discharge of any public trust bestowed by
popular election.
Article 57.
The positions of Deputy and of Senator are incompatible with
any Federal commission or office whatsoever for which a salary
is received.
Article 58.
The Deputies and the Senators from the day of their election
to the day on which their trust is concluded, may not accept
any commission or office offered by the Federal Executive, for
which a salary is received, except with the previous license
of the respective house. The same requisites are necessary for
the alternates of Deputies and Senators when in the exercise
of their functions.
A. The Senate is composed of two Senators for each State and
two for the Federal District. The election of Senators shall
be indirect in the first degree. The Legislature of each State
shall declare elected the person who shall have obtained the
absolute majority of the votes cast, or shall elect from among
those who shall have obtained the relative majority in the
manner which the electoral law shall prescribe. For each
Senator there shall be elected an alternate.
B. The Senate shall be renewed one-half every two years. The
Senators named in the second place shall go out at the end of
the first two years, and thereafter the half who have held
longer.
C. The same qualifications are required for a Senator as for a
Deputy, except that of age, which must be at least thirty
years on the day of the opening of the session.
Article 59.
The Deputies and Senators are privileged from arrest for their
opinions manifested in the performance of their duties, and
shall never be liable to be called to account for them.
Article 60.
Each house shall judge of the election of its members, and
shall solve the doubts which may arise regarding them.
Article 61.
The houses may not open their sessions nor perform their
functions without the presence in the Senate of at least
two-thirds, and in the House of Deputies of more than one-half
of the whole number of their members, but those present of one
or the other body must meet on the day indicated by the law
and compel the attendance of absent members under penalties
which the law shall designate.
Article 62.
The Congress shall have each year two periods of ordinary
sessions: the first, which may be prorogued for thirty days,
shall begin on the 16th of September and end on the 15th of
December, and the second, which may be prorogued for fifteen
days, shall begin the 1st of April and end the last day of
May.
Article 63.
At the opening of the sessions of the Congress the President
of the Union shall be present and shall pronounce a discourse
in which he shall set forth the state of the country. The
President of the Congress shall reply in general terms.
Article 64.
Every resolution of the Congress shall have the character of a
law or decree. The laws and decrees shall be communicated to
the Executive, signed by the Presidents of both houses and by
a Secretary of each of them, and shall be promulgated in this
form: "The Congress of the United States of Mexico decrees:"
(Text of the law or decree.)
Article 65.
The right to initiate laws or decrees belongs:
I. To the President of the Union.
II. To the Deputies and Senators of the general Congress.
III. To the Legislatures of the States.
Article 66.
Bills presented by the President of the Republic, by the
Legislatures of the States, or by deputations from the same,
shall pass immediately to a committee. Those which the
Deputies or the Senators may present shall be subjected to the
procedure which the rules of debate may prescribe.
Article 67.
Every bill which shall be rejected in the house where it
originated, before passing to the other house, shall not again
be presented during the sessions of that year.
Article 68.
The second period of sessions shall be destined, in all
preference, to the examination of and action upon the
estimates of the following fiscal year, to passing the
necessary appropriations to cover the same, and to the
examination of the accounts of the past year, which the
Executive shall present.
Article 69.
The last day but one of the first period of sessions the
Executive shall present to the House of Deputies the bill of
appropriations for the next year following and the accounts of
the preceding year. Both shall pass to a committee of five
Representatives appointed on the same day, which shall be
under obligation to examine said documents, and present a
report on them at the second session of the second period.
Article 70.
The formation of the laws and of the decrees may begin
indiscriminately in either of the two houses, with the
exception of bills which treat of loans, taxes, or imposts, or
of the recruiting of troops, all of which must be discussed
first in the House of Deputies.
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Article 71.
Every bill, the consideration of which does not belong
exclusively to one of the houses, shall be discussed
successively in both, the rules of debate being observed with
reference to the form, the intervals, and manner of proceeding
in discussions and voting.
A. A bill having been approved in the house where it
originated, shall pass for its discussion to the other house.
If the latter body should approve it, it will be remitted to
the Executive, who, if he shall have no observations to make,
shall publish it immediately.
B. Every bill shall be considered as approved by the Executive
if not returned with observations to the house where it
originated within ten working days, unless during this term
Congress shall have closed or suspended its sessions, in which
case the return must be made the first working day on which it
shall meet.
C. A bill rejected wholly or in part by the Executive must be
returned with his observations to the house where it
originated. It shall be discussed again by this body, and if
it should be confirmed by an absolute majority of votes, it
shall pass again to the other house. If by this house it
should be sanctioned with the same majority, the bill shall be
a law or decree, and shall be returned to the Executive for
promulgation. The voting on the law or decree shall be by
name.
D. If any bill should be rejected wholly in the house in which
it did not originate, it shall be returned to that in which it
originated with the observations which the former shall have
made upon it. If having been examined anew it should be

approved by the absolute majority of the members present, it
shall be returned to the house which rejected it, which shall
again take it into consideration, and if it should approve it
by the same majority it shall pass to the Executive, to be
treated in accordance with division A; but, if it should
reject it, it shall not be presented again until the following
sessions.
E. If a bill should be rejected only in part, or modified, or
receive additions by the house of revision, the new discussion
in the house where it originated shall treat only of the
rejected part, or of the amendments or additions, without
being able to alter in any manner the articles approved. If
the additions or amendments made by the house of revision
should be approved by the absolute majority of the votes
present in the house where it originated, the whole bill shall
be passed to the Executive, to be treated in accordance with
division A. But if the additions or amendments made by the
house of revision should be rejected by the majority of the
votes in the house where it originated, they shall be returned
to the former, in order that the reasons of the latter may be
taken into consideration; and if by the absolute majority of
the votes present said additions or amendments shall be
rejected in this second revision, the bill, in so far as it
has been approved by both houses, shall be passed to the
Executive, to be treated in accordance with division A; but if
the house of revision should insist, by the absolute majority
of the votes present, on said additions or amendments, the
whole bill shall not be again presented until the following
sessions, unless both houses agree by the absolute majority of
their members present that the law or decree shall be issued
solely with the articles approved, and that the parts added or
amended shall be reserved to be examined and voted in the
following sessions.
F. In the interpretation, amendment, or repeal of the laws or
decrees, the rules established for their formation shall be
observed.
G. Both houses shall reside in the same place, and they shall
not remove to another without first agreeing to the removal
and on the time and manner of making it, designating the same
point for the meeting of both. But if both houses, agreeing to
the removal, should differ as to time, manner, or place, the
Executive shall terminate the difference by choosing one of
the places in question. Neither house shall suspend its
sessions for more than three days without the consent of the
other.
H. When the general Congress meets in extra sessions, it shall
occupy itself exclusively with the object or objects
designated in the summons; and if the special business shall
not have been completed on the day on which the regular
session should open, the extra sessions shall be closed
nevertheless, leaving the points pending to be treated of in
the regular sessions. The Executive of the Union shall not
make observations on the resolutions of the Congress when this
body prorogues its sessions or exercises functions of an
electoral body or a jury.
Article 72.
The Congress has power--
I. To admit new States or Territories into the Federal Union,
incorporating them in the nation.
II. To erect Territories into States when they shall have a
population of eighty thousand inhabitants and the necessary
elements to provide for their political existence.
III. To form new States within the limits of those existing,
it being necessary to this end--
1. That the fraction or fractions which asked to be erected
into a State shall number a population of at least one hundred
and twenty thousand inhabitants.
2. That it shall be proved before Congress that they have
elements sufficient to provide for their political existence.
3. That the Legislatures of the States, the territories of
which are in question, shall have been heard on the expediency
or inexpediency of the establishment of the new State, and
they shall be obliged to make their report within six months,
counted from the day on which the communication relating to it
shall have been remitted to them.
4. That the Executive of the Federation shall likewise be
heard, who shall send his report within seven days, counted
from the date on which he shall have been asked for it.
5. That the establishment of the new State shall have been
voted for by two-thirds of the Deputies and Senators present
in their respective houses.
6. That the resolution of Congress shall have been ratified by
the majority of the Legislatures of the States, after
examining a copy of the proceedings; provided that the
Legislatures of the States whose territory is in question
shall have given their consent.
7. If the Legislatures of the States whose territory is in
question shall not have given their consent, the ratification
mentioned in the preceding clause must be made by two-thirds
of the Legislatures of the other States.
A. The exclusive powers of the House of Deputies are--
I. To constitute itself an Electoral College in order to
exercise the powers which the law may assign to it, in respect
to the election of the Constitutional President of the
Republic, Magistrates of the Supreme Court, and Senators for
the Federal District.
II. To judge and decide upon the resignations which the
President of the Republic or the Magistrates of the Supreme
Court of Justice may make. The same power belongs to it in
treating of licenses solicited by the first.
III. To watch over, by means of an inspecting committee from
its own body, the exact performance of the business of the
chief auditorship.
IV. To appoint the principal officers and other employés of
the same.
V. To constitute itself a jury of accusation, for the high
functionaries of whom Article 103 of this Constitution treats.
VI. To examine the accounts which the Executive must present
annually, to approve the annual estimate of expenses, and to
initiate the taxes which in its judgment ought to be decreed
to cover these expenses.
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B. The exclusive powers of the Senate are--
I. To approve the treaties and diplomatic conventions which
the Executive may make with foreign powers.
II. To ratify the appointments which the President of the
Republic may make of ministers, diplomatic agents,
consuls-general, superior employés of the Treasury,
colonels and other superior officers of the national army
and navy, on the terms which the law shall provide.
III. To authorize the Executive to permit the departure of
national troops beyond the limits of the Republic, the
passage of foreign troops through the national territory,
the station of squadrons of other powers for more than a
month in the waters of the Republic.
IV. To give its consent in order that the Executive may
dispose of the national guard outside of their respective
States or Territories, determining the necessary force.
V. To declare, when the Constitutional legislative and
executive powers of a State shall have disappeared, that
the case has arrived for appointing to it a provisional
Governor, who shall call elections in conformity with the
Constitutional laws of the said State. The appointment of
Governor shall be made by the Federal Executive with the
approval of the Senate, and in its recesses with the
approval of the Permanent Commission. Said functionary
shall not be elected Constitutional Governor at the
elections which are had in virtue of the summons which he
shall issue.
VI. To decide political questions which may arise between
the powers of a State, when any of them may appear with
this purpose in the Senate, or when on account of said
questions Constitutional order shall have been interrupted
during a conflict of arms. In this case the Senate shall
dictate its resolution, being subject to the general
Constitution of the Republic and to that of the State. The
law shall regulate the exercise of this power and that of
the preceding.
VII. To constitute itself a jury of judgment in accordance
with Article 105 of this Constitution.
C. Each of the houses may, without the intervention of the
other--
I. Dictate economic resolutions relative to its internal
regimen.
II. Communicate within itself, and with the Executive of
the Union, by means of committees from its own body.
III. Appoint the employés of its secretaryship, and make
the internal regulations for the same.
IV. Issue summons for extraordinary elections, with the
object of filling the vacancies of their respective
members.
IV. To regulate definitely the limits of the States,
terminating the differences which may arise between them
relative to the demarcation of their respective
territories, except when these difficulties have a
contentious character.
V. To change the residence of the supreme powers of the
Federation.
VI. To establish the internal order of the Federal District
and Territories, taking as a basis that the citizens shall
choose by popular election the political, municipal, and
judicial authorities, and designating the taxes necessary
to cover their local expenditure.
VII. To approve the estimates of the Federal expenditure,
which the Executive must annually present to it, and to
impose the necessary taxes to cover them.
VIII. To give rules under which the Executive may make
loans on the credit of the nation; to approve said loans,
and to recognize and order the payment of the national
debt.
IX. To establish tariffs on foreign commerce, and to
prevent, by means of general laws, onerous restrictions
from being established with reference to the commerce
between the States.
X. To issue codes, obligatory throughout the Republic, of
mines and commerce, comprehending in this last banking
institutions.
XI. To create and suppress public Federal employments and
to establish, augment, or diminish their salaries.
XII. To ratify the appointments which the Executive may
make of ministers, diplomatic agents, and consuls, of the
higher employés of the Treasury, of the colonels and other
superior officers of the national army and navy.
XIII. To approve the treaties, contracts, or diplomatic
conventions which the Executive may make.
XIV. To declare war in view of the data which the Executive
may present to it.
XV. To regulate the manner in which letters of marque may
be issued; to dictate laws according to which must be
declared good or bad the prizes on sea and land, and to
issue laws relating to maritime rights in peace and war.
XVI. To permit or deny the entrance of foreign troops into
the territory of the Republic, and to consent to the
station of squadrons of other powers for more than a month
in the waters of the Republic.
XVII. To permit the departure of national troops beyond the
limits of the Republic.
[Footnote: Amended by Section B, Clause III., Article 72,
of the law of the 13th of November, 1874.]
XVIII. To raise and maintain the army and navy of the
Union, and to regulate their organization and service.
XIX. To establish regulations with the purpose of
organizing, arming, and disciplining the national guard,
reserving respectively to the citizens who compose it the
appointment of the commanders and officers, and to the
States the power of instructing it in conformity with the
discipline prescribed by said regulations.
XX. To give its consent in order that the Executive may
control the national guard outside of its respective States
and Territories, determining the necessary force.
XXI. To dictate laws on naturalization, colonization, and
citizenship.
XXII. To dictate laws on the general means of communication
and on the post-office and mails.
XXIII. To establish mints, fixing the conditions of their
operation, to determine the value of foreign money, and
adopt a general system of weights and measures.
XXIV. To fix rules to which must be subject the occupation
and sale of public lands and the price of these lands.
XXV. To grant pardons for crimes cognizable by the
tribunals of the Federation.
XXVI. To grant rewards or recompense for eminent services
rendered to the country or humanity.
XXVII. To prorogue for thirty working days the first period
of its ordinary sessions.
XXVIII. To form rules for its internal regulation, to take
the necessary measures to compel the attendance of absent
members, and to correct the faults or omissions of those
present.
XXIX. To appoint and remove freely the employés of its
secretaryship and those of the chief auditorship, which
shall be organized in accordance with the provisions of the
law.
XXX. To make all laws which may be necessary and proper to
render effective the foregoing powers and all others
granted by this Constitution and the authorities of the
Union.
[Footnote: See respecting this Article the additions A, B,
and C to Article 72 of the law of the 13th of November,
already cited.]
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Article 73.
During the recess of Congress there shall be a Permanent
Deputation composed of twenty-nine members, of whom fifteen
shall be Deputies and fourteen Senators, appointed by their
respective houses the evening before the close of the
sessions.
Article 74.
The attributes of the Permanent Deputation are--
I. To give its consent to the use of the national guard in the
cases mentioned in Article 72, Clause XX.
II. To determine by itself, or on the proposal of the
Executive, after hearing him in the first place, the summons
of Congress, or of one house alone, for extra sessions, the
vote of two-thirds of the members present being necessary in
both cases. The summons shall designate the object or objects
of the extra sessions.
III. To approve the appointments which are referred to in
Article 85, Clause III.
IV. To administer the oath of office to the President of the
Republic, and to the Justices of the Supreme Court, in the
cases provided by this Constitution.
[Footnote: See the Amendment of September 25, 1873,
Article 4.]
V. To report upon all the business not disposed of, in order
that the Legislature which follows may immediately take up
such unfinished business.
Article 75.
The exercise of the supreme executive power of the Union is
vested in a single individual, who shall be called "President
of the United States of Mexico."
Article 76.
The election of President shall be indirect in the first
degree, and by secret ballot, in such manner as may be
prescribed by the electoral law.
Article 77.
To be eligible to the position of President, the candidate
must be a Mexican citizen by birth, in the exercise of his
rights, be fully thirty-five years old at the time of the
election, not belong to the ecclesiastical order, and reside
in the country at the time the election is held.
Article 78.
The President shall enter upon the performance of the duties
of his office on the first of December, and shall continue in
office four years, being eligible for the Constitutional
period immediately following; but he shall remain incapable
thereafter to occupy the presidency by a new election until
four years shall have passed, counting from the day on which
he ceased to perform his functions.
Article 79.
In the temporary default of the President of the Republic, and
in the vacancy before the installation of the newly-elected
President, the citizen who may have performed the duties of
President or Vice-President of the Senate, or of the Permanent
Commission in the periods of recess, during the month prior to
that in which said default may have occurred, shall enter upon
the exercise of the executive power of the Union.
A. The President and Vice-President of the Senate and of the
Permanent Commission shall not be reëlected to those offices
until a year after having held them.
B. If the period of sessions of the Senate or of the Permanent
Commission shall begin in the second half of a month, the
default of the President of the Republic shall be covered by
the President or Vice-President who may have acted in the
Senate or in the Permanent Commission during the first half of
the said month.
C. The Senate and the Permanent Commission shall renew, the
last day of each month, their Presidents and Vice-Presidents.
For these offices the Permanent Commission shall elect,
alternatively, in one month two Deputies and in the following
month two Senators.
D. When the office of President of the Republic is vacant, the
functionary who shall take it constitutionally as his
substitute must issue, within the definite term of fifteen
days, the summons to proceed to a new election, which shall be
held within the term of three months, and in accordance with
the provisions of Article 76 of this Constitution. The
provisional President shall not be eligible to the presidency
at the elections which are held to put an end to his
provisional term.
E. If, on account of death or any other reason, the
functionaries who, according to this law, should take the
place of the President of the Republic, might not be able in
any absolute manner to do so, it shall be taken, under
predetermined conditions, by the citizen who may have been
President or Vice-President of the Senate or the Permanent
Commission in the month prior to that in which they discharged
those offices.
F. When the office of President of the Republic shall become
vacant within the last six months of the constitutional
period, the functionary who shall take the place of the
President shall terminate this period.
G. To be eligible to the position of President or
Vice-President of the Senate or of the Permanent Commission,
one must be a Mexican citizen by birth.
H. If the vacancy in the office of President of the Republic
should occur when the Senate and Permanent Commission are
performing their functions in extra sessions, the President of
the Commission shall fill the vacancy, under conditions
indicated in this article.
I. The Vice-President of the Senate or of the Permanent
Commission shall enter upon the performance of the functions
which this Article confers upon them, in the vacancies of the
office of President of the Senate or of the Permanent
Commission, and in the periods only while the impediment
lasts.
J. The newly-elected President shall enter upon the discharge
of his duties, at the latest, sixty days after that of the
election. In case the House of Deputies shall not be in
session, it shall be convened in extra session, in order to
make the computation of votes within the term mentioned.
Article 80.
In the vacancy of the office of President, the period of the
newly-elected President shall be computed from the first of
December of the year prior to that of his election, provided
he may not have taken possession of his office on the date
which Article 78 determines.
Article 81.
The office of President of the Union may not be resigned,
except for grave cause, approved by Congress, before whom the
resignation shall be presented.
Article 82.
If for any reason the election of President shall not have
been made and published by the first of December, on which the
transfer of the office should be made, or the President-elect
shall not have been ready to enter upon the discharge of his
duties, the term of the former President shall end
nevertheless, and the supreme executive power shall be
deposited provisionally in the functionary to whom it belongs
according to the provisions of the reformed Article 79 of this
Constitution.
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Article 83.
The President, on taking possession of his office, shall take
an oath before Congress, and in its recess before the
Permanent Commission, under the following formula: "I swear to
perform loyally and patriotically the duties of President of
the United States of Mexico, according to the Constitution,
and seek in everything for the welfare and prosperity of the
Union."
[Footnote: See the Amendments and Additions of September 25,
1873.]
Article 84.
The President may not remove from the place of the residence
of the Federal powers, nor lay aside the exercise of his
functions, without grave cause, approved by the Congress, and
in its recesses by the Permanent Commission.
Article 85.
The powers and obligations of the President are the following:
I. To promulgate and execute the laws passed by the Congress
of the Union, providing, in the administrative sphere, for
their exact observance.
II. To appoint and remove freely the Secretaries of the
Cabinet, to remove the diplomatic agents and superior employés
of the Treasury, and to appoint and remove freely the other
employés of the Union whose appointment and removal are not
otherwise provided for in the Constitution or in the laws.
III. To appoint ministers, diplomatic agents, consuls-general,
with the approval of Congress, and, in its recess, of the
Permanent Commission.
IV. To appoint, with the approval of Congress, the colonels
and other superior officers of the national army and navy, and
the superior employés of the treasury.
V. To appoint the other officers of the national army and
navy, according to the laws.
VI. To control the permanent armed force by sea and land for
the internal security and external defence of the Federation.
VII. To control the national guard for the same objects within
the limits established by Article 72, Clause XX.
VIII. To declare war in the name of the United States of
Mexico, after the passage of the necessary law by the Congress
of the Union.
IX. To grant letters of marque, subject to bases fixed by the
Congress.
X. To direct diplomatic negotiations and make treaties with
foreign powers, submitting them for the ratification of the
Federal Congress.
XI. To receive ministers and other envoys from foreign powers.
XII. To convoke Congress in extra sessions when the Permanent
Commission shall consent to it.
XIII. To furnish the judicial power with that assistance which
may be necessary for the prompt exercise of its functions.
XIV. To open all classes of ports, to establish maritime and
frontier custom-houses and designate their situation.
XV. To grant, in accordance with the laws, pardons to
criminals sentenced for crimes within the jurisdiction of the
Federal tribunals.
XVI. To grant exclusive privileges, for a limited time and
according to the proper law, to discoverers, inventors, or
perfecters of any branch of industry.
Article 86.
For the dispatch of the business of the administrative
department of the Federation there shall be the number of
Secretaries which the Congress may establish by a law, which
shall provide for the distribution of business and prescribe
what shall be in charge of each Secretary.
Article 87.
To be a Secretary of the Cabinet it is required that one shall
be a Mexican citizen by birth, in the exercise of his rights,
and fully twenty-five years old.
Article 88.
All the regulations, decrees, and orders of the President must
be signed by the Secretary of the Cabinet who is in charge of
the department to which the subject belongs. Without this
requisite they shall not be obeyed.
Article 89.
The Secretaries of the Cabinet, as soon as the sessions of the
first period shall be opened, shall render an account to the
Congress of the state of their respective departments.
Article 90.
The exercise of the judicial power of the Federation is vested
in a Supreme Court of Justice and in the district and circuit
courts.
Article 91.
The Supreme Court of Justice shall be composed of eleven
judges, four supernumeraries, one fiscal, and one
attorney-general.
Article 92.
Each of the members of the Supreme Court of Justice shall
remain in office six years, and his election shall be indirect
in the first degree, under conditions established by the
electoral law.
Article 93.
In order to be elected a member of the Supreme Court of
Justice it is necessary that one be learned in the science of
the law in the judgment of the electors, more than thirty-five
years old, and a Mexican citizen by birth, in the exercise of
his rights.
Article 94.
The members of the Supreme Court of Justice, on entering upon
the exercise of their charge, shall take an oath before
Congress, and, in its recesses, before the Permanent
Commission, in the following form: "Do you swear to perform
loyally and patriotically the charge of Magistrate of the
Supreme Court of Justice, which the people have conferred upon
you in conformity with the Constitution, seeking in everything
the welfare and prosperity of the Union?"
[Footnote: See Additions to the Constitution,
September 25, 1873. ]
Article 95.
A member of the Supreme Court of Justice may resign his office
only for grave cause, approved by the Congress, to whom the
resignation shall be presented. In the recesses of the
Congress the judgment shall be rendered by the Permanent
Commission.
Article 96.
The law shall establish and organize the circuit and district
courts.
Article 97.
It belongs to the Federal tribunals to take cognizance of--
I. All controversies which may arise in regard to the
fulfilment and application of the Federal laws, except in the
case in which the application affects only private interests;
such a case falls within the competence of the local judges
and tribunals of the common order of the States, of the
Federal District, and of the Territory of Lower California.
II. All cases pertaining to maritime law.
III. Those in which the Federation may be a party.
IV. Those that may arise between two or more States.
V. Those that may arise between a State and one or more
citizens of another State.
VI. Civil or criminal cases that may arise under treaties with
foreign powers.
VII. Cases concerning diplomatic agents and consuls..
Article 98.
It belongs to the Supreme Court of Justice, in the first
instance, to take cognizance of controversies which may arise
between one State and another, and of those in which the Union
may be a party.
Article 99.
It belongs also to the Supreme Court of Justice to determine
the questions of jurisdiction which may arise between the
Federal tribunals, between these and those of the States, or
between the courts of one State and those of another.
Article 100.
In the other cases comprehended in Article 97, the Supreme
Court of Justice shall be a court of appeal or, rather, of
last resort, according to the graduation which the law may
make in the jurisdiction of the circuit and district courts.
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Article 101.
The tribunals of the Federation shall decide all questions
which arise--
I. Under laws or acts of whatever authority which violate
individual guarantees.
II. Under laws or acts of the State authority which violate or
restrain the sovereignty of the States.
III. Under laws or acts of the State authority which invade
the sphere of the Federal authority.
Article 102.
All the judgments which the preceding article mentions shall
be had on petition of the aggrieved party, by means of
judicial proceedings and forms which shall be prescribed by
law. The sentence shall be always such as to affect private
individuals only, limiting itself to defend and protect them
in the special case to which the process refers, without
making any general declaration respecting the law or act which
gave rise to it.
Article 103.
The Senators, the Deputies, the members of the Supreme Court
of Justice, and the Secretaries of the Cabinet are responsible
for the common crimes which they may commit during their terms
of office, and for the crimes, misdemeanors, and negligence
into which they may fall in the performance of the duties of
said office. The Governors of the States are likewise
responsible for the infraction of the Constitution and Federal
laws. The President of the Republic is also responsible; but
during the term of his office he may be accused only for the
crimes of treason against the country, express violation of
the Constitution, attack on the freedom of election, and grave
crimes of the common order. The high functionaries of the
Federation shall not enjoy any Constitutional privilege for
the official crimes, misdemeanors, or negligence into which
they may fall in the performance of any employment, office, or
public commission which they may have accepted during the
period for which, in conformity with the law, they shall have
been elected. The same shall happen with respect to those
common crimes which they may commit during the performance of
said employment, office, or commission. In order that the
cause may be initiated when the high functionary shall have
returned to the exercise of his proper functions, proceeding
should be undertaken in accordance with the provision of
Article 104 of this Constitution.
Article 104.
If the crime should be a common one, the House of
Representatives, formed into a grand jury, shall declare, by
an absolute majority of votes, whether there is or is not
ground to proceed against the accused. In the negative case,
there shall be no ground for further proceedings; in the
affirmative, the accused shall be, by the said act, deprived
of his office, and subjected to the action of the ordinary
tribunals.
Article 105.
The houses shall take cognizance of official crimes, the House
of Deputies as a jury of accusation, the Senators as a jury of
judgment. The jury of accusation shall have for its object to
declare, by an absolute majority of votes, whether the accused
is or is not culpable. If the declaration should be
absolutory, the functionary shall continue in the exercise of
his office; if it should be condemnatory, he shall be
immediately deprived of his office, and shall be placed at the
disposal of the Senate. The latter, formed into a jury of
judgment, and, with the presence of the criminal and of the
accuser, if there should be one, shall proceed to apply, by an
absolute majority of votes, the punishment which the law
designates.
Article 106.
A judgment of responsibility for official crimes having been
pronounced, no favor of pardon may be extended to the
offender.
Article 107.
The responsibility for official crimes and misdemeanors may be
required only during the period in which the functionary
remains in office, and one year thereafter.
Article 108.
With respect to demands of the Civil order, there shall be no
privilege or immunity for any public functionary.
Article 109.
The States shall adopt for their internal regimen the popular,
representative, republican form of government, and may provide
in their respective Constitutions for the reelection of the
Governors in accordance with what Article 78 provides for the
President of the Republic.
Article 110.
The States may regulate among themselves, by friendly
agreements, their respective boundaries; but those regulations
shall not be carried into effect without the approval of the
Congress of the Union.
Article 111.
The States may not in any case--
1. Form alliances, treaties, or coalitions with another State,
or with foreign powers, excepting the coalition which the
frontier States may make for offensive or defensive war
against the Indians.
II. Grant letters of marque or reprisal.
III. Coin money, or emit paper money or stamped paper.
Article 112.
Neither may any State, without the consent of the Congress of
the Union:
I. Establish tonnage duties, or any port duty, or impose taxes
or duties upon importations or exportations.
II. Have at any time permanent troops or vessels of war,
III. Make war by itself on any foreign power except in cases
of invasion or of such imminent peril as to admit of no delay.
In these cases the State shall give notice immediately to the
President of the Republic.
Article 113.
Each State is under obligation to deliver without delay the
criminals of other States to the authority that claims them.
Article 114.
The Governors of the States are obliged to publish and cause
to be obeyed the Federal laws.
Article 115.
In each State of the Federation entire faith and credit shall
be given to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings
of all the other States. The Congress may, by means of general
laws, prescribe the manner of proving said acts, records, and
proceedings, and the effect thereof.
Article 116.
The powers of the Union are bound to protect the States
against all invasion or external violence. In case of
insurrection or internal disturbance they shall give them like
protection, provided the Legislature of the State, or the
Executive, if the Legislature is not in session, shall request
it.
Article 117.
The powers which are not expressly granted by this
Constitution to the Federal authorities are understood to be
reserved to the States.
Article 118.
No person may at the same time hold two Federal elective
offices; but if elected to two, he may choose which of them he
will fill.
Article 119.
No payment shall be made which is not comprehended in the
budget or determined by a subsequent law.
Article 120.
The President of the Republic, the members of the Supreme
Court of Justice, the Deputies, and other public officers of
the Federation, who are chosen by popular election, shall
receive a compensation for their services, which shall be
determined by law and paid by the Federal Treasury. This
compensation may not be renounced, and any law which augments
or diminishes it shall not have effect during the period for
which a functionary holds the office.
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Article 121.
Every public officer, without any exception, before taking
possession of his office, shall take an oath to maintain this
Constitution and the laws which emanate from it.
[Footnote: See the Additions of September 25, 1873.]
Article 122.
In time of peace no military authority may exercise more
functions than those which have close connection with military
discipline. There shall be fixed and permanent military
commands only in the castles, fortresses, and magazines which
are immediately under the government of the Union; or in
encampments, barracks, or depots which may be established
outside of towns for stationing troops.
Article 123.
It belongs exclusively to the Federal authorities to exercise,
in matters of religious worship and external discipline, the
intervention which the laws may designate.
Article 124.
The States shall not impose any duty for the simple passage of
goods in the internal commerce. The Government of the Union
alone may decree transit duties, but only with respect to
foreign goods which cross the country by international or
interoceanic lines, without being on the national territory
more time than is necessary to traverse it and depart to the
foreign country. They shall not prohibit, either directly or
indirectly, the entrance to their territory, or the departure
from it, of any merchandise, except on police grounds; nor
burden the articles of national production on their departure
for a foreign country or for another State. The exemptions
from duties which they concede shall be general; they may not
be decreed in favor of the products of specified origin. The
quota of the import for a given amount of merchandise shall be
the same, whatever may have been its origin, and no heavier
burden may be assigned to it than that which the similar
products of the political entity in which the import is
decreed bear. The national merchandise shall not be submitted
to definite route nor to inspection or registry on the ways,
nor any fiscal document be demanded for its internal
circulation. Nor shall they burden foreign merchandise with a
greater quota than that which may have been permitted them by
the Federal law to receive.
Article 125.
The forts, military quarters, magazines, and other edifices
necessary to the government of the Union shall be under the
immediate inspection of the Federal authorities.
Article 126.
This Constitution, the laws of the Congress of the Union which
emanate from it, and all the treaties made or which shall be
made by the President of the Republic, with the approval of
Congress, shall be the supreme law of the whole Union. The
judges of each State shall be guided by said Constitution,
law, and treaties in spite of provisions to the contrary which
may appear in the Constitutions or laws of the States.
Article 127.
The present Constitution may be added to or reformed. In order
that additions or alterations may become part of the
Constitution, it is required that the Congress of the Union,
by a vote of two-thirds of the members present, shall agree to
the alterations or additions, and that these shall be approved
by the majority of the Legislatures of the States. The
Congress of the Union shall count the votes of the
Legislatures and make the declaration that the reforms or
additions have been approved.
Article 128.
This Constitution shall not lose its force and vigor even if
its observance be interrupted by a rebellion. In case that by
any public disturbance a government contrary to the principles
which it sanctions shall be established, as soon as the people
recover their liberty its observance shall be reestablished,
and in accordance with it and the laws which shall have been
issued in virtue of it, shall be judged not only those who
shall have figured in the government emanating from the
rebellion, but also those who shall have cooperated with it.
Additions.
Article 1.
The State and the Church are independent of one another. The
Congress may not pass laws establishing or prohibiting any
religion.
Article 2.
Marriage is a civil contract. This and the other acts relating
to the civil state of persons belong to the exclusive
jurisdiction of the functionaries and authorities of the civil
order, within limits provided by the laws, and they shall have
the force and validity which the same attribute to them.
Article 3.
No religious institution may acquire real estate or capital
fixed upon it, with the single exception established in
Article 27 of this Constitution.
Article 4.
The simple promise to speak the truth and to comply with the
obligations which have been incurred, shall be substituted for
the religious oath, with its effects and penalties.
----------CONSTITUTION OF MEXICO: End----------
CONSTITUTION OF NETHERLANDS KINGDOM.
After 1830, this became the Kingdom of Holland.
See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1830-1832, and 1830-1884.
----------NETHERLANDS: End----------
CONSTITUTION OF NORWAY.
"On May 17, 1814, ... a constitution was granted to Norway.
The Fundamental Law of the constitution (Grundlöv), which
almost every peasant farmer now-a-days has framed and hung up
in the chief room of his house, bears the date the 4th of
November 1814."
C. F. Keary, Norway and the Norwegians, chapter 13.
The following the text of the constitution as granted in 1814:
Title I.
Article 1.
The kingdom of Norway is a free, independent, undivisible, and
inalienable state, united to Sweden under the same king. The
form of its government is limited, hereditary, and
monarchical.
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Article 2.
The Lutheran evangelical religion shall continue to be the
ruling religion of the kingdom; those of the inhabitants which
profess it are bound to bring up their children in its tenets;
Jesuits and monastic orders shall not be prohibited in the
kingdom. The admission of Jews into the kingdom shall always
be, as formerly, prohibited.
Title II.
Article 1.
The executive power is declared to be in the person of the
king.
Article 2.
The king shall always profess the evangelical Lutheran
religion, which he shall maintain and protect.
Article 3.
The person of the king is sacred: he can neither be blamed or
accused.
Article 4.
The succession is lineal, and collateral, such as it is
determined by the order of succession decreed by the general
estates of Sweden, and sanctioned by the king in the Act of
the 26th September 1810, of which a translation is annexed to
this Constitution. Of the number of legitimate heirs, is
comprehended the child in its mother's womb, which, as soon as
it shall be born, after the death of its father, takes the
place which is due to him in the line of succession. When a
Prince, heir of the re-united crowns of Norway and Sweden,
shall be born, his name, and the day of his birth shall be
announced at the first Storthing, and inscribed in the
registers.
Article 5.
Should there not be found any prince, a legitimate heir to the
throne, the king can propose his successor at the Storthing of
Norway, and at the same time to the states general of Sweden.
As soon as the king shall have made the proposition, the
representatives of the two nations shall choose from among
them a committee, invested with the right of determining the
election, in case the king's proposition should not, by the
plurality of voices, be approved of separately by the
representatives of each of the countries. The number of
members of this committee, shall be composed of an equal
number of Norwegians and Swedes, so that the step to follow in
the election shall be regulated by a law which the king shall
propose at the same time to the next Storthing, and the states
general of Sweden. They shall draw by lot one out of the
committee for its member.
Article 6.
The Storthing of Norway, and the states general of Sweden
shall concert to fix by a law the king's majority; if they
cannot agree, a committee, taken from the representatives of
the two nations, shall decide it in the manner established by
article 5th, title 2nd. As soon as the king shall have
attained the years of majority fixed by the law, he shall
publicly declare that he is of age.
[Footnote: Storthing is the national assembly, or general
estates of the kingdom.]
[Footnote: A law of the Storthing, 13th July 1815, and
sanctioned by the king, declared that the king is major on
arriving at the age of eighteen years.]
Article 7.
When the king comes of age he shall take into his hands the
reins of government, and make the following oath to the
Storthing: "I swear, on my soul and conscience, to govern the
kingdom of Norway conformably to its constitution and laws."
If the Storthing is not then assembled, this oath shall be
deposited in writing in the council, and solemnly repeated by
the king at the first Storthing, either vivâ voce or by
writing, by the person whom he shall have appointed to this
effect.
Article 8.
The coronation of the king shall take place when he is of age,
in the cathedral of Drontheim, at the time and with those
ceremonies that shall be fixed by himself.
Article 9.
The King shall pass some time in Norway yearly, unless this is
prevented by urgent circumstances.
Article 10.
The king shall exclusively choose a council of Norwegians,
citizens, who shall have attained the seventieth year of their
age. This council shall be composed at least of a minister of
state, and seven other members. In like manner the king can
create a viceroy or a government. The king shall arrange the
affairs between the members of the council, in such manner as
he shall consider expedient. Besides these ordinary members of
council, the king, or in his absence the viceroy (or the
government jointly with the ordinary members of council) may
on particular occasions, call other Norwegians, citizens, to
sit there, provided they are not members of the Storthing. The
father and son, or two brothers, shall not, at the same time,
have a seat in the council.
Article 11.
The king shall appoint a governor of the kingdom in his
absence, and on failure it shall be governed by the viceroy or
a governor, with five at least of the members of council. They
shall govern the kingdom in the name and behalf of the king;
and they shall observe inviolably, as much the principles
contained in this fundamental law as those relative precepts
the king shall lay down in his instructions. They shall make a
humble report to the king upon those affairs they have
decided. All matters shall be decided by plurality of votes.
If the votes happen to be equal, the viceroy or governor, or
in their absence the first member of council, shall have two.
Article 12.
The prince royal or his eldest son can be viceroy; but this
can only occur when they have attained the majority of the
king. In the case of a governor, either a Norwegian or a Swede
may be nominated. The viceroy shall remain in the kingdom, and
shall not be allowed to reside in a foreign one beyond three
months each year. When the king shall be present, the
viceroy's functions shall cease. If there is no viceroy, but
only a governor, the functions of the latter shall also cease,
in which event he is only the first member of council.
Article 13.
During the residence of the king in Sweden, he shall always
have near him the minister of state of Norway, and two of the
members of the Norwegian council, when they shall be annually
changed. These are charged with similar duties, and the same
constitutional responsibility attaches to them as to the
sitting council in Norway; and it is only in their presence
that state affairs shall be decided by the king. All petitions
addressed to the king by Norwegian citizens ought, first, to
be transmitted to the Norwegian council, that they may be duly
considered previously to decisions being pronounced. In
general, no affairs ought to be decided before the council has
expressed an opinion, in case it should be met with important
objections. The minister of state of Norway ought to report
the affairs, and he shall be responsible for expedition in the
resolutions which shall have been taken.
Article 14.
The king shall regulate public worship and its rites, as well
as all assemblies that have religion for their object, so that
ministers of religion may observe their forms prescribed to
them.
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Article 15.
The king can give and abolish ordinances which respect
commerce, the custom-house, manufactures, and police. They
shall not, however, be contrary to the constitution nor the
laws adopted by the Storthing. They shall have provisional
force until the next Storthing.
Article 16.
The king shall in general regulate the taxes imposed by the
Storthing. The public treasurer of Norway shall remain in
Norway, and the revenues shall only be employed towards the
expenses of Norway.
Article 17.
The king shall superintend the manner in which the domains and
crown property of the state are employed and governed, in the
manner fixed by the Storthing, and which shall be most
advantageous to the country.
Article 18.
The king in council has the right to pardon criminals when the
supreme tribunal has pronounced its opinion. The criminal has
the choice of receiving pardon from the king or of submitting
to the punishment to which he is condemned. In the causes
which the Odelsthing would have ordered to be carried to the
Rigsret, there can be no other pardon but that which shall
liberate from a capital punishment.
Article 19.
The king, after having heard his Norwegian council, shall
dispose of all the civil, ecclesiastic, and military
employments. Those who assist in the functions shall swear
obedience and fidelity to the constitution and to the king.
The princes of the royal family cannot be invested with any
civil employment; yet the prince royal, or his eldest son, may
be nominated viceroy.
Article 20.
The governor of the kingdom, the minister of state, other
members of council, and those employed in the functions
connected with these offices, the envoys and consuls, superior
magistrates, civil and ecclesiastic commanders of regiments,
and other military bodies, governors of fortresses, and
commanders-in-chief of ships of war, shall, without previous
arrest, be deposed by the king and his Norwegian council. As
to the pension to be granted to those employed they shall be
decided by the first Storthing. In the mean time, they shall
enjoy two-third parts of their former salary. The others
employed can only be suspended by the king, and they shall
afterwards be brought before the tribunals, but cannot be
deposed excepting by order of an arrest, and the king cannot

make them change their situations contrary to their will.
Article 21.
The king can confer orders of knighthood on whomsoever he
chooses, in reward of distinguished services, which shall be
published; but he can confer no other rank, with the title,
than that which is attached to every employment. An order of
knighthood does not liberate the person on whom it is
conferred from those duties common to all citizens, and
particular titles are not conferred in order to obtain
situations in the state. Such persons shall preserve the title
and rank attached to those situations which they have
occupied. No person can, for the future, obtain personal,
mixed, or hereditary privileges.
Article 22.
The king elects and dismisses, whenever he thinks proper, all
the officers attached to his court.
Article 23.
The king is commander-in-chief of all the forces, by sea and
land, in the kingdom, and these cannot be increased or
diminished without the consent of the Storthing. They will not
be ceded to the service of any foreign power, and troops
belonging to a foreign power (except auxiliary troops in case
of a hostile invasion,) cannot enter the country without the
consent of the Storthing. During peace, the Norwegian troops
shall be stationed in Norway, and not in Sweden.
Notwithstanding this the king may have in Sweden a Norwegian
guard, composed of volunteers, and may for a short time, not
exceeding six weeks in a year, assemble troops in the environs
of the two countries, for exercising; but in case there are
more than 3,000 men, composing the army of one of the two
countries, they cannot in time of peace enter the other.
[Footnote: The law of the Storthing, 5th July 1816, bears,
that troops of the line shall be employed beyond the frontiers
of the kingdom, and the interpretation given by it to that law
is, that troops of the line shall be employed beyond the
frontiers of the two kingdoms.]
The Norwegian army and gun-boats shall not be employed without
the consent of the Storthing. The Norwegian fleet shall have
dry docks, and during peace its stations and harbours in
Norway. Ships of war of both countries shall be supplied with
the seamen of the other, so long as they shall voluntarily
engage to serve. The landwehr, and other Norwegian forces,
which are not calculated among the number of troops, of the
line, shall never be employed beyond the frontiers of the
kingdom of Norway.
Article 24.
The king has the right of assembling troops, commencing war,
making peace, concluding and dissolving treaties, sending
ministers to, and receiving those of, foreign courts. When he
begins war he ought to advise the council of Norway, consult
it, and order it to prepare an address on the state of the
kingdom, relative to its finances, and proper means of
defence. On this the king shall convoke the minister of state
of Norway, and those of the council of Sweden, at an
extraordinary assembly, when he shall explain all those
relative circumstances that ought to be taken into
consideration; with a representation of the Norwegian council,
and a similar one on the part of Sweden, upon the state of the
kingdom, shall then be presented. The king shall then require
advice upon these objects; and each shall be inserted in a
register, under the responsibility imposed by the
constitution, when the king shall then adopt that resolution
which he judges most, proper for the benefit of the state.
Article 25.
On this occasion all the members of council must be present,
if not prevented by some lawful cause, and no resolution ought
to be adopted unless one half of the members are present. In
Norwegian affairs, which, according to the fifteenth article,
are decided in Sweden, no resolution shall be taken unless the
minister of state of Norway and one of the members of council,
or two members, are present.
Article 26.
The representations respecting employments, and other
important acts, excepting those of a diplomatic and military
nature, properly so called, shall be referred to the council
by him who is one of the members in the department charged
with it, who shall accordingly draw up the resolution adopted
in council.
Article 27.
If any member of council is prevented from appearing, and
referring the affairs which belong to his peculiar department,
he shall be replaced in this office by one of the others
appointed to this purpose, either by the king, if personally
present, and if not, by him who has precedence in the council,
jointly with the other members composing it. Should several of
these be prevented from appearing, so that only one half of
the ordinary number is present, the other employed in the
offices shall in like manner have right to sit in council; and
in that event it shall be afterwards referred to the king, who
decides if they ought to continue to exercise this office.
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Article 28.
The council shall keep a register of all affairs that may come
under its consideration. Every individual who sits in it shall
be at liberty to give his opinion freely, which the king is
obliged to hear; but it is reserved to his majesty to adopt
resolutions after he has consulted his own mind. If a member
of council finds that the king's resolution is contrary to the
form of government, the laws of the kingdom, or injurious to
the state, he shall consider it his duty to oppose it, and
record his opinion in the register accordingly; but he who
remains silent shall be presumed to have agreed with the king,
and shall be responsible for it, even in the case of being
referred to at a future period; and the Odelsthing is
empowered to bring him before the Rigsret.
Article 29.
All the orders issued by the king (military affairs excepted)
shall be countersigned by the Norwegian minister of state.
Article 30.
Resolutions made in absence of the king, by the council in
Norway, shall be publicly proclaimed and signed by the
viceroy, or the governor and council, and countersigned by him
who shall have referred them, and he is further responsible
for the accuracy and dispatch with the register in which the
resolution is entered.
Article 31.
All representations relative to the affairs of this country,
as well as writings concerning them, must be in the Norwegian
language.
Article 32.
The heir-apparent to the throne, if a son of the reigning
king, shall have the title of prince royal, the other
legitimate heirs to the crown shall be culled princes, and the
king's daughters princesses.
Article 33.
As soon as the heir shall have attained the age of eighteen,
he shall have a right to sit in council, without, however,
having a vote, or any responsibility.
Article 34.
No prince of the blood shall marry without permission of the
king, and in case of contravention, he shall forfeit his right
to the crown of Norway.
Article 35.
The princes and princesses of the royal family, shall not, so
far as respects their persons, be bound to appear before other
judges, but before the king or whomsoever he shall have
appointed for that purpose.
Article 36.
The minister of state of Norway, as well as the two members of
council who are near the king, shall have a seat and
deliberative voice in the Swedish council, where objects
relative to the two kingdoms shall be treated of. In affairs
of this nature the advice of the council ought also to be
understood, unless these require quick dispatch, so as not to
allow time.
Article 37.
If the king happens to die, and the heir to the throne is
under age, the council of Norway, and that of Sweden, shall
assemble, and mutually call a convocation of the Storthing in
Norway and Diet of Sweden.
Article 38.
Although the representatives of the two kingdoms should have
assembled, and regulated the administration during the king's
minority, a council composed of an equal number of Norwegian
and Swedish members shall govern the kingdoms, and follow
their fundamental reciprocal laws. The minister of state of
Norway who sits in this council, shall draw by ballot in order
to decide on which of its members the preference shall happen
to fall.
Article 39.
The regulations contained in the two last articles shall be
always equally adopted after the constitution of Sweden. It
belongs to the Swedish council, in this quality, to be at the
head of government.
Article 40.
With respect to more particular and necessary affairs that
might occur in cases under the three former articles, the king
shall propose to the first Storthing in Norway, and at the
first Diet in Sweden, a law having for its basis the principle
of a perfect equality existing between the two kingdoms.
Article 41.
The election of guardians to be at the head of government
during the king's minority, shall be made after the same rules
and manner formerly prescribed in the second title, Article
5th, concerning the election of an heir to the throne.
Article 42.
The individuals who in the cases under the 38th and 39th
articles, are at the head of government, shall be, the
Norwegians at the Storthing of Norway, and shall take the
following oath: "I swear, on my soul and conscience, to govern
the kingdom conformably to its constitution and laws;" and the
Swedes shall also make a similar oath. If there is not a
Storthing or Diet, it shall be deposited in writing in the
council, and afterwards repeated at the first of these when
they happen to assemble.
Article 43.
As soon as the governments have ceased, they shall be restored
to the king, and the Storthing.
Article 44.
If the Storthing is not convoked, agreeably to what is
expressed in the 38th and 39th articles, the supreme tribunal
shall consider it as an imperious duty, at the expiration of
four weeks, to call a meeting.
Article 45.
The charge of the education of the king, in case his father
may not have left in writing instructions regarding it, shall
be regulated in the manner laid down under the 5th and 41st
articles. It is held to be an invariable rule, that the king
during his minority shall learn the Norwegian language.
Article 46.
If the masculine line of the royal family is extinct, and
there has not been elected a successor to the throne, the
election of a new dynasty shall be proceeded in, and after the
manner prescribed under the 5th article. In the mean time the
executive power shall be exercised agreeably to the 41st
article.
Title III.
Article 1.
Legislative power is exercised by the Storthing, which is
constituted of two houses, namely, the Lagthing and
Odelsthing.
Article 2.
None shall have a right to vote but Norwegians, who have
attained twenty·five years, and resided in the country during
five years.
1. Those who are exercising, or who have exercised functions.
2. Possess land in the country, which has been let for more
than five years.
3. Are burgesses of some city, or possess either in it, or
some village, a house, or property of the value of at least
three hundred bank crowns in silver.
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Article 3.
There shall be drawn up in cities by the magistrates, and in
every parish by the public authority and the priest, a
register of all the inhabitants who are voters. They shall
also note in it without delay, those changes which may
successively take place. Before being inscribed in the
register, everyone shall take an oath, before the tribunal, of
fidelity to the constitution.
4. Right of voting is suspended in the following cases:
1. By the accusation of crime before a tribunal;
2. By not attaining the proper age;
3. By insolvency or bankruptcy, until creditors have
obtained their payment in whole, unless it can be proved
that the former has arisen from fire, or other unforeseen
events.
5. The right of voting is forfeited definitively:
1. By condemnation to the house of correction, slavery, or
punishment for defamatory language;
2. By acceptance of the service of a foreign power, without
the consent of government.
3. By obtaining the right of citizen in a foreign country.
4. By conviction of having purchased and sold votes, and
having voted in more than one electoral assembly.
6. The electoral assemblies and districts are held every three
years, and shall finish before the end of the month of
December.
7. Electoral assemblies shall be held for the country, at the
manor-house of the parish, the church, town-hall, or some
other fit place. In the country they shall be directed by the
first minister and assistants; and in towns, by magistrates
and sheriffs; election shall be made in the order appointed by
the registers. Disputes concerning the right of voting shall
be decided by the directors of the assembly, from whose
judgment an appeal may be made to the Storthing.
8. Before proceeding to the election, the constitution shall
be read with a loud voice in the cities, by the first
magistrate, and in the country by the curate.
9. In cities, an elector shall be chosen by fifty eligible
inhabitants. They shall assemble eight days after, in the
place appointed by the magistrate, and choose, either from
amongst themselves, or from others who are eligible in the
department of their election, a fourth of their number to sit
at the Storthing, that is after the manner of three to six in
choosing one; seven to ten in electing two; eleven to fourteen
in choosing three, and fifteen to eighteen in electing four;
which is the greatest number permitted to a city to send. If
these consist of less than 150 eligible inhabitants, they
shall send the electors to the nearest city, to vote
conjointly with the electors of the former, when the two shall
only be considered as forming one district.
[Footnote: A law passed 8th February 1816, contains this
amendment. Twenty-five electors and more shall not elect
more than three representatives, which shall be, ad
interim, the greatest number which the bailiwick can send:
and, consequently, out of which the number of
representatives in the county, which are sixty-one, shall
be diminished from fifty to fifty-three.]
10. In each parish in the country the eligible inhabitants
shall choose in proportion to their number electors in the
following manner; that is to say, a hundred may choose one;
two to three hundred, three; and so on in the same proportion.
[Footnote: If future Storthings discover the number of
representatives of towns from an increase of population
should amount to thirty, the same Storthing shall have
right to augment of new the number of representatives of
the country, in the manner fixed by the principles of the
constitution, which shall be held as a rule in future.]
Electors shall assemble a month after, in the place appointed
by the bailiff, and choose, either from amongst themselves or
the others of the bailiwick eligible, a tenth of their own
number to sit at the Storthing, so that five to fourteen may
choose one; fifteen to twenty-four may choose two of them;
twenty-five to thirty-four, three; thirty-five and beyond it,
four. This is the greatest number.
11. The powers contained in the 9th and 10th articles shall
have their proper force and effect until next Storthing. If it
is found that the representatives of cities constitute more or
less than one-third of those of the kingdom, the Storthing, as
a rule for the future, shall have right to change these powers
in such a manner that representatives of the cities may join
with those of the country, as one to two; and the total number
of representatives ought not to be under seventy-five, nor
above one hundred.
12. Those eligible, who are in the country, and are prevented
from attending by sickness, military service, or other proper
reasons, can transmit their votes in writing to those who
direct the electoral assemblies, before their termination.
13. No person can be chosen a representative, unless he is
thirty years of age, and has resided ten years in the country.
14. The members of council, those employed in their offices,
officers of the court, and its pensioners, shall not be chosen
as representatives.
15. Individuals chosen to be representatives, are obliged to
accept of the election, unless prevented by motives considered
lawful by the electors, whose judgment may be submitted to the
decision of the Storthing. A person who has appeared more than
once as representative at an ordinary Storthing, is not
obliged to accept of the election for the next ordinary
Storthing. If legal reasons prevent a representative from
appearing at the Storthing, the person who after him has most
votes shall take his place.
16. As soon as representatives have been elected, they shall
receive a writing in the country from the superior magistrate,
and in the cities from the magistrate, also from all the
electors, as a proof that they have been elected in the manner
prescribed by the constitution. The Storthing shall judge of
the legality of this authority.
17. All representatives have a right to claim an
indemnification in travelling to and returning from the
Storthing; as well as subsistence during the period they shall
have remained there.
18. During the journey, and return of representatives, as well
as the time they may have attended the Storthing, they are
exempted from arrest; unless they are seized in some flagrant
and public act, and out of the Storthing they shall not be
responsible for the opinions they may have declared in it.
Everyone is bound to conform himself to the order established
in it.
19. Representatives, chosen in the manner above declared,
compose the Storthing of the kingdom of Norway.
20. The opening of the Storthing shall be made the first
lawful day in the month of February, every three years, in the
capital of the kingdom, unless the king, in extraordinary
circumstances, by foreign invasion or contagious disease,
fixes on some other city of the kingdom. Such change ought
then to be early announced.
21. In extraordinary cases, the king has the right of
assembling the Storthing, without respect to the ordinary
time. The king will then cause to be issued a proclamation,
which is to be read in all the principal churches six weeks at
least previous to the day fixed for the assembling of members
of the Storthing at the place appointed.
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22. Such extraordinary Storthing may be dissolved by the king
when he shall judge fit.
23. Members of the Storthing shall continue in the exercise of
their office during three consecutive years, as much during an
extraordinary as any ordinary Storthing that might be held
during this time.
24. If an extraordinary Storthing is held at a time when the
ordinary Storthing ought to assemble, the functions of the
first will cease, as soon as the second shall have met.
25. The extraordinary Storthing, no more than the ordinary,
can be held if two-thirds of the members do not happen to be
present.
26. As soon as the Storthing shall be organized, the king, or
the person who shall be appointed by him for that purpose,
shall open it by an address, in which he is to describe the
state of the kingdom, and those objects to which he directs
the attention of the Storthing. No deliberation ought to take
place in the king's presence. The Storthing shall choose from
its members one-fourth part to form the Lagthing, and the
other three-fourths to constitute the Odelsthing. Each of
these houses shall have its private meetings, and nominate its
president and secretary.
27. It belongs to the Storthing,--
1. To make and abolish laws, establish imposts, taxes,
custom-houses, and other public acts, which shall, however,
only exist until the 1st of July of that year, when a new
Storthing shall be assembled, unless this last is expressly
renewed by them.
2. To make loans, by means of the credit of the state.
3. To watch over the finances of the state.
4. To grant sums necessary for its expenses.
5. To fix the yearly grant for the maintenance of the king
and viceroy, and also appendages of the royal family; which
ought not, however, to consist in landed property.
6. To exhibit the register of the sitting council in
Norway, and all the reports, and public documents (the
affairs of military command excepted), and certified
copies, or extracts of the registers kept by the ministers
of state and members of council near the king, or the
public documents, which shall have been produced.
7. To communicate whatever treaties the king shall have
concluded in the name of the state with foreign powers,
excepting secret articles, provided these are not in
contradiction with the public articles.
8. To require all individuals to appear before the
Storthing on affairs of state, the king and royal family
excepted. This is not, however, applicable to the princes
of the royal family, as they are invested with other
offices than that of viceroy.
9. To examine the lists of provisional pensions; and to
make such alterations as shall be judged necessary.
10. To name five revisers, who are annually to examine the
accounts of the state, and publish printed extracts of
these, which are to be remitted to the revisers also every
year before the 1st of July. 11. To naturalize foreigners.
28. Laws ought first to be proposed to the Odelsthing, either
by its own members or the government, through one of the
members of council. If the proposition is accepted, it shall
be sent to the Lagthing, who approve or reject it; and in the
last case return it accompanied with remarks. These shall be
weighed by the Odelsthing, which sets the proposed law aside,
or remits it to the Lagthing, with or without alterations.
When a law shall have been twice proposed by the Odelsthing to
the Lagthing, and the latter shall have rejected it a second
time, the Storthing shall assemble, when two-thirds of the
votes shall decide upon it. Three days at least ought to pass
between each of those deliberations.
29. When a resolution proposed by the Odelsthing shall be
approved by the Lagthing, or by the Storthing alone, a
deputation of these two houses to the Storthing shall present
it to the king if he is present, and if not, to the viceroy,
or Norwegian council, and require it may receive the royal
sanction.
30. Should the king approve of the resolution, he subscribes
to it, and from that period it is declared to pass into a
public law. If he disapproves he returns it to the Odelsthing,
declaring that at this time he does not give it his sanction.
31. In this event, the Storthing, then assembled, ought to
submit the resolution to the king, who may proceed in it in
the same manner if the first ordinary Storthing presents again
to him the same resolution. But if, after reconsideration, it
is still adopted by the two houses of the third ordinary
Storthing, and afterwards submitted to the king, who shall
have been intreated not to withhold his sanction to a
resolution that the Storthing, after the most mature
deliberations, believes to be useful; it shall acquire the
strength of a law, even should it not receive the king's
signature before the closing of the Storthing.
32. The Storthing shall sit as long as it shall be judged
necessary, but not beyond three months, without the king's
permission. When the business is finished, or after it has
assembled for the time fixed, it is dissolved by the king. His
Majesty gives, at the same time, his sanction to the decrees
not already decided, either in corroborating or rejecting
them. All those not expressly sanctioned are held to be
rejected by him.
33. Laws are to be drawn up in the Norwegian language, and
(those mentioned in 31st article excepted) in name of the
king, under the seal of the kingdom, and in these terms:--"We,
&c. Be it known, that there has been submitted to us a decree
of the Storthing (of such a date) thus expressed (follows the
resolution); We have accepted and sanctioned as law the said
decree, in giving it our signature, and seal of the kingdom."
34. The king's sanction is not necessary to the resolutions of
the Storthing, by which the legislative body,--
1. Declares itself organized as the Storthing, according to
the constitution.
2. Regulates its internal police.
3. Accepts or rejects writs of present members.
4. Confirms or rejects judgments relative to disputes
respecting elections.
5. Naturalizes foreigners.
6. And in short, the resolution by which the Odelsthing
orders some member of council to appear before the
tribunals.
35. The Storthing can demand the advice of the supreme
tribunal in judicial matters.
36. The Storthing will hold its sittings with open doors, and
its acts shall be printed and published, excepting in cases
where a contrary measure shall have been decided by the
plurality of votes.
37. Whoever molests the liberty and safety of the Storthing,
renders himself guilty of an act of high treason towards the
country.
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Title IV.
Article 1.
The members of the Lagthing and supreme tribunal composing the
Rigsret, judge in the first and last instance of the affairs
entered upon by the Odelsthing, either against the members of
council or supreme tribunal for crimes committed in the
exercise of their offices, or against the members of Storthing
for acts committed by them in a similar capacity. The
president of the Lagthing has the precedence in the Rigsret.
2. The accused can, without declaring his motive for so doing,
refuse, even a third part of the members of the Rigsret,
provided, however, that the number of persons who compose this
tribunal be not reduced to less than fifteen.
3. The supreme tribunal shall judge in the last instance, and
ought not to be composed of a lesser number than the resident
and six assessors.
4. In time of peace the supreme tribunal, with two superior
officers appointed by the king, constitutes a tribunal of the
second and last resort in all military affairs which respect
life, honour, and loss of liberty for a time beyond the space
of three months.
5. The arrests of the supreme tribunal shall not in any case
be called upon to be submitted to revisal.
6. No person shall be named member of the supreme tribunal, if
he has not attained at least thirty years of age.
Title V.
Article 1.
Employments in the states shall be conferred only on Norwegian
citizens, who profess the Evangelical Lutheran religion--have
sworn fidelity to the constitution and king, speak the
language of the country, and are,--
1. Either born in the kingdom of parents who were then
subjects of the state.
2. Or born in a foreign country, their father and mother
being Norwegians, and at that period not the subjects of
another state.
3. Or, who on the 17th May, 1814, had a permanent residence
in the kingdom, and did not refuse to take an oath to
maintain the independence of Norway.
4. Or who in future shall remain ten years in the kingdom.
5. Or who have been naturalized by the Storthing.
Foreigners, however, may be nominated to these official
situations in the university and colleges, as well as to
those of physicians, and consuls in a foreign country. In
order to succeed to an office in the superior tribunal, the
person must be thirty years old; and to fill a place in the
inferior magistracy,--a judge of the tribunal of first
instance, or a public receiver, he must be twenty-five.
2. Norway does not acknowledge herself owing any other debt
than that of her own.
3. A new general code, of a civil and criminal nature,
shall first be published; or, if that is impracticable, at
the second ordinary Storthing. Meantime, the laws of the
state, as at present existing, shall preserve their effect,
since they are not contrary to this fundamental law, or
provisional ordinances published in the interval. Permanent
taxes shall continue to be levied until next Storthing.
4. No protecting dispensation, letter of respite, or
restitutions, shall be granted after the new general code
shall be published.
5. No persons can be judged but in conformity to the law, or
be punished until a tribunal shall have taken cognizance of
the charges directed against them. Torture shall never take
place.
6. Laws shall have no retro-active effect.
7. Fees due to officers of justice are not to be combined with
rents payable to the public treasury.
8. Arrest ought not to take place excepting in cases and in
the manner fixed by law. Illegal arrests, and unlawful delays,
render him who occasions them responsible to the person
arrested. Government is not authorized to employ military
force against the members of the state, but under the forms
prescribed by the laws, unless an assembly which disturbs the
public tranquillity does not instantly disperse after the
articles of the code concerning sedition shall have been read
aloud three times by the civil authorities.
9. The liberty of the press shall be established. No person
can be punished for a writing he has ordered to be printed or
published, whatever may be the contents of it, unless he has,
by himself or others, wilfully declared, or prompted others
to, disobedience of the laws, contempt for religion, and
constitutional powers, and resistance to their operations; or
has advanced false and defamatory accusations against others.
It is permitted to everyone to speak freely his opinion on the
administration of the state, or on any other object whatever.
10. New and permanent restrictions on the freedom of industry
are not to be granted in future to anyone.
11. Domiciliary visits are prohibited, excepting in the cases
of criminals.
12. Refuge will not be granted to those who shall be
bankrupts.
13. No person can in any case forfeit his landed property, and
fortune.
14. If the interest of the state requires that anyone should
sacrifice his moveable or immovable property for the public
benefit, he shall be fully indemnified by the public treasury.
15. The capital, as well as the revenues of the domains of the
church, can be applied only for the interests of the clergy,
and the prosperity of public instruction. The property of
benevolent institutions shall be employed only for their
profit.
16. The right of the power of redemption called Odelsret*, and
that of possession, called Afædesret (father's right), shall
exist. Particular regulations, which will render these of
utility to the states and agriculture, shall be determined by
the first or second Storthing.
[Footnote: In virtue of the right of "Odelsret," members
of a family to whom certain lands originally pertained, can
reclaim and retake possession of the same, even after the lapse
of centuries, provided these lands are representative of
the title of the family; that is, if for every ten years
successively they shall have judicially made reservation of
their right. This custom, injurious perhaps to the progress of
agriculture, does, however, attach the peasants to their
native soil.]
17. No county, barony, majorat or "fidei commis" shall be
created for the future.
[Footnote: "fidei commis"--Entail.]
18. Every citizen of the state, without regard to birth or
fortune, shall be equally obliged, during a particular period,
to defend his country. [Footnote: Every person is obliged to
serve from twenty-one to twenty-three, and not after.] The
application of this principle and its restrictions, as well as
the question of ascertaining to what point it is of benefit to
the country, that this obligation should cease at the age of
twenty-five,--shall be abandoned to the decision of the first
ordinary Storthing, after they shall have been discharged by a
committee; in the meantime, vigorous efforts shall preserve
their effect.
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19. Norway shall retain her own language, her own finances and
coin: institutions which shall be determined upon by laws.
20. Norway has the right of having her own flag of trade and
war, which shall be an union flag.
21. If experience should show the necessity of changing some
part of this fundamental law, a proposition to this purpose
shall be made to an ordinary Storthing, published and printed;
and it only pertains to the next ordinary Storthing to decide
if the change proposed ought to be effectual or not. Such
alteration, however, ought never to be contrary to the
principles of this fundamental law; and should only have for
its object those modifications in which particular regulations
do not alter the spirit of the constitution. Two-thirds of the
Storthing ought to agree upon such a change.
Christiana, 4th November, 1814.
See SCANDINAVIAN STATES (NORWAY): A. D. 1814-1815.
----------CONSTITUTION OF NORWAY: End----------
CONSTITUTION OF PLYMOUTH COLONY
(Compact of the Pilgrim Fathers).
See MASSACHUSETTS: A. D. 1620.
CONSTITUTION OF POLAND (The old).
See POLAND: A. D. 1573, and 1578-1652.
CONSTITUTION OF POLAND: (of 1891).
See POLAND: A. D. 1791-1792.
----------CONSTITUTION OF POLAND: End----------
CONSTITUTION OF PRUSSIA.
The following text of the Constitution granted by Frederick
William, King of Prussia, on the 31st of January, 1850, with
subsequent alterations, is a translation made by Mr. Charles
Lowe, and published in the appendix to his Life of Prince
Bismarck, 1885.
We, Frederick William, &c., hereby proclaim and give to know
that, whereas the Constitution of the Prussian State,
promulgated by us on the 5th December, 1848, subject to
revision in the ordinary course of legislation, and recognised
by both Chambers of our Kingdom, has been submitted to the
prescribed revision; we have finally established that
Constitution in agreement with both Chambers. Now, therefore,
we promulgate, as a fundamental law of the State, as
follows:--
Article 1.
All parts of the Monarchy in its present extent form the
Prussian State Territory.
Article 2.
The limits of this State Territory can only be altered by law.
Article 3.
The Constitution and the laws determine under what conditions
the quality and civil rights of a Prussian may be acquired,
exercised, and forfeited.
Article 4.
All Prussians are equal before the law. Class privileges there
are none. Public offices, subject to the conditions imposed by
law, are equally accessible to all who are competent to hold
them.
Article 5.
Personal freedom is guaranteed. The forms and conditions under
which any limitation thereof, especially arrest, is
permissible, will be determined by law.
Article 6.
The domicile is inviolable. Intrusion and search therein, as
well as the seizing of letters and papers, are only allowed in
legally settled cases.
Article 7.
No one may be deprived of his lawful judge. Exceptional
tribunals and extraordinary commissions are inadmissible.
Article 8.
Punishments can only be threatened or inflicted according to
the law.
Article 9.
Property is inviolable. It can only be taken or curtailed from
reasons of public weal and expediency, and in return for
statutory compensation which, in urgent cases at least, shall
be fixed beforehand.
Article 10.
Civil death and confiscation of property, as punishments, are
not possible.
Article 11.
Freedom of emigration can only be limited by the State, with
reference to military service. Migration fees may not be
levied.
Article 12.
Freedom of religious confession, of meeting in religious
societies (Art. 30 and 31), and of the common exercise of
religion in private and public, is guaranteed. The enjoyment
of civil and political rights is independent of religious
belief, yet the duties of a citizen or a subject may not be
impaired by the exercise of religious liberty.
Article 13.
Religious and clerical societies, which have no corporate
rights, can only acquire those rights by special laws.
Article 14.
The Christian religion is taken as the basis of those State
institutions which are connected with the exercise of
religion--all religious liberty guaranteed by Art. 12
notwithstanding.
Article 15.
[Footnote: Affected by the Falk laws of 1875, and by
the act of 1887 which repealed them.
See GERMANY: A. D. 1873-1887.]
The Protestant and Roman Catholic Churches, as well as every
other religious society, regulate and administer their own
affairs in an independent manner, and remain in possession and
enjoyment of the institutions, foundations, and moneys
intended for their purposes of public worship, education, and
charity.
Article 16.
[Footnote: See Article 15.]
Intercourse between religious societies and their superiors
shall be unobstructed. The making public of Church ordinances
is only subject to those restrictions imposed on all other
publications.
Article 17.
A special law will be passed with respect to Church patronage,
and to the conditions on which it may be abolished.
Article 18.
[Footnote: See Article 15.]
Abolished is the right of nominating, proposing, electing, and
confirming, in the matter of appointments to ecclesiastical
posts, in so far as it belongs to the State, and is not based
on patronage or special legal titles.
Article 19.
Civil marriage will be introduced in accordance with a special
law, which shall also regulate the keeping of a civil
register.
Article 20.
Science and its doctrines are free.
Article 21.
The education of youth shall be sufficiently cared for by
public schools. Parents and their substitutes may not leave
their children or wards without that education prescribed for
the public folk-schools.
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Article 22.
Every one shall be at liberty to give instruction, and
establish institutions for doing so, providing he shall have
given proof of his moral, scientific, and technical capacity
to the State authorities concerned.
Article 23.
All public and private institutions of an educational kind are
under the supervision of authorities appointed by the State.
Public teachers have the rights and duties of State servants.
Article 24.
[Footnote: We cannot translate "Volkschule" better
than by "folk-school.">[
In the establishment of public folk-schools, confessional
differences shall receive the greatest possible consideration.
Religious instruction in the folk-schools will be
superintended by the religious societies concerned. Charge of
the other (external) affairs of the folk-schools belongs to
the Parish (Commune). With the statutory co-operation of the
Commune, the State shall appoint teachers in the public
folk-schools from the number of those qualified (for such
posts).
Article 25.
The means for establishing, maintaining, and enlarging the
public folk-schools shall be provided by the Communes, which
may, however, be assisted by the State in proven cases of
parochial inability. The obligations of third persons--based
on special legal titles--remain in force. The State,
therefore, guarantees to teachers in folk-schools a steady
income suitable to local circumstances. In public folk-schools
education shall be imparted free of charge.
Article 26.
A special law will regulate all matters of education.
Article 27.
Every Prussian is entitled to express his opinion freely by
word, writing, print, or artistic representation. Censorship
may not be introduced; every other restriction on freedom of
the Press will only be imposed by law.
Article 28.
Offences committed by word, writing, print, or artistic
representation will be punished in accordance with the general
penal code.
Article 29.
All Prussians are entitled to meet in closed rooms, peacefully
and unarmed, without previous permission from the authorities.
But this provision does not apply to open-air meetings, which
are subject to the law with respect to previous permission
from the authorities.
Article 30.
All Prussians have the right to assemble (in societies) for
such purposes as do not contravene the penal laws. The law
will regulate, with special regard to the preservation of
public security, the exercise of the right guaranteed by this
and the preceding article.
Article 31.
The law shall determine the conditions on which corporate
rights may be granted or refused.
Article 32.
The right of petitioning belongs to all Prussians. Petitions
under a collective name are only permitted to authorities and
corporations.
Article 33.
The privacy of letters is inviolable. The necessary
restrictions of this right, in cases of war and of criminal
investigation, will be determined by law.
Article 34.
All Prussians are bound to bear arms. The extent and manner of
this duty will be fixed by law.
Article 35.
The army comprises all sections of the standing army and the
Landwehr (territorial forces). In the event of war, the King
can call out the Landsturm in accordance with the law.
Article 36.
The armed force (of the nation) can only be employed for the
suppression of internal troubles, and the execution of the
laws, in the cases and manner specified by statute, and on the
requisition of the civil authorities. In the latter respect
exceptions will have to be determined by law.
Article 37.
The military judiciary of the army is restricted to penal
matters, and will be regulated by law. Provisions with regard
to military discipline will remain the subject of special
ordinances.
Article 38.
The armed force (of the nation) may not deliberate either when
on or off duty; nor may it otherwise assemble than when
commanded to do so. Assemblies and meetings of the Landwehr
for the purpose of discussing military institutions, commands
and ordinances, are forbidden even when it is not called out.
Article 39.
The provisions of Arts. 5, 6, 29, 30, and 32 will only apply
to the army in so far as they do not conflict with military
laws and rules of discipline.
Article 40.
The establishment of feudal tenures is forbidden. The Feudal
Union still existing with respect to surviving fiefs shall be
dissolved by law.
Article 41.
The provisions of Art. 40 do not apply to Crown fiefs or to
non-State fiefs.
Article 42.
Abolished without compensation, in accordance with special
laws passed, are:
1. The exercise or transfer of judicial power connected with
the possession of certain lands, together with the dues and
exemptions accruing from this right;
2. The obligations arising from patriarchal jurisdiction,
vassalage, and former tax and trading institutions. And with
these rights are also abolished the counter-services and
burdens hitherto therewith connected.
Article 43.
The person of the King is inviolable.
Article 44.
The King's Ministers are responsible. All Government acts
(documentary) of the King require for their validity the
approval of a Minister, who thereby assumes responsibility for
them.
Article 45.
The King alone is invested with executive power. He appoints
and dismisses Ministers. He orders the promulgation of laws,
and issues the necessary ordinances for their execution.
Article 46.
The King is Commander-in-Chief of the army.
Article 47.
The King fills all posts in the army, as well as in other
branches of the State service, in so far as not otherwise
ordained by law.
Article 48.
The King has the right to declare war and make peace, and to
conclude other treaties with foreign governments. The latter
require for their validity the assent of the Chambers in so
far as they are commercial treaties, or impose burdens on the
State, or obligations on its individual subjects.
Article 49.
The King has the right to pardon, and to mitigate punishment.
But in favour of a Minister condemned for his official acts,
this right can only be exercised on the motion of that Chamber
whence his indictment emanated. Only by special law can the
King suppress inquiries already instituted.
{576}
Article 50.
The King may confer orders and other distinctions, not
carrying with them privileges. He exercises the right of
coinage in accordance with the law.
Article 51.
The King convokes the Chambers, and closes their sessions. He
may dissolve both at once, or only one at a time. In such a
case, however, the electors must be assembled within a period
of 60 days, and the Chambers summoned within a period of 90
days respectively after the dissolution.
Article 52.
The King can adjourn the Chambers. But without their assent
this adjournment may not exceed the space of 30 days, nor be
repeated during the same session.
Article 53.
The Crown, according to the laws of the Royal House, is
hereditary in the male line of that House in accordance with
the law of primogeniture and agnatic succession.
Article 54.
The King attains his majority on completing his 18th year. In
presence of the united Chambers he will take the oath to
observe the Constitution of the Monarchy steadfastly and
inviolably, and to rule in accordance with it and the laws.
Article 55.
Without the consent of both Chambers the King cannot also be
ruler of foreign realms (Reiche).
Article 56.
If the King is a minor, or is otherwise lastingly prevented
from ruling himself, the Regency will be undertaken by that
agnate (Art. 53) who has attained his majority and stands
nearest the Crown. He has immediately to convoke the Chambers,
which, in united session, will decide as to the necessity of
the Regency.
Article 57.
If there be no agnate of age, and if no legal provision has
previously been made for such a contingency, the Ministry of
State will convoke the Chambers, which shall then elect a
Regent in united session. And until the assumption of the
Regency by him, the Ministry of State will conduct the
Government.
Article 58.
The Regent will exercise the powers invested in the King in
the latter's name; and, after institution of the Regency, he
will take an oath before the united Chambers to observe the
Constitution of the Monarchy steadfastly and inviolably, and
to rule in accordance with it and the laws. Until this oath is
taken, the whole Ministry of State for the time being will
remain responsible for all acts of the Government.
Article 59.
To the Crown Trust Fund appertains the annuity drawn from the
income of the forests and domains.
Article 60.
The Ministers, as well as the State officials appointed to
represent them, have access to each Chamber, and must at all
times be listened to at request. Each Chamber can demand the
presence of the Ministers. The Ministers are only entitled to
vote in one or other of the Chambers when members of it.
Article 61.
On the resolution of a Chamber the Ministers may be impeached
for the crime of infringing the Constitution, of bribery, and
of treason. The decision of such a case lies with the Supreme
Tribunal of the Monarchy sitting in United Senates. As long as
two Supreme Tribunals co-exist, they shall unite for the above
purpose. Further details as to matters of responsibility,
(criminal) procedure (thereupon), and punishments, are
reserved for a special law.
Article 62.
The legislative power will be exercised in common by the King
and by two Chambers. Every law requires the assent of the King
and the two Chambers. Money bills and budgets shall first be
laid before the Second Chamber; and the latter (i. e.,
budgets) shall either be wholly approved by the First Chamber,
or rejected altogether.
Article 63.
In the event only of its being urgently necessary to maintain
public security, or deal with an unusual state of distress
when the Chambers are not in session, ordinances, which do not
contravene the Constitution, may be issued with the force of
law, on the responsibility of the whole Ministry. But these
must be laid for approval before the Chambers at their next
meeting.
Article 64.
The King, as well as each Chamber, has the right of proposing
laws. Bills that have been rejected by one of the Chambers, or
by the King, cannot be re-introduced in the same session.
Articles 65-68.
The First Chamber is formed by royal ordinance, which can only
be altered by a law to be issued with the approval of the
Chambers. The First Chamber is composed of members appointed
by the King, with hereditary rights, or only for life.

Article 69.
The Second Chamber consists of 430 members. The electoral
districts are determined by law. They may consist of one or
more Circles (Arrondissements), or of one or more of the
larger towns.
[Footnote: Originally 350 only--a number which, in 1851, was
increased by 2, for the Principality of Hohenzollern, and in
1867 by 80 for the annexed provinces.]
Article 70.
Every Prussian who has completed his 25th year (i. e.,
attained his majority), and is capable of taking part in the
elections of the Commune where he is domiciled, is entitled to
act as a primary voter (Urwähler). Anyone who is entitled to
take part in the election of several Communes, can only
exercise his right as primary voter in one Commune.
Article 71.
For every 250 souls of the population, one (secondary) elector
(Wahlmann) shall be chosen. The primary voters fall into three
classes, in proportion to the amount of direct taxes they
pay--and in such a manner as that each class will represent a
third of the sum-total of the taxes paid by the primary
voters. This sum-total is reckoned:--
(a) by Parishes, in case the Commune does not form of itself a
primary electoral district.
(b) by (Government) Districts (Bezirke), in case the primary
electoral district consists of several Communes.
The first class consists of those primary voters, highest in
the scale of taxation, who pay a third of the total. The
second class consists of those primary voters, next highest in
the scale, whose taxes form a second third of the whole; and
the third class is made up of the remaining tax-payers (lowest
in the scale) who contribute the other third of the whole.
Each class votes apart, and for a third of the secondary
electors. These classes may be divided into several voting
sections, none of which, however, must include more than 500
primary voters. The secondary voters are elected in each class
from the number of the primary voters in their district,
without regard to the classes.
Article 72.
The deputies are elected by the secondary voters. Details will
be regulated by an electoral law, which must also make the
necessary provision for those cities where flour and slaughter
duties are levied instead of direct taxes.
{577}
Article 73.
The legislative period of the Second Chamber is fixed at three
years.
Article 74.
Eligible as deputy to the Second Chamber is every Prussian who
has completed his thirtieth year, has forfeited none of his
civil rights in consequence of a valid judicial sentence, and
has been a Prussian subject for three years. The president and
members of the Supreme Chamber of Accounts cannot sit in
either House of the Diet (Landtag).
Article 75.
After the lapse of a legislative period the Chambers will be
elected anew, and the same in the event of dissolution. In
both cases, previous members are re-eligible.
Article 76.
Both Houses of the Diet of the Monarchy shall be regularly
convened by the King in the period from the beginning of
November in each year till the middle of the following
January, and otherwise as often as circumstances require.
Article 77.
The Chambers will be opened and closed by the King in person,
or by a Minister appointed by him to do so, at a combined
sitting of the Chambers. Both Chambers shall be simultaneously
convened, opened, adjourned, and closed. If one Chamber is
dissolved, the other shall be at the same time prorogued.
Article 78.
Each Chamber will examine the credentials of its members, and
decide thereupon. It will regulate its own order of business
and discipline by special ordinances, and elect its president,
vice-presidents, and office-bearers. Civil servants require no
leave of absence in order to enter the Chamber. If a member of
the Chamber accepts a salaried office of the State, or is
promoted in the service of the State to a post involving
higher rank or increase of pay, he shall lose his seat and
vote in the Chamber, and can only recover his place in it by
re-election. No one can be member of both Chambers.
Article 79.
The sittings of both Chambers are public. On the motion of its
president, or of ten members, each Chamber may meet in private
sitting--at which this motion will then have to be discussed.
Article 80.
Neither of the Chambers can pass a resolution unless there be
present a majority of the legal number of its members. Each
Chamber passes its resolutions by absolute majority of votes,
subject to any exceptions that may be determined by the order
of business for elections.
Article 81.
Each Chamber has the separate right of presenting addresses to
the King. No one may in person present to the Chambers, or to
one of them, a petition or address. Each Chamber can transmit
the communications made to it to the Ministers, and demand of
them an answer to any grievances thus conveyed.
Article 82.
Each Chamber is entitled to appoint commissions of inquiry
into facts--for its own information.
Article 83.
The members of both Chambers are representatives of the whole
people. They vote according to their simple convictions, and
are not bound by commissions or instructions.
Article 84.
For their votes in the Chamber they can never be called to
account, and for the opinions they express therein they can
only be called to account within the Chamber, in virtue of the
order of business. No member of a Chamber can, without its
assent, be had up for examination, or be arrested during the
Parliamentary session for any penal offence, unless he be
taken in the act, or in the course of the following day. A
similar assent shall be necessary in the case of arrest for
debts. All criminal proceedings against a member of the
Chamber, and all arrests for preliminary examination, or civil
arrest, shall be suspended during the Parliamentary session on
demand from the Chamber concerned.
Article 85.
The members of the Second Chamber shall receive out of the
State Treasury travelling expenses and daily fees, according
to a statutory scale; and renunciation thereof shall be
inadmissible.
Article 86.
The judicial power will be exercised in the name of the King,
by independent tribunals subject to no other authority but
that of the law. Judgment shall be executed in the name of the
King.
Article 87.
The judges will be appointed for life by the King, or in his
name. They can only be removed or temporarily suspended from
office by judicial sentence, and for reasons foreseen by the
law. Temporary suspension from office (not ensuing on the
strength of a law), and involuntary transfer to another place,
or to the retired list, can only take place from the causes
and in the form mentioned by law, and in virtue of a judicial
sentence. But these provisions do not apply to cases of
transfer, rendered necessary by changes in the organisation of
the courts or their districts.
Article 88.
(abolished).
Article 89.
The organisation of the tribunals will only be determined by
law.
Article 90.
To the judicial office only those can be appointed who have
qualified themselves for it as prescribed by law.
Article 91.
Courts for special kinds of affairs, and, in particular,
tribunals for trade and commerce, shall be established by
statute in those places where local needs may require them.
The organisation and jurisdiction of such courts, as well as
their procedure and the appointment of their members, the
special status of the latter, and the duration of their
office, will be determined by law.
Article 92.
In Prussia there shall only be one supreme tribunal.
Article 93.
The proceedings of the civil and criminal courts shall be
public. But the public may be excluded by an openly declared
resolution of the court, when order or good morals may seem
endangered (by their admittance). In other cases publicity of
proceedings can only be limited by law.
Article 94.
In criminal cases the guilt of the accused shall be determined
by jurymen, in so far as exceptions are not determined by a
law issued with the previous assent of the Chambers. The
formation of a jury-court shall be regulated by a law.
Article 95.
By a law issued with the previous assent of the Chambers,
there may be established a special court whereof the
jurisdiction shall include the crimes of high treason, as well
as those crimes against the internal and external security of
the State, which may be assigned to it by law.
Article 96.
The competence of the courts and of the administrative
authorities shall be determined by law. Conflicts of authority
between the courts and the administrative authorities shall be
settled by a tribunal appointed by law.
{578}
Article 97.
A law shall determine the conditions on which public, civil,
and military officials may be sued for wrongs committed by
them in exceeding their functions. But the previous assent of
official superiors need not be requested.
Article 98.
The special legal status (Rechtsverhältnisse) of State
officials (including advocates and solicitors) not belonging
to the judicial class, shall be determined by a law, which,
without restricting the Government in the choice of its
executive agents, will grant civil servants proper protection
against arbitrary dismissal from their posts or diminution of
their pay.
Article 99.
All income and expenditure of the State must be pre-estimated
for every year, and be presented in the Budget, which shall be
annually fixed by a law.
Article 100.
Taxes and dues for the State Treasury may only be raised in so
far as they shall have been included in the Budget or ordained
by special laws.
Article 101.
In the matter of taxes there must be no privilege of persons.
Existing tax-laws shall be subjected to a revision, and all
such privileges abolished.
Article 102.
State and Communal officers can only levy dues on the strength
of a law.
Article 103.
The contracting of loans for the State Treasury can only be
effected on the strength of a law; and the same holds good of
guarantees involving a burden to the State.
Article 104.
Budget transgressions require subsequent approval by the
Chambers. The Budget will be examined and audited by the
Supreme Chamber of Accounts. The general Budget accounts of
every year, including tabular statistics of the National Debt,
shall, with the comments of the Supreme Chamber of Accounts,
be laid before the Chambers for the purpose of exonerating the
Government. A special law will regulate the establishment and
functions of the Supreme Chamber of Accounts.
Article 105.
The representation and administration of the Communes,
Arrondissements and Provinces of the Prussian State, will be
determined in detail by special laws.
Article 106.
Laws and ordinances become binding after having been published
in the form prescribed by law. The examination of the validity
of properly promulgated Royal ordinances is not within the
competence of the authorities, but of the Chambers.
Article 107.
The Constitution may be altered by ordinary legislative means;
and such alteration shall merely require the usual absolute
majority in both Chambers on two divisions (of the House),
between which there must elapse a period of at least
twenty-one days.
Article 108.
The members of both Chambers, and all State officials, shall
take the oath of fealty and obedience to the King, and swear
conscientiously to observe the Constitution. The army will not
take the oath to the Constitution.
Article 109.
Existing taxes and dues will continue to be raised; and all
provisions of existing statute-books, single laws, and
ordinances, which do not contravene the present Constitution,
will remain in force until altered by law.
Article 110.
All authorities holding appointments in virtue of existing
laws will continue their activity pending the issue of organic
laws affecting them.
Article 111.
In the event of war or revolution, and pressing danger to
public security therefrom ensuing, Articles 5, 6, 7, 27, 28,
29, 30, and 36 of the Constitution may be suspended for a
certain time, and in certain districts--the details to be
determined by law.
Article 112.
Until issue of the law contemplated in Article 26, educational
matters will be controlled by the laws at present in force.
Article 113.
Prior to the revision of the criminal code, a special law will
deal with offences committed by word, writing, print, or
artistic representation.
Article 114
(abolished).
Article 115.
Until issue of the electoral law contemplated in Article 72,
the ordinance of 30th May, 1849, touching the return of
deputies to the Second Chamber, will remain in force; and with
this ordinance is associated the provisional electoral law for
elections to the Second Chamber in the Hohenzollern
Principalities of 30th April, 1851.
Article 116.
The two supreme tribunals still existing shall be combined
into one-to be organised by a special law.
Article 117.
The claims of State officials appointed before the
promulgation of the Constitution shall be taken in to special
consideration by the Civil Servant Law.
Article 118.
Should changes in the present Constitution be rendered
necessary by the German Federal Constitution to be drawn up on
the basis of the Draft of 26th May, 1849, such alterations
will be decreed by the King; and the ordinances to this effect
laid before the Chambers, at their first meeting. The Chambers
will then have to decide whether the changes thus
provisionally ordained harmonise with the Federal Constitution
of Germany.
Article 119.
The Royal oath mentioned in Article 54, as well as the oath
prescribed to be taken by both Chambers and all State
officials, will have to be tendered immediately after the
legislative revision of the present Constitution (Articles 62
and 108).
In witness whereof we have hereunto set our signature and
seal.
Given at Charlottenburg, the 31st January, 1850.
(Signed) FRIEDRICH WILHELM.
In connection with Article 44 the course of domestic and
parliamentary politics drew forth the following Declaratory
Rescript from the German Emperor and King of Prussia, in
1882:--
"The right of the King to conduct the Government and policy of
Prussia according to his own discretion is limited by the
Constitution (of January 31, 1850), but not abolished. The
Government acts (documentary) of the King require the
counter-signature of a Minister, and, as was also the case
before the Constitution was issued, have to be represented by
the King's Ministers; but they nevertheless remain Government
acts of the King, from whose decisions they result, and who
thereby constitutionally expresses his will and pleasure. It
is therefore not admissible, and leads to obscuration of the
constitutional rights of the King, when their exercise is so
spoken of as if they emanated from the Ministers for the time
being responsible for them, and not from the King himself. The
Constitution of Prussia is the expression of the monarchical
tradition of this country, whose development is based on the
living and actual relations of its Kings to the people. These
relations, moreover, do not admit of being transferred to the
Ministers appointed by the King, for they attach to the person
of the King. Their preservation, too, is a political necessity
for Prussia. It is, therefore, my will that both in Prussia
and in the Legislative Bodies of the realm (or Reich), there
may be no doubt left as to my own constitutional right and
that of my successors to personally conduct the policy of my
Government; and that the theory shall always be gainsaid that
the [doctrine of the] inviolability of the person of the King,
which has always existed in Prussia, and is enunciated by
Article 43 of the Constitution, or the necessity of a
responsible counter-signature of my Government acts, deprives
them of the character of Royal and independent decisions. It
is the duty of my Ministers to support my constitutional
rights by protecting them from doubt and obscuration, and I
expect the same from all State servants (Beamten) who have
taken to me the official oath. I am far from wishing to impair
the freedom of elections, but in the case of those officials
who are intrusted with the execution of my Government acts,
and may, therefore, in conformity with the disciplinary law
forfeit their situations, the duty solemnly undertaken by
their oath of service also applies to the representation by
them of the policy of my Government during election times. The
faithful performance of this duty I shall thankfully
acknowledge, and I expect from all officials that, in view of
their oath of allegiance, they will refrain from all agitation
against my Government also during elections.
Berlin, January 4, 1882.
WILHELM. VON BISMARCK. To the Ministry of State."
----------CONSTITUTION OF PRUSSIA: End----------
{579}
CONSTITUTION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
See ROME: B. C. 31-A. D. 14, and A. D. 284-305.
CONSTITUTION OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC.
See ROME: B. C. 509, to B. C. 286;
also COMITIA CENTURIATA;
COMITIA CURIATA;
CONSULS, ROMAN;
CONSULAR TRIBUNES;
SENATE, ROMAN;
PLEBEIANS.
CONSTITUTION OF SOLON.
See ATHENS: B. C. 594.
CONSTITUTION OF SPAIN (1812).
See SPAIN: A. D. 1814-1827.
(1869). See SPAIN: A. D. 1866-1873.
(The Early Kingdoms.) See CORTES.
CONSTITUTION OF SULLA.
See ROME: B. C. 88-78.
----------End----------
CONSTITUTION OF SWEDEN.
"Four fundamental laws account for the present political
constitution of Sweden: the law concerning the form of
government (regerings-formen) dated June 6, 1809; the law on
representation (riksdags-ordningen), June 22, 1866; the order
of succession (successions-ordningen), September 26, 1810; and the
law on the liberty of the press (tryckfrihets-forordningen),
July 16, 1812. The union with Norway is regulated by the act
of union (riks-akten), Aug. 6, 1815. ... The representation of
the nation, since the law of June 22, 1866, rests not as
formerly on the division of the nation into four orders, but
on election only. Two chambers, having equal authority,
compose the diet. The members of the first chamber are elected
for nine years by the 'landstingen' (species of provincial
assemblies) and by the 'stadsfullmäktige' (municipal
counsellors) of cities which do not sit in the 'landsting.'"
Lalor's Cyclopedia of Political Science,
volume 3, pages 834-835.
"The First Chamber consists (1892) of 147 members, or one
deputy for every 30,000 of the population. The election of the
members takes place by the 'Landstings,' or provincial
representations, 25 in number, and the municipal corporations
of the towns, not already represented in the 'Landstings,'
Stockholm, Göteberg, Malmö and Norrköping. All members of the
First Chamber must be above 35 years of age, and must have
possessed for at least three years previous to the election
either real property to the taxed value of 80,000 kroner, or
4,444 l., or an annual income of 4,000 kroner, or 223 l. They
are elected for the term of nine years, and obtain no payment
for their services. The Second Chamber consists (Autumn 1892)
of 228 members, of whom 76 are elected by the towns and 146 by
the rural districts, one representative being returned for
every 10,000 of the population of towns, one for every
'Domsaga,' or rural district, of under 40,000 inhabitants, and
two for rural districts of over 40,000 inhabitants. All
natives of Sweden, aged 21, possessing real property to the
taxed value of 1,000 kroner, or 56 l., or farming, for a
period of not less than five years, landed property to the
taxed value of 6,000 kroner, or 333 l., or paying income tax
on an annual income of 800 kroner, or 45 l., are electors; and
all natives, aged 25, possessing, and having possessed at
least one year previous to the election, the same
qualifications, may be elected members of the Second Chamber.
The number of qualified electors to the Second Chamber in 1890
was 288,096, or 6.0 of the population; only 110,896, or 38.5
of the electors actually voted. In the smaller towns and
country districts the election may either be direct or
indirect, according to the wish of the majority. The election
is for the term of three years, and the members obtain
salaries for their services, at the rate of 1,200 kroner, or
67 l., for each session of four months, besides travelling
expenses. ... The members of both Chambers are elected by
ballot, both in town and country."
Statesman's Year-book, 1893, page 965.
"The Diet, or Riksdag, assembles every year, in ordinary
session, on the 15th of January, or the day following, if the
15th is a holiday. It may be convoked in extraordinary session
by the king. In case of the decease, absence, or illness of
the king, the Diet may be convoked extraordinarily by the
Council of State, or even, if this latter neglects to do so,
by the tribunals of second instance. The king may dissolve the
two chambers simultaneously, or one of them alone, during the
ordinary sessions, but the new Diet assembles after the three
months of the dissolution, and can only be dissolved again
four months after resuming its sitting. The king dissolves the
extraordinary session when he deems proper. ... The Diet
divides the right of initiative with the king: the consent of
the synod is necessary for ecclesiastical Laws. ... Every
three years the Diet names a commission of twenty-four members
(twelve from each chamber), charged with the duty of electing
six persons who are commissioned under the presidency of the
Procureur general of the Diet to watch over the liberty of the
press."
G. Demombynes, Constitutions Européennes,
volume 1, pages 84-90.
{580}
The following is the text of the Constitution as adopted in
1809, the subsequent modifications of which are indicated
above:
Form of government adopted by the King and the Estates of the
Swedish Realm, at Stockholm, on the 6th of June, 1809;
together with the Alterations afterwards introduced.
We Charles, by the Grace of God, King of the Swedes, the
Goths, and the Vandals, &c. &e. &e. Heir to Norway, Duke of
Sleswick-Holstein; Stormarn, and Ditmarsen, Count of Oldenburg
and Delmenhorst, &c. &c. &c. make known, that having unlimited
confidence in the estates of the realm, charged them with
drawing up a new form of government, as the perpetual
groundwork of the prosperity and independence of our common
native land, We do hereby perform a dear and pleasing duty in
promulgating the fundamental law (which has been) upon mature
deliberation, framed and adopted by the estates of the realm,
and presented unto Us this day, together with their free and
unanimous offer of the Swedish crown. Having with deep emotion
and an affectionate interest in the prosperity of a nation
which has afforded Us so striking a proof of confidence and
attachment, complied with their request, We trust to our
endeavors to promote its happiness, as the reciprocal rights
and duties of the monarch and the subjects have been marked so
distinctly, that, without encroachment on the sacred nature
and power of majesty, the constitutional liberty of the people
is protected. We do therefore hereby adopt, sanction, and
ratify this form of government, such as it follows here:--
We the underwritten representatives of the Swedish realm,
counts, barons, bishops, knights, nobles, clergymen, burghers,
and peasants, assembled at a general Diet, in behalf of
ourselves and our brethren at home, Do hereby make known,
that, having by the late change of government, to which we,
the deputies of the Swedish people, gave our unanimous assent,
exercised our rights of drawing up a new and improved
constitution, we have, in repealing those fundamental laws,
which down to this day have been in force more or less;
viz.,--The Form of Government of the 21st of August 1772, the
Act of Union and Security, of the 21st of February and the 3d
of April 1789, the Ordinance of Diet, of the 24th of January
1617, as well as all those laws, acts, statutes, and
resolutions comprehended under the denomination of fundamental
laws;--We have Resolved to adopt for the kingdom of Sweden and
its dependencies the following constitution, which from
henceforth shall be the chief fundamental law of the realm,
reserving to Ourselves, before the expiration of the present
Diet, to consider the other fundamental laws, mentioned in the
85th article of this constitution.
Article 1.
The kingdom of Sweden shall be governed by a king, who shall
be hereditary in that order of succession which the estates
will further hereafter determine.
Article 2.
The king shall profess the pure evangelical faith, such as is
contained and declared m the Augsburgian Confession, and
explained in the Decree of the Diet at Upsala in the year
1593.
Article 3.
The majesty of the king shall be held sacred and inviolable;
and his actions shall not be subject to any censure.
Article 4.
The king shall govern the realm alone, in the manner
determined by this constitution. In certain cases, however,
(to be specified) he shall take the opinion of a council of
state, which shall be constituted of well-informed,
experienced, honest, and generally-esteemed native Swedes,
noblemen and commoners, who profess the pure evangelical
faith.
Article 5.
The council of state shall consist of nine members, viz., the
minister of state and justice, who shall always be a member of
the king's supreme court of judicature, the minister of state
for foreign affairs, six counsellors of state, three of whom
at least must have held civil offices, and the chancellor of
the court, or aulic chancellor. The secretaries of state shall
have a seat and vote in the council, when they have to report
matters there, and in cases that belong to their respective
departments. Father and son, or two brothers, shall not be
permitted to be constant members of the council of state.
Article 6.
The secretaries of state shall be four, viz.--One for
military affairs; a second for public economy, mining, and all
other affairs connected with the civil and interior
administration; a third for the finances of the realm, inland
and foreign commerce, manufactures, &c.; and the fourth, for
affairs relating to religion, public education, and charities.
Article 7.
All affairs of government shall be laid before the king, and
decided in a council of state: those of a ministerial nature,
however, excepted, concerning the relations of the realm with
foreign powers, and matters of military command, which the
king decides in his capacity of commander-in-chief of the land
and naval forces.
Article 8.
The king can make no decision in matters in which the council
of state are to be heard, unless at least three counsellors of
state, and the secretary of state whom it concerns, or his
deputy-secretary, are present.--All the members of the council
shall, upon due notice, attend all deliberations deemed of
importance, and which concern the general administration of
the affairs of the kingdom; such as questions for adopting new
statutes, repealing or altering those in existence,
introducing new institutions in the different branches of the
administration, &c.
Article 9.
Minutes shall be kept of all matters which shall come before
the king in his council of state. The ministers of state, the
counsellors of state, the aulic chancellor, and the
secretaries of state or deputy-secretaries, shall be
peremptorily bound to deliver their opinions: it is, however,
the prerogative of the king to decide. Should it, however,
unexpectedly occur, that the decisions of the king are
evidently contrary to the constitution and the common law of
the realm, it shall in that case be the duty of the members of
the council of state to make spirited remonstrances against
such decision or resolution. Unless a different opinion has
been recorded in the minutes (for then the counsellors present
shall be considered as having advised the king to the adopted
measure), the members of the council shall be responsible for
their advices, as enacted in the 106th article.
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Article 10.
Necessary informations having been demanded and obtained from
the proper boards, authorities, and functionaries, the affairs
for deliberation shall be prepared by the secretary of state
and eight skilful and impartial men, consisting of four nobles
and four commoners, in order to their being laid before the
king in the council of state.--The secretary, as well as all
the other members of this committee (which are nominated by
the king) for preparing the general affairs of the kingdom,
shall upon all occasions, when so met, deliver their opinions
to the minutes, which shall afterwards be reported to the king
and the council of state.
Article 11.
As to the management of the ministerial affairs, they may be
prepared and conducted in the manner which appears most
suitable to the king. It appertains to the minister for
foreign affairs to lay such matters before him in the presence
of the aulic chancellor, or some other member of the council,
if the chancellor cannot attend. In the absence of the
minister of state this duty devolves upon the aulic
chancellor, or any other member of the council of state, whom
his majesty may appoint. After having ascertained the opinions
of these official persons entered in the minutes, and for
which they shall be responsible, the king shall pronounce his
decision in their presence. It shall be the duty of the aulic
chancellor to keep the minutes on these occasions. The king
shall communicate to the council of state the information on
these topics as may be necessary, in order that they may have
a general knowledge even of this branch of the administration.
Article 12.
The king can enter into treaties and alliances with foreign
powers, after having ascertained, as enacted in the preceding
article, the opinion of the minister of state for foreign
affairs, and of the aulic chancellor.
Article 13.
When the king is at liberty to commence war, or conclude
peace, he shall convoke an extraordinary council of state; the
ministers of state, the counsellors of state, the aulic
chancellor, and the secretaries of state; and, after having
explained to them the circumstances which require their
consideration, he shall desire their opinions thereon, which
each of them shall individually deliver, on the responsibility
defined in the 107th article. The king shall thereafter have a
right to adopt the resolutions, or make such decision as may
appear to him most beneficial for the kingdom.
Article 14.
The king shall have the supreme command of the military forces
by sea and land.
Article 15.
The king shall decide in all matters of military command, in
the presence of that minister or officer to whom he has
entrusted the general management thereof. It shall be the duty
of this person to give his opinion, under responsibility, upon
the resolutions taken by the king, and in case of these being
contrary to his advice, he shall be bound to enter his
objections and counsel in the minutes, which the king must
confirm by his own signature. Should this minister or official
person find the resolutions of the king to be of a dangerous
tendency, or founded on mistaken or erroneous principles, he
shall advise his majesty to convoke two or more military
officers of a superior rank into a council of war. The king
shall, however, be at liberty to comply with or to reject this
proposition for a council of war; and if approved of, he may
take what notice he pleases of the opinions of such council,
which shall, however, be entered in the minutes.
Article 16.
The king shall promote the exercise of justice and right, and
prevent partiality and injustice. He shall not deprive any
subject of life, honour, liberty, and property, without
previous trial and sentence, and in that order which the laws
of the country prescribe. He shall not disturb, or cause to be
disturbed, the peace of any individual in his house. He shall
not banish any from one place to another, nor constrain, or
cause to be constrained, the conscience of any; but shall
protect everyone in the free exercise of his religion,
provided he does not thereby disturb the tranquillity of
society, or occasion public offence. The king shall cause
everyone to be tried in that court to which he properly
belongs.
Article 17.
The king's prerogative of justice shall be invested in twelve
men, learned in the law, six nobles, and six commoners, who
have shown knowledge, experience, and integrity in judicial
matters. They shall be styled counsellors of justice, and
constitute the king's supreme court of justice.
Article 18.
The supreme court of justice shall take cognizance of
petitions to the king for cancelling sentences which have
obtained legal force, and granting extension of time in
lawsuits, when it has been, through some circumstances,
forfeited.
Article 19.
If information be sought by judges or courts of justice
concerning the proper interpretation of the law, the
explanation thus required shall be given by the said supreme
court.
Article 20.
In time of peace, all cases referred from the courts martial
shall be decided in the supreme court of justice. Two military
officers of a superior degree, to be nominated by the king,
shall, with the responsibility of judges, attend and have a
vote in such cases in the supreme court. The number of judges
may not, however, exceed eight. In time of war, all such cases
shall be tried as enacted by the articles of war.
Article 21.
The king, should he think fit to attend, shall have right to
two votes in causes decided by the supreme court. All
questions concerning explanations of the law shall be reported
to him, and his suffrages counted, even though he should not
have attended the deliberations of the court.
Article 22.
Causes of minor importance may be decided in the supreme court
by five members, or even four, if they are all of one opinion;
but in causes of greater consequence seven counsellors, at
least, must attend. More than eight members of the supreme
court, or four noblemen and four commoners, may not be at one
time in active service.
Article 23.
All the decrees of the supreme court of justice shall issue in
the king's name, and under his hand and seal.
Article 24.
The cases shall be prepared in the "king's inferior court for
revision of judiciary affairs," in order to be laid before, or
produced in the supreme court.
Article 25.
In criminal cases the king has a right to grant pardon, to
mitigate capital punishment, and to restore property forfeited
to the crown. In applications, however, of this kind, the
supreme court shall be heard, and the king give his decision
in the council of state.
Article 26.
When matters of justice are laid before the council of state,
the minister of state and justice, and, at least, two
counsellors of state, two members of the supreme court, and
the chancellor of justice shall attend, who must all deliver
their opinions to the minutes, according to the general
instruction for the members of the council of state, quoted in
the 91st article.
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Article 21.
The king shall nominate, as chancellor of justice, a
juris-consult, an able and impartial man, who has previously
held the office of a judge. It shall be his chief duty, as the
highest legal officer or attorney general of the king, to
prosecute, either personally or through the officers or
fiscals under him, in all such cases as concern the public
safety and the rights of the crown, on the king's behalf, to
superintend the administration of justice, and to take
cognizance of, and correct, errors committed by judges or
other legal officers in the discharge of their official
duties.
Article 28.
The king, in his council of state, has a right to appoint
native Swedes to all such offices and places within the
kingdom for which the king's commissions are granted. The
proper authorities shall, however, send in the names of the
candidates to be put in nomination for such employments. The
king may, likewise, appoint foreigners of eminent talents to
military offices, without, however, entrusting to them the
command of the fortresses of the realm. In preferments the
king shall only consider the merits and the abilities of the
candidates, without any regard to their birth. Ministers and
counsellors of state and of justice, secretaries of state,
judges, and all other civil officers, must always be of the
pure evangelical faith.
Article 29.
The archbishop and bishops shall be elected as formerly, and
the king nominates one of the three candidates proposed to
him.
Article 30.
The king appoints, as formerly, the incumbents of rectories in
the gift of the crown. As to the consistorial benefices, the
parishioners shall be maintained in their usual right of
election.
Article 31.
Citizens, who are freemen of towns, shall enjoy their
privilege as heretofore, of proposing to the king three
candidates for the office of burgomaster or mayor, one of whom
the king selects. The aldermen and secretaries of the
magistracy of Stockholm shall be elected in the same manner.
Article 32.
The king appoints envoys to foreign courts and the officers of
the embassies, in the presence of the minister of state for
foreign affairs and the aulic chancellor.
Article 33.
When offices, for which candidates are proposed, are to be
filled up, the members of the council of state shall deliver
their opinions on the qualifications and merits of the
applicants. They shall also have right to make respectful
remonstrances against the nomination of the king respecting
other offices.
Article 34.
The new functionaries created by this constitution, viz.--the
ministers and counsellors of state and counsellors of justice,
shall be paid by the crown, and may not hold any other civil
offices. The two ministers of state are the highest
functionaries of the realm. The counsellors of state shall
hold the rank of generals, and the counsellors of justice that
of lieutenant-generals.
Article 35.
The minister of state for foreign affairs, the counsellors of
state, the presidents of the public boards, the grand governor
of Stockholm, the deputy governor, and the chief magistrate of
police in the city, the aulic chancellor, the chancellor of
justice, the secretaries of state, the governors or
lord-lieutenants of provinces, field marshals, generals and
admirals of all degrees, adjutant generals, adjutant in chief,
adjutants of the staff, the governors of fortresses, captain
lieutenants, and officers of the king's life guards, colonels
of the regiments, and officers second in command in the foot
and horse guards, lieutenant-colonels in the brigade of the
life regiments, chiefs of the artillery of the royal
engineers, ministers, envoys, and commercial agents with
foreign powers, and official persons employed in the king's
cabinet for the foreign correspondence, and at the embassies,
as holding places of trust, can be removed by the king, when
he considers it necessary for the benefit of the realm. The
king shall, however, signify his determination in the council
of state, the members whereof shall be bound to make
respectful remonstrances, if they see it expedient.
Article 36.
Judges, and all other official persons, not included in the
preceding article, cannot be suspended from their situations
without legal trial, nor be translated or removed to other
places, without having themselves applied for these.
Article 31.
The king has power to confer dignities on those who have
served their country with fidelity, bravery, virtue, and zeal.
He may also promote to the order of counts and barons,
persons, who by eminent merits have deserved such an honour.
Nobility and the dignity of a count and baron, granted from
this time, shall no longer devolve to any other than the
individual himself thus created a noble, and after him, to the
oldest of his male issue in a direct descending line, and this
branch of the family being extinct, to the nearest male
descendant of the ancestor.
Article 38.
All despatches and orders emanating from the king, excepting
such as concern military affairs, shall be countersigned by
the secretary who has submitted them to the council, and is
responsible for their being conformable to the minutes. Should
the secretary find any of the decisions made by the king to be
contrary to the spirit of the constitution, he shall make his
remonstrances respecting the same, in the council of state.
Should the king still persist in his determination, it shall
then be the duty of the secretary to refuse his countersign,
and resign his place, which he may not resume until the
estates of the realm shall have examined and approved of his
conduct. He shall, however, in the mean time, receive his
salary, and all the fees of his office as formerly.
Article 39.
If the king wishes to go abroad, he shall communicate his
resolution to the council of state, in a full assembly, and
take the opinion of all its members, as enacted in the ninth
article. During the absence of the king he may not interfere
with the government, or exercise the regal power, which shall
be carried on, in his name, by the council of state; the
council of state cannot, however, confer dignities or create
counts, barons, and knights; and all officers appointed by the
council shall only hold their places ad interim.
Article 40.
Should the king be in such a state of health as to be
incapable of attending to the affairs of the kingdom, the
council of state shall conduct the administration, as enacted
in the preceding article.
Article 41.
The king shall be of age after having completed eighteen
years. Should the king die before the heir of the crown has
attained this age, the government shall be conducted by the
council of state, acting with regal power and authority, in
the name of the king, until the estates of the realm shall
have appointed a provisional government or regency; and the
council of state is enjoined strictly to conform to the
enactments of this constitution.
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Article 42.
Should the melancholy event take place, that the whole royal
family became extinct on the male side, the council of state
shall exercise the government with regal power and authority,
until the estates have chosen another royal house, and the new
king has taken upon himself the government. All occurrences or
things having reference to the four last articles, shall be
determined by the whole council of state and the secretaries
of state.
Article 43.
When the king takes the field of battle, or repairs to distant
parts of the kingdom, he shall constitute four of the members
of the council of state to exercise the government in those
affairs which he is pleased to prescribe.
Article 44.
No prince of the royal family shall be permitted to marry
without having obtained the consent of the king, and in the
contrary case shall forfeit his right of inheritance to the
kingdom, both for himself and descendants.
Article 45.
Neither the crown prince, or any other prince of the royal
family, shall have any appanage or civil place. The princes of
the blood may, however, bear titles of dukedoms and
principalities, as heretofore, but without any claims upon
those provinces.
Article 46.
The kingdom shall remain divided, as heretofore, into
governments, under the usual provincial administrations. No
governor-general shall, from this time, be appointed within
the kingdom.
Article 47.
The courts of justice, superior as well as inferior, shall
administer justice according to the laws and statutes of the
realm. The provincial governors, and all other public
functionaries, shall exercise the offices entrusted to them
according to existing regulations; they shall obey the orders
of the king, and be responsible to him if any act is done
contrary to law.
Article 48.
The court of the king is under his own management, and he may
at his own pleasure appoint or discharge all his officers and
attendants there.
Article 49.
The estates of the realm shall meet every fifth year. In the
decree of every Diet the day shall be fixed for the next
meeting of the estates. The king may, however, convoke the
estates to an extraordinary Diet before that time.
Article 50.
The Diets shall be held in the capital, except when the
invasion of an enemy, or some other important impediment, may
render it dangerous for the safety of the representatives.
Article 51.
When the king or council convokes the estates, the period for
the commencement of the Diet shall be subsequent to the
thirtieth, and within the fiftieth day, to reckon from that
day when the summons has been proclaimed in the churches of
the capital.
Article 52.
The king names the speakers of the nobles, the burghers and
the peasants: the archbishop is, at all times, the constant
speaker of the clergy.
Article 53.
The estates of the realm shall, immediately after the opening
of the Diet, elect the different committees, which are to
prepare the affairs intended for their consideration. Such
committees shall consist in,
a constitutional committee, which shall take cognizance of
questions concerning proposed alterations in the
fundamental laws, report thereupon to the representatives,
and examine the minutes held in the council of state;
a committee of finances, which shall examine and report
upon the state and management of the revenues;
a committee of taxation, for regulating the taxes;
a committee of the bank for inquiring into the
administration of the affairs of the national bank;
a law committee for digesting propositions concerning
improvements in the civil, criminal, and ecclesiastical
laws;
a committee of public grievances and matters of economy, to
attend to the defects in public institutions, suggest
alterations, &c.
Article 54.
Should the king desire a special committee for deliberating
with him on such matters as do not come within the cognizance
of any of the other committees, and are to be kept secret, the
estates shall select it. This committee shall, however, have
no right to adopt any resolutions, but only to give their
opinion on matters referred to them by the king.
Article 55.
The representatives of the realm shall not discuss any subject
in the presence of the king, nor can any other committee than
the one mentioned in the above article hold their
deliberations before him.
Article 56.
General questions started at the meetings or the orders of the
estates, cannot be immediately discussed or decided, but shall
be referred to the proper committees, which are to give their
opinion thereupon. The propositions or report of the
committees shall, in the first instance, without any
alteration or amendment, be referred to the estates at the
general meetings of all the orders. If at these meetings,
observations should be made which may prevent the adoption of
the proposed measure, these objections shall be communicated
to the committee, in order to its being examined and revised.
A proposition thus prepared having been again referred to the
estates, it shall remain with them to adopt it, with or
without alterations, or to reject it altogether. Questions
concerning alterations in the fundamental laws, shall be thus
treated:
If the constitutional committee approves of the suggestion
of one of the representatives, or the committee reports in
favour of or against a measure proposed by the king, the
opinion of the committee shall be referred to the estates,
who may discuss the topic, but not come to any resolution
during that Diet.
If at the general meetings of the orders no observations
are made against the opinion of the committee, the question
shall be postponed till the Diet following, and then be
decided solely by yes or no, as enacted in the 75th article
of the ordinance of Diet.
If, on the contrary, objections are urged at the general
meetings of the orders against the opinion of the
committee, these shall be referred back for its
reconsideration. If all the orders be of one opinion, the
question shall be postponed for final decision, as enacted
above. Should again a particular order differ from the
other orders, twenty members shall be elected from among
every order, and added to the committee, for adjusting the
differences. The question being thus prepared, shall be
decided at the following Diet.
Article 57.
The ancient right of the Swedish people, of imposing taxes on
themselves, shall be exercised by the estates only at a
general Diet.
Article 58.
The king shall at every Diet lay before the committee of
finances the state of the revenues in all their branches.
Should the crown have obtained subsidies through treaties with
foreign powers, these shall be explained in the usual way.
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Article 59.
The king shall refer to the decision of this committee to
determine what the government may require beyond the ordinary
taxation, to be raised by an extraordinary grant.
Article 60.
No taxes of any description whatever can be increased without
the express consent of the estates. The king may not farm or
let on lease the revenues of state, for the sake of profit to
himself and the crown; nor grant monopolies to private
individuals, or corporations.
Article 61.
All taxes shall be paid to the end of that term for which they
have been imposed. Should, however, the estates meet before
the expiration of that term, new regulations shall take place.
Article 62.
The funds required by government having been ascertained by

the committee of finances, it shall rest with the estates
whether to assign proportionate means, and also to determine
how the various sums granted shall be appropriated.
Article 63.
Besides these means, two adequate sums shall be voted and set
apart for the disposal of the king, after he has consulted the
council of state,--for the defence of the kingdom, or some
other important object;--the other sum to be deposited in the
national bank, in case of war, after the king has ascertained
the opinion of the council and convened the estates. The seal
of the order for this latter sum may not be broken, nor the
money be paid by the commissioners of the bank, till the
summons to Diet shall have been duly proclaimed in the
churches of the capital.
Article 64.
The ordinary revenues of the land, as well as the
extraordinary grants which may be voted by the estates, shall
be at the disposal of the king for the civil list and other
specified purposes.
Article 65.
The above means may not be applied but for the assigned
purposes, and the council of state shall be responsible if
they permit any deviation in this respect, without entering
their remonstrances in the minutes, and pointing out what the
constitution in this case ordains.
Article 66.
The funds of amortissement or national debt, shall remain, as
heretofore, under the superintendence and direction of the
estates, who have guaranteed or come under a responsibility
for the national debt; and after having received the report of
the committee of finances on the affairs of that
establishment, the estates will provide, through a special
grant, the requisite means for paying the capital as well as
the interest of this debt, in order that the credit of the
kingdom may be maintained.
Article 67.
The deputy of the king shall not attend the meetings of the
directors or commissioners of the funds of amortissement, on
any other occasion than when the directors are disposed to
take his opinion.
Article 68.
The means assigned for paying off the national debt shall not,
under any pretence or condition, be appropriated to other
purposes.
Article 69.
Should the estates, or any particular order, entertain doubts
either in allowing the grant proposed by the committee of
finances, or as to the participation in the taxes, or the
principles of the management of the funds of amortissement,
these doubts shall be communicated to the committee for their
further consideration.--If the committee cannot coincide in
the opinions of the estates, or a single order, it shall
depute some members to explain circumstances. Should this
order still persist in its opinion, the question shall be
decided by the resolution of three orders. If two orders be of
one, and the other two of a different opinion, thirty new
members of every order shall be added to the committee--the
committee shall then vote conjointly, and not by orders, with
folded billets, for adopting, or rejecting, unconditionally
the proposition of the committee.
Article 70.
The committee of taxation shall at every Diet suggest general
principles for dividing the future taxes, and the amount
having been fixed, the committee shall also propose how these
are to be paid, referring their proposition to the
consideration and decision of the states.
Article 71.
Should a difference of opinion arise between the orders, as to
these principles and the mode of applying them, and dividing
the taxes; or, what hardly can be presumed, any order decline
participating in the proposed taxation, the order, which may
thus desire some alteration, shall communicate their views to
the other representatives, and suggest in what mode this
alteration may be effected without frustrating the general
object. The committee of taxation having again reported
thereon to the estates, they, the estates, shall decide the
question at issue. If three orders object to the proposition
of the committee, it shall be rejected. If, again, three
orders oppose the demands of a single order, or if two be of
an opinion contrary to that of the other two, the question
shall be referred to the committee of finances, with an
additional number of members, as enacted in the above article.
If the majority of this committee assent to the proposition of
the committee of taxation, in those points concerning which
the representatives have disagreed, the proposition shall be
considered as the general resolution of the estates. Should
it, on the contrary, be negatived by a majority of votes, or
be rejected by three orders, the committee of taxation shall
propose other principles for levying and dividing the taxes.
Article 72.
The national bank shall remain, as formerly, under the
superintendence and guarantee of the estates, and the
management of directors selected from among all the orders,
according to existing regulations. The states alone can issue
bank-notes, which are to be recognized as the circulating
medium of the realm.
Article 73.
No troops, new taxes or imposts, either in money or kind, can
be levied without the voluntary consent of the estates, in the
usual order, as aforesaid.
Article 74.
The king shall have no right to demand or levy any other aid
for carrying on war, than that contribution of provisions
which may be necessary for the maintenance of the troops
during their march through a province. These contributions
shall, however, be immediately paid out of the treasury,
according to the fixed price-current of provisions, with an
augmentation of a moiety, according to this valuation. Such
contributions may not be demanded for troops which have been
quartered in a place, or are employed in military operations,
in which case they shall be supplied with provisions from the
magazines.
Article 75.
The annual estimation of such rentes as are paid in kind shall
be fixed by deputies elected from among all the orders of the
estates.
Article 76.
The king cannot, without the consent of the estates, contract
loans within or without the kingdom, nor burthen the land with
any new debts.
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Article 77.
He cannot also, without the consent of the estates, vend,
pledge, mortgage, or in any other way alienate domains, farms,
forests, parks, preserves of game, meadows, pasture-land,
fisheries, and other appurtenances of the crown. These shall
be managed according to the instructions of the estates.
Article 78.
No part of the kingdom can be alienated through sale,
mortgage, donation, or in any other way whatever.
Article 79.
No alteration can be effected in the standard value of the
coin, either for enhancing or deteriorating it, without the
consent of the estates.
Article 80.
The land and naval forces of the realm shall remain on the
same footing, till the king and the estates may think proper
to introduce some other principles. No regular troops can be
raised, without the mutual consent of the king and the
estates.
Article 81.
This form of government and the other fundamental laws cannot
be altered or repealed, without the unanimous consent of the
king and the estates. Questions to this effect cannot be
brought forward at the meetings of the orders, but must be
referred to the constitutional committee, whose province it is
to suggest such alterations in the fundamental laws, as may be
deemed necessary, useful, and practicable. The estates may not
decide on such proposed alterations at the same Diet. If all
the orders agree about the alteration, it shall be submitted
to the king, through the speakers, for obtaining his royal
sanction, After having ascertained the opinion of the council,
the king shall take his resolution, and communicate to the
estates either his approbation or reasons for refusing it. In
the event of the king proposing any alteration in the
fundamental laws, he shall, after having taken the opinion of
the council, deliver his proposition to the estates, who
shall, without discussing it, again refer it to the
constitutional committee. If the committee coincide in the
proposition of the king, the question shall remain till next
Diet. If again the committee is averse to the proposition of
the king, the estates may either reject it immediately or
adjourn it to the following Diet. In the case of all the
orders approving of the proposition, they shall request that a
day be appointed to declare their consent in the presence of
his majesty, or signify their disapprobation through their
speakers.
Article 82.
What the estates have thus unanimously resolved and the king
sanctioned, concerning alterations in the fundamental laws, or
the king has proposed and the estates approved of, shall for
the future have the force and effect of a fundamental law.
Article 83.
No explanation of the fundamental laws may be established by
any other mode or order, than that prescribed by the two
preceding articles. Laws shall be applied according to their
literal sense.
Article 84.
When the constitutional committee find no reason for approving
of the proposition, made by a representative concerning
alterations or explanations of the fundamental laws, it shall
be the duty of the committee to communicate to him, at his
request, their opinion, which the proposer of the resolution
may publish, with his own motion, and under the usual
responsibility of authors.
Article 85.
As fundamental laws of the present form of government, there
shall be considered the ordinance of Diet, the order of
succession, and the act concerning universal liberty of the
press.
Article 86.
By the liberty of the press is understood the right of every
Swedish subject to publish his writings, without any
impediment from the government, and without being responsible
for them, except before a court of justice, or liable to
punishment, unless their contents be contrary to a clear law,
made for the preservation of public peace. The minutes, or
protocols, or the proceedings, may be published in any case,
excepting the minutes kept in the council of state and before
the king in ministerial affairs, and those matters of military
command; nor may the records of the bank, and the office of
the funds of amortissement, or national debt, be printed.
Article 87.
The estates, together with the king, have the right to make
new and repeal old laws. In this view such questions must be
proposed at the general meetings of the orders of the estates,
and shall be decided by them, after having taken the opinion
of the law committee, as laid down in the 56th article. The
proposition shall be submitted, through the speakers, to the
king, who, after having ascertained the opinion of the council
of state and supreme court, shall declare either his royal
approbation, or motives for withholding it. Should the king
desire to propose any alteration in the laws, he shall, after
having consulted the council of state and supreme court, refer
his proposition, together with their opinion, to the
deliberation of the states, who, after having received the
report of the law committee, shall decide on the point. In all
such questions the resolution of three orders shall be
considered as the resolution of the estates of the realm. If
two orders are opposed to the other two, the proposition is
negatived, and the law is to remain as formerly.
Article 88.
The same course, or mode of proceeding, shall be observed in
explaining the civil, criminal, and ecclesiastical laws, as in
making these. Explanations concerning the proper sense of the
law given by the supreme court in the name of the king, in the
interval between the Diets, may be rejected by the states, and
shall not afterwards be valid, or cited by the courts of
judicature.
Article 89.
At the general meetings of the orders of the estates,
questions may be proposed for altering, explaining, repealing,
and issuing acts concerning public economy; and the principles
of public institutions of any kind may be discussed. These
questions shall afterwards be referred to the committee of
public grievances and economical affairs, and then be
submitted to the decision of the king, in a council of state.
When the king is pleased to invite the estates to deliberate
with him on questions concerning the general administration,
the same course shall be adopted as is prescribed for
questions concerning the laws.
Article 90.
During the deliberations of the orders, or their committees,
no questions shall be proposed but in the way expressly
prescribed by this fundamental law, concerning either
appointing or removing of officers, decisions and resolutions
of the government and courts of law, and the conduct of
private individuals and corporations.
Article 91.
When the king, in such cases as those mentioned in the 39th
article, is absent from the kingdom longer than twelve months,
the council shall convoke the estates to a general Diet, and
cause the summons to be proclaimed within fifteen days from
the above time, in the churches of the capital, and speedily
afterwards in the other parts of the kingdom. If the king,
after being informed thereof, does not return to the kingdom,
the estates shall adopt such measures as they deem most
beneficial for the country.
{586}
Article 92.
The same shall be enacted in case of any disease or ill health
of the king, which might prevent him from attending to the
affairs of the kingdom for more than twelve months.
Article 93.
When the heir of the crown, at the decease of the king, is
under age, the council of state shall issue summons to the
representatives to meet. The estates of the realm shall have
the right, without regard to the will of a deceased king
concerning the administration, to appoint one or several
guardians, to rule in the king's name, according to this
fundamental law, till the king becomes of age.
Article 94.
Should it ever happen that the royal family become extinct in
the male line, the council of state shall convene the estates,
to elect another royal family to rule conformably to this
fundamental law.
Article 95.
Should, contrary to expectation, the council of state fail to
convoke the estates, in the cases prescribed by the 91st, 93d,
and 94th articles, it shall be the positive duty of the
directors of the house of nobles, the chapters throughout the
kingdom, the magistrates in the capital, and the governors in
the provinces, to give public notice thereof, in order that
elections of deputies to the Diet may forthwith take place,
and the estates assemble to protect their privileges and
rights of the kingdom. Such a Diet shall be opened on the
fiftieth day from that period when the council of state had
proclaimed the summons in the churches of the capital.
Article 96.
The estates shall at every Diet appoint an officer,
distinguished for integrity and learning in the law, to watch
over, as their deputy, the conduct of the judges and other
official men, and who shall, in legal order and at the proper
court, arraign those who in the performance of their offices
have betrayed negligence and partiality, or else have
committed any illegal act. He shall, however, be liable to the
same responsibility as the law prescribes for public
prosecutors in general.
Article 97.
This deputy or attorney-general of the estates shall be chosen
by twelve electors out of every order.
Article 98.
The electors shall at the same time they choose the said
attorney-general, elect a person possessing equal or similar
qualities to succeed him, in case of his death before the next
Diet.
Article 99.
The attorney-general may, whenever he pleases, attend the
sessions of all the superior and inferior courts, and the
public offices, and shall have free access to their records
and minutes; and the king's officers shall be bound to give
him every assistance.
Article 100.
The attorney-general shall at every Diet present a report of
the performance of his office, explaining the state of the
administration of justice in the land, noticing the defects in
the existing laws, and suggesting new improvements. He shall
also, at the end of each year, publish a general statement
concerning these.
Article 101.
Should the supreme court, or any of its members, from
interest, partiality, or negligence, judge so wrong that an
individual, contrary to law and evidence, did lose or might
have lost life, liberty, honour, or property, the
attorney-general shall be bound, and the chancellor of justice
authorised, to arraign the guilty, according to the laws of
the realm, in the court after mentioned.
Article 102.
This court is to be denominated the court of justice for the
realm, and shall be formed by the president in the superior
court of Swea, the presidents of all the public boards, four
senior members of the council of state, the highest commander
of the troops within the capital, and the commander of the
squadron of the fleet stationed at the capital, two of the
senior members of the superior court of Swea, and the senior
member of all the public boards. Should any of the officers
mentioned above decline attending this court, he shall be
legally responsible for such a neglect of duty. After trial,
the judgment shall be publicly announced: no one can alter
such a sentence. The king may, however, extend pardon to the
guilty, but not admitting him any more into the service of the
kingdom.
Article 103.
The estates shall at every Diet nominate a jury of twelve
members from out of each order, for deciding if the members of
the supreme court of justice have deserved to fill their
important places, or if any member, without having been
legally convicted for the faults mentioned in the above
articles, yet ought to be removed from office.
Article 104.
The estates shall not resolve themselves into a court of
justice, nor enter into any special examination of the
decrees, verdicts, resolutions of the supreme court.
Article 105.
The constitutional committee shall have right to demand the
minutes of the council of state, except those which concern
ministerial or foreign affairs, and matters of military
command, which may only be communicated as far as these have a
reference to generally known events, specified by the
committee.
Article 106.
Should the committee find from these minutes that any member
of the council of state has openly acted against the clear
dictates of the constitution, or advised any infringement
either of the same or of the other laws of the realm, or that
he had omitted to remonstrate against such a violation, or
caused and promoted it by wilfully concealing any information,
the committee shall order the attorney-general to institute
the proper proceedings against the guilty.
Article 107.
If the constitutional committee should find that any or all
the members of the council of state have not consulted the
real interest of the kingdom, or that any of the secretaries
of state have not performed his or their official duties with
impartiality, activity, and skill, the committee shall report
it to the estates, who, if they deem it necessary, may signify
to the king their wish of having those removed, who may thus
have given dissatisfaction. Questions to this effect may be
brought forward at the general meetings of the orders, and
even be proposed by any of the committees. These cannot,
however, be decided until the constitutional committee have
delivered their opinion.
Article 108.
The estates shall at every Diet appoint six individuals, two
of whom must be learned in the law, besides the
attorney-general, to watch over the liberty of the press.
These deputies shall be bound to give their opinion as to the
legality of publications, if such be requested by the authors.
These deputies shall be chosen by six electors out of every
order.
{587}
Article 109.
Diets may not last longer than three months from the time that
the king has informed the representatives of the state of the
revenues. Should, however, the estates at the expiration of
that time not have concluded their deliberations, they may
demand the Diet to be prolonged for another month, which the
king shall not refuse. If again, contrary to expectation, the
estates at the expiration of this term have not regulated the
civil list, the king shall dissolve the Diet, and taxation
continue in its former state till the next meeting of
representatives.
Article 110.
No representative shall be responsible for any opinion uttered
at meetings of the orders, or of the committees, unless by the
express permission of at least five-sixths of his own order:
nor can a representative be banished from the Diet. Should any
individual or body, either civil or military, endeavour to
offer violence to the estates, or to any individual
representative, or presume to interrupt and disturb their
deliberations, it shall be considered as an act of treason,
and it rests with the estates to take legal cognizance of such
an offence.
Article 111.
Should any representative, after having announced himself as
such, be insulted, either at the Diet or on his way to or from
the same, it shall be punished as a violation of the peace of
the king.
Article 112.
No official person may exercise his official authority (his
authority in that capacity) to influence the elections of
deputies to the Diet, under pain of losing his place.
Article 113.
Individuals elected for regulating the taxation shall not be
responsible for their lawful deeds in this their capacity.
Article 114.
The king shall leave the estates in undisturbed possession of
their liberties, privileges, and immunities. Modifications
which the prosperity of the realm may demand can only be done
with the general concurrence and consent of the estates and
the sanction of the king. Nor can any new privileges be
granted to one order, without the consent of the other, and
the sanction of the sovereign.
This we have confirmed by our names and seals, on the sixth
day of the month of June, in the year after the birth of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and nine.
On behalf of the Nobles, M. Ankarsvard.
On behalf of the Clergy, Jac. Ax. Lindblom.
On behalf of the Burghers, H. N. Schwan.
On behalf of the Peasantry, Lars Olsson, Speakers.
The above form of government we have not only acknowledged
Ourselves, but do also command all our faithful subjects to
obey it; in confirmation of which, we have thereto affixed our
manual signature and the seal of the realm. In the city of our
royal residence, Stockholm, on the sixth day of the month of
June, in the year after the birth of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and nine.
CHARLES.
----------CONSTITUTION OF SWEDEN: End----------
CONSTITUTION OF THE SWISS CONFEDERATION.
After the Sonderbund secession and war of 1847 (see
SWITZERLAND: A. D. 1803-1848), the task of drawing up a
Constitution for the Confederacy was confided to a committee
of fourteen members, and the work was finished on the 14th of
April, 1848. "The project was submitted to the Cantons, and
accepted at once by thirteen and a half; others joined during
the summer, and the new Constitution was finally promulgated
with the assent of all on the 12th September. Hence arose the
seventh and last phase of the Confederation, by the adoption
of a Federal Constitution for the whole of Switzerland, being
the first which was entirely the work of Swiss, without any
foreign influence, although its authors had studied that of
the United States. ... It was natural that, as in process of
time commerce and industry were developed, and as the
differences between the legislation of the various Cantons
became more apparent, a revision of the first really Swiss
Confederation should be necessary. This was proposed both in
1871 and 1872, but the partisans of a further centralization,
though successful in the Chambers, were defeated upon an
appeal to the popular vote on the 12th of May 1872, by a
majority of between five and six thousand, and by thirteen
Cantons to nine. The question was, however, by no means
settled, and in 1874 a new project of revision more acceptable
to the partisans of cantonal independence, was adopted by the
people, the numbers being 340,199, to 198,013. The Cantons
were about two to one in favour of the revision, 14½ declaring
for and 7½ against it. This Constitution bears date the 29th
May, 1874, and has since been added to and altered in certain
particulars."
Sir F. O. Adams and C. D. Cunningham,
The Swiss Confederation, chapter 1.
"Since 1848, ... Switzerland has been a federal state,
consisting of a central authority, the Bund, and 19 entire and
six half states, the Cantons; to foreign powers she presents
an united front, while her internal policy allows to each
Canton a large amount of independence. ... The basis of all
legislative division is the Commune or Gemeinde; corresponding
in some slight degree to the English Parish. The Commune in
its legislative and administrative aspect or
'Einwohnergemeinde' is composed of all the inhabitants of a
Commune. It is self-governing and has the control of the local
police; it also administers all matters connected with
pauperism, education, sanitary and funeral regulations, the
fire brigade, the maintenance of public peace and
trusteeships. ... At the head of the Commune is the
Gemeinderath, or Communal Council, whose members are elected
from the inhabitants for a fixed period. It is presided over
by an Ammann, or Mayor, or President. ... Above the Commune on
the ascending scale comes the Canton. ... Each of the 19
Cantons and 6 half Cantons is a sovereign state, whose
privileges are nevertheless limited by the Federal
Constitution, particularly as regards legal and military
matters; the Constitution also defines the extent of each
Canton, and no portion of a Canton is allowed to secede and
join itself to another Canton. ... Legislative power is in the
hands of the 'Volk'; in the political sense of the word the
'Volk' consists of all the Swiss living in the Canton, who
have passed their 20th year and are not under disability from
crime or bankruptcy.
{588}
The voting on the part of the people deals mostly with
alterations in the cantonal constitution, treaties, laws,
decisions of the First Council involving expenditures of Frs.
100,000 and upward, and other decisions which the Council
considers advisable to subject to the public vote, which also
determines the adoption of propositions for the creation of
new laws, or the alteration or abolition of old ones, when
such a plebiscite is demanded by a petition signed by 5,000
voters. ... The First Council (Grosse Rath) is the highest
political and administrative power of the Canton. It
corresponds to the 'Chamber' of other countries. Every 1,300
inhabitants of an electoral circuit send one member. ... The
Kleine Rath or special council (corresponding to the
'Ministerium' of other continental countries) is composed of
three members and has three proxies. It is chosen by the First
Council for a period of two years. It superintends all
cantonal institutions and controls the various public boards.
... The populations of the 22 sovereign Cantons constitute
together the Swiss Confederation."
P. Hauri, Sketch of the Constitution of Switzerland
(in Strickland's The Engadine).
The following text of the Federal Constitution of the Swiss
Confederation is a translation from parallel French and German
texts, by Professor Albert Bushnell Hart, of Harvard College.
It appeared originally in "Old South Leaflets," No. 18, and is
now reprinted under permission from Professor Hart, who has
most kindly revised his translation throughout and introduced
the later amendments, to July, 1893.
In the Name of Almighty God.
The Swiss Confederation, desiring to confirm the alliance of
the Confederates, to maintain and to promote the unity,
strength, and honor of the Swiss nation, has adopted the
Federal Constitution following:
Chapter I. General Provisions.
ARTICLE 1.
The peoples of the twenty-two sovereign Cantons of
Switzerland, united by this present alliance, viz.: Zurich,
Bern, Luzern, Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden (Upper and Lower),
Glarus, Zug, Freiburg, Solothurn, Basel (urban and rural),
Schaffhausen, Appenzell (the two Rhodes), St. Gallen, Grisons,
Aargau, Thurgau, Ticino, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel, and Geneva,
form in their entirety the Swiss Confederation.
ARTICLE 2.
The purpose of the Confederation is, to secure the
independence of the country against foreign nations, to
maintain peace and order within, to protect the liberty and
the rights of the Confederates, and to foster their common
welfare.
ARTICLE 3.
The Cantons are sovereign, so far as their sovereignty is not
limited by the Federal Constitution; and, as such, they
exercise all the rights which are not delegated to the federal
government.
ARTICLE 4.
All Swiss are equal before the law. In Switzerland there are
neither political dependents, nor privileges of place, birth,
persons, or families.
ARTICLE 5.
The Confederation guarantees to the Cantons their territory,
their sovereignty, within the limits fixed by Article 3, their
Constitutions, the liberty and rights of the people, the
constitutional rights of citizens, and the rights and powers
which the people have conferred on those in authority.
ARTICLE 6.
The Cantons are bound to ask of the Confederation the guaranty
of their Constitutions. This guaranty is accorded, provided:
(a) that the Constitutions contain nothing contrary to the
provisions of the Federal Constitution.
(b) That they assure the exercise of political rights,
according to republican forms, representative or democratic.
(c) That they have been ratified by the people, and may be
amended whenever the majority of all the citizens demand it.
ARTICLE 7.
All separate alliances and all treaties of a political
character between the Cantons are forbidden. On the other hand
the Cantons have the right to make conventions among
themselves upon legislative, administrative or judicial
subjects; in all cases they shall bring such conventions to
the attention of the federal officials, who are authorized to
prevent their execution, if they contain anything contrary to
the Confederation, or to the rights of other Cantons. Should
such not be the case, the covenanting Cantons are authorized
to require the cooperation of the federal officials in
carrying out the convention.
ARTICLE 8.
The Confederation has the sole right of declaring war, of
making peace, and of concluding alliances and treaties with
foreign powers, particularly treaties relating to tariffs and
commerce.
ARTICLE 9.
By exception the Cantons preserve the right of concluding
treaties with foreign powers, respecting the administration of
public property, and border and police intercourse; but such
treaties shall contain nothing contrary to the Confederation
or to the rights of other Cantons.
ARTICLE 10.
Official intercourse between Cantons and foreign governments,
or their representatives, shall take place through the Federal
Council. Nevertheless, the Cantons may correspond directly
with the inferior officials and officers of a foreign State,
in regard to the subjects enumerated in the preceding article.
ARTICLE 11.
No military capitulations shall be made.
ARTICLE 12.
No members of the departments of the federal government, civil
and military officials of the Confederation, or federal
representatives or commissioners, shall receive from any
foreign government any pension, salary, title, gift, or
decoration. Such persons, already in possession of pensions,
titles, or decorations, must renounce the enjoyment of
pensions and the bearing of titles and decorations during
their term of office. Nevertheless, inferior officials may be
authorized by the Federal Council to continue in the receipt
of pensions. No decoration or title conferred by a foreign
government shall be borne in the federal army. No officer,
non-commissioned officer, or soldier shall accept such
distinction.
ARTICLE 13.
The Confederation has no right to keep up a standing army. No
Canton or Half-Canton shall, without the permission of the
federal government keep up a standing force of more than three
hundred men; the mounted police [gendarmerie] is not included
in this number.
ARTICLE 14.
In case of differences arising between Cantons, the States
shall abstain from violence and from arming themselves; they
shall submit to the decision to be taken upon such differences
by the Confederation.
ARTICLE 15.
In case of sudden danger of foreign attack, the authorities of
the Cantons threatened shall request the aid of other members
of the Confederation and shall immediately notify the federal
government; the subsequent action of the latter shall not
thereby be precluded. The Cantons summoned are bound to give
aid. The expenses shall be borne by the Confederation.
{589}
Article 16.
In case of internal disturbance, or if the danger is
threatened by another Canton, the authorities of the Canton
threatened shall give immediate notice to the Federal Council,
in order that that body may take the measures necessary,
within the limits of its power (Article 102, §§ 3, 10, 11), or
may summon the Federal Assembly. In extreme cases the
authorities of the Canton are authorized, while giving
immediate notice to the Federal Council, to ask the aid of
other Cantons, which are bound to afford such aid. If the
executive of the Canton is unable to call for aid, the federal
authority having the power may, and if the safety of
Switzerland is endangered shall, intervene without
requisition. In case of federal intervention, the federal
authorities shall take care that the provisions of Article 5
be observed. The expenses shall be borne by the Canton asking
aid or occasioning federal intervention, except when the
Federal Assembly otherwise decides on account of special
circumstances.
Article 17.
In the cases mentioned in Articles 15 and 16, every Canton is
bound to afford undisturbed passage for the troops. The troops
shall immediately be placed under federal command.
Article 18.
Every Swiss is bound to perform military service. Soldiers who
lose their lives or suffer permanent injury to their health,
in consequence of federal service, are entitled to aid from
the Confederation for themselves or their families, in case of
need. Each soldier shall receive without expense his first
equipment, clothing, and arms. The weapon remains in the hands
of the soldier, under conditions which shall be prescribed by
federal legislation. The Confederation shall enact uniform
provisions as to an exemption tax.
Article 19.
The federal army is composed:
(a) Of the cantonal military corps.
(b) Of all Swiss who do not belong to such military corps, but
are nevertheless liable to military service.
The Confederation exercises control over the army and the
material of war provided by law. In cases of danger, the
Confederation has also the exclusive and direct control of men
not included in the federal army, and of all other military
resources of the Cantons. The Cantons have authority over the
military forces of their territory, so far as this right is
not limited by the Federal Constitution or laws.
Article 20.
The laws on the organization of the army are passed by the
Confederation. The enforcement of military laws in the Cantons
is intrusted to the cantonal officials, within limits which
shall be fixed by federal legislation, and under the
supervision of the Confederation. Military instruction of
every kind pertains to the Confederation. The same applies to
the arming of troops. The furnishing and maintenance of
clothing and equipment is within the power of the Cantons; but
the Cantons shall be credited with the expenses therefor,
according to a regulation to be established by federal
legislation.
Article 21.
So far as military reasons do not prevent, bodies of troops
shall be formed out of the soldiers of the same Cantons. The
composition of these bodies of troops, the maintenance of
their effective strength, the appointment and promotion of
officers of these bodies of troops, belong to the Cantons,
subject to general provisions which shall be established by
the Confederation.
Article 22.
On payment of a reasonable indemnity, the Confederation has
the right to use or acquire drill-grounds and buildings
intended for military purposes, within the Cantons, together
with the appurtenances thereof. The terms of the indemnity
shall be settled by federal legislation.
Article 23.
The Confederation may construct at its own expense, or may aid
by subsidies, public works which concern Switzerland or a
considerable part of the country. For this purpose it may
expropriate property, on payment of a reasonable indemnity.
Further enactments upon this matter shall be made by federal
legislation. The Federal Assembly may forbid public works
which endanger the military interests of the Confederation.
Article 24.
The Confederation has the right of superintendence over dike
and forest police in the upper mountain regions. It may
cooperate in the straightening and embankment of torrents as
well as in the afforesting of the districts in which they
rise. It may prescribe the regulations necessary to assure the
maintenance of these works, and the preservation of existing
forests.
Article 25.
The Confederation has power to make legislative enactments for
the regulation of the right of fishing and hunting,
particularly with a view to the preservation of the large game
in the mountains, as well as for the protection of birds
useful to agriculture and forestry.
Article 26.
Legislation upon the construction and operation of railroads
is in the province of the Confederation.
Article 27.
The Confederation has the right to establish, besides the
existing Polytechnic School, a Federal University and other
institutions of higher instruction, or to subsidize
institutions of such nature. The Cantons provide for primary
instruction, which shall be sufficient, and shall be placed
exclusively under the direction of the secular authority. It
is compulsory and, in the public schools, free. The public
schools shall be such that they may be frequented by the
adherents of all religious sects, without any offense to their
freedom of conscience or of belief. The Confederation shall
take the necessary measures against such Cantons as shall not
fulfill these duties.
Article 28.
The customs are in the province of the Confederation. It may
levy export and import duties.
Article 29.
The collection of the federal customs shall be regulated
according to the following principles:
1. Duties ou imports:
(a) Materials necessary for the manufactures and agriculture
of the country shall be taxed as low as possible.
(b) It shall be the same with the necessities of life.
(c) Luxuries shall be subjected to the highest duties.
Unless there are imperative reasons to the contrary, these
principles shall be observed also in the conclusion of
treaties of commerce with foreign powers.
2. The duties on exports shall also be as low as possible.
3. The customs legislation shall include suitable provisions
for the continuance of commercial and market intercourse
across the frontier. The above provisions do not prevent the
Confederation from making temporary exceptional provisions,
under extraordinary circumstances.
{590}
Article 30.
The proceeds of the customs belong to the Confederation. The
indemnity ceases which hitherto has been paid to the Cantons
for the redemption of customs, for road and bridge tolls,
customs duties and other like dues. By exception, and on
account of their international alpine roads, the Cantons of
Uri, Grisons, Ticino, and Valais receive an annual indemnity,
which, considering all the circumstances, is fixed as follows:
Uri, 80,000 francs. Grisons, 200,000 francs. Ticino, 200,000
francs. Valais, 50,000 francs. The Cantons of Uri and Ticino
shall receive in addition, for clearing the snow from the
Saint Gotthard road, an annual indemnity of 40,000 francs, so
long as that road shall not be replaced by a railroad.
Article 31.
The freedom of trade and of industry is guaranteed throughout
the whole extent of the Confederation. The following subjects
are excepted:
(a) The salt and gunpowder monopoly, the federal customs,
import duties on wines and other spirituous liquors, and other
taxes on consumption expressly permitted by the Confederation,
according to article 32.
(b) [Added by Amendment of December 22, 1885.] The
manufacture and sale of alcohol, under Article 32 (ii).
(c) [Added by Amendment of December 22, 1885.] Drinking
places, and the retail trade in spirituous liquors; but
nevertheless the Cantons may by legislation subject the
business of keeping drinking places, and the retail trade in
spirituous liquors, to such restrictions as are required for
the public welfare.
(d) [Originally (b)] Measures of sanitary police against
epidemics and cattle diseases.
(e) [Originally (c)] Provisions in regard to the exercise of
trades and manufactures, in regard to taxes imposed thereon,
and in regard to the police of the roads. These provisions
shall not contain anything contrary to the principle of
freedom of trade and manufacture.
Article 32.
The Cantons are authorized to collect the import duties on
wines and other spirituous liquors, provided in Article 31
(a), always under the following restrictions:
(a) The collection of these import duties shall in no wise
impede transportation: commerce shall be obstructed as little
as possible and shall not be burdened with any other dues.
(b) If the articles imported for consumption are reexported
from the Canton, the duties paid on importation shall be
refunded, without further charges.
(c) Products of Swiss origin shall be less burdened than those
of foreign countries.
(d) The existing import duties on wines and other spirituous
liquors of Swiss origin shall not be increased by the Cantons
which already levy them. Such duties shall not be established
upon such articles by Cantons which do not at present collect
them.
(e) The laws and ordinances of the Cantons on the collection
of import duties shall, before their going into effect, be
submitted to the federal government for approval, in order
that it may, if necessary, cause the enforcement of the
preceding provisions. All the import duties now levied by the
Cantons, as well as the similar duties levied by the Communes,
shall cease without indemnity, at the end of the year 1890.
Article 32 (ii).
[Amendment of December 22, 1885.]
The Confederation is authorized by legislation to make
regulations for the manufacture and sale of alcohol. In this
legislation those products which are intended for exportation,
or which have been subjected to a process excluding them from
use as a beverage, shall be subjected to no tax. Distillation
of wine, fruit, and their by-products, of gentian root,
juniper berries, and similar products, is not subject to
federal legislation as to manufacture or tax. After the
cessation of the import duties on spirituous liquors, provided
for in Article 32 of the Constitution, the trade in liquors
not distilled shall not be subjected by the Cantons to any
special taxes or to other limitations than those necessary for
protection against adulterated or noxious beverages.
Nevertheless, the powers of the Cantons, defined in Article
31, are retained over the keeping of drinking places, and the
sale at retail of quantities less than two liters. The net
proceeds resulting from taxation on the sale of alcohol belong
to the Cantons in which the tax is levied. The net proceeds to
the Confederation from the internal manufacture of alcohol,
and the corresponding addition to the duty on imported
alcohol, are divided among all the Cantons, in proportion to
the actual population as ascertained from time to time by the
next preceding federal census. Out of the receipts therefrom
the Cantons must expend not less than one tenth in combating
drunkenness in its causes and effects. [For additional
articles of this Amendment see Temporary Provisions, Article
6, at the end of this Constitution. ]
Article 33.
The Cantons may require proofs of competency from those who
desire to practice a liberal profession. Provision shall be
made by federal legislation by which such persons may obtain
certificates of competency which shall be valid throughout the
Confederation..
Article 34.
The Confederation has power to enact uniform provisions as to
the labor of children in factories, and as to the duration of
labor fixed for adults therein, and as to the protection of
workmen against the operation of unhealthy and dangerous
manufactures. The transactions of emigration agents and of
organizations for insurance, not instituted by the State, are
subject to federal supervision and legislation.
Article 34 (ii).
[Amendment of December 17, 1890.]
The Confederation shall by law provide for insurance against
sickness and accident, with due regard for existing
sick-benefit funds. The Confederation may require
participation therein, either by all persons or by particular
classes of the population.
Article 35.
The opening of gaming houses is forbidden. Those which now
exist shall be closed December 31, 1877. The concessions which may
have been granted or renewed since the beginning of the year
1871 are declared invalid. The Confederation may also take
necessary measures concerning lotteries.
Article 36.
The posts and telegraphs in all Switzerland are controlled by
the Confederation. The proceeds of the posts and telegraphs
belong to the federal treasury. The rates shall, for all parts
of Switzerland, be fixed according to the same principle and
as fairly as possible. Inviolable secrecy of letters and
telegrams is guaranteed.
Article 37.
The Confederation exercises general oversight over those roads
and bridges in the maintenance of which it is interested. The
sums due to the Cantons mentioned in Article 30, on account of
their international alpine roads, shall be retained by the
federal government if such roads are not kept by them in
suitable condition.
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Article 38.
The Confederation exercises all the exclusive rights
pertaining to coinage. It has the sole right of coining money.
It establishes the monetary system, and may enact provisions,
if necessary, for the rate of exchange of foreign coins.
[Article 39.
(Abrogated by the article following it).
The Confederation has the power to make by law general
provisions for the issue and redemption of bank notes. But it
shall not create any monopoly for the issue of bank notes, nor
make such notes a legal tender.]
Article 39.
[Substitute for former Article 39, adopted October 18,
1891.] The Confederation has the exclusive power to issue bank
notes and other like currency. The Confederation may exercise
the exclusive power over the issue of bank notes through a
National Bank carried on under a special department of
administration; or it may assign the right to a central joint
stock bank hereafter to be created, which shall be
administered under the coöperation and supervision of the
Confederation; but the privilege to take over the bank, by
paying a compensation, shall be retained. The bank possessed
of the exclusive right to issue notes shall have for its chief
function to regulate the circulation of money in Switzerland
and to facilitate exchange. To the Cantons shall be paid at
least two-thirds of the net profits of the bank beyond a
reasonable interest or a reasonable dividend to the
stockholders, and the necessary transfers to the reserve fund.
The bank and its branches shall not be subjected to taxation
by the Cantons. The Confederation shall not make bank notes
and other like currency legal tender, except in urgent need in
time of war. The principal office of the bank and the details
of its organization, as well as in general the carrying into
effect this article, shall be determined by federal law.
Article 40.
The Confederation fixes the standard of weights and measures.
The Cantons, under the supervision of the Confederation,
[shall] enforce the laws relating thereto.
Article 41.
The manufacture and the sale of gunpowder throughout
Switzerland pertain exclusively to the Confederation. Powders
used for blasting and not suitable for shooting are not
included in the monopoly.
Article 42.
The expenditures of the Confederation are met as follows:
(a) Out of the income from federal property.
(b) Out of the proceeds of the federal customs levied at the
Swiss frontier.
(c) Out of the proceeds of the posts and telegraphs.
(d) Out of the proceeds of the powder monopoly.
(e) Out of half of the gross receipts from the tax on military
exemptions levied by the Cantons.
(f) Out of the contributions of the Cantons, which shall be
determined by federal legislation, with special reference to
their wealth and taxable resources.
Article 43.
Every citizen of a Canton is a Swiss citizen. As such he may
participate, in the place where he is domiciled, in all
federal elections and popular votes, after having duly proven
his qualification as a voter. No person can exercise political
rights in more than one Canton. The Swiss settled as a citizen
outside his native Canton enjoys in the place where he is
domiciled, all the rights of the citizens of the Canton,
including all the rights of the communal citizen.
Participation in municipal and corporate property, and the
right to vote upon purely municipal affairs, are excepted from
such rights, unless the Canton by legislation has otherwise
provided. In cantonal and communal affairs, he gains the right
to vote after a residence of three months. Cantonal laws
relating to the right of Swiss citizens to settle outside the
Cantons in which they were born, and to vote on communal
questions, are submitted for the approval of the Federal
Council.
Article 44.
No Canton shall expel from its territory one of its own
citizens, nor deprive him of his rights, whether acquired by
birth or settlement. [Origine ou cité.] Federal legislation
shall fix the conditions upon which foreigners may be
naturalized, as well as those upon which a Swiss may give up
his citizenship in order to obtain naturalization in a foreign
country.
Article 45.
Every Swiss citizen has the right to settle anywhere in Swiss
territory, on condition of submitting a certificate of origin,
or a similar document. By exception, settlement may be refused
to or withdrawn from, those who, in consequence of a penal
conviction, are not entitled to civil rights. In addition,

settlement may be withdrawn from those who have been
repeatedly punished for serious offenses, and also from those
who permanently come upon the charge of public charity, and to
whom their Commune or Canton of origin, as the case may be,
refuses sufficient succor, after they have been officially
asked to grant it. In the Cantons where the poor are relieved
in their place of residence the permission to settle, if it
relates to citizens of the Canton, may be coupled with the
condition that they shall be able to work, and that they shall
not, in their former domicile in the Canton of origin, have
permanently become a charge on public charity. Every expulsion
on account of poverty must be approved by the government of
the Canton of domicile, and previously announced to the
government of the Canton of origin. A Canton in which a Swiss
establishes his domicile may not require security, nor impose
any special obligations for such establishment. In like manner
the Communes cannot require from Swiss domiciled in their
territory other contributions than those which they require
from their own subjects. A federal law shall establish the
maximum fee to be paid the Chancery for a permit to settle.
Article 46.
Persons settled in Switzerland are, as a rule, subjected to
the jurisdiction and legislation of their domicile, in all
that pertains to their personal status and property rights.
The Confederation shall by law make the provisions necessary
for the application of this principle and for the prevention
of double taxation of a citizen.
Article 47.
A federal law shall establish the distinction between
settlement and temporary residence, and shall at the same time
make the regulations to which Swiss temporary residents shall
be subjected as to their political rights and their civil
rights.
Article 48.
A federal law shall provide for the regulation of the expenses
of the illness and burial of indigent persons amenable to one
Canton, who have fallen ill or died in another Canton.
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Article 49.
Freedom of conscience and belief is inviolable. No person can
be constrained to take part in a religious society, to attend
religious instruction, to perform a religious rite, or to
incur penalties of any kind whatever on account of religious
opinion. The person who exercises the parent's or guardian's
authority has the right, conformably to the principles above
stated, to regulate the religious education of children up to
the age of sixteen completed years. The exercise of civil or
political rights shall not be abridged by any provisions or
conditions whatever of an ecclesiastical or religious kind. No
person shall, on account of a religious belief, release
himself from the accomplishment of a civil duty. No person is
bound to pay taxes of which the proceeds are specifically
appropriated to the actual expenses of the worship of a
religious body to which he does not belong. The details of the
carrying out of this principle are reserved for federal
legislation.
Article 50.
The free exercise of religious worship is guaranteed within
the limits compatible with public order and good morals. The
Cantons and the Confederation may take suitable measures for
the preservation of public order and of peace between the
members of different religious bodies, and also against
encroachments of ecclesiastical authorities upon the rights of
citizens and of the State. Contests in public and private law,
which arise out of the formation or the division of religious
bodies, may be brought by appeal before the competent federal
authorities. No bishopric shall be created upon Swiss
territory without the consent of the Confederation.
Article 51.
The order of the Jesuits, and the societies affiliated with
them, shall not be received into any part of Switzerland; and
all action in church and school is forbidden to its members.
This prohibition may be extended also, by federal ordinance,
to other religious orders, the action of which is dangerous to
the state or disturbs the peace between sects.
Article 52.
The foundation of new convents or religious orders, and the
reestablishment of those which have been suppressed, are
forbidden.
Article 53.
The civil status and the keeping of records thereof is subject
to the civil authority. The Confederation shall by law enact
detailed provisions upon this subject. The control of places o
burial is subject to the civil authority. It shall take care
that every deceased person may be decently interred.
Article 54.
The right of marriage is placed under the protection of the
Confederation. No limitation upon marriage shall be based upon
sectarian grounds, nor upon the poverty of either of the
contractants, nor on their conduct, nor on any other
consideration of good order. A marriage contracted in a Canton
or in a foreign country, conformably to the law which is there
in force, shall be recognized as valid throughout the
Confederation. By marriage the wife acquires the citizenship
of her husband. Children born before the marriage are made
legitimate by the subsequent marriage of their parents. No tax
upon admission or similar tax shall be levied upon either
party to a marriage.
Article 55.
The freedom of the press is guaranteed. Nevertheless the
Cantons by law enact the measures necessary for the
suppression of abuses. Such laws are submitted for the
approval of the Federal Council. The Confederation may enact
penalties for the suppression of press offenses directed
against it or its authorities.
Article 56.
Citizens have the right of forming associations, provided that
there be in the purpose of such associations, or in the means
which they employ, nothing unlawful or dangerous to the state.
The Cantons by law take the measures necessary for the
suppression of abuses.
Article 57.
The right of petition is guaranteed.
Article 58.
No person shall be deprived of his constitutional judge.
Therefore no extraordinary tribunal shall be established.
Ecclesiastical jurisdiction is abolished.
Article 59.
Suits for personal claims against a solvent debtor having a
domicile in Switzerland, must be brought before the judge of
his domicile; in consequence, his property outside the Canton
in which he is domiciled may not be attached in suits for
personal claims. Nevertheless, with reference to foreigners,
the provisions of international treaties shall not thereby be
affected. Imprisonment for debt is abolished.
Article 60.
All the Cantons are bound to treat the citizens of the other
confederated States like those of their own State in
legislation and in all judicial proceedings.
Article 61.
Civil judgments definitely pronounced in any Canton may be
executed anywhere in Switzerland.
Article 62.
The exit duty on property [traite foraine] is abolished in the
interior of Switzerland, as well as the right of redemption
[droit de retrait] by citizens of one Canton against those of
other confederated States.
Article 63.
The exit duty on property is abolished as respects foreign
countries, provided reciprocity be observed.
Article 64.
The Confederation has power to make laws:
On legal competency.
On all legal questions relating to commerce and to
transactions affecting chattels (law of commercial
obligations, including commercial law and law of exchange).
On literary and artistic copyright.
On the protection of new patterns and forms, and of inventions
which are represented in models and are capable of industrial
application. [Amendment of December 20, 1887.]
On the legal collection of debts and on bankruptcy. The
administration of justice remains with the Cantons, save as
affected by the powers of the Federal Court.
Article 65.
[(Abrogated by Amendment of June 20, 1879.) The
death penalty is abolished; nevertheless the provisions of
military law in time of war shall be observed. Corporal
punishment is abolished.]
Article 65.
[Amendment of June 20,1879.]
No death penalty shall be pronounced for a political crime.
Corporal punishment is abolished.
Article 66.
The Confederation by law fixes the limits within which a Swiss
citizen may be deprived of his political rights.
Article 67.
The Confederation by law provides for the extradition of
accused persons from one Canton to another; nevertheless,
extradition shall not be made obligatory for political
offenses and offenses of the press.
Article 68.
Measures are taken by federal law for the incorporation of
persons without country (Heimathlosen), and for the prevention
of new cases of that nature.
Article 69.
Legislation concerning measures of sanitary police against
epidemic and cattle diseases, causing a common danger, is
included in the powers of the Confederation.
Article 70.
The Confederation has power to expel from its territory
foreigners who endanger the internal or external safety of
Switzerland.
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Chapter II.
Article 71.
With the reservation of the rights of the people and of the
Cantons (Articles 89 and 121), the supreme authority of the
Confederation is exercised by the Federal Assembly, [Assemblée
fédérale; Bundesversammlung] which consists of two sections or
councils, to wit:
(A) The National Council.
(B) The Council of States.
Article 72.
The National Council [Conseil National; Nationalrath] is
composed of representatives of the Swiss people, chosen in the
ratio of one member for each 20,000 persons of the total
population. Fractions of upwards of 10,000 persons are
reckoned as 20,000. Every Canton, and in the divided Cantons
every Half-Canton, chooses at least one representative.
Article 73.
The elections for the National Council are direct. They are
held in federal electoral districts, which in no case shall be
formed out of parts of different Cantons.
Article 74.
Every Swiss who has completed twenty years of age, and who in
addition is not excluded from the rights of a voter by the
legislation of the Canton in which he is domiciled, has the
right to vote in elections and popular votes. Nevertheless,
the Confederation by law may establish uniform regulations for
the exercise of such right.
Article 75.
Every lay Swiss citizen who has the right to vote is eligible
for membership in the National Council.
Article 76.
The National Council is chosen for three years, and entirely
renewed at each general election.
Article 77.
Representatives to the Council of States, members of the
Federal Council, and officials appointed by that Council,
shall not at the same time be members of the National Council.
Article 78.
The National Council chooses out of its own number, for each
regular or extraordinary session, a President and a
Vice-President. A member who has held the office of President
during a regular session is ineligible either as President, or
Vice-President at the next regular session. The same member
may not be Vice-President during two consecutive regular
sessions. When the votes are equally divided the President has
a casting vote; in elections he votes in the same manner as
other members.
Article 79.
The members of the National Council receive a compensation out
of the federal treasury.
Article 80.
The Council of States [Conseil des États; Ständerath] consists
of forty-four representatives of the Cantons. Each Canton
appoints two representatives; in the divided Cantons, each
Half-State chooses one.
Article 81.
The members of the National Council and those of the Federal
Council may not be representatives in the Council of States.
Article 82.
The Council of States chooses out of its own number for each
regular or extraordinary session a President and a
Vice-President. Neither the President nor the Vice-President
can be chosen from among the representatives of the Canton
from which the President has been chosen for the regular
session next preceding. Representatives of the same Canton
cannot occupy the position of Vice-President during two
consecutive regular sessions. When the votes are equally
divided the President has a casting vote; in elections he
votes in the same manner as the other members.
Article 83.
Representatives in the Council of States receive a
compensation from the Cantons.
Article 84.
The National Council and the Council of States consider all
the subjects which the present Constitution places within the
competence of the Confederation, and which are not assigned to
any other federal authority.
Article 85.
The subjects within the competence of the two Councils are
particularly the following:
1. Laws on the organization of and election of federal
authorities.
2. Laws and ordinances on subjects which by the Constitution
are placed within the federal competence.
3. The salary and compensation of members of the federal
governing bodies and of the Federal Chancery; the creation of
federal offices and the determination of salaries therefor.
4. The election of the Federal Council, of the Federal Court,
and of the Chancellor, and also of the Commander-in-chief of
the federal army. The Confederation may by law assign to the
Federal Assembly other powers of election or of confirmation.
5. Alliances and treaties with foreign powers, and also the
approval of treaties made by the Cantons between themselves or
with foreign powers; nevertheless the treaties made by the
Cantons shall be brought before the Federal Assembly only in
case the Federal Council or another Canton protests.
6. Measures for external safety and also for the maintenance
of the independence and neutrality of Switzerland; the
declaration of war and the conclusion of peace.
7. The guaranty of the Constitution and of the territory of
the Cantons; intervention in consequence of such guaranty;
measures for the internal safety of Switzerland, for the
maintenance of peace and order; amnesty and pardon.
8. Measures for the preservation of the Constitution, for
carrying out the guaranty of the cantonal constitutions, and
for fulfilling federal obligations.
9. The power of controlling the federal army.
10. The determination of the annual budget, the audit of
public accounts, and federal ordinances authorizing loans.
11. The superintendence of federal administration and of
federal courts.
12. Protests against the decisions of the Federal Council upon
administrative conflicts. (Article 113.)
13. Conflicts of jurisdiction between federal authorities.
14. The amendment of the federal Constitution.
Article 86.
The two Councils assemble annually in regular session upon a
day to be fixed by the standing orders. They are convened in
extra session by the Federal Council upon the request either
of one fourth of the members of the National Council, or of
five Cantons.
Article 87.
In either Council a quorum is a majority of the total number
of its members.
Article 88.
In the National Council and in the Council of States a
majority of those voting is required.
Article 89.
Federal laws, enactments, and resolutions shall be passed only
by the agreement of the two Councils. Federal laws shall be
submitted for acceptance or rejection by the people, if the
demand is made by 30,000 voters or by eight Cantons. The same
principle applies to federal resolutions which have a general
application, and which are not of an urgent nature.
Article 90.
The Confederation shall by law establish the forms and
intervals to be observed in popular votes.
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Article 91.
Members of either Council vote without instructions.
Article 92.
Each Council takes action separately. But in the case of the
elections specified in Article 85, § 4, of pardons, or of
deciding a conflict of jurisdiction (Art. 85, § 13), the two
Councils meet in joint session, under the direction of the
President of the National Council, and a decision is made by
the majority of the members of both Councils present and
voting.
Article 93.
Measures may originate in either Council, and may be
introduced by any of their members. The Cantons may by
correspondence exercise the same right.
Article 94.
As a rule, the sittings of the Councils are public.
Article 95.
The supreme direction and executive authority of the
Confederation is exercised by a Federal Council [Conseil
fédéral; Bundesrath], composed of seven members.
Article 96.
The members of the Federal Council are chosen for three years
by the Councils in joint session from among all the Swiss
citizens eligible to the National Council. But not more than
one member of the Federal Council shall be chosen from the
same Canton. The Federal Council is chosen anew after each
election of the National Council. Vacancies which occur in the
course of the three years are filled at the first ensuing
session of the Federal Assembly, for the remainder of the term
of office.
Article 97.
The members of the Federal Council shall not, during their
term of office, occupy any other office, either in the service
of the Confederation or in a Canton, or follow any other
pursuit, or exercise a profession.
Article 98.
The Federal Council is presided over by the President of the
Confederation. There is a Vice-President. The President of the
Confederation and the Vice-President of the Federal Council
are chosen for one year by the Federal Assembly from among the
members of the Council. The retiring President shall not be
chosen as President or Vice-President for the year ensuing.
The same member shall not hold the office of Vice-President
during two consecutive years.
Article 99.
The President of the Confederation and the other members of
the Federal Council receive an annual salary from the federal
treasury.
Article 100.
A quorum of the Federal Council consists of four members.
Article 101.
The members of the Federal Council have the right to speak but
not to vote in either house of the Federal Assembly, and also
the right to make motions on the subject under consideration.
Article 102.
The powers and the duties of the Federal Council, within the
limits of this Constitution, are particularly the following:
1. It conducts federal affairs, conformably to the laws and
resolutions of the Confederation.
2. It takes care that the Constitution, federal laws and
ordinances, and also the provisions of federal concordats, be
observed; upon its own initiative or upon complaint, it takes
measures necessary to cause these instruments to be observed,
unless the consideration of redress be among the subjects
which should be brought before the Federal Court, according to
Article 113.
3. It takes care that the guaranty of the cantonal
constitutions be observed.
4. It introduces bills or resolutions into the Federal
Assembly, and gives its opinion upon the proposals submitted
to it by the Councils or the Cantons.
5. It executes the laws and resolutions of the Confederation
and the judgments of the Federal Court, and also the
compromises or decisions in arbitration upon disputes between
Cantons.
6. It makes those appointments which are not assigned to the
Federal Assembly, Federal Court, or other authority.
7. It examines the treaties made by Cantons with each other,
or with foreign powers, and approves them, if proper. (Article
85, § 5.)
8. It watches over the external interests of the
Confederation, particularly the maintenance of its
international relations, and is, in general, intrusted with
foreign relations.
9. It watches over the external safety of Switzerland, over
the maintenance of independence and neutrality.
10. It watches over the internal safety of the Confederation,
over the maintenance of peace and order.
11. In cases of urgency, and when the Federal Assembly is not
in session, the Federal Council has power to raise the
necessary troops and to employ them, with the reservation that
it shall immediately summon the Councils if the number of
troops exceeds two thousand men, or if they remain in arms
more than three weeks.
12. It administers the military establishment of the
Confederation, and all other branches of administration
committed to the Confederation.
13. It examines such laws and ordinances of the Cantons as
must be submitted for its approval; it exercises supervision
over such departments of the cantonal administration as are
placed under its control.
14. It administers the finances of the Confederation,
introduces the budget, and submits accounts of receipts and
expenses.
15. It supervises the conduct of an the officials and
employees of the federal administration.
16. It submits to the Federal Assembly at each regular session
an account of its administration and a report of the condition
of the Confederation, internal as well as external, and calls
attention to the measures which it deems desirable for the
promotion of the general welfare. It also makes special
reports when the Federal Assembly or either Council requires
it.
Article 103.
The business of the Federal Council is distributed by
departments among its members. This distribution has the
purpose only of facilitating the examination and despatch of
business; decisions emanate from the Federal Council as a
single authority.
Article 104.
The Federal Council and its departments have power to call in
experts on special subjects.
Article 105.
A Federal Chancery [Chancellerie fédérale; Bundeskanzlei], at
the head of which is placed the Chancellor of the
Confederation, conducts the secretary's business for the
Federal Assembly and the Federal Council. The Chancellor is
chosen by the Federal Assembly for the term of three years, at
the same time as the Federal Council. The Chancery is under
the special supervision of the Federal Council. A federal law
shall provide for the organization of the Chancery.
Article 106.
There shall be a Federal Court [Tribunal fédéral;
Bundesgericht] for the administration of justice in federal
concerns. There shall be, moreover, a jury for criminal cases.
(Article 112.)
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Article 107.
The members and alternates of the Federal Court shall be
chosen by the Federal Assembly, which shall take care that all
three national languages are represented therein. A law shall
establish the organization of the Federal Court and of its
sections, the number of judges and alternates, their term of
office, and their salary.
Article 108.
Any Swiss citizen eligible to the National Council may be
chosen to the Federal Court. The members of the Federal
Assembly and of the Federal Council, and officials appointed
by those authorities, shall not at the same time belong to the
Federal Court. The members of the Federal Court shall not,
during their term of office, occupy any other office, either
in the service of the Confederation or in a Canton, nor engage
in any other pursuit, nor practice a profession.
Article 109.
The Federal Court organizes its own Chancery and appoints the
officials thereof.
Article 110.
The Federal Court has jurisdiction in civil suits:
1. Between the Confederation and the Cantons.
2. Between the Confederation on one part and corporations or
individuals on the other part, when such corporations or
individuals are plaintiffs, and when the amount involved is of
a degree of importance to be determined by federal
legislation.
3. Between Cantons.
4. Between Cantons on one part and corporations or individuals
on the other part, when one of the parties demands it, and the
amount involved is of a degree of importance to be determined
by federal legislation. It further has jurisdiction in suits
concerning the status of persons not subjects of any
government (heimathlosat), and the conflicts which arise
between Communes of different Cantons respecting the right of
local citizenship. [Droit de cité.]
Article 111.
The Federal Court is bound to give judgment in other cases
when both parties agree to abide by its decision, and when the
amount involved is of a degree of importance to be determined
by federal legislation.
Article 112.
The Federal Court, assisted by a jury to decide upon questions
of fact, has criminal jurisdiction in:
1. Cases of high treason against the Confederation, of
rebellion or violence against federal authorities.
2. Crimes and misdemeanors against the law of nations.
3, Political crimes and misdemeanors which are the cause or
the result of disturbances which occasion armed federal
intervention.
4. Cases against officials appointed by a federal authority,
where such authority relegates them to the Federal Court.
Article 113.
The Federal Court further has jurisdiction:
1. Over conflicts of jurisdiction between federal authorities
on one part and cantonal authorities on the other part.
2. Disputes between Cantons, when such disputes are upon
questions of public law.
3. Complaints of violation of the constitutional rights of
citizens, and complaints of individuals for the violation of
concordats or treaties. Conflicts of administrative
jurisdiction are reserved, and are to be settled in a manner
prescribed by federal legislation. In all the fore-mentioned
cases the Federal Court shall apply the laws passed by the
Federal Assembly and those resolutions of the Assembly which
have a general import. It shall in like manner conform to
treaties which shall have been ratified by the Federal
Assembly.
Article 114.
Besides the cases specified in Articles 110, 112, and 113, the
Confederation may by law place other matters within the
jurisdiction of the Federal Court; in particular, it may give
to that court powers intended to insure the uniform
application of the laws provided for in Article 64.
Article 115.
All that relates to the location of the authorities of the
Confederation is a subject for federal legislation.
Article 116.
The three principal languages spoken in Switzerland, German,
French, and Italian, are national languages of the
Confederation.
Article 117.
The officials of the Confederation are responsible for their
conduct in office. A federal law shall enforce this
responsibility.
Chapter III.
(These four articles abrogated by the four articles following
them, 118-122.) Article 118. The Federal Constitution may at
any time be amended.
[Article 119.
Amendment is secured through the forms required for passing
federal laws.]
[Article 120.
When either Council of the Federal Assembly passes a
resolution for amendment of the Federal Constitution and the
other Council does not agree; or when fifty thousand Swiss
voters demand amendment, the question whether the Federal
Constitution ought to be amended is, in either case, submitted
to a vote of the Swiss people, voting yes or no. If in either
case the majority of the Swiss citizens who vote pronounce in
the affirmative, there shall be a new election of both
Councils for the purpose of preparing amendments.]
[Article 121.
The amended Federal Constitution shalt be in force when it
has been adopted by the majority of Swiss citizens who take
part in the vote thereon and by a majority of the States. In
making up a majority of the States the vote of a Half-Canton
is counted as half a vote. The result of the popular vote in
each Canton is considered to be the vote of the State.]
Article 118.
[Amendment of July 5, 1891.] The Federal Constitution
may at any time be amended as a whole or in part.
Article 119.
[Amendment of July 5, 1891.] General revision is
secured through the forms required for passing the federal
laws.
Article 120.
When either Council of the Federal Assembly passes a
resolution for general revision and the other Council does not
agree; or when fifty thousand Swiss voters demand general
revision the question whether there shall be such a revision
must, in either case, be submitted to the popular vote of the
Swiss people. If, in either case, the majority of the Swiss
citizens who vote on the question pronounce in the
affirmative, there shall be a new election of both Councils
for the purpose of preparing a general revision.
Article 121.
[Amendment of July 5, 1891.] Specific amendments may be
brought forward either through a Proposition of the People
[Volksanregung] (Initiative) or by Federal legislation. A
Proposition of the People means a demand supported by fifty
thousand Swiss voters, either for suspension, repeal, or
alteration of specified articles of the Federal Constitution.
If by means of the method of Proposition of the People several
different subjects are brought forward either for alteration
or for incorporation into the Federal Constitution, each one
of those separate subjects must be presented in a separate
demand for a popular vote [Initintivbegehren]. The demand for
a popular vote may take the form either of a request in
general terms, or of a definite draft. If such a demand be
made in the form of a request in general terms and the
Councils of the Federal Assembly agree thereto, the said
Councils shall thereupon prepare a specific amendment of the
purport indicated by those asking amendment; and such specific
amendment shall be submitted to the people and to the states
for their acceptance or rejection. In case the Councils of the
Federal Assembly do not agree thereto, the question of
specific amendment shall then be subjected to the people for a
popular vote; and in case the majority of the Swiss voters
vote therefor, an amendment of the purport indicated by the
vote of the people shall then be prepared by the Federal
Assembly. In case the request shall take the form of a
specific draft and the Federal Assembly agree thereto, the
draft is then to be submitted to the people and the States for
acceptance or rejection. If the Federal Assembly shall not
agree thereto it may either prepare a substitute draft for
itself, or it may propose the rejection of the proposition.
The proposition to reject such substitute draft or proposition
shall be submitted to the vote of the people and of the States
at the same time with the general Proposition of the People.
{596}
Article 122.
[Amendment of July 5, 1891.] The procedure upon the
Proposition of the People and the popular votes concerning
amendment of the Federal Constitution, shall be regulated in
detail by a Federal Law.
Article 123.
[Amendment of July 5,1891.] The amended Federal
Constitution or the specific amendments proposed, as the case
may be, shall be in force when adopted by the majority of the
Swiss citizens who take part in the vote thereon and by a
majority of the Cantons. In making up the majority of the
States the vote of a half of each Canton is counted as half a
vote. The result of the popular vote in each Canton is
considered to be the vote of the state.
Temporary Provisions.
Article 1.
The proceeds of the posts and customs shall be divided upon
the present basis, until such time as the Confederation shall
take upon itself the military expenses up to this time borne
by the Cantons. Federal legislation shall provide, besides,
that the loss which may be occasioned to the finances of
certain Cantons by the sum of the charges which result from
Articles 20, 30, 36 (§ 2), and 42 (e), shall fall upon such
Cantons only gradually, and shall not attain its full effect
till after a transition period of some years. Those Cantons
which, at the going into effect of Article 20 of the
Constitution, have not fulfilled the military obligations
which are imposed upon them by the former Constitution, or by
federal laws, shall be bound to carry them out at their own
expense.
Article 2.
The provisions of the federal laws and of the cantonal
concordats, constitutions or cantonal laws, which are contrary
to this Constitution, cease to have effect by the adoption of
the Constitution or the publication of the laws for which it
provides.
Article 3.
The new provisions relating to the organization and
jurisdiction of the Federal Court take effect only after the
publication of federal laws thereon.
Article 4.
A delay of five years is allowed to Cantons for the
establishment of free instruction in primary public education.
(Art. 27.)
Article 5.
Those persons who practice a liberal profession, and who,
before the publication of the federal law provided for in
Article 33, have obtained a certificate of competence from a
Canton or a joint authority representing several Cantons, may
pursue that profession throughout the Confederation.
Article 6.
[Amendment of December 22, 1885. For the remainder of
this amendment see article 32 (ii).] If a federal law for
carrying out Article 32 (ii) be passed before the end of 1890,
the import duties levied on spirituous liquors by the Cantons
and Communes, according to Article 32, cease on the going into
effect of such law. If, in such case, the shares of any Canton
or Commune, out of the sums to be divided, are not sufficient
to equal the average annual net proceeds of the taxes they
have levied on spirituous liquors in the years 1880 to 1884
inclusive, the Cantons and Communes affected shall, till the
end of 1890, receive the amount of the deficiency out of the
amount which is to be divided among the other Cantons
according to population; and the remainder only shall be
divided among such other Cantons and Communes, according to
population. The Confederation shall further provide by law
that for such Cantons or Communes as may suffer financial loss
through the effect of this amendment, such loss shall not come
upon them immediately in its full extent, but gradually up to
the year 1895. The indemnities thereby made necessary shall be
previously taken out of the net proceeds designated in Article
32 (ii), paragraph 4.
Thus resolved by the National Council to be submitted to the
popular vote of the Swiss people and of the Cantons. Bern,
January 31, 1874. Ziegler, President. Schiess, Secretary.
Thus resolved by the Council of States, to be submitted to the
popular vote of the Swiss people and of the Cantons. Bern,
January 31, 1874. A. Kopp, President. J. L. Lutscher,
Secretary.
----------CONSTITUTION OF THE SWISS CONFEDERATION: End----------
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1781.
The Articles of Confederation.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1777-1781,
and 1783-1787.
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1787-1789, and 1791-1870.
A sketch of the history of the framing and adoption of the
Federal Constitution of the United States will be found under
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1787,
and 1787-1789.
The following text of the original instrument, with the
subsequent amendments to it, is one prepared by Professor
Albert Bushnell Hart, and is the result of a careful
comparison with the original manuscripts, preserved in the
State Department at Washington. "It is intended to be
absolutely exact in word, spelling, capitalization and
punctuation. A few headings and paragraph numbers, inserted
for convenience of reference, are indicated by brackets."
"Those parts of the Constitution which were temporary in
their nature, or which have been superseded or altered by
later amendments, are included within the signs []." This
text, originally printed in the "American History Leaflets,"
is reproduced with Professor Hart's consent. The paragraphing
has been altered, to economize space, but it is otherwise
exactly reproduced:
{597}
"WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in Order to form a more
perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility,
provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare,
and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our
Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.
Article I.
Section 1.
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate
and House of Representatives.
Section 2
[§ 1.]
The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members
chosen every second Year by the People of the several States,
and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications
requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the
State Legislature.
[Footnote: Modified by Fourteenth Amendment.]
[§ 2.]
No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have
attained to the Age of twenty-five Years, and been seven Years
a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when
elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be
chosen.
[§ 3.]
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among
the several States which may be included within this Union,
according to their respective Numbers, [which shall be
determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons,
including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and
excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other
Persons.]
[Footnote: Superseded by Fourteenth Amendment.]
The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after
the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and
within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as
they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall
not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall
have at Least one Representative; [and until such enumeration
shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to
chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence
Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey
four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia
ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia
three.]
[Footnote: Temporary clause.]
[§ 4.]
When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State,
the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election
to fill such Vacancies.
[§ 5.]
The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and
other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section 3.
[§ 1.]
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two
Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof,
for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.
[§ 2.]
Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of
the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be
into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first
Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year,
of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and
of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so
that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if
Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the
Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof
may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the
Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.
[§ 3.]
No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to
the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the
United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an
Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
[§ 4.]
The Vice President of the United States shall be President of
the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally
divided.
[§ 5.]
The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a
President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President,
or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the
United States.
[§ 6.]
The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments.
When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or
Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried,
the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be
convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members
present.
[§ 7.]
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than
to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy
any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States:
but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and
subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment,
according to Law.
Section 4.
[§ 1.]
The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators
and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the
Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law
make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of
chusing Senators.
[§ 2.]
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and
such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless
they shall by Law appoint a different Day.
Section 5.
[§ 1.]
Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and
Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each
shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number
may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel
the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under
such Penalties as each House may provide.
[§ 2.]
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish
its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the
Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
[§ 3.]
Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from
time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in
their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the
Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire
of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.
[§ 4.]
Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without
the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days,
nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall
be sitting.
Section 6.
[§ 1.]
The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation
for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of
the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases,
except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged
from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their
respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the
same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall
not be questioned in any other Place.
{598}
[§ 2.]
No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which
he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the
Authority of the United States, which shall have been created,
or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during
such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United
States, shall be a Member of either House during his
Continuance in Office.
Section 7.
[§ 1.]
All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of
Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with
Amendments as on other Bills.
[§ 2.]
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of
Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law,
be presented to the President of the United States; If he
approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with
his Objections to that House in which it shall have
originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their
Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such
Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass
the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to
the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered,
and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a
Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be
determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons
voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the
Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be
returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted)
after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a
Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the
Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which
Case it shall not be a Law.
[§ 3.]
Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of
the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary
(except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to
the President of the United States; and before the same shall
take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by
him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House
of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations
prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
Section 8.
The Congress shall have Power
[§ 1.]
To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay
the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general
Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and
Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
[§ 2.]
To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
[§ 3.]
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the
several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
[§ 4.]
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform
Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United
States;
[§ 5.]
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign
Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
[§ 6.]
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities
and current Coin of the United States;
[§ 7.]
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
[§ 8.]
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by
securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the
exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
[§ 9.]
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
[§ 10.]
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the
high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
[§ 11.]
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make
Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
[§ 12.]
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to
that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
[§ 13.]
To provide and maintain a Navy;
[§ 14.]
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land
and naval Forces;
[§ 15.]
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws
of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
[§ 16.]
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the
Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be
employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the
States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the
Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline
prescribed by Congress;
[§ 17.]
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever,
over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by
Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress,
become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to
exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the
Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the same
shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals,
dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--And
[§ 18.]
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for
carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other
Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the
United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Section 9.
[§ 1.]
[The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the
States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be
prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand
eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on
such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.]
[Footnote: Temporary provision.]
[§ 2.]
The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be
suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the
public Safety may require it.
[§ 3.]
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
[Footnote: Extended by the first eight Amendments.]
[§ 4.]
No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in

Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed
to be taken.
[§ 5.]
No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any
State.
[§ 6.]
No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or
Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor
shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to
enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.
[§ 7.]
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence
of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and
Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money
shall be published from time to time.
[§ 8.]
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States:
And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under
them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of
any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind
whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
[Footnote: Extended by Ninth and Tenth Amendments.]
Section 10.
[§ 1.]
No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or
Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin
Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and
silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of
Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation
of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
{599}
[§ 2.]
No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any
Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be
absolutely necessary for executing its inspection Laws: and
the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State
on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of
the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the
Revision and Control of the Congress.
[§ 3.]
No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty
of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace,
enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or
with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually
invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of
delay.
[Footnote: Extended by Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth
Amendments.]
Article II.
Section 1.
[§ 1.]
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the
United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the
Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President,
chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows
[§ 2.]
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature
thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole
Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may
be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative,
or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the
United States, shall be appointed an Elector. [The Electors
shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for
two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant
of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List
of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for
each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit
sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States,
directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the
Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of
Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes
shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number
of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority
of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be
more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number
of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately
chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person
have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the
said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in
chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the
Representation from each State having one Vote: A quorum for
this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two
thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall
be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of
the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes
of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there
should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate
shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.]
[Footnote: Superseded by Twelfth Amendment.]
[§ 3.]
The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors,
and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day
shall be the same throughout the United States.
[§ 4.]
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the
United States, at the time of the Adoption of this
Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President;
neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall
not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been
fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
[§ 5.]
In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his
Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and
Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice
President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of
Removal, Death, Resignation, or Inability, both of the
President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall
then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly,
until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be
elected.
[§ 6.]
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his
Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor
diminished during the Period for which he shall have been
elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other
Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
[§ 7.]
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take
the following Oath or Affirmation:--
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully
execute the Office of President of the United States, and
will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and
defend the Constitution of the United States."
Section 2.
[§ 1.]
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy
of the United States, and of the Militia of the several
States, when called into the actual Service of the United
States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the
principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon
any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective
Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and
Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in
Cases of Impeachment.
[§ 2.]
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the
Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators
present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the
Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors,
other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme
Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose
Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which
shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest
the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think
proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in
the Heads of Departments.
[§ 3.]
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that
may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting
Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next
Session.
Section 3.
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of
the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration
such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he
may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or
either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with
Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to
such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive
Ambassadors and other public Ministers: he shall take Care
that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all
the Officers of the United States.
{600}
Section 4.
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the
United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment
for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes
and Misdemeanors.
Article III.
Section 1.
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in
one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress
may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both
of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices
during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for
their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished
during their Continuance in Office.
Section 2.
[§ 1.]
The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and
Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the
United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made,
under their Authority;
--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers
and Consuls;
--to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;
--to Controversies to which the United States shall be a
Party;
--to Controversies between two or more States;
--between a State and Citizens of another State;
[Footnote: Limited by Eleventh Amendment.]
--between Citizens of different States,
--between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under
Grants of different States, and between a State, or the
Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.
[§ 2.]
In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and
Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the
supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the
other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have
appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such
Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall
make.
[§ 3.]
The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall
be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where
the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not
committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place
or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.
Section 3.
[§ 1.]
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in
levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies,
giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of
Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same
overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
[§ 2.]
The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of
Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of
Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person
attainted.
Article IV.
Section 1.
Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the
public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other
State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the
Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be
proved, and the Effect thereof.
Section 2.
[§ 1.]
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges
and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
[Footnote: Extended by Fourteenth Amendment.]
[§ 2.]
A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other
Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another
State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State
from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the
State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
[§ 3.]
[No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the
Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of
any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service
or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to
whom such Service or Labour may be due.]
[Footnote: Superseded by Thirteenth Amendment.]
Section 3.
[§ 1.]
New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union;
but no new State shall be formed or erected within the
Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by
the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States,
without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States
concerned as well as of the Congress.
[§ 2.]
The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all
needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or
other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in
this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any
Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.
Section 4.
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union
a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of
them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature,
or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened)
against domestic Violence.
Article V.
The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it
necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or,
on the Application of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the
several States, shall call a Convention for proposing
Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all
Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when
ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several
States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one
or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the
Congress; Provided that [no Amendment which may be made prior
to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any
Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth
Section of the first Article; and] that no State, without its
Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the
Senate.
[Footnote: "[no amendment...]" is a Temporary provision.]
Article VI.
[§ 1.]
All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the
Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the
United States under this Constitution, as under the
Confederation.
[Footnote: Extended by Fourteenth Amendment, Section 4.]
[§ 2.]
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which
shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or
which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States,
shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every
State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or
Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
[§ 3.]
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the
Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive
and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the
several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to
support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be
required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust
under the United States.
Article VII.
The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be
sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between
the States so ratifying the Same.
{601}
DONE in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States
present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our
Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the
Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth In
Witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our names.
Go WASHINGTON--Presidt and deputy from Virginia.
DELAWARE.
Geo: Read
John Dickinson
Gunning Bedford jun
Richard Bassett
Jaco: Broom
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
John Langdon
Nicholas Gilman
MASSACHUSETTS.
Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King
MARYLAND.
James McHenry
Dan of St. Thos. Jenifer
Danl Carroll
CONNECTICUT.
Wm. Sami. Johnson
Roger Sherman
VIRGINIA.
John Blair
James Madison Jr.
NEW YORK.
Alexander Hamilton
NORTH CAROLINA.
Wm. Blount
Richd. Dobbs Spaight
Hu Williamson
NEW JERSEY.
Wil: Livingston
Wm: Paterson.
David Brearley
Jona: Dayton
SOUTH CAROLINA.
J. Rutledge,
Charles Pinckney
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Pierce Butler.
PENNSYLVANIA.
B Franklin
Thos. Fitz Simons
Thomas Mifflin
Jared Ingersoll
Robt. Morris
James Wilson.
Geo. Clymer
Gouv Morris
GEORGIA.
William Few
Abr Baldwin
[Footnote: These signatures have no other legal force than
that of attestation.]
ARTICLES in addition to and Amendment of the Constitution of
the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and
ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant
to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.
[Footnote: This heading appears only in the joint resolution
submitting the first ten amendments.]
[Article 1.]
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right
of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances.
[Article II.]
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a
free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms,
shall not be infringed.
[Article III.]
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house,
without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a
manner to be prescribed by law.
[Article IV.]
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue,
but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the
persons or things to be seized.
[Article V.]
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a
Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval
forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of
War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the
same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor
shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness
against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law; nor shall private
property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
[Article VI.]
In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right
to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the
State and district wherein the crime shall have been
committed, which district shall have been previously
ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause
of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against
him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his
favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
[Article VII.]
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be
preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise
re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according
to the rules of the common law.
[Article VIII.]
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
[Article IX.]
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall
not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the
people.
[Article X.]
The powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved
to the States respectively, or to the people.
[Footnote: Amendments First to Tenth appear to have been in
force from November 3, 1791. (See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D.
1791.)]
[Article XI.]
The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed
to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or
prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of
another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign
State.
[Footnote: Proclaimed to be in force January 8, 1798.]
{602}
[Article XII.]
The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote
by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at
least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with
themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted
for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for
as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all
persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for
as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which
lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the
seat of the government of the United States, directed to the
President of the Senate;--The President of the Senate shall,
in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives,
open all the certificates and the votes shall then be
counted;--The person having the greatest number of votes for
President, shall be the President, if such number be a
majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no
person have such majority, then from the persons having the
highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted
for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose
immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the
President, the votes shall be taken by states, the
representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for
this purpose shall consist of a member or members from
two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states
shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of
Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the
right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day
of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as
President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional
disability of the President.--The person having the greatest
number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the
Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole
number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a
majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the
Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the
purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of
Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be
necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally
ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to
that of Vice-President of the United States.
[Footnote: Proclaimed to be in force September 25, 1804.]
Article XIII.
Section 1.
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a
punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place
subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
[Footnote: Proclaimed to be in force December 18, 1865.
[See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865 (JANUARY).]
Article XIV.
Section 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the
United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State
shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the
privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor
shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person
within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section 2.
Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole
number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed.
But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of
electors for President and Vice President of the United
States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and
Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the
Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants
of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of
the United States, or in any way abridged, except for
participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion
which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole
number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
Section 3.
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or
elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office,
civil or military, under the United States, or under any
State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of
Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a
member of any State legislature, or as an executive or
judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of
the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or
rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the
enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of
each House, remove such disability.
Section 4.
The validity of the public debt of the United States,
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of
pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection
or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United
States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or
obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion
against the United States, or any claim for the loss or
emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and
claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5.
The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this article.
[Footnote: Proclaimed to be in force July 28. 1868.
[See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1865-1866
(DECEMBER-APRIL); 1866 (JUNE),
and 1866-1867 (OCTOBER-MARCH).]
Article XV.
Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on
account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation."
[Footnote: Proclaimed to be in force March 30, 1870.
[See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1869-1870.]
----------CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: End----------
CONSTITUTION OF VENEZUELA.
The following text is taken from Bulletin No. 34 of the Bureau
of the American Republics:
Article I.
The States that the constitution of March 28, 1864, declared
independent and united to form the Venezuelan Federation, and
that on April 27, 1881, were denominated Apure, Bolivar,
Barquisimeto, Barcelona, Carabobo, Cojedes, Cumamá, Falcón,
Guzmán Blanco, Guárico, Gunynna, Guzmán, Maturin, Nuevn
Esparta, Portuguesa, Táchira, Trujillo, Yaracay, Zamora, and
Zulia are constituted into nine grand political bodies, viz:
The State of Bermudez, composed of Barcelona, Cumaná, and
Maturin; the State of Miranda, composed of Bolivar, Guzman
Blanco, Guárico, and Nueva Esparta; the State of Carabobo,
composed of Carabobo and Nirgua; the State of Zamora, composed
of Cojedes, Portuguesa, and Zamora; the State of Lara,
composed of Barquisimeto and Yaracuy, except the department of
Nirgua; the State of Los Andes, composed of Guzman, Trujillo,
and Táchira; the State of Bolivar, composed of Guayana and
Apure; the State of Zulia, and also the State of Falcón. And
they are thus constituted to continue one only nation, free,
sovereign, and independent, under the title of the United
States of Venezuela.
{603}
Article. 2.
The boundaries of these great States are determined by those
that the law of April 28, 1856, that arranged the last
territorial division, designated for the ancient provinces
until it shall be re-formed.
Article. 3.
The boundaries of the United States of the Venezuelan
Federation are the same that in 1810 belonged to the old
Captaincy-General of Venezuela.
Article. 4.
The States that are grouped together to form the grand
political bodies will be called Sections. These are equal
among themselves; the constitutions prescribed for their
internal organism must be harmonious with the federative
principles established by the present compact, and the
sovereignty not delegated resides in the State without any
other limitations than those that devolve from the compromise
of association.
Article. 5.
These are Venezuelans, viz:
1st, All persons that may have been or may be born on
Venezuelan soil, whatever may be the nationality of their
parents;
2d, The children of a Venezuelan father or mother that may
have been born on foreign soil, if they should come to take up
their domicile in the country and express the desire to become
citizens;
3d, Foreigners that may have obtained naturalization papers; and,
4th, Those born or that shall be born in any of the
Spanish-American republics or in the Spanish Antilles,
provided that they may have taken up their residence in the
territory of the Republic and express a willingness to become
citizens.
Article. 6.
Those that take up their residence and acquire nationality in
a foreign country do not lose the character of Venezuelans.
Article. 7.
Males over twenty-one years of age are qualified Venezuelan
citizens, with only the exceptions contained in this
constitution.
Article. 8.
All Venezuelans are obliged to serve the nation according to
the prescriptions of the laws, sacrificing his property and
his life, if necessary, to defend the country.
Article. 9.
Venezuelans shall enjoy, in all the States of the Union, the
rights and immunities inherent to their condition as citizens
of the Federation, and they shall also have imposed upon them
there the same duties that are required of those that are
natives or domiciled there.
Article. 10.
Foreigners shall enjoy the same civil rights as Venezuelans
and the same security in their persons and property. They can
only take advantage of diplomatic means in accordance with
public treaties and in cases when right permits it.
Article. 11.
The law will determine the right applicable to the condition
of foreigners, according as they may be domiciled or in
transit.
Article. 12.
The States that form the Venezuelan Federation reciprocally
recognize their respective autonomies; they are declared equal
in political entity, and preserve, in all its plenitude, the
sovereignty not expressly delegated in this constitution.
Article. 13.
The States of the Venezuelan Federation oblige themselves--
1st, To organize themselves in accord with the principles of
popular, elective, federal, representative, alternative, and
responsible government;
2d, To establish the fundamental regulations of their interior
regulation and government in entire conformity with the
principles of this constitution;
3d, To defend themselves against all violence that threatens
the sectional independence or the integrity of the Venezuelan
Federation;
4th, To not alienate to a foreign power any part of their
territory, nor to implore its protection, nor to establish or
cultivate political or diplomatic relations with other
nations, since this last is reserved to the Federal power;
5th, To not combine or ally themselves with another nation,
nor to separate themselves to the prejudice of the nationality
of Venezuela and her territory;
6th, To cede to the nation the territory that may be necessary
for the Federal district;
7th, To cede to the Government of the Federation the territory
necessary for the erection of forts, warehouses, shipyards,
and penitentiaries, and for the construction of other edifices
indispensable to the general administration;
8th, To leave to the Government of the Federation the
administration of the Amazonas and Goajira territories and
that of the islands which pertain to the nation, until it may
be convenient to elevate them to another rank;
9th, To reserve to the powers of the Federation all
legislative or executive jurisdiction concerning maritime,
coastwise, and fluvial navigation, and the national roads,
considering as such those that exceed the limits of a State
and lead to the frontiers of others and to the Federal
district;
10th, To not subject to contributions the products or articles
upon which national taxes are imposed, or those that are by
law exempt from tax before they have been offered for
consumption;
11th, To not impose contributions on cattle, effects, or any
class of merchandise in transit for another State, in order
that traffic may be absolutely free, and that in one section
the consumption of others may not be taxed;
12th, To not prohibit the consumption of the products of other
States nor to tax their productions with greater general or
municipal taxes than those paid on products raised in the
locality;
13th, To not establish maritime or territorial custom-houses
for the collection of imports, since there will be national
ones only;
14th, To recognise the right of each State to dispose of its
natural products;
15th, To cede to the Government of the Federation the
administration of mines, public lands, and salt mines, in
order that the first may be regulated by a system of uniform
working and that the latter may be applied to the benefit of
the people;
16th, To respect the property, arsenals, and forts of the
nation;
17th, To comply with and cause to be complied with and
executed the Constitution and laws of the federation and the
decrees and orders that the federal power, the tribunals, and
courts may expedite in use of their attributes and legal
faculties;
18th, To give entire faith to and to cause to be complied with
and executed the public acts and judicial procedures of the
other States;
19th, To organize their tribunals and courts for the
administration of justice in the State and to have for all of
them the same substantive civil and criminal legislation and
the same laws of civil and criminal procedure;
20th, To present judges for the court of appeals and to submit
to the decision of this supreme tribunal of the States;
21st, To incorporate the extradition of criminals as a
political principle in their respective Constitutions;
22d, To establish direct and public suffrage in popular
elections, making it obligatory and endorsing it in the
electoral registry. The vote of the suffragist must be cast in
full and public session of the respective board; it will be
inscribed in the registry books that the law prescribes for
elections, which can not be substituted in any other form, and
the elector, for himself or by another at his request in case
of impediment or through ignorance, will sign the memorandum
entry of his vote, and without this requisite it can not be
claimed that in reality he has voted;
{604}
23d, To establish a system of primary education and that of
arts and trades;
24th, To reserve to the powers of the Federation the laws and
provisions necessary for the creation, conservation, and
progress of general schools, colleges, or universities
designed for the teaching of the sciences;
25th, To not impose duties upon the national employés, except
in the quality of citizens of the State and insomuch as these
duties may not be incompatible with the national public
service;
26th, To furnish the proportional contingent that pertains to
them to compose the national public forces in time of peace or
war;
27th, To not permit in the States of the Federation forced
enlistments and levies that have or may have for their object
an attack on liberty or independence or a disturbance of the
public order of the Nation, of other States, or of another
Nation;
28th, To preserve a strict neutrality in the contentions that
may arise in other States;
29th, To not declare or carry on war in any case, one State
with another;
30th, To defer and submit to the decision of the Congress or
the High Federal Court in all the controversies that may arise
between two or more States when they can not, between
themselves and by pacific measures, arrive at an agreement.
If, for any cause, they may not designate the arbiter to whose
decision they may submit, they leave it, in fact, to the High
Federal Court;
31st, To recognize the competency of Congress and of the court
of appeals to take cognizance of the causes that, for treason
to the country or for the infraction of the Constitution and
laws of the Federation, may be instituted against those that
exercise executive authority in the States, it being their
duty to incorporate this precept in their constitutions. In
these trials the modes of procedure that the general laws
prescribe will be followed and they will be decided in
consonance with those laws;
32d, To have as the just income of the States, two-thirds of
the total product of the impost collected as transit tax in
all the custom-houses of the Republic and two-thirds of that
collected from mines, public lands, and salt mines
administered by the Federal Power and to distribute this
income among all the States of the Federation in proportion to
the population of each;
33d, To reserve to the Federal Power the amount of the third
part of the income from transit tax, the production of mines,
public lands, and salt mines, to be invested in the
improvement of the country;
34th, To keep far away from the frontier those individuals
that, through political motives, take refuge in a State,
provided that the State interested requests it.
Article. 14.
The nation guarantees to Venezuelans:
1st, The inviolability of life, capital punishment being
abolished in spite of any law that establishes it;
2d, Property, with all its attributes, rights and privileges,
will only be subjected to contributions decreed by legislative
authority, to judicial decision, and to be taken for public
works after indemnity and condemnation;
3d, The inviolability and secrecy of correspondence and other
private papers;
4th, The domestic hearth, that can not be approached except to
prevent the perpetration of crime, and this itself must be
done in accordance with law;
5th, Personal liberty, and consequently
(1) forced recruiting for armed service is abolished,
(2) slavery is forever proscribed,
(3) slaves that tread the soil of Venezuela are free, and
(4) nobody is obliged to do that which the law does not
command, nor is impeded from doing that which it does not
prohibit;
6th, The freedom of thought, expressed by word or through the
press, is without any restriction to be submitted to previous
censure. In cases of calumny or injury or prejudice to a third
party, the aggrieved party shall have every facility to have
his complaints investigated before competent tribunals of
justice in accordance with the common laws;
7th, The liberty of traveling without passport, to change the
domicil, observing the legal formalities, and to depart from
and return to the Republic, carrying off and bringing back his
or her property;
8th, The liberty of industry and consequently the
proprietorship of discoveries and productions. The law will
assign to the proprietors a temporary privilege or the mode of
indemnity in case that the author agrees to its publication;
9th, The liberty of reunion and assembling without arms,
publicly or privately, the authorities being prohibited from
exercising any act of inspection or coercion;
10th, The liberty of petition, with the right of obtaining
action by resolution; petition can be made by any functionary,
authority or corporation. If the petition shall be made in the
name of various persons, the first five will respond for the
authenticity of the signatures and all for the truth of the
assertions;
11th, The liberty of suffrage at popular elections without any
restriction except to males under eighteen years of age;
12th, The liberty of instruction will be protected to every
extent. The public power is obliged to establish gratuitous
instruction in primary schools, the arts, and trades;
13th, Religious liberty;
14th, Individual security, and, therefore
(1) no Venezuelan can be imprisoned or arrested in
punishment for debts not founded in fraud or crime;
(2) nor to be obliged to lodge or quarter soldiers in his
house;
(3) nor to be judged by special commissions or tribunals,
but by his natural judges and by virtue of laws dictated
before the commission of the crime or act to be judged;
(4) nor to be imprisoned nor arrested without previous
summary information that a crime meriting corporal
punishment has been committed, and a written order from the
functionary that orders the imprisonment, stating the cause
of arrest, unless the person may be caught in the
commission of the crime;
(5) nor to be placed in solitary confinement for any cause;
(6) nor to be obliged to give evidence, in criminal causes,
against himself or his blood relations within the fourth
degree of consanguinity or against his relations by
marriage within the second degree, or against husband or
wife;
(7) nor to remain in prison when the reasons that caused
the imprisonment have been dissipated;
(8) nor to be sentenced to corporal punishment for more
than ten years;
(9) nor to remain deprived of his liberty for political
reasons when order is reestablished.
{605}
Article. 15.
Equality: in virtue of which
(1) all must be judged by the very same laws and subject to
equal duty, service and contributions;
(2) no titles of nobility, hereditary honors, and
distinctions will be conceded, nor employments or offices
the salaries or emoluments of which continue after the
termination of service;
(3) no other official salutation than "citizen" and "you"
will be given to employés and corporations. The present
enumeration does not impose upon the States the obligation
to accord other guarantees to their inhabitants.
Article 16.
The laws in the States will prescribe penalties for the
infractions of these guarantees, establishing modes of
procedure to make them effective.
Article 17.
Those who may issue, sign, or execute, or order executed any
decrees, orders, or resolutions that violate or in any manner
infringe upon the guarantees accorded to Venezuelans are
culpable and must be punished according to the law. Every
citizen is empowered to bring charges.
Article 18.
The National Legislature will be composed of two chambers, one
of Senators and another of Deputies.
Article 19.
The States will determine the mode of election of Deputies.
Article 20.
To form the Chamber of Deputies, each State will name, by
popular election in accordance with paragraph 22 of Article 13
of this Constitution, one Deputy for each thirty-five thousand
inhabitants and another for an excess not under fifteen
thousand. In the same manner it will elect alternates in equal
number to the principals.
Article 21.
The Deputies will hold office for four years, when they will
be renewed in their entirety.
Article 22.
The prerogatives of the chamber of Deputies are:
First, to examine the annual account that the President of the
United States of Venezuela must render;
Second, to pass a vote of censure of the Ministers of the
Cabinet, in which event their posts will be vacant;
Third, to hear charges against the persons in charge of the
office of the National Executive for treason to the country,
for infraction of the constitution, or for ordinary crimes;
against the ministers and other National employés for
infraction of the Constitution and laws and for fault in the
discharge of their duties according to article 75 of this
constitution and of the general laws of the Republic. This
attribute is preventative and neither contracts nor diminishes
those that other authorities have to judge and punish.
Article 23.
When a charge is instituted by a Deputy or by any corporation
or individual the following rules will be observed:
(1) there will be appointed, in secret session, a commission
of three deputies;
(2) the commission will, within three days, render an opinion,
declaring whether or not there is foundation for instituting a
cause;
(3) the Chamber will consider the information and decide upon
the cause by the vote of an absolute majority of the members
present, the accusing Deputy abstaining from voting.
Article 24.
The declaration that there is foundation for the cause
operates to suspend from office the accused and incapacitates
him for the discharge of any public function during the trial.
Article 25.
To form this Chamber each State, through its respective
legislature, will elect three principal Senators and an equal
number of alternates to supply the vacancies that may occur.
Article 26.
To be a Senator it is required that he shall be a Venezuelan
by birth and thirty years of age.
Article 27.
The Senators will occupy their posts for four years and be
renewed in their entirety.
Article 28.
It is the prerogative of the Senate to substantiate and decide
the causes initiated in the Chamber of Deputies.
Article 29.
If the cause may not have been concluded during the sessions,
the Senate will continue assembled for this purpose only until
the cause is finished.
Article 30.
The National Legislature will assemble on the 20th day of
February of each year or as soon thereafter as possible at the
capital of the United States without the necessity of previous
notice. The sessions will last for seventy days to be
prolonged until ninety days at the judgment of the majority.
Article 31.
The Chambers will open their sessions with two-thirds of their
number at least; and, in default of this number, those present
will assemble in preparatory commission and adopt measures for
the concurrence of the absentees.
Article 32.
The sessions having been opened, they may be continued by
two-thirds of those that may have installed them, provided
that the number be not less than half of all the members
elected.
Article 33.
Although the Chambers deliberate separately, they may assemble
together in the Congress when the constitution and laws
provide for it or when one of the two Chambers may deem it
necessary. If the Chamber that is invited shall agree, it
remains to it to fix the day and the hour of the joint
session.
Article 34.
The sessions will be public and secret at the will of the
Chamber.
Article 35.
The Chambers have the right:
(1) to make rules to be observed in the sessions and to
regulate the debates;
(2) to correct infractors;
(3) to establish the police force in the hall of sessions;
(4) to punish or correct spectators who create disorder;
(5) to remove the obstacles to the free exercise of their
functions;
(6) to command the execution of their private resolutions;
(7) to judge of the qualifications of their members and to
consider their resignations.
Article 36.
One of the Chambers cannot suspend its sessions nor change its
place of meeting without the consent of the other; in case of
disagreement they will reassemble together and execute that
which the majority resolves.
Article 37.
The exercise of any other public function, during the