Constitution of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, 1951

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CONSTITUTION
OF THE ORIENTAL
REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY

SECTION I
The Nation and Its Sovereignty

Article 1. The Oriental Republic of Uruguay is the political association of all inhabitants included within its territory.

Article 2. It is and always shall be free and independent of any foreign power.

Article 3. It shall never be the patrimony of any person or of any family.

Article 4. Sovereignty to its full extent resides fundamentally in the Nation, which has the exclusive authority to enact its laws in the manner which will be hereinafter set forth.

Article 5. All religious sects are free in Uruguay. The State supports no religion whatever. It recognizes the right of the Catholic Church to ownership of all temples which have been built wholly or partly from funds of the National Treasury, with the sole exception of chapels dedicated for use by asylums, hospitals, prisons, or other public establishments. It likewise declares exempt from all forms of taxes the temples dedicated to worship by the various religious sects.

Article 6. In international treaties which the Republic may conclude there shall be proposed a clause to the effect that all differences which may arise between the contracting parties shall be settled by arbitration or other peaceful means.

SECTION II
Rights, Duties and Guarantees

Article 7. The inhabitants of the Republic have the right of protection in the enjoyment of life, honor, liberty, security, labor, and property. No one may be deprived of these rights except in conformity with laws which may be enacted for reasons of general interest.

Article 8. All persons are equal before the law, no other distinctions being recognized among them save those of talent and virtue.

Article 9. The establishment of primogenital entailments is prohibited.

No authority of the Republic may grant any title of nobility or hereditary honors or distinctions.

Article 10. Private actions of persons which do not in any way affect the public order or prejudice others shall be outside the jurisdiction of the magistrates.

No inhabitant of the Republic shall be obliged to do what the law does not require, or prevented from doing what it does not prohibit.

Article 11. The sanctity of the home is inviolable. No one may enter it by night without the consent of its master, and by day only at the express order of a competent judge, in writing, and in cases determined by law.

Article 12. No one may be punished or imprisoned without due process of law and a legal sentence.

Article 13. Ordinary law may establish trial by jury in criminal cases.

Article 14. The penalty of confiscation of property may not be imposed for reasons of a political nature.

Article 15. No one may be arrested except in cases of flagrante delicto or by written order of a competent judge based on reasonable grounds.

Article 16. In any of the cases contemplated in the preceding article, the judge, under the gravest responsibility, shall take the declaration of the person under arrest within twenty-four hours and shall begin the summary process within forty-eight hours at the most. The declaration of the accused must be taken in the presence of his defender. The latter shall also have the right to attend all summary hearings.

Article 17. In the event of unlawful detention, the interested party or any other person may apply to the competent judge for a writ of habeas corpus to the end that the detaining authority shall immediately explain and justify the legal grounds for such detention, the decision of the aforementioned judge being final.

Article 18. The laws shall establish the procedure and formalities of trials.

Article 19. Trials by commission are prohibited.

Article 20. The taking of an oath by the accused in making a declaration or confession regarding his own acts is abolished; and it is prohibited that the accused shall be treated as a criminal.

Article 21. Criminal trials in absentia are likewise abolished. The law shall make suitable provision to this effect.

Article 22. Every criminal trial shall begin with an accusation by a complaining witness, or by the public prosecutor, secret examinations being abolished.

Article 23. All judges are responsible before the law for the slightest infringement of the rights of individuals as well as for deviation from the established order of procedure in that respect.

Article 24. The State, the Departmental Governments, the Autonomous Entities, the Decentralized Services, and in general any agency of the State, shall be civilly liable for injury caused to third parties, in the performance of public services, entrusted to their action or direction.

Article 25. Whenever the injury has been caused by their officials, in the performance of their duties or by reason of such performance, in the event they have been guilty of gross negligence or fraud, the corresponding public agency may reclaim from them whatever has been paid as compensation.

Article 26. The death penalty shall not be applied to anyone.

In no case shall prisons be permitted to use brutal treatment; they shall be used only as a means of assuring that convicts and prisoners are reeducated, acquire an aptitude for work, and become rehabilitated.

Article 27. In any stage of a criminal trial which will not result in a penitentiary sentence, judges may place the accused at liberty, under a bond as determined by law.

Article 28. The papers of private individuals, their correspondence, whether epistolary, telegraphic, or of any other nature, are inviolable, and they may never be searched, examined, or intercepted except in conformity with laws which may be enacted for reasons of public interest.

Article 29. The expression of opinion on any subject by word of mouth, private writing, publication in the press, or by any other method of dissemination is entirely free, without prior censorship; but the author, printed or publisher as the case may be, may be held liable, in accordance with law, for abuses which they may commit.

Article 30. Every inhabitant has the right of petition to all or any of the authorities of the Republic.

Article 31. Individual security may not be suspended except with the consent of the General Assembly or, during its recess, the Permanent Commission and in the event of an extraordinary case of treason or conspiracy against the country; and even then such suspension may be used only for the apprehension of the guilty parties, without prejudice to the provisions of section 17 of Article 168.

Article 32. The right of property is inviolable, but is subject to the provisions of laws which may be enacted for reasons of general interest.

No one may be deprived of his property rights except in case of public necessity or utility established by law, and in such cases the National Treasury shall always pay just compensation in advance.

Whenever expropriation is ordered for reasons of public necessity or utility, the property owners may be indemnified for loss or damages they may suffer on account of delay, whether the expropriation is actually carried out or not.

Article 33. Intellectual property, the rights of authors, inventors, or artists shall be recognized and protected by law.

Article 34. All the artistic or historical wealth of the country, whoever may be its owner, constitutes the cultural treasure of the Nation; it shall be placed under the protection of the State and the law shall establish what is deemed necessary for such protection.

Article 35. No one shall be compelled to render aid of any kind to the army, or to permit his house to be used for the billeting of troops except by order of a civil magistrate according to law, and in such cases he shall receive from the Republic indemnification for loss that may be incurred.

Article 36. Every person may engage in labor, farming, industry, commerce, a profession, or any other lawful activity, save for the limitations imposed by general interest which the law may enact.

Article 37. The entry of any person into the Republic, his residence therein, and his departure with his property, are free, if he obeys the laws, except in cases of prejudice to third parties.

Immigration shall be regulated by law, but in no case shall an immigrant be admitted who has physical, mental, or moral defects which may injure society.

Article 38. The right of peaceful and unarmed public meetings is guaranteed. The exercise of this right may not be denied by any authority of the Republic except in accordance with law, and only insofar as such exercise may prejudice public health, safety or order.

Article 39. All persons have the right to form associations, for any purpose whatsoever, provided they do not form an association which the law has declared unlawful.

Article 40. The State shall safeguard the social development of the family.

Article 41. The care and education of children, so that they may attain their fullest physical, intellectual, and social capacity, is the duty and the right of parents. Those who have large families to support are entitled to compensatory aid if they need it.

The law shall provide the necessary measures for the protection of infancy and youth against physical, intellectual, or moral neglect by their parents or guardians, as well as against exploitation and abuse.

Article 42. Parents have the same duties toward children born outside of wedlock as toward children born within it.

Maternity, regardless of the condition or circumstances of the mother, is entitled to the protection of society and to its assistance in case of destitution.

Article 43. The law shall provide that juvenile delinquency shall be dealt with under a special system in which women will be allowed to participate.

Article 44. The State shall legislate on all questions connected with public health and hygiene, endeavoring to attain the physical, moral, and social improvement of all inhabitants of the country.

It is the duty of all inhabitants to take care of their health as well as to receive treatment in case of illness. The State will provide gratis the means of prevention and treatment to both indigents and those lacking sufficient means.

Article 45. The law shall promote hygienic and economical housing for workers, by sponsoring the construction of housing and communities which meet these conditions.

Article 46. The State shall give asylum to indigent persons or those lacking sufficient means who, because of chronic physical or mental inferiority, may be incapacitated for work.

Article 47. The State shall combat social vices by means of the law and international conventions.

Article 48. The right of inheritance is guaranteed within the limits established by law. Lineal ascendants and descendants shall have preferential treatment in the laws regarding taxation.

Article 49. The "family property" (bien de familia), its constitution, conservation, enjoyment, and transmission shall be protected by special legislation.

Article 50. Every commercial or industrial organization in the form of a trust shall be subject to control by the State.

Article 51. The establishment and enforcement of rates for public services operated by firms holding concessions shall be conditioned upon their approval by the State or Departmental Governments, as the case may be.

The concessions to which this article refers may in no case be granted in perpetuity.

Article 52. Usury is prohibited. The law fixing a maximum limit on interest rates on loans is of a public character. This law will fix the penalties to be applied to offenders thereunder.

No one may be deprived of his liberty for debts.

Article 53. Labor is under the special protection of the law.

It is the duty of every inhabitant of the Republic, without prejudice to his freedom, to apply his intellectual or physical energies in a manner which will redound to the benefit of the community, which will endeavor to afford him, with preference to citizens, the possibility of earning his livelihood through the development of some economic activity.

Article 54. The law must recognize the right of every person, performing labor or services as a worker or employee, to independence of moral and civic consciousness; just remuneration; limitation of the working day; a weekly day of rest; and physical and moral health.

The labor of women and of minors under eighteen years of age shall be specially regulated and limited.

Article 55. The law shall regulate the impartial and equitable distribution of labor.

Article 56. Every enterprise, the nature of which requires that the personnel reside on the premises, shall be obliged to provide adequate food and lodging in accordance with conditions which the law may establish.

Article 57. The law shall promote the organization of trade unions, according them charters and issuing regulations for their recognition as juridical persons.

It shall likewise promote the creation of tribunals of conciliation and arbitration.

The strike is declared to be a right of trade unions. Regulations shall be made governing its exercise and effect, on that basis.

Article 58. Public officials are in the service of the Nation and not of a political party. Any activity alien to their duties is prohibited and political propaganda (proselitismo) on their part, at their offices or during office hours, shall be considered unlawful.

They may not organize groups for propaganda purposes by using the name of public agencies or any connection their positions may bear to membership in such organizations.

Article 59. The law shall establish civil service regulations (Estatuto del Funcionario) on the fundamental basis that the official exists for the office and not the office for the official.

Its principles shall apply to subordinate officials:

A) of the Executive Power, with the exception of the military, police and diplomatic officials, who shall be governed by special laws;

B) of the Judicial Power and of the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal except with respect to judgeships;

C) of the Tribunal of Accounts;

D) of the Electoral Court and its agencies, without prejudice to regulations enacted for the control of political parties;

E) of the Decentralized Services, without prejudice to whatever may be provided in special laws covering the diverse nature of their functions.

Article 60. An administrative career service is established for officials covered by the budget of the central administration, who are declared to have permanent status, without prejudice to provisions of law that may be enacted on the subject by an absolute majority of the votes of the full membership of each Chamber or under the third paragraph of this article.

They may be dismissed only in accordance with rules established by this Constitution.

Officials who are political in character or who have duties of personal trust (de particular confianza) are not included if given such character by law approved by an absolute majority of votes of the full membership of each Chamber, and they shall be appointed and are subject to dismissal by the appropriate administrative organ.

Article 61. The civil service regulations (Estatuto del Funcionario) shall establish the conditions for admission for career officials and shall regulate the right to permanent status, advancement, weekly days of rest, and the system of annual and sick leave; grounds for suspension or transfer; their official duties; and administrative recourses against rulings that may affect them, without prejudice to the provisions of Section XVII.

Article 62. The Departmental Governments shall adopt these regulations (Estatuto) for their officials in accordance with the rules set forth in the preceding articles, and until this is done the provisions established by law governing public officials shall apply.

To grant permanent status to their officials and to establish positions that are political or of personal trust shall require the approval of three fifths of the membership of a Departmental Board (Junta Departamental).

Article 63. Within one year following the promulgation of this Constitution, the Autonomous Entities shall adopt civil service regulations for their officials, such regulations to be subject to the approval of the National Council of Government.

These regulations shall contain provisions designed to ensure normal operation of the services and the guarantees established in the preceding article for public officials, insofar as they can be reconciled with the specific purposes of each Autonomous Entity.

Article 64. By a two-thirds vote of the total membership of each Chamber, the law may establish special regulations which, by their general scope or nature, may be applicable to the officials of all Departmental Governments and all Autonomous Entities, or only to certain ones, as the case may be.

Article 65. The law may authorize the organization of representative personnel committees within the Autonomous Entities, for purposes of collaboration with their directors in the enforcement of the regulations, study of budgetary requirements, organization of the services, labor regulations and the application of disciplinary measures.

In public services administered directly or by concession holders, the law provide for the formation of competent organs to hear disputes between authorities of the services and their employees; and to consider methods and procedures to be used by the public authority to maintain continuity of service.

Article 66. No parliamentary or administrative investigation of irregularities, neglect, or malfeasance shall be considered as completed until the accused official has had an opportunity to submit his answer and to present his defense.

Article 67. The general retirement and social security funds shall be organized in such a way as to guarantee to all workers, employers, employees, and laborers adequate retirement pensions and subsidies in case of accident, sickness, disability, enforced unemployment, etc.; and in case of death, the corresponding pension to their families. The old age pension is the right of those who have reached the limit of their productive age, after long residence in the country, and who lack the means to provide for the necessities of life.

Article 68. Freedom of education is guaranteed.

The law shall regulate state intervention for the sole purpose of maintaining hygiene, morality, safety and public order.

Every parent or guardian has the right to select the teachers or institutions he desires for the education of his children or wards.

Article 69. Private educational institutions which give free classes to a number of students, in accordance with regulations which the law shall prescribe, and cultural institutions, shall be exempted from national and municipal taxes as a subsidy for their services.

Article 70. Primary education is compulsory.

The State will make the necessary provisions for its accomplishment.

Article 71. Free official primary, intermediate, advanced, industrial, artistic, and physical education is declared to be of social utility, as well as the creation of scholarships for continued study and specialization in cultural, scientific and occupational fields, and the establishment of public libraries.

In all educational institutions special attention shall be paid to the formation of the moral and civic character of students.

Article 72. The enumeration of rights, duties, and guarantees made in this Constitution does not exclude others which are inherent in human beings or which are derived from a republican form of government.

SECTION III
Citizenship and Suffrage

Article 73. Citizens of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay are natural or legal.

Article 74. All men and women born at any place within the territory of the Republic are natural citizens. Children of Uruguayan fathers or mothers are also natural citizens, wherever they may have been born, provided that they take up residence in the country and register themselves in the Civil Register.

Article 75. The following have the right to legal citizenship:

A) Foreign men and women of good conduct, and having a family within the Republic, who possess some capital or property in the country, or are engaged in some profession, craft, or industry, and have resided habitually in the Republic for three years;

B) Foreign men and women of good conduct, without families in the Republic, who possess any of the qualifications mentioned in the preceding paragraph and who have resided habitually in the country for five years;

C) Foreign men and women who obtain special courtesy from the General Assembly for noteworthy service or outstanding merit.

Proof of residence must necessarily be based on a public or private document of proven date.

The rights appertaining to legal citizenship may not be exercised by foreigners included in paragraph (A) and (B) until three years after the issuance of the respective citizenship papers.

The existence of any of the grounds for suspension referred to in Article 80 shall bar the granting of citizenship papers.

Article 76. Any citizen may hold public employment: Legal citizens may not be appointed until three years after obtaining citizenship papers.

Citizenship shall not be required for a position as professor in institutions of higher learning.

Article 77. Every citizen is a member of the sovereignty of the Nation; as such he is a voter and eligible for election in the cases and in accordance with the procedure which will be set forth.

Suffrage shall be exercised in the manner determined by law, but on the following bases:

1) Compulsory inscription in the Civil Register;

2) Secret and compulsory vote;

3) Integral proportional representation;

4) Judicial magistrates, members of the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal and the Tribunal of Accounts, directors of the Autonomous Entities and the Decentralized Services, persons in active military service regardless of rank, and police officials of whatever category, must abstain, under penalty of dismissal and withdrawal of eligibility to hold any other public office for from two to ten years, from membership in political committees or clubs, from signing party proclamations and, in general, from any other public or private act of a political character, with the exception of voting. The participation of directors of the Autonomous Entities and the Decentralized Services in party organizations engaged in the specific task of the study of government, legislation, and administration, is not regarded as included in these prohibitions.

The Electoral Court shall be competent to take cognizance of and impose penalties for the above-mentioned electoral offenses. The accusation should be made before the Electoral Court through the intermediary of the national party authorities.

Without prejudice to the above provisions, the facts shall in all cases be referred to the ordinary courts for such additional action as they may deem appropriate.

5) The neutral members of the Electoral Court to whom paragraph 1 of Article 324 refers, may not belong to political committees or clubs, nor hold directive positions in party organizations, nor take part in any way in political election propaganda;

6) All electoral boards which may be designated to intervene in questions of suffrage must be elected with the guarantees provided in this article.

7) Any new law concerning the Civil Register or elections, as well as any amendment or interpretation of the existing laws, shall require a two-thirds vote of the full membership of each Chamber. This special majority shall apply only to the guarantees of suffrage and election, composition, functions, and procedure of the Electoral Court and electoral boards. For action in matters of expenditures, budgets, and internal regulations, a simple majority will be sufficient.

8) By a two-thirds vote of the full membership of each Chamber, the law may extend the prohibitions contained in paragraphs (4) and (5) to include other officials.

9) The election of members of both Chambers of the Legislative Power, of the National Council of Government, of the Departmental Boards and Councils, and of any organ for which the law may provide that its members are to be elected by the people, shall take place on the last Sunday in November every four years.

The lists of candidates for these positions shall be included jointly on a single ballot, under one party label (lema), without prejudice to the provisions of Article 79.

Article 78. Foreign men and women of good conduct, having a family in the Republic, who possess some capital or property within the country or are engaged in some profession, craft, or industry and have habitually resided at least fifteen years in the Republic have the right to vote without the necessity of previously obtaining legal citizenship.

Proof of residence must be based on a public or private document of proven date, and if the evidence is satisfactory to the authority competent to pass upon it, the foreigner will be entitled to exercise the right to vote from the time he inscribed in the Civil Register, as authorized by a certificate issued by the same authority for this purpose.

Article 79. Only permanent parties may "accumulate" votes for any elective office, without prejudice to compliance in all cases, for the election of Representatives, with the terms of the first part of Article 88.

The accumulation of votes is authorized, however, for factions which belonged to the same party and which subsequently acquired or used a new party label, and may be done under the label of any one of them or by each retaining its own label jointly or separately in the lists of candidates for National Councilor, Senator, Representative, members of the Departmental Councils and Boards and the electoral organizations. In the event that the political factions to which this clause refers decide to make use of the right of accumulation to which they are entitled, they shall give notice thereof, through their national officers, to the Electoral Court or the departmental electoral organizations, as the case may be, at least thirty days in advance of the election, and in addition must state on the respective ballots the accumulative character of the lists included in the agreement.

Persons connected with factions which belonged to the same party and which subsequently acquired or used a new party label may be included without distinction in the lists of candidates of such factions for members of both Chambers of the Legislative Power, of the National Council of Government, of the Departmental Councils and Boards, and of any organ for which the laws provide that the members shall be chosen by the people through the elective process.

Article 80. Citizenship is suspended:

1) By physical or mental ineptitude which prevents free and reflective action;

2) By having the status of a soldier of the line, whether classified as a musician, bugler, trumpeter, drummer, marksman or any other rank below that of corporal, with the exception of cadets of the military academies;

3) By being under indictment on a criminal charge which may result in a penitentiary sentence;

4) By being under eighteen years of age;

5) By being under sentence which imposes the penalty of exile, prison, penitentiary, or loss of political rights during the term of the sentence;

6) By habitually engaging in morally dishonest activities which shall be specified by law in accordance with subsection 7 of Article 77;

7) By being a member of social or political organizations which advocate the destruction of the fundamental bases of the Nation by violence. Those mentioned in Sections I and II of this Constitution are considered to be such for the purposes of this provision.

8) By a continuing lack of good conduct as required by Article 75.

The last two grounds shall apply only with respect to legal citizens.

Exercise of the right granted by Article 78 is suspended on the grounds listed above.

Article 81. Nationality is not lost even by naturalization in another country, it being sufficient for the purpose of regaining the rights of citizenship merely to take up residence in the Republic and register in the Civil Register.

Legal citizenship is lost by any other form of subsequent naturalization.

SECTION IV
The Form of Government and Its Various Powers

Article 82. The Nation adopts the democratic-republican form of government.

Its sovereignty shall be exercised directly by the voters (cuerpo electoral) through election, initiative, and referendum, and indirectly by the representative powers which this Constitution establishes; all in conformity with the rules herein set forth.

SECTION V
The Legislative Power

Article 83. The Legislative Power shall be exercised by the General Assembly.

Article 84. The latter shall be composed of two Chambers: one of Representatives and the other of Senators, which shall function jointly or separately according to the various provisions of this Constitution.

Article 85. The General Assembly is competent:

1) To enact and order the publication of the Codes;

2) To establish Tribunals and regulate the administration of justice and of contentious-administrative matters;

3) To enact laws relating to the independence, security, tranquility, and decorum of the Republic; the protection of all individual rights and the fostering of education, agriculture, industry, and domestic and foreign trade;

4) To impose the necessary taxes to meet budgetary expenditures, provide for their distribution, collection and appropriation, and to repeal, modify, or increase those in existence;

5) To approve or disapprove, in whole or in part, the accounts presented by the Executive Power;

6) To authorize, on the initiative of the Executive Power, the National Public Debt, to consolidate it, to provide for its guaranties, and to regulate the public credit, an absolute majority of the full membership of each Chamber being necessary in the three first-mentioned cases;

7) To declare war and to approve or disapprove, by an absolute majority of the full membership of both Chambers, the treaties of peace, alliance, commerce, and conventions or contracts of any nature which the Executive Power may make with foreign powers;

8) To designate each year the armed forces that may be necessary. Military effectives may be increased only by an absolute majority of the votes of the full membership of each Chamber;

9) To create new Departments by a vote of two-thirds majority of the full membership of each Chamber; to establish their boundaries; to establish ports of entry; to establish customhouses and export and import duties, applying, with respect to the latter, the provisions of Article 87;

10) To establish the weight, standard and value of monies; to fix the rates and denominations thereof; and to provide a system of weights and measures;

11) To permit or prohibit the entry of foreign troops into the territory of the Republic, and in the former case, to fix the time when they must depart. Excepted from the above are forces which may enter for the sole purpose of doing honor and whose entry shall be authorized by the Executive Power;

12) To refuse or permit the expedition of national forces outside the Republic, in the latter case fixing the time for their return to the country;

13) To create or abolish public offices, determining their functions, compensation and retirement regulations, and to approve, disapprove, or decrease the budgets of expenditures presented by the Executive Power; to grant pensions and other classes of pecuniary compensation and to decree public honors as a reward for distinguished services;

14) To grant pardons by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of the General Assembly in joint session, and to grant amnesties in extraordinary cases, by an absolute majority vote of the full membership of each Chamber;

15) To issue regulations concerning the militia and to fix their number and designate the times they shall be called to service;

16) To select the place where the principal authorities of the Nation must reside;

17) To grant monopolies by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of each Chamber. To establish a monopoly in favor of the State or of a Departmental Government requires an absolute majority of the votes of the full membership of each Chamber;

18) To elect, in joint session of both Chambers, the members of the Supreme Court of Justice, of the Electoral Court, of the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal, and of the Tribunal of Accounts, subject to the provisions of the respective sections;

19) To pass political judgment on the conduct of the Ministers of State, in accordance with the provisions of Section VIII;

20) To interpret the Constitution, without prejudice to the power of the Supreme Court of Justice under Articles 256 to 261.

Article 86. The creation and abolishment of public offices and services; the fixing and changing of salaries, and the authorization of expenditures, shall be effected through the budgetary laws, subject to the provisions of Section XIII.

Any other law which involves expenses to be borne by the National Treasury must indicate the revenues from which they shall be paid; but the initiative in the creation of offices, increases in salaries and retirement pay, the granting or increasing of pensions or pecuniary compensation, shall be vested solely in the Executive Power.

Article 87. An affirmative vote of the absolute majority of the full membership of each Chamber shall be necessary to authorize taxes.

Article 88. The Chamber of Representatives shall consist of ninety-nine members elected directly by the people, under a system of proportional representation which takes into account the votes cast in favor of each party throughout the country.

Each Department shall have at least two Representatives.

The number of Representatives may be changed by law, the enactment of which shall require a two-thirds vote of the full membership of each Chamber.

Article 89. Representatives shall hold office for four years and their election shall be effected under the guaranties and rules of suffrage provided in Section III.

Article 90. To be a Representative it is necessary to be a natural citizen in full exercise of civil rights, or a legal citizen who has exercised his civil rights for five years, and in both cases, to have attained twenty-five years of age.

Article 91. The following may not be Representatives:

1) Members of the Executive Power, the Judicial Power, the Electoral Court, the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal, the Tribunal of Accounts, the Departmental Boards and Councils, or of salaried Councils or Boards of Directors of the Autonomous Entities and the Decentralized Services;

2) Military employees or civil employees of the Executive, Legislative or Judicial Powers, the Electoral Court, Contentious-Administrative Tribunal, Tribunal of Accounts, the Departmental Governments, the Autonomous Entities and the Decentralized Services, if they receive a salary, but excepting retired or pensioned employees. This provision does not apply to university teaching positions or university technicians with teaching functions, but if the elected Representative chooses to continue in such position, it must be honorary during his term of office. Military persons who resign their posts and salary in order to serve in the Legislature shall retain their rank but for the duration of their legislative functions they may not be promoted; they shall be exempt from all military discipline and the time during which they hold their legislative position shall not be counted for purposes of seniority for promotion.

Article 92. The National Councilors, judges and prosecuting attorneys (fiscales letrados) and police officials in the Departments in which they hold office, and military officers in the districts in which they command forces or actively exercise any military function, may not be candidates for Representative unless they resign and terminate their positions three months prior to the election. Likewise, members of the boards of directors or councils of the Administrative Entities and Decentralized Services may not be candidates unless they have acted in accordance with the provisions of Article 203.

Article 93. The Chamber of Representatives has the exclusive right of impeachment, before the Senate Chamber, of the National Councilors and Ministers of State, the members of both Chambers, of the Supreme Court of Justice, the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal, and the Electoral Court, for violation of the Constitution or the laws, or other serious offenses, after taking cognizance of the matter upon petition of a party or by one of its members, and having decided that there are grounds for prosecution.

Article 94. The Senate shall be composed of thirty-one members, elected by the people, considering the Republic as a single electoral district, in accordance with the guaranties and rules concerning suffrage contained in Section III and stated in subsequent articles.

The Presidency of the Senate and of the General Assembly shall be occupied by the person heading the list which received the most votes within the party receiving the most votes. In the event of a permanent vacancy, the Presidency will be held by the next person on the same list.

Article 95. The Senators shall be elected by the system of integral proportional representation.

Article 96. The distribution of Senate seats obtained by different factions (sub-lemas) of the same party shall also be based on the number of votes cast in favor of the respective lists.

Article 97. Senators shall have a term of office of four years.

Article 98. To be a Senator it is necessary to be a natural citizen in full exercise of civil rights, or a legal citizen who has exercised these rights for seven years, and in both cases to have attained thirty years of age.

Article 99. The disqualifications to which Article 91 refers are applicable to Senators, with such exceptions as are stated therein.

Article 100. Judges and prosecuting attorneys, police officials, and military officers in command of forces or engaged in some military activity may not be candidates for Senator, unless they resign and terminate their position three months prior to the election.

Article 101. A citizen who has been elected both as a Senator and as a Representative may choose between the two offices.

Article 102. The Senate is competent to initiate the public trial of those impeached by the Chamber of Representatives or a Departmental Board, as the case may be, and to pronounce sentence, by a two-thirds vote of its full membership, and such sentence shall have the sole effect of removal from office.

Article 103. An impeached person whom the Senate has removed from office in accordance with the preceding article shall nevertheless be subject to trial according to law.

SECTION VI
Sessions of the General Assembly. Provisions Common
to Both Chambers. The Permanent Commission.

Article 104. The General Assembly shall begin its sessions on the fifteenth of March of each year, meeting until the fifteenth of December, or only until October fifteenth, in the event that there are elections, and the new Assembly must in that event begin its sessions on the fifteenth of the following February.

The General Assembly shall meet on the dates indicated, without the necessity of special convocation by the Executive Power.

Only for grave and urgent reasons may the General Assembly, or either of its Chambers, or the Executive Power, terminate the recess, and then exclusively for the purpose of dealing with the questions which have given rise to the convocation.

Article 105. Each Chamber shall be governed internally by such regulations as it may issue, and when they meet jointly in General Assembly, by such rules as the General Assembly may make.

Article 106. Each Chamber shall appoint its President and Vice Presidents, with the exception of the president of the Senate, whose appointment is governed by the provisions of Article 94.

Article 107. Each Chamber shall appoint its secretaries and personnel, in conformity with regulations which must be established in accordance with the guaranties provided in Articles 58 to 66, wherever appropriate.

Article 108. Within the first twelve months of each legislative term, each Chamber shall adopt its budget of salaries and expenses, by an absolute majority of its full membership, and shall notify the Executive Power, in order that he may include them in the general budget.

Such changes as are deemed strictly necessary may be made during the legislative term.

Article 109. Neither Chamber may open its sessions unless more than half of its members are present, and if such is not the case on the day designated by the Constitution, the minority may meet for the purpose of compelling absent members to attend under penalties which they may prescribe.

Article 110. The Chambers shall communicate in writing between themselves and with the other public Powers through their respective presidents and with the authorization of a secretary.

Article 111. The granting of special pensions shall be decided by secret vote and require approval by an absolute majority of the full membership of each Chamber.

The regulations of each Chamber may provide for a secret vote in cases of pardons and appointments.

Article 112. Senators and Representatives shall never be held liable for the votes they cast or opinions expressed during the discharge of their duties.

Article 113. No Senator or Representative, from the day of his election until that of his retirement, may be arrested except in case of flagrante delicto and then notice shall immediately be given to the respective Chamber, with a summary report of the case.

Article 114. No Senator or Representative, from the day of his election until that of his retirement, may be indicted on a criminal charge, or even for common offenses which are not specified in Article 93, except before his own Chamber, which, by two thirds of the votes of its full membership, shall decide whether or not there are grounds for prosecution, and if so, shall declare him suspended from office, and he shall be placed at the disposition of a competent tribunal.

Article 115. Each Chamber may reprimand any of its members for disorderly conduct in the discharge of his duties, and may even suspend him by a two-thirds vote of its full membership.

By the same number of votes it may remove a member for physical or mental incapacity which developed after he took office.

A simple majority of those present shall be sufficient to accept voluntary resignation.

Article 116. Vacancies which may occur for any reason during each legislature, shall be filled by the alternates designated at the time of the elections, in the manner to be provided by law, and without a new election.

The law may also authorize the substitution of alternates in cases of temporary disability or absence of the principals.

Article 117. Senators and Representatives shall be compensated for their services by a monthly salary which they shall receive during their term of office and which shall be fixed by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of the General Assembly in joint session in the last period of each legislature, to affect the members of the following legislature. This compensation shall be paid with absolute independence from the Executive Power.

Article 118. Any legislator may ask the Minister of State, the Supreme Court of Justice, the Electoral Court, the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal, and the Tribunal of Accounts, for such data and information as he may consider necessary for the discharge of his duties. The request shall be made in writing and through the intermediary of the president of the respective Chamber, who will transmit it immediately to the appropriate agency. If the latter does not supply the information within the period to be fixed by law, the legislator may request it through the Chamber to which he belongs, which will make final decision in the case.

Matters pertaining to the jurisdictional business and competence of the Judicial Power and of the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal may not be the object of such a request.

Article 119. Each Chamber has the right, by a resolution of one third of its full membership, to require the presence on its floor of the Ministers of State in order to question them and receive from them information which it considers appropriate, whether for legislative purposes or for purposes of inspection or investigation, without prejudice to the provisions of Section VIII.

When such information refers to Autonomous Entities or Decentralized Services, the Ministers may require the simultaneous attendance of a representative of the corresponding council or board of directors.

Article 120. Each Chamber may appoint parliamentary committees for making investigations or for obtaining data for legislative purposes.

Article 121. In the cases contemplated in the three preceding articles, either Chamber may make statements, without prejudice to the provisions of Section VIII.

Article 122. Senators and Representatives, after they have taken their seats in their respective Chambers, may not hold salaried positions under the State, the Departmental Governments, the Autonomous Entities, the Decentralized Services, or any other public agency, or perform remunerative services of any kind for them, without the consent of the Chamber to which they belong, and in all such cases their seats shall be considered vacated by the act of accepting such a position or rendering such service.

Whenever Senators and Representatives are called to serve temporarily as National Councilors, to be Ministers or Undersecretaries of State, their legislative functions are suspended, and during such suspension, their corresponding alternates shall replace them.

Article 123. The legislative function is likewise incompatible with the holding of any other elective public office, regardless of its nature.

Article 124. Senators and Representatives, during their term of office, are likewise prohibited from:

1) Participating as directors, administrators, or employees of enterprises under contract for works or services with the State, the Departmental Governments, Autonomous Entities, Decentralized Services or any other public agency;

2) Carrying on or directing matters in behalf of third parties before the central administration, Departmental Governments, Autonomous Entities or the Decentralized Services.

Nonobservance of the provisions of this article will entail immediate loss of the legislative office.

Article 125. The prohibition provided in the first paragraph of Article 122 shall apply to Senators and Representatives until one year after the end of their term of office, except by the express authorization of the respective Chamber.

Article 126. The law, by an absolute majority of votes of the full membership of each Chamber may enact regulations on the prohibitions set forth in the preceding two articles or may establish others or extend them to include persons in other agencies.

Article 127. There shall be a Permanent Commission composed of four Senators and seven Representatives elected by the proportional system and designated by their respective Chambers. The President shall be a Senator of the Majority.

The designation is to be made annually within fifteen days after the organization of the General Assembly or after the beginning of each period of regular sessions of the legislature.

Article 128. At the same time that this election is held, an alternate is to be elected for each of the eleven members, who shall replace the member in case of his illness, death, or other impediment.

Article 129. The Permanent Commission shall be the guardian of the observance of the Constitution and the laws, and shall make the necessary representations to the Executive Power in this respect, under responsibility to the existing or following General Assembly, as the case may be.

Article 130. In the event the aforementioned representations, if made for the second time, do not produce any effect, the Commission may, according to the importance and gravity of the matter in question, convoke the General Assembly on its own responsibility.

Article 131. It shall exercise its functions while the General Assembly is in recess and until its ordinary sessions are resumed.

Nevertheless, if the recess is interrupted, and during extraordinary sessions, the General Assembly or either Chamber may, when they so decide, assume jurisdiction in matters within their competence which are under consideration by the Permanent Commission, upon notice to the latter body.

If the powers of the Senators and Representatives have lapsed by reason of the expiration of their constitutional terms, and the newly elected Senators and Representatives have not been proclaimed, the Permanent Commission shall continue to exercise the functions conferred upon it by this Chapter, until the new Chambers are organized.

In such case, when each Chamber is organized it shall proceed with the designation of new members of the Permanent Commission.

Article 132. The Permanent Commission shall likewise be competent to give or withhold its consent in all cases in which the Executive Power requires it in accordance with the present Constitution, and it shall have the authority conferred on the Chambers in Article 118 et seq., without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 13 of Article 168.

SECTION VII
Introduction, Discussion, Passage
and Promulgation of the Laws

Article 133. Any bill may originate in either of the two Chambers on the proposal of any of its members or by the Executive Power through the intermediary of its Ministers, without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 6 of Article 85 and Article 86.

Article 134. If the Chamber in which a bill originated approves it, it shall be transmitted to the other in order that, after discussion therein, it may be approved, amended, amplified, or rejected.

Article 135. If either of the two Chambers to which a bill has been sent returns it with additions or objections and the Chamber which sent it agrees to them, it shall give notice to that effect and the bill shall be sent to the Executive Power, but if the latter Chamber is not in accord and insists on maintaining the bill in the form in which it was originally submitted, it may in that case request a joint session of both Chambers and, according to the result of the discussion, there shall be adopted whatever may be decided by a two-thirds vote, which may modify the divergent bills or even approve a new one.

Article 136. If the Chamber to which a bill has been sent has no objection to offer, it shall approve it and by merely notifying the Chamber which submitted it, shall submit it to the Executive Power in order that it may be published.

Bills which have not passed both Chambers in the same legislature shall be considered as having originated in the Chamber which last passed them.

Article 137. If, upon receipt of a bill, the Executive Power has objections or observations to make, the bill shall be returned with them to the General Assembly within the prescribed period of ten days.

Article 138. Whenever a bill shall have been returned by the Executive Power with objections or observations, the General Assembly shall be convoked and the matter shall be decided by a three-fifths vote of the members present.

Article 139. If the objections of the Executive Power refer to a part of the bill, the Assembly, by an absolute majority of the members present, may pass the bill modifying it in accordance with the objections.

Article 140. If the Chambers in joint session disapprove the bill returned by the Executive Power it shall be considered null and void for the time being and may not again be presented until the following legislature.

Article 141. In all cases of the reconsideration of a bill returned by the Executive, the voting shall be by name and by "ayes" and "nays", and both the names and reasons of those voting, as well as the objections or observations of the Executive Power, shall be immediately published in the press.

Article 142. Whenever a bill passed by one Chamber shall be rejected by the other at the beginning, it shall be considered as null and void for the time and may not again be introduced until the following period of the legislature.

Article 143. If the Executive Power has no objection to offer to a bill which has been submitted to it, it shall immediately give notice to that effect, the bill being thereby approved, and promulgated without delay.

Article 144. If the Executive does not return a bill within the ten days provided in Article 137, it shall be come law and shall be complied with as such, the Chamber which sent it having the right to demand such action if this is not done.

Article 145. When a bill returned by the Executive Power with objections or observations has been considered by the Chambers in joint session and has again been approved, it shall be considered as finally passed and shall be communicated to the Executive Power, which shall promulgate it immediately without further objections.

Article 146. When a law has been passed, the following formula shall invariably be used for its promulgation:

"The Senate and the Chamber of Representatives of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, met in General Assembly, decree:"

SECTION VIII
Relations Between the Legislative Power
and the Executive Power

Article 147. Either of the Chambers may pass judgment on the conduct of Ministers of State by proposing that the General Assembly, in joint session shall declare that their acts of administration or of government are censured.

Whenever motions to this effect are presented, the Chamber in which they are made shall be specially convoked, within a period of not over forty-eight hours, to decide upon its course of action.

If the motion is approved by a majority of those present, notice shall be given to the General Assembly, which shall be called within forty-eight hours.

If upon the first convocation of the General Assembly there are not a sufficient number of members present to hold a meeting, a second convocation shall be made and the General Assembly shall be considered organized with the number of legislators who attend.

Article 148. The censure, adopted by an absolute majority of the full membership of the General Assembly, shall require the immediate resignation of the Minister or Ministers affected by it.

SECTION IX
The Executive Power

Article 149. The Executive Power shall be exercised by the National Council of Government.

Article 150. The National Council of Government shall consist of nine members elected directly by the people, together with a double number of alternates, for a period of four years, with the guaranties and in accordance with the rules of suffrage set forth in Section III, the Republic to be considered as a single electoral district. In the election of the National Councilors, votes may be accumulated by parties but accumulation by factions (sub-lemas) is prohibited.

Article 151. The party receiving the most votes shall have six Councilors, and three shall go to the one with the next highest number of votes.

The six posts of the majority shall be allotted to the list having the most votes within a party. But if within the party of the majority, another list differentiated by its own permanent label (sub-lema) distinct from the list which received the majority and the use of which is independent of the administrative authority of the majority party, or of one of the parties to which Article 79 refers, receives more than one sixth of the votes cast for the party, five posts shall be allotted to the list having the highest number of votes and one to the party with the next highest number and which fulfills the conditions set forth herein.

The three posts corresponding to the minority shall be distributed proportionately among all lists running under one party label or the parties to which the second paragraph of Article 79 refers.

The law, by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of each Chamber, may provide a system of proportional representation for the majority posts among the party or parties referred to in the second paragraph of Article 79. The use of this system shall be optional for the authorities of the respective party or parties.

Article 152. To be a National Councilor a person must be:

1) A natural citizen in the exercise of his civil rights;

2) At least thirty-five years of age.

Article 153. The National Councilors may not be reelected except after an interval of one term between termination of office and the date they may begin assume such position.

Alternates are considered included in this prohibition if they have held office as a replacement for their principal for more than one year, continuously or at intervals.

Article 154. On the first of March following their election, the National Councilors shall take office, after first making the following declaration before the General Assembly in joint session:

"I (N.N.) promise on my honor loyally to fulfill the office which has been entrusted to me, and to guard and defend the Constitution of the Republic".

Article 155. If on the date when the National Council of Government is to take office the new National Councilors have as yet not been proclaimed, the Supreme Court of Justice shall temporarily assume this office and its functions.

Article 156. The National Council of Government shall represent the State both at home and abroad.

Article 157. The remuneration of the National Councilors shall be fixed by law, prior to each election, and may not be changed during a term of office.

Article 158. The Presidency of the National Council of Government shall be by rotation, by yearly periods, among the members elected by the party which obtained a majority and by order of their place on the respective list.

In the event of the absence, vacancy or temporary impediment or leave of the Councilor serving as President, he shall be replaced by the member who followed him on the said list, who shall also occupy the Presidency for the year corresponding to him by virtue of the above provision.

In the case provided for in the last paragraph of Article 151, the Presidency shall be occupied by the members from the majority list in order of their position thereon, beginning with the one who received the most votes.

Article 159. The National Council of Government shall meet regularly on the days and hours it may determine, and extraordinarily at any time by the decision of the President or two of its members.

Article 160. The Council shall be in session if at least five members are present. The President of the Council has the right to speak and to vote.

Article 161. All decisions of the Council may be revoked by a vote of the majority of its members.

Article 162. A discussion in the Council may be terminated at any time by majority vote. The motion to this effect shall not be discussed.

Article 163. Councilors shall not be entitled to leave with salary for more than six months, nor for more than one year without salary, and nonattendance without leave at twenty meetings within a period of two years, regardless of reason, shall terminate the office.

Article 164. If a Councilor is granted leave for more than fifteen days, or if for any reason a permanent or temporary vacancy occurs, the corresponding alternate shall be called to serve.

Article 165. The internal affairs of the Council shall be governed by such regulations as it may issue.

Article 166. Every Council shall appoint a Secretary, who shall go out of office with it, unless reappointed, and he may be removed or temporarily replaced at any time.

Article 167. The President shall represent the National Council of Government. He shall preside over its meetings and sign the resolutions and communications of the Council together with the Minister or Ministers whom the matter concerns and with the Secretary of the Council, and with the latter only with respect to internal matters, and without such signature no one is compelled to obey them. However, the Council may provide that certain decisions shall take effect by a general act issued in accordance with the same requirements as the preceding.

The National Councilors may not individually give orders of any kind.

Article 168. The National Council of Government, acting with the respective Minister or Ministers, has the following duties:

1) The preservation of internal order and tranquility and external security;

2) The supreme command of all armed forces;

3) To grant retirement and regulate the pensions of civilian and military employees, in accordance with the laws;

4) To publish and circulate without delay all laws which, in accordance with Section VII, are ready to be published and circulated; to enforce them and see that they are enforced, and to issue such special regulations as may be necessary for their execution;

5) To inform the Legislative Power, at the beginning of regular sessions, of the state of the Republic and of the improvements and reforms which it considers worthy of its attention;

6) To set forth objections or make observations concerning bills which the Legislative Power sends it, and to suspend or oppose their promulgation in the manner provided in Section VII;

7) To propose bills to the Chambers or amendments to laws previously enacted;

8) To convoke the Legislative Power to extraordinary sessions, specifying the matters which give rise to the convocation, in accordance with the provisions of Article 104;

9) To confer military and civilian offices in accordance with the Constitution and the laws;

10) To remove employees for inefficiency, dereliction of duty or malfeasance, with the consent of the Senate in all cases, or during its recess, with that of the Permanent Commission; in cases of malfeasance, the matter shall be submitted to the courts. Diplomatic and consular officers may likewise be dismissed with the previous consent of the Senate for the commission of acts which affect their good name or the prestige of the country and of the office they hold. If the Senate or Permanent Commission does not take definitive action within ninety days, the Executive Power may proceed with the dismissal without the consent required;

11) To grant military promotions in accordance with the laws, the consent of the Senate, or during its recess, of the Permanent Commission, being required for promotions to colonel or higher ranks;

12) To appoint consular and diplomatic personnel, the consent of the Senate or during its recess, of the Permanent Commission, being necessary for the appointment of Chiefs of Missions;

13) To appoint the Court Prosecutor (Fiscal de Corte) and other prosecuting attorneys (fiscales letrados) in the Republic, with the consent of the Senate or of the Permanent Commission, as the case may be, by a three-fifths vote of the full membership.

Such consent shall not be necessary for appointment of the State Attorney (Procurador del Estado) for the Contentious-Administrative Tribunal or for the prosecutors in the Ministries of Government and Treasury;

14) To remove on its own initiative military and police employees and others which the law declares removable;

15) To receive diplomatic agents and authorize foreign consuls to exercise their functions;

16) To decree the severance of relations, and in accordance with a prior resolution of the General Assembly, to declare war, provided that arbitration or other pacific means to avoid it have been unsuccessful;

17) To take prompt measures of security in grave and unforeseen cases of foreign attack or internal disorder, giving an account within twenty-four hours to a joint session of the General Assembly, or during its recess, to the Permanent Commission, of the action taken and its motives, the decision of the latter bodies being final.

With respect to persons, the prompt measures of security authorize only their arrest or removal from one place in the territory of the country to another provided they do not elect to leave it. This measure, like the others, must be submitted within twenty-four hours to a joint session of the General Assembly or to the Permanent Commission, which will make the final decision;

18) To collect the revenues through its agencies in conformity with the laws and to appropriate them in accordance therewith;

19) To prepare and submit the general budget annually to the General Assembly, in accordance with the provisions of Section XIII, and to render an itemized account of the expenditures made during the preceding year;

20) To conclude and sign treaties, the approval of the Legislative Power being necessary for their ratification;

21) To grant industrial privileges in accordance with the laws;

22) To grant or withhold authorization to create any proposed banks;

23) To lend, at the request of the Judicial Power, the assistance of the police force.

Article 169. It may not permit the payment of salary for other reasons than active service, superannuation, retirement or pension, in accordance with the laws.

Article 170. The National Councilors may not leave the territory of the Republic for more than seven days, without the authorization of the General Assembly.

Article 171. The National Councilors shall enjoy the same immunities and be subject to the same disqualifications and prohibitions as Senators and Representatives.

Article 172. The National Councilors may not be impeached except in the manner indicated in Article 93, and even then, only while they hold office or within six months thereafter, during which time they are subject to residence requirements, unless authorization to leave the country is granted by an absolute majority of the votes of the full membership of the General Assembly meeting in joint session.

If the impeachment is approved by a two-thirds vote of the total membership of the Chamber of Representatives, a National Council shall be suspended from office.

Article 173. In each Department of the Republic there shall be a Chief of Police who shall be appointed for the respective period by the National Council of Government, from among citizens who meet the qualifications for being Senator.

The National Council of Government may remove or dismiss them whenever this is deemed appropriate.

SECTION X
The Ministers of State

Article 174. There shall be nine Ministries, each of which shall have its own name and such powers and authority in its separate functions as may be specified by law passed by an absolute majority of the full membership of each Chamber.

The Ministers shall be appointed and removed by resolution of the National Council of Government, without prejudice to the provisions of Section VIII.

Their number may also be modified by law, requiring in each case a favorable vote of two thirds of the full membership of each Chamber.

Article 175. A Minister or Ministers shall be responsible for such decrees or orders as they may sign or issue with the President of the National Council of Government. This responsibility shall become effective in accordance with the provisions f Articles 93, 102, and 103.

Article 176. The same qualifications shall be required for a Minister as for a Senator.

Article 177. Upon the opening of each legislative period, the Ministers shall submit a concise report to the General Assembly, on all matters concerning their respective Ministries.

Article 178. Upon termination of their office, Ministers remain subject to six months' residence, and may not leave the territory of the Republic except by authorization granted by an absolute majority of votes of the full membership of the General Assembly meeting in joint session.

Article 179. Ministers shall not be exempt from responsibility for crime even if they invoke the written or verbal order of the National Council of Government.