Constitution of the Empire of Brazil
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Contents |
Chapter
The General Assembly
The General Assembly
Part I: General
Section 1. Legislative power shall be vested in the General Assembly, which shall consist of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.
to be continued
Part II: The Senate
Section 1. The Senate shall consist of:
(a) 210 senators nominated by the Emperor of whom fifteen shall be nominated from each province; and
(b) Princes of the Brazilian Imperial House, who are senators by right and shall assume office upon reaching the age of twenty-five.
Section 2. (1) The senators nominated by the Emperor in terms of paragraph (a) of Section (1) shall hold their seats for eight years.
(2) The Emperor shall when nominating senators act on the advice of the sitting members of the legislature of the province for which the senator is being nominated.
(3) If the seat of a senator so nominated becomes vacant, the Emperor shall nominate, on the advice of the legislature of the province concerned, another person to hold the seat until the completion of the period for which the person in whose stead he is nominated, would have held the seat.
(4) No person shall be qualified to be nominated as a senator in terms of paragraph (a) of Section (1) unless he:
(a) is at least forty years of age;
(b) is qualified to be registered as a voter for the election of members of the Chamber of Deputies in the province concerned;
(c) has resided for five years within the limits of the province concerned;
(d) is a citizen of the Empire in full enjoyment of his political and civil rights.
Section 3. (1) The senators referred to in paragraph (b) of Section (1) shall hold seats for life, without prejudice that incompatibilities, incapacities and grounds for suspension described in Articles 55, 56 and 57 of this Constitution may be applied.
(2) Upon assuming office, each senator referred to in paragraph (b) of Section (1) shall cease to be a member of any political party, and shall be ineligible for membership in any political party so long as he holds his seat in the Senate.
Section 4. (1) The Senate shall, before proceeding to the dispatch of any other business, choose a Senator to be President of the Senate, and as often as the office of President becomes vacant the Senate shall again choose a Senator to be the President.
(2) The President of the Senate shall cease to hold office if he ceases to be a senator and he may be removed from office by a vote of two-thirds of the members of the Senate, or he may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the Emperor and delivered to the Prime Minister resign his office.
(3) Prior to or during the absence of the President of the Senate, the Senate may choose a Senator to perform his duties in his absence.
Section 5. (1) A Senator may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President of the Senate, resign his seat, which thereupon shall become vacant.
(2) Whenever the seat of a senator becomes vacant, the Emperor shall as soon as practicable cause steps to be taken to have the vacancy filled.
Section 6. All questions in the Senate shall be determined by a majority of votes of Senators present other than the President of the Senate or the presiding Senator, who shall, however, have and exercise a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.
Part III: The Chamber of Deputies
Section 1. The Chamber of Deputies shall be composed of 513 members, called deputies, directly chosen by the voters of the Empire as hereinafter provided.
Section 2. (1) The Empire shall be divided into constituencies for the purposes of elections for the Chamber of Deputies; the law lays down the geographical limits of constituencies.
(2) The number of deputies apportioned to each constituency are proportional to the number of voters enrolled in the electoral register of that constituency.
(3) Deputies are representatives of the whole people, are not bound by orders and instructions, and are subject only to their conscience.
(4) Nominations are presented as provided by law, by the political parties either separately or in combination. The lists may include citizens who are not members of the parties concerned. No one may stand for more than one constituency or have his name in more than one list.
(5) Deputies are elected by the system of proportional representation according to the D'Hondt highest average method.
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Section 2. (1) Deputies are elected by constituencies; .
(2) The number of deputies apportioned to each constituency are proportional to the number of voters enrolled in the electoral register of that constituency.
(3) Deputies represent the entire nation, not the constituencies for which they are elected.
(4) Deputies are not bound by orders and instructions and are subject only to their conscience.
Section 3. (1)
(2)
Section 4. (1) Deputies are elected by the system of proportional representation according to the d'Hondt highest average method.
(2) The conversion of votes cast into effective suffrages is not limited by law through any requirements as to a minimum national percentage of the votes.
Section 5.
Section 2. (1) The Empire shall be divided into constituencies for the purposes of elections for the Chamber of Deputies; the law lays down the geographical limits of constituencies.
(2) No constituency shall form part of more than one province and the boundaries of each constituency shall be such that the number of inhabitants thereof is as nearly equal to the population quota as is reasonably practicable, provided that the number of inhabitants of a constituency may be greater or less than the population quota in order to take account of means of communication, geographical features, the distribution of different communities, and the boundaries of the province.
(3) The competent authority shall review the division of the Empire into constituencies at intervals of not less than four and not more than eight years and may alter the constituencies in accordance with the provisions of this section to such extent as it may consider desirable in the light of the review, provided that that authority may at any time carry out such a review and alter the constituencies in accordance with the provisions of this section to such extent as it considers necessary.
(4) Where the boundaries of any constituency established under this section are altered in accordance with the provisions of this section, that alteration shall come into effect after the expiration of the full term of all the members of Congress approving such alteration.
(5) In this section "population quota" means the number obtained by dividing the number of the inhabitants of the Empire by the number of constituencies into which the Empire is divided under this section.
(6) For the purposes of this section the number of inhabitants of the Empire or any part thereof shall be ascertained by reference to the latest census of the population of the Empire.
(7) In this section "the competent authority" means the Superior Electoral Court.
Section 3. (1) The number of deputies apportioned to each constituency are proportional to the number of voters enrolled in the electoral register of that constituency.
(2) Deputies are elected by the system of proportional representation according to the d'Hondt highest average method.
(2) The registration of voters and the conduct of elections shall be subject to the direction and supervision of the Electoral Commission of the Republic.
Section 4. The term of office for Deputies shall be four years.
Section 5. A Deputy may be recalled by the electorate of the constituency from which he was elected, as provided in this Section.
A petition to recall the Deputy must be signed by not less than fifty thousand electors of the constituency concerned, and delivered to the President of the Chamber of Deputies.
An election to determine whether to recall the Deputy and, if appropriate, to elect a successor shall be called by the President of the Chamber of Deputies and held not less than 30 days nor more than 60 days from the date of certification of sufficient signatures.
If a majority of the electorate votes in favor of recalling the Deputy, the Deputy shall thereupon resign his office, and, if there is a candidate, the candidate who receives a plurality shall succeed the Deputy. The candidate elected to succeed the Deputy shall hold his seat until the completion of the period for which the Deputy in whose stead he was elected would have held the seat.
If a majority of the electorate does not vote in favor of recalling the Deputy, a new petition to recall the Deputy may not be submitted sooner than 100 days after the conclusion of the election last held for the purpose of deciding whether to recall the Deputy.
Section 6. No person shall serve as Deputy for more than three terms, consecutive or otherwise.
No Deputy who has previously resigned his seat or been recalled by the electorate of his constituency shall be eligible for re-election to the Chamber of Deputies.
Section 7. The Chamber of Deputies shall, before proceeding to the dispatch of any other business, choose a Deputy to be President of the Chamber of Deputies, and as often as the office of President becomes vacant the Chamber of Deputies shall again choose a Deputy to be the President.
The President of the Chamber of Deputies shall cease to hold office if he ceases to be a Deputy and he may be removed from the Presidency of the Chamber of Deputies by a vote of two-thirds of the members of the Chamber, or he may resign as President of the Chamber of Deputies by writing under his hand addressed to the President of the Republic.
Prior to or during the absence of the President of the Chamber of Deputies, the Chamber may choose a Deputy to perform his duties in his absence.
Section 8. A Deputy may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President of the Chamber of Deputies, resign his seat, which thereupon shall become vacant.
Whenever the seat of a Deputy becomes vacant, whether in consequence of his resignation or otherwise, the President of the Chamber of Deputies shall, as soon as practicable, call an election in the constituency from which that Deputy was elected, to elect a successor. The person elected to succeed that Deputy shall hold his seat until the completion of the period for which the person in whose stead he was elected would have held the seat.
Section 9. All questions in the Chamber of Deputies shall be determined by a majority of votes of Deputies present other than the President of the Chamber of Deputies or the presiding Deputy, who shall, however, have and exercise a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.
Chapter III Council of State
Article 144 Definition The Council of State is the political advisory body of the President of the Republic.
Article 145 Membership The Council of State is presided over by the President of the Republic and comprises the following members: a) The President of the Assembly of the Republic; b) The Prime Minister; c) The President of the Constitutional Court; d) The Ombudsman; e) The Chairmen of the regional governments; f) The former presidents of the Republic elected under the Constitution and who were not removed from office; g) Five citizens appointed by the President of the Republic for the period corresponding to his term of office; h) Five citizens elected by the Assembly of the Republic in accordance with the principle of proportional representation for the period corresponding to the duration of the legislative period.
Article 146 Induction and Term of Office
(1) The members of the Council of State are inducted by the President of the Republic. (2) The Members of the Council of State mentioned in Article 145 (a) to (e) perform their duties as long as they hold the respective offices. (3) The members of the Council of State mentioned in Article 145 (g) and (h) continue to perform their duties until the induction of those replacing them in the respective offices.
Article 147 Organization and Functioning
(1) It is the duty of the Council of State to draw up its own rules of procedure. (2) The meetings of the Council of State are not public.
Article 148 Powers The Council of State has the powers to: a) State its opinion on the dissolution of the Assembly of the Republic and the organs of self-government of the autonomous regions; b) State its opinion on the dismissal of the Government under the circumstances mentioned in Article 198 (2); c) State its opinion on the appointment and dismissal of the Ministers for the Republic for the autonomous regions; d) State its opinion on declaration of war or the making of peace; e) State its opinion on the acts of the President of the Republic ad interim mentioned in Article 142; f) State its opinion on all other cases provided for in the Constitution and, in general, advise the President of the Republic on the exercise of his or her functions upon request of the latter.
Article 149 Giving of Opinions The opinions of the Council of State mentioned in Article 148 (a) to (e) are to be given at the meeting called for the purpose by the President of the Republic and made public at the time the acts they refer to are performed.
