Portal › Summary

• 1The RepublicA free, unitary, democratic socialist republic, with two official names of equal force.
• 2SovereigntyPower belongs to the people, and taking it outside these rules is a crime without a time limit.
• 3Supremacy of the ConstitutionThe Constitution outranks every other rule, and Title II rights work in court on their own.
• 4Legality and publicity of the lawPublic power needs a legal basis, and an unpublished rule binds nobody.
• 5Political pluralismParties are free and none may be given a leading role in the State or the economy.
• 6Prohibition of political policingNo file on a person for their opinions, and the old political police cannot return under a new name.
• 7Human dignityDignity cannot be violated, and no emergency or majority permits it.
• 8TerritoryThe territory cannot be ceded or leased, the capital is Sluland, and the sea corridor stays open.
• 9Language, symbols and the calendarAporean is the official language, minority languages are used with it, and the national day is 11 September.
• 10CitizenshipCitizenship is set by organic law, and no citizen may be stripped of it or expelled.
• 11Economic orderSocial ownership in three forms, with private firms allowed under a ceiling on employees.
• 12Currency, prices and the direction of policyThe marek is issued by the Bank alone, and the range of goods allocated by money is to shrink.
• 13LabourLabour is the ground of every claim on the product, and forced labour is prohibited.
• 14The natural environmentThe State protects the land, water, air and coast, and repairs the damage done to them.
• 15SecularityThe Republic adopts no religion and religious communities govern themselves.
• 16Local self-governmentCommunes and districts govern themselves, and local matters belong to the commune.
• 17Organs of the Republic and their separationThe Assembly legislates, the Government executes, the courts judge, and four bodies stand outside all three.
• 18International relationsFounding member of the Bloc, with treaties binding only after ratification and publication.
• 19Armed forces and public orderThe armed forces obey the civil power and may not be used against a lawful assembly.
• 20Access to public informationAnyone may ask for information held by a public body, and a refusal must be reasoned and appealable.

• 21EqualityEveryone is equal before the law, and hereditary titles are abolished.
• 22Scope and limitation of rightsA right may be limited only by law, only where necessary, and never in its essential content.
• 23Foreigners, stateless persons and asylumForeigners hold the same rights except those reserved to citizens, and asylum is granted for persecution.
• 24National minoritiesMinorities keep their language, culture and religion, and forced assimilation is prohibited.
• 25Remedy and reparationEvery infringed right has a remedy, and the State pays for the unlawful acts of its agents.
• 26LifeLife is inviolable and the death penalty cannot be brought back, including in war.
• 27Integrity of the personTorture is prohibited, and a statement obtained by it counts for nothing.
• 28Liberty and security of the personArrest requires law, a judge within forty-eight hours, and counsel from the first hour.
• 29Fair trial and defenceA public hearing before an independent court, with defence, interpretation and appeal.
• 30Legality of offences and penaltiesNo offence and no penalty without a law in force at the time, and no penalty without review.
• 31Inviolability of the homeThe home is entered only on a judicial warrant, except in pursuit or danger to life.
• 32Correspondence and personal dataCorrespondence is secret, and data collected without a legal basis must be erased.
• 33Freedom of movementMovement is free, and the exit visa and the internal residence permit are abolished.
• 34Conscience and religionConscience and religion are free, and objection to armed service carries a civil alternative.
• 35Expression and informationExpression is free, censorship is prohibited, and insulting the State is no offence.
• 36MediaNo State monopoly over the press, and journalists may protect their sources.
• 37AssemblyAssembly needs no prior permission, and force is used only once it stops being peaceful.
• 38AssociationAssociations form freely and only a court may dissolve one.
• 39Petition and access to the organsAnyone may petition a public body and must receive a reasoned reply.
• 40SuffrageUniversal suffrage from eighteen, with no turnout condition on any result.
• 41Access to public officePublic office is open on equal terms, and office holders publish their interests and assets.
• 42Referendum and popular initiativeReferendum and popular initiative, with rights placed outside their reach.
• 43Participation in local affairsResidents take part in local decisions, and a harmful installation needs a public hearing first.
• 44WorkThe right to work, protection against dismissal, and a floor and ceiling on income.
• 45Conditions of labourForty hours, paid leave, safe conditions, and no employment of children in school.
• 46StrikeThe right to strike, including in the public service, with the lock-out prohibited.
• 47Trade unionsUnions form freely and stay independent of the State, the parties and management.
• 48Self-management in the enterpriseThe working collective elects a council which appoints the director and decides the enterprise plan.
• 49HousingAn adequate dwelling, allocated by need, with no eviction without a judicial decision.
• 50HealthHealth care free at the point of use, financed from the plan.
• 51EducationEducation free at every level, compulsory for at least nine years, with self-governing universities.
• 52Social securitySocial security in old age, sickness, disability and unemployment, adjusted to prices.
• 53Family and childrenThe family is protected, children born outside marriage have equal rights, and children are heard.
• 54Culture, science and creationCultural life is open to all, and knowledge made with public funds is published.
• 55EnvironmentAn environment which does not injure health, with information and an assessment before projects.
• 56Consumption and public servicesUsers get safety, truthful information, repairable goods and a way to complain.
• 57DutiesObey the law, pay according to means, defend the territory, and preserve the environment.

• 58ObjectivesThe economy serves needs, full employment, equality between districts, and the environment.
• 59Nature of the planA five-year plan, revised annually, adopted as a law and binding on public bodies.
• 60Preparation of the planThe plan is negotiated between enterprises, communes, districts and the Office of the Plan.
• 61Content and accounts of the planThe plan is stated in money and in physical units, with balances for energy, water and labour.
• 62Effect of the plan on enterprisesAn enterprise which agreed a task performs it, and is released if its inputs fail to arrive.
• 63Districts and communes in the planDistricts and communes plan too, and transfers follow published criteria.
• 64The enterprise in social ownershipThe enterprise is a person in law whose assets belong to the whole people.
• 65Establishment and dissolutionEnterprises are founded, merged and dissolved by the organ that created them, after consultation.
• 66Accounts and auditAccounts are published annually, audited, and open to questions from residents.
• 67Losses and supportLosses fall on the enterprise, with support possible from the founding organ.
• 68Public establishmentsHealth, education, water, post, rail and electricity stay in public hands and out of profit.
• 69Private enterprisePrivate firms in listed trades, under an employee ceiling and the same standards as everyone else.
• 70Cooperatives and agricultureLand is worked by cooperatives, public farms and family holdings under a size ceiling.
• 71Sole and principal suppliersA sole or principal supplier may not dictate terms, and price-fixing agreements are void.
• 72The budgetAn annual budget covering all revenue and expenditure, with nothing spent outside it.
• 73TaxationTaxes only by law, progressive, and never below the subsistence income.
• 74Public borrowingBorrowing only by law, only for investment, and foreign lenders only by a two-thirds vote.
• 75The Bank of the RepublicThe Bank issues the marek, answers to the Assembly, and may not fund a budget deficit.
• 76Credit to enterprisesEnterprises borrow from the Bank on published conditions and in the order of the plan.
• 77Savings and household creditHousehold savings are guaranteed, and credit is for dwellings, study and small enterprise.
• 78PricesSome prices are fixed by the Government, and shortage is met by rationing for a limited period.
• 79IncomesIncomes are set by the workers' council within statutory limits and an annual national agreement.
• 80EmploymentA public employment service, advance notice of redundancy, and benefit without forced acceptance.
• 81Concessions over natural resourcesNatural resources are used under a public, revocable concession with restoration conditions.
• 82Spatial planningLand use follows the commune plan, and building on floodplains and unstable slopes is prohibited.
• 83ExpropriationProperty is taken only for a public purpose, on full compensation, never for a private firm.
• 84Protection of the environment and of resourcesAnnual publication of the state of air, water, soil and forests, with polluters paying for repair.
• 85Energy and waterElectricity, water and heating stay socially owned, and water is never cut off for non-payment.
• 86Foreign tradeBloc trade by agreement, other trade under a public licence.
• 87Trade agreementsTrade agreements are ratified and published, and reserved activities stay closed to them.
• 88Foreign investmentForeign participation only under licence, with land, dwellings, press and banks excluded.
• 89Foreign exchangeAll foreign exchange passes through one external account, with quarterly publication.
• 90Assistance to other peoplesAssistance to peoples in want, creating no debt and carrying no political condition.

• 91Nature of the AssemblyOne chamber, representing the people, sitting in permanent session.
• 92CompositionOne hundred and twenty members for four years, half in constituencies and half from lists.
• 93CandidatureAnyone entitled to vote may stand, campaign funds are published, and foreign money is prohibited.
• 94IncompatibilityThe seat is incompatible with judicial office, the armed forces and the direction of an enterprise.
• 95MandateMembers take no instruction, are not liable for their votes, and are protected against pretextual prosecution.
• 96Filling of vacanciesList seats pass to the next candidate, constituency seats to a by-election.
• 97Sittings and publicitySittings are public, and every vote is published by member within forty-eight hours.
• 98Officers and organisationThe Assembly elects its officers, adopts its own rules, and gives budget scrutiny to the opposition.
• 99CommitteesCommittees may summon ministers and directors, who must appear and answer.
• 100Committees of inquiryOne third of the members can force an inquiry with the powers of a court.
• 101Quorum and majoritiesA majority present, a majority voting, and organic laws by a majority of all members.
• 102Laws and organic lawsOrganic laws cover the listed matters and go to the Constitutional Court before promulgation.
• 103InitiativeMembers, the Government, district councils and citizens may propose laws, with costs stated.
• 104ProcedureCommittee, then general vote, then article by article, with unconnected amendments inadmissible.
• 105Promulgation and publicationThe President promulgates within fifteen days, may return a law once, or may refer it to the Court.
• 106Delegated legislationThe Assembly may delegate law-making narrowly, never over rights, taxes or offences.
• 107Powers of the AssemblyThe Assembly adopts the plan and budget, ratifies treaties, and elects the Prime Minister.
• 108TermFour years, with extension only during emergency or attack and only by two thirds.
• 109DissolutionThe President may dissolve on the Government's proposal, and the Assembly may dissolve itself.
• 110ContinuityA dissolved Assembly handles current business only, through a proportional standing committee.

• 111OfficeThe President represents the Republic and exercises no function of government.
• 112ElectionDirectly elected for four years, two terms at most, by a majority of votes cast.
• 113Incompatibility and oathThe office is incompatible with every other, and begins with an oath before the Assembly.
• 114FunctionsPromulgation, appointments, dissolution, treaties, command of the forces, and pardons.
• 115CountersignatureMost presidential acts need the Prime Minister's countersignature; six do not.
• 116Vacancy and substitutionIn a vacancy the President of the Assembly acts, with a new election within sixty days.
• 117ResponsibilityThe President answers for a grave breach of the Constitution before the Constitutional Court.

• 118Composition and functionThe Prime Minister and ministers conduct policy and answer to the Assembly together.
• 119FormationThe Assembly elects the Prime Minister, who proposes the ministers for appointment.
• 120CensureCensure must name a successor, so a Government falls only when another can form.
• 121Resignation and continuationA defeated or resigned Government handles current affairs and appoints to nothing.
• 122Incompatibility and conduct of ministersMinisters hold no other office, publish their assets, and wait two years before related employment.
• 123Acts of the GovernmentRegulations execute laws and may not add to them, and a court may annul one.
• 124Ministries and their numberThe number and business of ministries is fixed by law, and agencies answer to a committee.
• 125The Office of the PlanThe Office of the Plan prepares the plan and publishes the data behind it.
• 126Duty to informWritten answers in thirty days, an oral question sitting each week, and contracts published.
• 127Principles of the administrationThe administration acts on law, gives reasons, and silence counts as refusal.
• 128Public serviceRecruitment by competition, no party test, and protection for refusing an unlawful order.
• 129Delegation and contractingAuthority over persons is never contracted out, and awards are made by public procedure.
• 130Territorial administrationState services in the districts execute national law and leave local decisions alone.

• 131Units of local self-governmentEvery place belongs to one commune and one district, and a merger needs a local referendum.
• 132Competence of the communeThe commune decides what is local and receives the resources for what it is given.
• 133Competence of the districtThe district runs second-level schools, hospitals, roads and transport between communes.
• 134Organs of the communeAn elected council and a directly elected mayor, who can be removed by referendum.
• 135Organs of the districtThe district council elects its president, who executes its decisions.
• 136Participation of residentsAn open commune assembly twice a year, a binding local referendum, and published accounts.
• 137ResourcesLocal units have their own revenue and equalising transfers on published criteria.
• 138Property of local unitsLocal property serves local use, and property in public use cannot be sold.
• 139SupervisionThe Government checks lawfulness only, and a suspension must go to court in thirty days.
• 140CooperationCommunes may cooperate without creating a further tier of government.
• 141Defence of local self-governmentA commune or district may go to the Constitutional Court to defend its competence.

• 142Judicial powerCourts are independent, no one instructs them, and special courts are prohibited.
• 143Access to justiceA court is open to everyone, with fees remitted and legal assistance for those without means.
• 144PublicityHearings are public and judgments are published.
• 145The courtsCommunal, district, appeal, supreme and administrative courts, set out by organic law.
• 146Lay participationSerious criminal cases are heard with lay judges drawn by lot from the voters' register.
• 147EnforcementPublic bodies must execute judgments, and a court may penalise the officer who refuses.
• 148Status of judgesJudges are appointed indefinitely and removed only by the Judicial Council on statutory grounds.
• 149The Judicial CouncilFifteen members: eight judges, four elected by the Assembly, three residents drawn by lot.
• 150Selection and trainingJudges are chosen by public competition, and promotion criteria are published.
• 151The public prosecutionProsecutors follow the law and the evidence, and no instruction may be given in a single case.
• 152InvestigationWarrants for intrusive measures, counsel from the start, and unconstitutional evidence excluded.
• 153CompositionNine judges for nine years: three from the Assembly, three from the President, three from the Supreme Court.
• 154JurisdictionReview of laws and treaties, competence disputes, party dissolution, and individual applications.
• 155Individual applicationAnyone may apply after other remedies, free of charge and without a lawyer.
• 156Effects of decisionsAn unconstitutional provision ends on publication, and a conviction founded on it is reopened.

• 157IndependenceThe independent bodies take no instruction and answer to the Assembly alone.
• 158Reports and accessEach reports annually in public and may demand documents from any public body.
• 159FunctionThe Court of Accounts audits the budget, the plan and every user of public funds.
• 160Composition and powersNine members with the independence of judges, able to order repayment.
• 161FunctionThe Electoral Commission runs elections and may not classify a party by its programme.
• 162CompositionSeven members, a permanent staff, and a public count at the polling station.
• 163FunctionThe Commission on Information and Data decides access appeals and supervises data registers.
• 164CompositionFive members, with legal and technical qualifications required.

• 165The armed forcesA professional force with a reserve, never used against the population.
• 166Command and controlThe Government directs defence, and a committee supervises the forces and intelligence.
• 167LimitsNo forces abroad without a two-thirds law, and no foreign force stationed here.
• 168IntelligenceIntelligence looks outward, and intrusive measures need a designated Supreme Court judge.
• 169The policePolice act with least force, wear visible numbers, and are investigated by an outside body.
• 170DeclarationThe Government declares an emergency and the Assembly must confirm it within forty-eight hours.
• 171MeasuresEmergency measures are limited, and a list of rights is never suspended.
• 172Limits on the organsNo dissolution, no constitutional revision, and courts keep sitting throughout an emergency.
• 173Armed attackOn armed attack the Assembly decides within a day, and a capitulation is void.

• 174InitiativeRevision may be proposed by a third of members, the Government, or citizens.
• 175ProcedureTwo readings by two thirds, then a referendum on demand, then an appended Amendment.
• 176LimitsThe republic, suffrage, pluralism and the ban on torture and the death penalty are unrevisable.
• 177Review by the Constitutional CourtThe Constitutional Court checks a revision against those limits before the second reading.
• 178Consolidation and publicationA consolidated text is published within sixty days, free and without registration.

• 179Entry into forceIn force from 11 September 1994, replacing the Constitution of 1947.
• 180Existing lawOld law survives where it conforms, and expires in 1996 where it does not.
• 181First electionsFirst elections within one hundred and twenty days, local elections within a year.
• 182Constitution of the new organsThe new organs are constituted within a year, with staggered terms drawn by lot.
• 183The former State Protection ServiceThe State Protection Service is dissolved, its archives preserved, its directors barred from office.
• 184Property and enterprisesSocial ownership continues, and privatisation needs a two-thirds law.
• 185Continuity of obligationsTreaties survive where they conform, and pensions and savings are honoured.
• 186Numbering of the AmendmentsAmendments are numbered in sequence and state the articles they change.

• 187The Defender of RightsThe Defender of Rights examines complaints against any public body, free and without a lawyer.
• 188Powers of the DefenderThe Defender may enter places of detention unannounced and take cases to the Constitutional Court.
• 189Reports of the DefenderThe Defender reports annually and publishes every recommendation that was refused.
• 190Review of performanceEach enterprise is reviewed annually in public against its ceiling, its tasks and its accounts.
• 191SupportSupport is public, capped, limited to three years, and names the people who granted it.
• 192Reorganisation and dissolutionWhere recovery fails, the enterprise is reorganised or dissolved without breaking provision.
• 193Ecological budgetsEcological budgets in physical units bind the plan, and an excess is deducted from the next period.
• 194The Ecological Budget OfficeThe Ecological Budget Office sets the sustainable levels and verifies the accounts on the premises.
• 195The list of free provisionA list of goods free at the point of use, extended each plan period and never reduced.

Elsewhere on this portal