CONSTITUTION
OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA by the Indians who preferred
extermination to submission; by the slaves who rebelled against their
masters; |
by the workers, peasants, students and
intellectuals who struggled for over fifty years against imperialist domination,
political corruption, the absence of people's rights and liberties, unemployment
and exploitation by capitalists and land-owners;
by those who promoted, joined and developed the first organizations of workers
and peasants, spread socialist ideas and founded the first Marxist and
Marxist-Leninist movements;
by the members of the vanguard of the generation of the centenary of the birth
of Marti who, imbued with his teachings, led us to the people's revolutionary
victory of January;
by those who defended the Revolution at the cost of their lives, thus
contributing to its definitive consolidation;
by those who en masse carried out heroic internationalist missions;
GUIDED
by the ideas of Marx,
BASING OURSELVES
on proletarian internationalism, on the fraternal friendship, aid, cooperation
and solidarity of the peoples of the world" especially those of Latin
America and the Caribbean;
AND HAVING DECIDED
to carry forward the triumphant Revolution of the Moncada, and of the Granma, of
the Sierra and of Giron under the leadership of Fidel Castro, which sustained by
the closest unity of all revolutionary forces and of the people won full
national independence, established revolutionary power, carried out democratic
changes, started the construction of socialism and, with the Communist Party at
the forefront, continues this construction with the final objective of building
a communist society;
AWARE
that all the regimes based on the exploitation of man by man cause the
humiliation of the exploited and the degradation of the human nature of the
exploiters;
that only under socialism and communism, when man has been freed from all forms
of exploitation -slavery, servitude and capitalism -can full dignity of the
human being be attained; and
that our Revolution uplifted the dignity of the country and of Cubans;
WE DECLARE
our will that the law of laws of the Republic be guided by the following strong
desire of Jose Marti, at last achieved:
"I want the fundamental law of our republic to be the tribute of Cubans to
the full dignity of man";
AND ADOPT
by means of our free vote in a referendum, the following:
CONSTITUTION
CHAPTER I
POLITICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES OF THE STATE
ARTICLE 1.
ARTICLE 2. The name of the Cuban state is
ARTICLE 3. In the
When no other recourse is possible, all citizens have the right to struggle
through all means, including armed struggle, against anyone who tries to
overthrow the political, social and economic order established in this
Constitution.
ARTICLE 4. The national symbols are those, which for over one hundred years,
have presided over the Cuban
struggles for independence, the rights of the people and social progress:
the flag of the lone star;
the anthem of Bayamo;
the coat of arms of the royal palm.
ARTICLE 5. The Communist Party of Cuba, a follower of Marti's ideas and of
Marxism-Leninism, and the organized vanguard of the Cuban nation, is the highest
leading force of society and of the state, which organizes and guides the common
effort toward the goals of the construction of socialism and the progress toward
a communist society.
ARTICLE 6. The Young Communist League, the organization of Cuba's vanguard
youth, has the recognition and encouragement of the state in its main duty of
promoting the active participation of young people in the tasks of building
socialism and adequately preparing the youth to be conscientious citizens
capable of assuming ever greater responsibilities for the benefit of our
society.
ARTICLE 7. The Cuban socialist state recognizes and stimulates the social and
mass organizations, which arose from the historic process of struggles of our
people. These organizations gather in their midst the various sectors of the
population represent specific interests of the same and in- corporate them to
the tasks of the edification, consolidation and defense of the socialist
society.
ARTICLE 8. The state recognizes, respects and guarantees freedom of religion.
In the
The different beliefs and religions enjoy the same consideration.
ARTICLE 9. The state:
a) carries out the will of the working people and
-channels the efforts of the nation in the construction of socialism;
-maintains and defends the integrity and the sovereignty of the country;
-guarantees the liberty and the full dignity of man, the enjoyment of his
rights, the exercise and fulfillment of his duties and the integral development
of his personality;
-consolidates the ideology and the rules of living together and of conduct
proper of a society free from the exploitation of man by man;
-protects the constructive work of the people and the property and riches of the
socialist nation;
-directs in a planned way the national econ
-assures the educational, scientific, technical and cultural progress of the
country;
b) as the power of the people and for the people, guarantees
-that every man or woman, who is able to work, have the opportunity to have a
job with which to contribute to the good of society and to the satisfaction of
individual needs;
-that no disabled person be left without adequate means of subsistence;
-that no sick person be left without medical care;
-that no child be left without schooling, food and clothing;
-that no young person be left without the opportunity to study;
-that no one be left without access to studies, culture and sports;
c) works to achieve that no family be left without a comfortable place to live.
ARTICLE 10. All state bodies, their leaders, officials and employees function
within the limits of their respective competency and are under the obligation to
observe strictly socialist legality and to look after the respect of the same
within the context of the whole of society.
ARTICLE 11. The state exercises its sovereignty:
a) over the entire national territory, which consists of the is- land of Cuba,
the Isle of Youth and all other adjacent is- lands and keys; internal waters;
the territorial waters in the extension prescribed by law; and the air space
corresponding to the above;
b) over the environment and natural resources of the country;
c) over mineral, plant and animal resources on and under the ocean floor and
those in waters comprised in the Republic's maritime economic area, as
prescribed by law, in keeping with international practice.
The
ARTICLE 12. The
a) ratifies its aspirations to a valid, true and dignified peace for all states,
big or small, weak or powerful, based on respect for the independence and
sovereignty of the peoples and the right to self-determination;
b) establishes its international relations based on the principles of equality
of rights, self-determination of the peoples, territorial integrity,
independence of states, international cooperation for mutual and equitable
benefit and interest, peaceful settlement of disputes on an equal footing and
based on respect and the other principles proclaimed in the United Nations
Charter and in other international treaties which Cuba is a party to;
c) reaffirms its desire for integration and cooperation with the countries of
Latin America and the Caribbean, whose common identity and historical need to
advance united on the road to economic and political integration for the
attainment of true independence would allow us to achieve our rightful place in
the world;
d) advocates the unity of all
e) condemns imperialism, the promoter and supporter of all fascist, colonialist,
neocolonialist and racist manifestations, as the main force of aggression and of
war, and the worst enemy of the peoples;
f) repudiates direct or indirect intervention in the internal and external
affairs of any state and, therefore, also repudiates armed aggression, economic
blockade, as well as any other kind of economic or political coercion, physical
violence against people residing in other countries, or any other type of
interference with or aggression against the integrity of states and the
political, economic and cultural elements of nations;
g) rejects the violation of the inalienable and sovereign right of all states to
regulate the use and benefits of telecommunications in their territory,
according to universal practice and international agreements that they have
signed;
h) considers wars of aggression and of conquest international crimes; recognizes
the legitimacy of the struggle for national liberation, as well as of armed
resistance to aggression; and considers that its solidarity with those under
attack and with the peoples that struggle for their liberation and
self-determination constitutes its internationalist duty;
i) bases its relations with those countries building socialism on fraternal
friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance, founded on the common objectives
of the construction of a new society;
j) maintains friendly relations with those countries which - although having a
different political, social and economic system -respect its sovereignty,
observe the rules of co- existence among states and the principles of mutual
conveniences, and adopt an attitude of reciprocity with our country.
ARTICLE 13. The Republic of Cuba grants asylum to those who are persecuted
because of their ideals or their struggles for democratic rights; against
imperialism, fascism, colonialism and neocolonialism; against discrimination and
racism; for national liberation; for the rights of workers, peasants and
students and the redress of their grievances; for their progressive political,
scientific, artistic and literary activities; for socialism and peace.
ARTICLE 14. In the
In
ARTICLE 15. Socialist state property, which is the property of the entire
people, comprises:
a) the lands that do not belong to small farmers or to cooperatives formed by
them, the subsoil, mines, mineral, plant and animal resources in the Republic's
maritime economic area, forests, waters and means of communications;
b) the sugar mills, factories, chief means of transportation and all those
enterprises, banks and facilities that have been nationalized and expropriated
from the imperialists, land- holders and bourgeoisie, as well as the factories,
enterprises and economic facilities and scientific, social, cultural and sports
centers built, fostered or purchased by the state and those to be built,
fostered or purchased by the state in the future.
Property ownership may not be transferred to natural per- sons or legal
entities, save for exceptional cases in which the partial or total transfer of
an economic objective is carried out for the development of the country and does
not affect the political, social and economic foundations of the state, prior to
approval by the Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee.
The transfer of other property rights to state enterprises and other entities
authorized to fulfill this objective will be pre- scribed by law.
ARTICLE 16. The state organizes, directs and controls the economic life of the
nation according to a plan that guarantees the programmed development of the
country, with the purpose of strengthening the socialist system, of increasingly
satisfying the material and cultural needs of society and of citizens, of
promoting the flourishing of .human beings and their integrity, and of serving
the progress and security of the country.
The workers of all branches of the economy and of the other' spheres of social
life have an active and conscious participation in the elaboration and execution
of the production and development plans.
ARTICLE 17. The state directly administers the goods that make up the socialist
property of the entire people; or may create and organize enterprises and
entities to 'administer them, whose structure, powers, functions and the system
of; their relations are prescribed by law.
These enterprises and entities only answer for their debts; through their
financial resources, within the limits prescribed by law. The state does not
answer for debts incurred by the enterprises, entities and other legal bodies,
and neither do these answers for those incurred by the state.
ARTICLE 18. The state controls and directs foreign trade. The law establishes
the state institutions and officials authorized to:
-create foreign trade enterprises;
-standardize and regulate export and import transactions; and
-determine the natural persons or legal bodies with judicial powers to carry out
these export and import transactions and to sign trade agreements.
ARTICLE 19. The state recognizes the right of small farmers to legal ownership
of their lands and other real estate and personal property necessary for the
exploitation of their land, as prescribed by law.
Small farmers may only incorporate their lands to agricultural production
cooperatives with the previous authorization of the competent state body and the
fulfillment of the other legal requirements. They may also sell their lands,
swap them or transfer them for another title to the state and agricultural
production cooperatives, or to small farmers in the cases, forms and conditions
prescribed by law, without detriment to the preferential right of the state to
the purchase of the land while paying a fair price.
Land leases, sharecropping, mortgages and all other acts which entail a lien on
the land or cession to private individuals of the rights to the land, which is
the property of the small farmers, are all prohibited.
The state supports the small farmers' individual production that contributes to
the national economy.
ARTICLE 20. Small farmers have the right to group them- selves, in the way and
following the requirements prescribed by law both for the purpose of
agricultural production and for obtaining state loans and services.
The establishment of agricultural production cooperatives in the instances and
ways prescribed by law is authorized. Ownership of the cooperatives, which
constitutes an advanced and efficient form of socialist production, is
recognized by the state.
The agricultural production cooperatives manage, own, use and dispose of the
goods they own, as prescribed by law and by its regulations.
Land owned by cooperatives may not be seized or taxed and its ownership may be
transferred to other cooperatives or to the state, according to the causes and
as prescribed by law.
The state gives all possible support to this form of agricultural production.
ARTICLE 21. The state guarantees the right to personal ownership of earnings and
savings derived from one's own work, of the dwelling to which one has legal
title and of the other possessions and objects, which serve to satisfy one's
material and cultural needs.
Likewise, the state guarantees the right of citizens to ownership of their
personal or family work tools. These tools may not be used to obtain earnings
derived from the exploitation of the work of others.
The law establishes the amount of goods owned by a person which can be seized.
ARTICLE 22. The state recognizes the right of political, mass and social
organizations to ownership of the goods in- tended for the fulfillment of their
objectives.
ARTICLE 23. The state recognizes the right to legal ownership of joint ventures,
companies and economic associations which are created as prescribed by law.
The use, enjoyment and disposal of the goods owned by the above-mentioned
entities are ruled by that prescribed by law and by accords, as well as by their
statutes and regulations.
ARTICLE 24. The state recognizes the right of citizens to inherit legal title to
a place of residence and to other personal goods and chattels.
The land and other goods linked to
production in the small farmers' property may be inherited by and only be
awarded to those heirs who work the land, save exceptions and as pre- scribed by
law.
The law prescribes the cases, conditions and ways under which the goods of
cooperative ownership may be inherited.
ARTICLE 25. The expropriation of property for reasons of public benefit or
social interest and with due compensation is authorized.
The law establishes the method for the expropriation and the bases on which the
need for and usefulness of this action is to be determined, as well as the form
of compensation, taking into account the interest and the economic and social
needs of the person whose property has been expropriated.
ARTICLE 26. Anybody who suffers damages unjustly caused by a state official or
employee while in the performance of his public functions has the right to claim
and obtain the corresponding indemnification as prescribed by law.
ARTICLE 27. The state protects the environment and natural resources. It
recognizes the close links they have with sustainable economic and social
development to make human life more rational "and to ensure the survival,
well-being and security of present and future generations. The application of
this policy corresponds to the competent bodies.
It is the duty of citizens to contribute to the protection of the waters,
atmosphere, the conservation of the soil, flora, fauna and nature's entire rich
potential.
CHAPTER II
CITIZENSHIP
ARTICLE 28. Cuban citizenship is acquired by birth or through
naturalization.
ARTICLE 29. Cuban citizens by birth are:
a) those born in national territory, with the exception of the children of
foreign persons at the service of their government or international
organizations. In the case of the children of temporary foreign residents in the
country, the law stipulates the requisites and formalities;
b) those born abroad, one of whose parents at least is Cuban and on an official
mission;
c) those born abroad, one of whose parents at least is Cuban, who have complied
with the formalities stipulated by law;
d) those born outside national territory, one of whose parents at least is Cuban
and who have lost their Cuban citizenship provided they apply for said
citizenship according to the procedures stated by law;
e)foreigners who by virtue of their exceptional merits won in the struggles for
ARTICLE 30. Cuban citizens by naturalization are:
a) those foreigners who acquire Cuban citizenship in accordance with the
regulations established by law;
b) those who contributed to the armed struggle against the tyranny overthrown on
January l' 1959, provided they show proof of this in the legally established
form;
c) those who having been arbitrarily deprived of their citizen- ship of origin,
obtain Cuban citizenship by virtue of an ex- press agreement of the Council of
State.
ARTICLE 31. Neither marriage nor its dissolution affects the citizenship status
of either of the spouses or their children.
ARTICLE 32. Cubans may not be deprived of their citizen- ship saves for
established legal causes. Neither may they be deprived of the right to change
citizenship.
Dual citizenship is not recognized. Therefore, when a foreign citizenship is
acquired, the Cuban one will be lost.
Formalization of the loss of citizenship and the authorities empowered to decide
on this.
ARTICLE 33. Cuban citizenship may be regained in those cases and ways specified
by law.
CHAPTER III
ALIENS
ARTICLE 34. Foreign residents in the territory of the Re- public are equal
to Cubans in:
-the safeguarding of persons and property;
-the enjoyment of the rights and the fulfillment of the duties recognized in
this Constitution, under the conditions and with the limitations prescribed by
law;
-the obligation to observe the Constitution and the law;
-the obligation to contribute to the public expenditure in the form and amount
prescribed by law;
-the submission to the jurisdiction and resolutions of the Republic's courts of
justice and authorities.
The law establishes the cases and the ways in which foreigners may be expelled
from national territory and the authorities empowered to decide on this.
CHAPTER IV
THE FAMILY
ARTICLE 35. The state protects the family, motherhood and matrimony.
The state recognizes the family as the main
nucleus of society and attributes to it the important responsibilities and
functions in the education and formation of the new generations.
ARTICLE 36. Marriage is the voluntarily established union between a man and a
woman, who are legally fit to marry, in order to live together. It is based on
full equality of rights and duties for the partners, who must see to the support
of the home and the integral education of their children through a joint effort
compatible with the social activities of both.
The law regulates the formalization, recognition and dissolution of marriage and
the rights and obligations deriving from such acts.
ARTICLE 37. All children have the same rights, regardless of being born in or
out of wedlock.
Any qualification concerning the nature of the filiations is abolished.
No statement shall be made either with regard to the difference in birth or with
regard to the civil status of the parents in the registration of the children's
birth or in any other documents that mention parenthood.
The state guarantees, through adequate legal means, the determination and
recognition of paternity.
ARTICLE 38. The parents have the duty to provide nourishment for their children;
to help them to defend their legitimate interests and in the realization of
their just aspirations; and to contribute actively to their education and
integral development as useful and well-prepared citizens for life in a
socialist society.
It is the children's duty, in turn, to respect and help their parents.
CHAPTER V
EDUCATION
AND CULTURE
ARTICLE 39. The state orients, foments and promotes education, culture and
science in all their manifestations.
Its educational and cultural policy is based
on the following principles:
a) the state bases its educational and cultural policy on the progress made in
science and technology, the ideology of Marx and Marti, and universal and Cuban
progressive pedagogical tradition;
b) education is a function of the state and is free of charge. It is based on
the conclusions and contributions made by science and on the close relationship
between study and life, work and production.
The state maintains a broad scholarship system for students and provides the
workers with multiple opportunities to study to be able to attain the highest
possible levels of knowledge and skills.
The law establishes the integration and structure of the national system of
education and the extent of compulsory education and defines the minimum level
of general education that every citizen should acquire;
c) the state promotes the patriotic and communist education of the new
generations and the training of children, young people and adults for social
life.
In order to make this principle a reality, general education and specialized
scientific, technical or artistic education are combined with work, development
research, physical education, sports, participation in political and social
activities and military training;
d) there is freedom of artistic creation as long as its content is not contrary
to the Revolution. There is freedom of artistic expression;
e) in order to raise the level of culture of the people, the state foments and
develops artistic education, the vocation for creation and the cultivation and
appreciation of art;
f) there is freedom of creation and research in science. The state encourages,
facilitates research, and gives priority to that which is aimed at solving the
problems related to the interests of society and the well-being of the people;
g) the state makes it possible for the workers to engage in scientific work and
to contribute to the development of science;
h) the state promotes, foments and develops all forms of physical education and
sports as a means of education and of contribution to the integral development
of citizens;
i) the state defends Cuban culture's identity and sees to the conservation of
the nation's cultural heritage and artistic and historic wealth. The state
protects national monuments and places known for their natural beauty or their
artistic or historic values;
j) the state promotes the participation of the citizens, through the country's
social and mass organizations, in the development of its educational and
cultural policy.
ARTICLE 40. The state and society give special protection to children and young
people.
It is the duty of the family, the schools, the state agencies and the social and
mass organizations to pay special attention to the integral development of
children and young people.
CHAPTER VI
EQUALITY
ARTICLE 41. All citizens have equal rights and are subject to equal duties.
ARTICLE 42. Discrimination because of race, skin color, sex. national origin,
religious beliefs and any other form of discrimination harmful to human dignity
is forbidden and will be punished by law.
The institutions of the state educate everyone from the earliest possible age in
the principle of equality among human beings.
ARTICLE 43. The state consecrates the right achieved by the Revolution that all
citizens. regardless of race, skin color, sex, religious belief, national origin
and any situation that may be harmful to human dignity:
-have access, in keeping with their merits and abilities, to all state, public
administration, and production and services positions and jobs;
-can reach any rank in the Revolutionary Armed Forces and in Security and
internal order, in keeping with their merits and abilities;
-be given equal pay for equal work;
-have a right to education at all national educational institutions, ranging
from elementary schools to the universities, which are the same for all;
-be given health care in all medical institutions;
-live in any sector, zone or area and stay in any hotel:
-be serve at all restaurants and other public service establishments;
-use, without any separations, all means of transportation by sea, land and air;
-enjoy the same resorts, beaches, parks, social centers and other centers of
culture, sports, recreation and rest.
ARTICLE 44. Women and men have the same rights in the economic, political,
cultural and social fields, as well as in the family.
The state guarantees women the same opportunities and possibilities as men, in
order to achieve women's full participation in the development of the country.
The state organizes such institutions as children's day-care centers, semi
boarding schools and boarding schools, homes for the elderly and services to
make it easier for the working family to carry out its responsibilities.
The state looks after women's health as well as that of their offspring, giving
working women paid maternity leave before and after giving birth and temporary
work options compatible with their maternal activities.
The state strives to create all the conditions that help make real the princip1e
of equality.
CHAPTER VII
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, DUTIES AND GUARANTEES
ARTICLE 45. Work in a socialist society is a
right and duty and a source of pride for every citizen.
Work is remunerated according to its quality and quantity; when it is provided,
the needs of the economy and of society, the choice of worker and his skills and
ability are taken into account; this is guaranteed by the socialist economic
system, that facilitates social and economic development, without crises, and
has thus eliminated unemployment and the undead season."
No paid, voluntary work carried out for the benefit of all society in
industrial, agricultural, technical, artistic and service activities is
recognized as playing an important role in the formation of our people's
communist awareness.
Every worker has the duty to faithfully carry out tasks corresponding to him at
his job.
ARTICLE 46. All those who work have the right to rest, which is guaranteed by
the eight-hour workday, a weekly rest period and annual paid vacations.
The state contributes to the development of vacation plans and facilities.
ARTICLE 47. By means of the Social Security System the state assures adequate
protection to every worker who is unable to work because of age, illness or
disability.
If the worker dies this protection will be extended to his family.
ARTICLE 48. The state protects, by means of social assistance, senior citizens
lacking financial resources or anyone to take them in or care for them, and
anyone who is unable to work and has no relatives who can help them.
ARTICLE 49. The state guarantees the right to protection, safety and hygiene on
the job by means of the adoption of adequate measures for the prevention of
accidents at work and occupational diseases. -
Anyone who suffers an accident on the job or is affected by an occupational
disease has the right to mythical care and to compensation or retirement in
those cases in which temporary or permanent work disability ensues.
ARTICLE 50. Everyone has the right to health protection and care. The state
guarantees this right:
-by providing free medical and hospital care by means of the installations of
the rural medical service net- work, polyclinics, hospitals, preventative and
specialized treatment centers;
-by providing free dental care;
-by promoting the health publicity campaigns, health education, regular medical
examinations, general vaccinations and other measures to prevent the out- break
of disease. All the population cooperates in these activities and plans through
the social ancient mass organizations.
ARTICLE 51. Everyone has the right to education. This right is guaranteed by the
free and widespread system of schools, semi boarding and boarding schools and
scholarships of all- kinds and at all levels of education and because of the
fact. that all educational material is provided free of charge, which gives all
children and young people, regardless of their family's economic position, the
opportunity to study in keeping with their ability, social demands and the needs
of socio-economic development.
Adults are also guaranteed this right; education for them is free of charge and
with the specific facilities regulated by law, by means of the adult education
program, technical and vocational education, training courses in state agencies
and enterprises and the advanced courses for workers.
ARTICLE 52. Everyone has the right to physical education sports and recreation.
Enjoyment of this right is assured by including the teaching and practice of
physical education and sports in the curricula of the national educational
system; and by the broad nature " of the instruction and means placed at
the service of the people, which makes possible the practice of sports and
recreation on a mass basis.
ARTICLE 53. Citizens have freedom of speech and of the press in keeping with the
objectives of socialist society. Material conditions for the exercise of that
right are provided by the fact that the press, radio, television, cinema, and
other mass media are state or social property and can never be private property.
This assures their use at the exclusive service of the working people and in the
interests of society.
The law regulates the exercise of those freedoms.
ARTICLE 54. The rights to assembly, demonstration and association are exercised
by workers, both manual and intellectual, peasants, women, students and other
sectors of the working people, and they have the necessary means for this. The
social and mass organizations have all the facilities they need to carry out
those activities in which the members have full freedom of speech and opinion
based on the unlimited right of initiative and criticism.
ARTICLE 55. The state, which recognizes, respects and guarantees freedom of
conscience and of religion, also recognizes, respects and guarantees every
citizen's freedom to change religious beliefs or to not have any, and to
profess, within the framework of respect for the law, the religious belief of
his preference.
The law regulates the state's relations with religious institutions.
ARTICLE 56. The home is inviolable. Nobody can enter the home of another against
his will, except in those cases fore- seen by law.
ARTICLE 57. Mail is inviolable. It can only be seized, opened and examined in
cases prescribed by law. Secrecy is maintained on matters other than those which
led to the examination.
The same principle is to be applied in the
case of cable, 1; telegr3ph and telephone communications.
ARTICLE 58. Freedom and inviolability of persons is assured to all those who
live in the country.
Nobody can be arrested, except in the manner, with the guarantees and in the
cases indicated by law.
The person who has been arrested or the prisoner is inviolable in his personal
integrity.
ARTICLE 59. Nobody can be tried or sentenced except by the competent court by
virtue of laws which existed prior to the crime and with the formalities and
guarantees that the laws establish.
Every accused person has the right to a defense..
No violence or pressure of any kind can be used against people to force them to
testify.
All statements obtained in violation of the above precept are null and void and
those responsible for the violation will be punished as outlined by law.
ARTICLE 60. Confiscation of property is only applied as a punishment by the
authorities in the cases and by the methods determined by law.
ARTICLE 61. Penal laws are retroactive when they benefit the accused or person
who has been sentenced. Other laws are not retroactive unless the contrary is
decided for reasons of social interest or because it is useful for public
purposes.
ARTICLE 62. None of the freedoms, which are recognized for citizens, can be
exercised contrary to what is established in the Constitution and by law, or
contrary to the existence. and objectives of the socialist state, or contrary to
the decision of the Cuban people to build socialism and communism. Violations of
this principle can be punished by law.
ARTICLE 63. Every citizen has the right to file complaints with and send
petitions to the authorities and to be given the pertinent response or attention
within a reasonable length of time, in keeping with the law.
ARTICLE 64. Every citizen has the duty of caring for public and social property,
observing work discipline, respecting the rights of others, observing standards
of socialist living and fulfilling civic and social duties.
ARTICLE 65. Defense of the socialist homeland is the greatest honor and the
supreme duty of every Cuban citizen.
The law regulates the military service which
Cubans must do. Treason against one's country is the most serious of crimes;
those who commit it are subject to the most
severe penalties.
ARTICLE 66. Strict fulfillment of the Constitution and the laws is an
inexcusable duty of all.
CHAPTER VIII
STATE OF
ARTICLE 67. In the fate of an imminent
natural disaster or catastrophe or any other circumstance that because of its
nature, proportion or importance affects public order, the country's security or
the state's stability, the president of the Council of State may declare a state
of emergency in the entire national territory or in part of it, and order the
mobilization of the population while it is in force.
The law regulates the manner in which the state of emergency is declared, its
effects and its termination. It also deter- mines the fundamental rights and
duties recognized in the Constitution, its exercise being regulated in a
different manner during the time the state of emergency is in force.
CHAPTER IX
PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONING OF STATE AGENCIES
ARTICLE 68. State agencies are set up and carry out their . activity based
on the principles of socialist democracy, which are manifested in the following
regulations:
a) all members of representative bodies of state power are elected and subject
to recall;
b) the masses control the activity of the state agencies, the deputies,
delegates and officials;
c) those elected must render an account of their work and may be revoked at any
time;
d) every state agency develops in a far-reaching manner, within its
jurisdiction, initiatives aimed at taking advantage of the resources and
possibilities which exist on a local
level and to include the mass and social
organizations in their work;
e) decisions of higher state bodies are compulsory for inferior " ones;,
f) inferior state bodies are responsible to higher ones and I must render
accounts of their work;
g) freedom of discussion, criticism and self-criticism and sub- ordination of
the minority to the majority prevail in all collegiate state bodies.
CHAPTER X. HIGHER BODIES OF PEOPLE'S POWER
ARTICLE 69. The National Assembly of People's Power is
the supreme body of state power and
represents and expresses the sovereign will of all the people.
ARTICLE 70. The National Assembly of People's Power is the only body in the
Republic invested with constituent and
.legislative authority. ,
ARTICLE 71. The National Assembly of People's Power is composed of deputies
elected by free, direct and secret vote,
In the proportion and according to the
procedure established by law.
ARTICLE 72. The National Assembly of People's Power is elected for a period of
five years.
This period can only be extended by virtue of a resolution of the Assembly
itself in the event of war or in the case of other' exceptional circumstances
that may imposed the normal holding of elections and while such circumstances
exist.
ARTICLE 73. The National Assembly of People's Power, " on meeting for a new
legislature, elects from among its deputies its president, vice president and
secretary. The law regulates the manner and procedure in which the Assembly is
constituted and carries out this election.
ARTICLE 74. The National Assembly of People's Power elects, from among its
deputies, the Council of State, which consists of one president, one first vice
president, five vice presidents, one secretary and 23 other members.
The president of the Council of State is, at the same time, the head of state
and head of government.
The Council of State is accountable for its action to the National Assembly of
People's Power, to which it must render accounts of all its activities.
ARTICLE 75. The National Assembly of People's Power is invested with the
following powers:
a) deciding on reforms to the Constitution according to that established in
Article 137;
b) approving, modifying and annulling laws after consulting with the people when
it is considered necessary in view of the nature of the law in question;
c) deciding on the constitutionality of laws, decree-Laws,. decrees and all
other general provisions;
d) revoking in total or in part the decree-Laws issued by the Council of State;
e) discussing and approving the national plans for economic and social
development;
f) discussing and approving the state budget;
g) approving the principles of the system for planning and the management of the
national economy;
h) approving the monetary and credit system;
i) approving the genera/ outlines of foreign and domestic policy;
j) declaring a state of war in the event of military aggression
and approving peace treaties;
k) establishing and modifying the political-administrative division of the
country pursuant to that established in Article 102;
l) electing the president, vice president and secretary of the National
Assembly;
m) electing the president, the first vice president, the vice presidents, the
secretary, and the other members of the Council of State;
n) appointing, at the initiative of the president of the Council of State, the
first vice president, the vice presidents and the other members of the Council
of Ministers;
o) electing the president, vice presidents and other judges of the People's
Supreme Court;
p) electing the attorney general and the deputy attorney generals of the
Republic;
q) appointing permanent and temporary commissions;
r) revoking the election or appointment of those persons elected or appointed by
it;
s) exercising the highest supervision over state and government bodies;
t) keeping informed and evaluating and adopting pertinent decisions on the
reports on the rendering of accounts submitted by the Council of State, the
Council of Ministers, the People's Supreme Court, the Office of the Attorney
General of the Republic and the Provincial Assemblies of People's Power;
u) revoking those provisions or decree Laws of the Council of State and the
decrees or resolutions of the Council of Ministers which are contrary to the
Constitution or the law;
v) revoking or modifying those resolutions or provisions of the local bodies of
People's Power which encroach on the Constitution, the laws, the decree-Laws,
the decrees and other provisions issued by a higher body, or those which are
detrimental to the interests of other localities or the general interests of the
nation;
w) granting amnesty;
x) calling for the holding of a referendum in those cases provided by the
Constitution and others which the Assembly constituents pertinent;
y) establishing its rules and regulations;
z) all other powers invested by this Constitution.
ARTICLE 76. All laws and resolutions of the National Assembly of People's Power,
barring those in relation to reforms in the Constitution, are adopted by a
simple majority vote.
ARTICLE 77. All laws approved by the National Assembly of People's Power go into
effect on the date determined by those laws in each case.
Laws, decree-Laws, decrees and resolutions, regulations and other general
provisions of the national state bodies are published in the Official Gazette of
the Republic.
ARTICLE 78. The National Assembly of People's Power holds two regular sessions a
year and a special session when requested by one third of the membership or when
called by the Council of State.
ARTICLE 79. More than half of the total number of deputies must be present for a
session of the National Assembly of People's Power to be held.
ARTICLE 80. All sessions of the National Assembly of People's Power are public,
excepting when the Assembly re- solves to hold a closed-door session on the
grounds of state interests.
ARTICLE 81. The president of the National Assembly of People's Power is invested
with the power to;
a) preside over the sessions of the National Assembly and see to it that its
regulations are put into effect;
b) call the regular sessions of the National Assembly;
c) propose the draft agenda for the sessions of the National Assembly; .
d) sign and order the publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of the
laws and resolutions adopted by the National Assembly;
e) organize the international relations of the National Assembly;
f) conduct and organize the work of the permanent and temporary commissions
appointed by the National Assembly;
g) attend the meetings of the Council of State;
h) all other powers assigned to him by this Constitution or the National
Assembly of People's Power.
ARTICLE 82. The status of deputy does not entail personal privileges or economic
benefits of any kind.
During the period in which they carry out
their activities, the deputies receive the same salary as in their workplace and
maintain their links with it. for all purposes.
ARTICLE 83. No deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power may be arrested
or placed on trial without the authorization of the Assembly -or the Council of
State if the Assembly is not in session -except in cases of flagrant of- fences.
ARTICLE 84. It is the duty of the deputies to the National Assembly of People's
Power to exercise their duties in benefit of the people's interests, stay in
contact with their electors, listen to their problems, suggestions and
criticism, and explain the policy of the state. They will also render account to
them of the results of their activities, as prescribed by law.
ARTICLE 85. The mandate of the deputies to the National Assembly of People's
Power may be revoked at any time, in the ways and for the causes prescribed by
law.
ARTICLE 86. The deputies to the National Assembly of People's Power have the
right to make inquiries to the Council of State, the Council of Ministers or the
members of either and to have these inquiries answered during the course of the
same session or at the next session.
ARTICLE 87. It is the duty of all state bodies and enterprises to provide all
necessary cooperation to the deputies in the discharge of their duties.
ARTICLE 88. The proposal of laws is the responsibility of:
a) the deputies to the National Assembly of People's Power;
b) the Council of State;
c) the Council of Ministers;
d) the commissions of the National Assembly of People's
Power;
e) the Central Organization of Cuban Trade Unions and the national offices of
the other social and mass organizations;
f) the People's Supreme Court, in matters related to the ad- ministration of
justice;
g) the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic, in matters within its
jurisdiction;
h) the citizens. In this case it is an indispensable prerequisite that the
proposal be made by at least 10 000 citizens who are eligible to vote.
ARTICLE 89. The Council of State is the body of the National Assembly of
People's Power that represents it in the period between sessions, puts its
resolutions into effect and complies with all the other duties assigned by the,
Constitution.
It is collegiate and for national and
international purposes it is the highest representative of the Cuban state.
ARTICLE 90. The Council of State is invested with the power to:
a) summon special sessions of the National Assembly of People's Power;
b) set the date for the elections for the periodic renovation of the national
Assembly of People's Power;
c) issue decree-laws in the period between the sessions of the National Assembly
of People Power;
d) Give existing laws a general and obligatory interpretation whenever
necessary;
e) exercise legislative initiative;
f) make all the necessary arrangements for the holding of referendums called for
by the National Assembly of People Power;
g) decree a general mobilization whenever the defense of the country makes it
necessary and assume the authority to declare war in the event of aggression or
to approve peace treaties - duties which the Constitution assign to the National
Assembly of People Power- when the Assembly is in recess and cannot be called to
session with the necessary security and urgency;
h) replace, at the initiative of its president, the members of the Council of
Ministers in the period between the sessions of the National Assembly of People
Power;
i) issue general instructions to the courts through the Governing Council of the
People's Supreme Court;
j) issue instructions to the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic;
k) appoint and remove, at the initiative of its president, the diplomatic
representatives of
l) grant decorations and honorary titles;
m) name commissions;
n) grant pardons;
o) ratify or denounce international treaties;
p) grant or refuse recognition to diplomatic representatives of
other states;
q) suspend those provisions of the Council of Ministers and the resolutions and
provisions of the Local Assemblies of People's Power which run counter to the
Constitution or the law or which run counter to the interests of other
localities or to the general interests of the country, reporting on this action
to the National Assembly of People's Power in the first session held following
the suspension agreed upon;
r) revoke those resolutions and provisions of the local bodies of People's Power
which infringe the Constitution, the laws, the decree-Laws, the decrees and
other provisions issued by a higher body or when they are detrimental to the
interests of other localities or to the general interests of the nation;
s) approve its rules and regulations;
t) it is also invested with the other powers conferred by the .Constitution and
laws or granted by the National Assembly
of People's Power.
ARTICLE 91. All the decisions of the Council of State are adopted by a simple
majority vote of its members.
ARTICLE 92. The mandate entrusted to the Council of State by the National
Assembly of People's Power expires when the new Council of State, elected by
virtue of its periodic renovation, takes power.
ARTICLE 93. The president of the Council of State is head of government and is
invested with the power to:
a) represent the state and the government and conduct their general policy;
b) organize and conduct the activities of, call for the holding of and preside
over the sessions of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers;
c) control and supervise the development of the activities of the ministries and
other central agencies of the administration; .
d) assume the leadership of any ministry or central agency of the
administration;
e) propose to the National Assembly of People's Power, once elected by the
latter, the members of the Council of Ministers;
f) accept the resignation of the members of the Council of Ministers or propose
either to the National Assembly of People's Power or the Council of State the
replacement of any of those members and, in both cases, to propose the .
.corresponding substitutes;
g) receive the credentials of the heads of foreign diplomatic missions. This
responsibility may be delegated to any of the vice presidents of the Council of
State;
h) assume the supreme command of all armed institutions and determine their
general organization;
i) preside over the National Defense Council;
j) declare a state of emergency in those cases provided for in this
Constitution, stating his decision, as soon as the circumstances permit it, to
the National Assembly of People's Power or to the Council of State if the
Assembly is unable to meet, according to legal effects;
k) sign decree-Laws and other resolutions of the Council of State and the legal
provisions adopted by the Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee, and
arrange for their publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic;
l) assume all other duties assigned it by the Constitution or by law.
ARTICLE 94. In cases of the absence, illness or death of the president of the
Council of State, the first vice president assumes the president's duties.
ARTICLE 95. The Council of Ministers is the highest-ranking executive and
administrative body and constitutes the government of the Republic.
Law determines the number, denomination and functions of the ministries and
central agencies making up the Council of Ministers.
ARTICLE 96. The Council of Ministers is composed of the head of state and
government, as its president, the first vice president, the vice presidents, the
ministers, the secretary and the other members that the law determines.
ARTICLE 97. The president, first vice president, vice presidents and other
members of the Council of Ministers, as determined by the president, make up the
Executive Committee.
In periods between the meetings of the Council of Ministers, the Executive
Committee can decide on matters under the jurisdiction of the Council of
Ministers.
ARTICLE 98. The Council of Ministers is invested with the power to:
a) organize and conduct the political, economic, cultural, scientific, social
and defense activities outlined by the National Assembly of People's Power;
b) propose the draft general plans for the socioeconomic development of the
state and, after these are approved by the National Assembly of People's Power,
organize, conduct and supervise their implementation;
c) conduct the foreign policy of the Republic and relations with other
governments;
d) approve international treaties and submit them to ratification by the Council
of State;
e) direct and control foreign trade;
f) draw up the draft for the state budget and, once it is approved by the
National Assembly of People's Power, to see to its implementation;
g) adopt measures aimed at strengthening the monetary and credit system;
h) draw up bills and submit them to the consideration of the National Assembly
of People's Power or the Council of State, accordingly;
i) see to national defense, the maintenance of order and security at home, the
protection of citizens' rights and the protection of lives and property in the
event of natural disasters;
j) conduct the administration of the state and unify, coordinate and supervise
the activities of the agencies of the central administration and local
administrations;
k) implement the laws and resolutions of the National Assembly of People's Power
and the decree-Laws and provisions issued by the Council of State and, if
necessary, dictate the corresponding regulations;
l) issue decrees and provisions on the basis of and pursuant to the existing
laws and supervise their implementation;
m) revoke the decisions taken by those administrations subordinated to the
Provincial or Municipal Assemblies of People's Power, adopted according to the
powers delegated by the central state administration agencies, when these are
contrary to the instructions issued from a higher level and whose fulfillment is
compulsory;
n) propose to the Provincial and Municipal Assemblies of People's Power the
revocation of those provisions adopted during their specific activities by the
provincial and municipal administrations subordinated to them, when these are
contrary to the instructions approved by the central state administration
agencies, in the exercise of their functions;
o) revoke those provisions issued by heads of central state administration
agencies when these are contrary to the instructions issued from a higher level
and whose fulfillment!.. is compulsory;
p) propose to the National Assembly of People's Power or to the Council of State
the suspension of those resolutions and provisions issued by the local
assemblies of People's Power which infringe existing laws and other provisions
or are detrimental to the interests of other communities or the general
interests of the nation;
q) name the commissions it is necessary to facilitate the fulfillment of the
tasks assigned to it;
r) appoint and remove officials in keeping with the powers if it is invested
with by the law;
s) assume any duty assigned to it by the National Assembly of People's Power or
the Council of State.
The law regulates the organization and functioning of the Council of Ministers.
ARTICLE 99. The Council of Ministers is accountable to and periodically renders
account of its activities to the National Assembly of People's Power.
ARTICLE 100. The members of the Council of Ministers are invested with the power
to:
a) conduct the affairs and tasks of the ministry or agency under their care,
issuing the necessary resolutions and pro- visions to that effect;
b) dictate, in the event it is not the specific duty of another state body, the
necessary regulations to make possible the implementation of those laws and
decree-Laws which concern them;
c) attend the sessions of the Council of Ministers, with the right to speak and
vote, and submit to the consideration of the Council whatever bill, decree-Law,
decree, resolution or any other proposal they consider advisable;
d) appoint, according to the law, the corresponding officials;
e) they are also invested with any other power with which the Constitution and
laws invest them.
ARTICLE 101. The National Defense Council is constituted and prepared during
peacetime to lead the country in conditions of a state of war, during a war, a
general mobilization or a state of emergency. The law regulates its organization
and activities.
CHAPTER XI
POLITICAL-ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
ARTICLE 102. For political-administrative purposes the country is divided
into provinces and municipalities; their number, boundaries and names are
determined by law.
The law may also establish other divisions.
The province is the local society having, to all legal effects, a juridical
personality. It is politically organized according to law to serve as an
intermediate link between the central and municipal governments, covering a
surface area equivalent to the municipalities within its demarcation. It
exercises the functions and fulfills the state and administrative duties which
are under its jurisdiction and has the fundamental duty of promoting the
economic and social development of its territory, for which it coordinates and
controls the fulfillment of the policies, programs and plans approved by the
higher state bodies, with the support of its municipalities and taking their
interests into account.
The municipality is the local society having, to all legal effects a juridical
personality. It is politically organized according to law, covering a surface
area that is determined by the necessary economic and social relations of its
population, and with the capacity to meet the minimum local needs.
The provinces and municipalities, in addition to exercising their corresponding
functions, contribute to the realization of the state's objectives.
CHAPTER XII
LOCAL BODIES OF PEOPLE'S POWER
ARTICLE 103. The Assemblies of People's Power set up in the
political-administrative divisions into which the country is divided are the
higher local bodies of state power. There- fore, they are invested with the
highest authority for the exercise of their state functions within their
respective boundaries. To this effect, they govern in all that is under their
jurisdiction and the law.
They also aid in the development of activities and the fulfillment of plans of
those units in their territory, which are not subordinated, to them, as
prescribed by law.
The local administrations established by these Assemblies direct the economic,
production and service entities locally subordinated to them, with the purpose
of meeting the needs for economic, health care, assistance, educational,
cultural, sports and recreational services of the collective in the territory
under the jurisdiction of each.
For the exercise of their functions the local Assemblies of People's Power find
support in the People's Councils and the initiative and broad participation of
the population and they act in close coordination with the social and mass
organizations.
ARTICLE 104. The People's Councils are constituted in cities, towns,
neighborhoods and rural areas; they are invested with the highest authority for
carrying out their functions; they represent the territory where they carry out
their functions and also represent the municipal, provincial and national bodies
of People's Power.
They work actively for efficiency in the development of production and service
activities and for meeting the needs for health care, economic, educational,
cultural and social activities of the population, promoting the broadest
participation of the population and the local initiatives to resolve their
problems.
They coordinate the work of the existing entities in their field of action,
promote cooperation among them and 'control and supervise their activities.
The People's Councils are made up, of the delegates elected in the districts,
who must choose among themselves their president. The representatives of mass
organizations and the most important institutions in the territory may form part
of the Councils.
The law regulates the organization and functions of the People's Councils.
ARTICLE 105. In the limits of their jurisdiction, the Provincial! Assemblies of
People's Power are invested with the power to:
a) obey and help to enforce the laws and
other general regulations adopted by the higher state bodies;
b) approve and control the execution of the province's income and spending
budget and plan, according to the policies agreed upon by the competent national
agencies;
c) elect or recall the president and vice president of the Provincial Assembly;
d) designate or substitute the secretary of the Assembly;
e) participate in the drawing up and supervision of the state budget and
technical-economic plan, corresponding to the entities located in its territory
and subordinated to other bodies, as prescribed by law;
f) control and supervise the activities of the provincial administration body
with the help of its work Commissions;
g) designate or substitute the members of the provincial ad- ministration body,
at the proposal of its president;
h) determine, according to the principles established by the Council of
Ministers, the organization, functioning and tasks of the entities in charge of
carrying out the economic, production and services, educational, health care,
cultural, sports, protection of the environment and recreational activities,
which are subordinated to the provincial administration body;
i) adopt agreements concerning administration matters in its territory and
which, according to law, do not correspond to the general jurisdiction of the
central state administration or to that of the municipal bodies of state power;
.
j) approve the creation and organization of the People's Councils at the
proposal of the Municipal Assemblies of People's Power;
k) revoke, in the framework of its jurisdiction, the decisions adopted by the
provincial administration body or propose their revocation to the Council of
Ministers when these decisions have been adopted while acting according to the
faculties entrusted to them by the central state administration agencies;
l) study and evaluate the rendering of accounts reports presented by their
administration body and the Assemblies of People's Power which are their
subordinates, and adopt the pertinent decisions regarding those reports;
m) set up or dissolve work commissions;
n) attend to all that relevant to the application of the policy on cadres drawn
up by the higher state bodies;
o) strengthen legality, public order and the country's defense capacity;
p) assume any other duty assigned by the Constitution and by law.
ARTICLE 106. In the limits of their jurisdiction, the Municipal Assemblies of
People's power are invested with the power to:
a) obey and help to enforce the laws and other general regulations adopted by
the higher state bodies;
b) elect or recall the president and vice president o(the Assembly,
c) designate or substitute the secretary of the Assembly; .
d) supervise and control the entities subordinated to the municipal body, with
the support of the work commissions;
e) revoke or modify the resolutions and measures of the bodies or authorities
subordinated to them which are contrary to the Constitution or the laws,
decree-Laws, decrees, resolutions and other regulations enacted by the higher
state bodies or those which affect the interests of the community, of other
territories or the general interests of the country, or propose their revocation
to the Council of Ministers when they have been adopted while acting according
to the faculties entrusted to them by the central state administration agencies;
"
f) adopt agreements and enact measures in the framework of the Constitution and
the laws in force, on matters of municipal interest, and control their
application;
g) designate or substitute the members of its administration body on the
proposal of its president;
h) determine, according to the principles established by the Council of
Ministers, the organization, functioning and tasks of the entities in charge of
carrying out economic, production and services, and health care activities. and
others such as assistance, educational, cultural, sports, protection of the
environment and recreational activities which are subordinated to its
administration body;
i) propose the creation and organization of the People's Councils, as
established by law;
j) constitute or dissolve work commissions;
k) approve the municipality's socioeconomic plan and budget, following the
policy drawn up for this by the competent. agencies of the central state
administration, and control their execution;
l) help in the development of activities and the fulfillment of' production and
service plans of the entities located in their territory which are not
subordinated to them, for which they can draw support from their work
commissions and administration body;
m) study and evaluate the rendering of accounts reports presented by their
administration body and adopt the pertinent decisions thereof;
n) attend to all that having to do with the application of their policy on
cadres drawn up by the higher state bodies:
o) strengthen legality, public order and the country's defense'; capacity;
p) carry out any other functions assigned by the Constitution and by law.
ARTICLE 107. The regular and special sessions. of the local Assemblies of
People's Power are public, except in cases when it is agreed to hold them behind
closed doors for reasons of state or when matters referring to the decorum of
per- sons are involved.
ARTICLE 108. In order for agreements of the local Assemblies of People's Power
to be valid, more than half of the total number of members must be present.
Agreements are adopted by simple majority.
ARTICLE 109. The entities organized to meet local needs with the aim of
fulfilling their specific objectives, are ruled by laws, decree-Laws and
decrees; by agreements adopted by the Council of Ministers; by regulations
issued by the heads of central state administration agencies on matters under
their jurisdiction which are of general interest and that require being
regulated on a national level; and by agreements adopted by the local bodies to
which they are subordinated.
ARTICLE 110. The permanent work commissions are constituted by the Provincial
and Municipal Assemblies of People's Power to meet the specific interests of
their localities, in order to help them carry out their activities and
especially to control and supervise the locally subordinated entities and others
corresponding to further levels of subordination which are located in their
territory.
Temporary commissions fulfill specific tasks assigned within the time limits
indicated.
ARTICLE 111. The Provincial Assemblies of People's Power are renovated every
five years, which is the delegates term of office.
The Municipal Assemblies of People's Power are renovated every two and a half
years, which is the delegates' term of office.
These terms may only be extended by decision of the National Assembly of
People's Power, in the cases mentioned
in Article 72.
ARTICLE 112. The term of the delegates to local Assemblies may be revoked at any
time. The law prescribes the manner, the cases and the methods in which they may
be revoked.
ARTICLE 113. The delegates fulfill the mandate of their electors, in the
interest of all the community, for which they must coordinate their functions as
such with their usual responsibilities and tasks. The law regulates the manner
in which these functions are carried out.
ARTICLE 114. The delegates to the Municipal Assemblies of People's Power have
the rights and duties conferred by the Constitution and by law and they are
especially obliged to:
a) make the opinions, needs and problems expressed by their electors known to
the Assembly and to the local administration;
b) report to their electors on the policies of the Assembly and the measures
adopted to resolve the problems posed by the population or outline the reason
why they have not been resolved;
c) render account of their activities on a regular basis to their electors, and
report to the Assembly or to the commission they belong to on the fulfillment of
the tasks assigned to them when they are asked to do so.
ARTICLE 115. The delegates to the Provincial Assemblies of People's Power have
the duty to carry out their activities for the benefit of the collective and
report on the measures taken by them on a personal basis, according to the
procedure established by law.
ARTICLE 116. The Provincial and Municipal Assemblies of People's Power elect
their president and ~ice president from among their delegates.
The election takes place by virtue of candidacies proposed in the manner and
according to the procedure outlined by law.
ARTICLE 117. The presidents of the Provincial and Municipal Assemblies of
People's Power are also the presidents of their respective administration bodies
and represent the state in their territories. Their functions are established by
law.
ARTICLE 118. The administration bodies which constitute the Provincial and
Municipal Assemblies of People's Power work on a collegiate basis and their
composition, integration, functions and duties are established by law.
ARTICLE 119. The Provincial and Municipal Defense Councils and the Defense Zone
Councils are constituted and organized during peacetime to conduct their
respective territories' affairs, in conditions of a state of war, during a war,
a general mobilization or a state of emergency, based on the general defense
plan and the army's military councils' corresponding role and responsibilities
The National Defense Council determines, according to Law, the organization and
functions of these Councils.
CHAPTER XIII
THE COURTS AND OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
ARTICLE 120. The function of administering
justice springs from the people and is carried out on its behalf by the People's
Supreme Court and other courts which the law establishes.
The law establishes the main objectives of judicial activity and regulates the
organization of the courts; the extension of their jurisdiction and competence;
their authority and the form of exercising it; the standards that judges must
meet, the manner in which they must be elected and the causes and methods for
recalling them or the cessation of their functions.
ARTICLE 121. The courts constitute a system of state bodies which are set up
with functional independence from all other systems and they are only
subordinated to the national Assembly of people's Power and the Council of
state.
The People's Supreme Court is the foremost judicial authority and its decisions
in this field are final.
Through its Governing Council it can propose laws and is- sue regulations; make
decisions and enact norms whose fulfillment is compulsory for all courts and,
based on their experience, it issues instructions which are also compulsory in
order to establish uniform judicial practice in the interpretation and
application of the law.
ARTICLE 122. The judges, in their function of administering justice, are
independent and only owe obedience to the law.
ARTICLE 123. The sentences and other decisions of the courts, pronounced or
enacted within the limits of their jurisdiction, must be obeyed and implemented
by state agencies, economic and social institutions and citizens, by those
directly affected and by those who do not have a direct interest in their
implementation but have the duty to participate in it.
ARTICLE 124. For administering justice all function in a collegiate form and
professional and lay judges participate in them with equal rights and duties.
The judicial functions assigned to lay judges, in view of their social
importance, have priority over their usual occupation.
ARTICLE 125. The courts render an account of the results of their work in the
manner and with the periodicity established by law.
ARTICLE 126. Judges can only be recalled by the body which elected them.
ARTICLE 127. The Office of the Attorney General of the Republic is the state
body which has, as its fundamental objective, jurisdiction over the control and
preservation of legality by ensuring that the Constitution, the law and other
legal
regulations are strictly obeyed by state
agencies, economic and social entities and citizens; and representing the state
in the promotion and exercise of public legal action.
The law determines the other objectives and functions as well as the form,
duration and occasion in which the Office of the Attorney General exercises its
power.
ARTICLE 128. The Office of the Attorney General of the Republic constitutes an
organic unit which is only subordinated to the National Assembly of People's
Power and the Council of State.
The Attorney General of the Republic is given instructions directly from the
Council of State.
The Attorney General of the Republic will handle the direction and control of
all the work done by his office allover the country.
The bodies of the Office of the Attorney General are organized in a vertical
manner all over the country. They are sub- ordinate only to the Office of the
Attorney General of the Republic and are independent of all local bodies.
ARTICLE 129. The Attorney General of the Republic and the assistant attorney
generals are elected and subject to re- call by the National Assembly of
People's Power.
ARTICLE 130. The Attorney General of the Republic renders an account of his work
to the National Assembly of People's Power in the form and with the periodicity
established by law.
CHAPTER XIV
ELECTORAL SYSTEM
ARTICLE 131. All citizens, with the legal capacity to do so, have the right
to take part in the leadership of the state, directly or through their elected
representatives to the bodies of People's Power, and to participate, for this
purpose and as prescribed by law, in the periodic elections and people's
referendums through free, equal and secret vote. Every voter has only one vote.
ARTICLE 132. All Cubans over 16 years of age, men and women alike, have the
right to vote except those who:
a) are mentally disabled and have been declared so by court;
b) have committed a crime and because of this have lost the right to vote. .
ARTICLE 133. All Cuban citizens, men and women alike, who have full political
rights can be elected.
If the election is for deputies to the National Assembly of People's Power they
must be more than 18 years bid.
ARTICLE 134. Members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and other military
institutions of the nation have the right to elect and be elected, just like any
other citizen.
ARTICLE 135. The law determines the number of delegates that make up each of the
Provincial and Municipal Assemblies, in proportion to the number of people who
live in each of the regions into which, for electoral purposes, the country is
divided.
The delegates to the Provincial and Municipal Assemblies are elected by the
voters through free, direct and secret vote. Moreover, the law regulates the
procedure for their election.
ARTICLE 136. In order for deputies or delegates to be considered elected they
must get more than half the number of valid votes cast in the electoral
districts.
If this does not happen, or in cases of vacant posts, the law regulates the
procedure to be followed.
CHAPTER XV
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS
ARTICLE 137. This Constitution can be only totally or partially modified by
the National Assembly of People's Power by means of resolutions adopted by
roll-call vote by a majority of no less than two-thirds of the total number of
members.
If the modification is total or has to do with the integration and authority of
the National Assembly of People's Power or its Council of State or the rights
and duties contained in the Constitution, the approval of the majority of
citizens with the right to vote is required via a referendum organized for this
purpose by the Assembly.
This Constitution, which was proclaimed on
February 24: 1976, contains the reforms approved by the National Assembly of
People's Power in the 11th Regular Session of the 3rd Legislature, held on July
10, 11 and 12 of 1992. -
URL:http://www.cubasi.cu/n_istituzioni_terza.asp?lng=eng&canale=istituzioni&sezione=2&id=12
that the sovereign power of the State lies
with the people of Cuba; therefore, it is with the people that the
constitutional power of the nation rests that is expressed in the existing
Constitution whose original draft was discussed and analyzed by millions of
people who contributed their ideas and suggested modifications to the text
submitted to them; a Constitution that was later approved in a national
referendum by 97.7% of the voters through free, direct and secret ballot and
proclaimed on February 24, 1976;
that the Socialist Revolution rescued Cuba from a humiliating imperialist
domination and turned it into a free and independent nation founded on the close
unity, the cooperation and the consensus of a learned and rebel people of brave
and heroic men and women that make up the force, the government and the power of
the Cuban nation, the same people who with their talents and ideas have
skillfully faced up to, and defended themselves from the aggressions of the most
powerful empire that the history of humanity has known;
that despite the tight blockade and the economic war imposed by the government
of the United States of America aimed at suffocating and humiliating our people,
the Cuban nation has risen to the challenge in these glorious years of the
Revolution to achieve high educational, cultural and social indicators, with an
illiteracy rate of 0.2%, an elementary school attendance rate of 100%, a junior
high school attendance rate of 99.7%, an infant mortality rate of 6.2 per one
thousand live births; with 590 doctors, 743 nurses and 630.6 hospital beds for
every 100,000 people and a life expectancy at birth of 76 years, all of these
among many other fundamental achievements that provide a healthy and dignified
life with justice for every citizen;
that the great transformations that have occurred in our society after the
Revolutionary victory have opened up unexpected avenues for the people’s
incorporation into the real leadership of a society in which they have assumed a
new and always growing protagonist role. It is on these bases that new
institutions and a new electoral system have emerged and are developing, as
stated in the Constitution of the Republic, to ensure the democratic content of
the people’s active participation by recognizing that it is solely the people
that have the right to chose, nominate, elect, control and recall their
representatives. Moreover, they contribute to developing a participatory culture
that includes debating and making decisions concerning the main problems
affecting the country, channeled through the social and mass organizations as
well as the People’s Councils of which they are a part. The people’s mass
involvement in the elections in numbers in excess of 95%, is but an expression
of their endorsement and support of the Revolution;
the crude measures of further aggression against Cuba announced by the President
of the United States of America Mr. George W. Bush —encouraged by the Miami
terrorist mob at the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the establishment
of the Yankee neocolonial republic that resulted from the imperialist war that
snatched freedom from the Cubans— when he stated his aspiration to overthrow
the Cuban political system and destroy the work of the Revolution.
WHEREAS
exercising its sovereign power and the right
accorded to it in Article 3 of the Constitution to defend the established
economic, social and political order; and making use of the basic right of every
citizen to address petitions to the authorities, as described in Article 63 of
the Constitution of the Republic;
PETITIONS
the National Assembly of People’s Power,
the supreme body of state power that represents and expresses the sovereign will
of all of our people:
FIRST: To ratify our
people’s identification with each and everyone of the principles on which the
Constitution of the Republic is founded, particularly with its Economic, Social
and Political Foundations consecrated in Chapter I, underlining that:
“
SECOND: To expressly set forth the will of the people that the economic,
political and social system consecrated in the Constitution of the Republic is
untouchable.
THIRD: To ratify that economic, political and diplomatic relations with
any other state will never be negotiated under aggression, threat or pressure
from a foreign power.
FOURTH: That the above-mentioned requests, once approved by the relevant
legal procedure, should be expressly included in the Constitution of the
Republic, as part of its body of rules and with the clarification that they
result in the annulment of any previous provision in contradiction or opposition
to it.
In
on the 10th day of the month of June in the year 2002,
“Year of the Heroic Prisoners of the Empire”.
Signed by:
Pedro Ross Leal, Secretary General of the Central Workers’ Trade Union (CTC);
Orlando Lugo Fonte, president of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP);
Juan Contino Aslan, National Coordinator of the Committees for the Defense of
the Revolution (CDRs);
Miriam Yanet Martin Gonzalez, president of the José Martí Young Pioneers
Organization (OPJM); Juan Almeida Bosque, president of the Association of
Combatants of the Cuban Revolution; Vilma Espin Guillois, president of the Cuban
Women Federation (FMC);
Hassan Perez Casabona, president of the Federation of University Students (FEU);
Claudia Felipe Torres, president of the Federation of Intermediate
Education Students (FEEM).
Original: Spanish
Unofficial English Version
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/junio02-2/24asambl-i.html