زیر مجموعه ها
قانون اساسی آرژانتین (انگلیسی)
| اطلاعات بیشتر قانون | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| تصویب شده | قانون اساسی جمهوری اسلامی ایران | ||
| شناسه | 884B018B-36B5-49CD-A12E-D303CCF1D9DD | ||
| وضعیت | منسوخ نشده | ||
Argentina Constitution
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{ Adopted by Dictate in: 1853 }
{ Official Title: Constitution of the Argentine Nation }
{ ICL Document Status: Nov 1998 }
{ Editor''s Note:
The ICL edition is based on the raw text published for reproduction by the
Senate of the Argentine Nation. Reference to that edition has been kindly
provided by Mr. Gustavo Alberto Fainschtein. The edition incorporates all
amendments up to and including the one of 22 Aug 1994. Prior amendments have
been adopted in 1860, 1866, 1898, and 1957. Changes in the ICL edition include
section tags and paragraph numbers. Article titles and ICL-Keys are yet to be
included. }
Preamble
We, the representatives of the people of the Argentine Nation, gathered in
General Constituent Assembly by the will and election of the Provinces which
compose it, in fulfillment of pre-existing pacts, in order to form a national
unionn, guarantee justice, secure domestic peace, provide for the common
defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to
ourselves, to our posterity, and to all men of the world who wish to dwell on
argentine soil: invoking the protection of God, source of all reason and
justice: do ordain, decree, and establish this Constitution for the Argentine
Nation.
[Part I] First Part
Chapter I Declarations, Rights, and Guarantees
Section 1 []
The Argentine Nation adopts the federal republican representative form of
government, as this Constitution establishes.
Section 2 []
The Federal Government supports the Roman Catholic Apostolic religion.
Section 3 []
The authorities in charrge of the Federal Government shall reside in the city
to be declared Capital of the Republic by a special law of Congress, once
settled the cession of the territory to be federalized by one or more
provincial legislatures.
Section 4 []
The Federal Government provides for the expenditures of the Nation with the
funds of the National Treasury, composed of the proceeds of export and import
duties, the sale or lease of lands owned by the Nation, the revenues of the
Posts, other taxes equitably and proportionally levied on the population by the
National Congress, and of whatever loans and credit transactions Congress may
order in case of national emergencies or for enterprises of national interest.
Section 5 []
Each province shall enact its own constitution under the republican,
representative system, in accordance with the principles, declarations, and
guarantees of the National Constitution, ensuring its administration of
justice, municipal regime, and elementary education. Under these conditions,
the Federal Government shall guarantee each province the full exercise of its
institutions.
Section 6 []
The Federal Government may intervene in the territory of the provinces in order
to guarantee the republican form of government or to repel foreign invasions;
and at the request of their constituted authorities, it may intervene to
support or reestablish them, should they have been deposed by sedition or
invasion from another province.
Section 7 []
The public acts and judicial proceedings of one province are worthy of full
faith in the others; and Congress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner
in which such acts and proceedings shall be proved and the legal effects
thereof.
Section 8 []
The citizens of each province shall be entitled to all rights, privileges, and
immunities inherent in the condition of citizen in the other provinces. The
extradition of criminals is a reciprocal obligation among all the provinces.
Section 9 []
Throughout the territory of the Nation there shall be no other Customs than the
national ones, in which the tariffs enacted by Congress shall be in force.
Section 10 []
The circulation of goods of national production or manufacture is free from
duties throughout the Republic, as well as the circulation of articles and
merchandise of all kinds cleared in the national Customs.
Section 11 []
Goods of national or foreign production or manufacture, as well as livestock of
all kinds, that may pass through the territory of one province to another,
shall be free from the so called transit duties, the same as the carriages,
vessels or beasts in or on which they are transported; and no other duty,
whatever its name may be, shall be imposed on them by reason of their passing
through the territory.
Section 12 []
Vessels sailing from one province to another shall not be bound to enter,
anchor, or pay transit duties; and no preference shall be granted in any case
to any port in respect of another, by means of trading laws or regulations.
Section 13 []
New provinces may be admitted into the Nation; but a new province shall
neither be established within the territory of another province or provinces,
nor be formed from several, without the consent of the legislatures of the
provinces concerned as well as that of Congress.
Section 14 []
All the inhabitants of the Nation are entitled to the following rights, in
accordance with the laws that regulate their exercise, namely: to work and
perform any lawful industry; to navigate and trade; to petition the
authorities; to enter, remain in, travel through, and leave the Argentine
territory; to publish their ideas through the press without previous
censorship; to make use and dispose of their property; to associate for
useful purposes; to profess freely their religion; to teach and to learn.
Section 14bis []
(1) Labor in its several forms shall be protected by law, which shall ensure to
workers: dignified and equitable working conditions; limited working hours;
paid rest and vacations; fair remuneration; minimum vital and adjustable
wage; equal pay for equal work; participation in the profits of
enterprises, with control of production and collaboration in the management;
protection against arbitrary dismissal; stability of the civil servant;
free and democratic labor unionn organizations recognized by the mere
registration in a special record.
(2) Trade unionns are hereby guaranteed: the right to enter into collective
labor bargains; to resort to conciliation and arbitration; the right to
strike. unionn representatives shall have the guarantees necessary for
carrying out their unionn tasks and those related to the stability of their
employment.
(3) The State shall grant the benefits of social security, which shall be of an
integral nature and may not be waived. In particular, the laws shall establish:
compulsory social insurance, which shall be in charrge of national or
provincial entities with financial and economic autonomy, administered by the
interested parties with State participation, with no overlapping of
contributions; adjustable retirements and pensions; full family protection;
protection of homestead; family allowances and access to a worthy housing.
Section 15 []
In the Argentine Nation there are no slaves: the few who still exist shall
become free as from the swearing of his Constitution; and a special law shall
regulate whatever compensation this declaration may give rise to. Any contract
for the purchase and sale of persons is a crime for which the parties shall be
liable, as well as the notary or officer authorizing it. And slaves who by any
means enter the nation shall be free by the mere fact of entering the territory
of the Republic.
Section 16 []
The Argentine Nation admits neither blood nor birth prerogatives: there are
neither personal privileges nor titles of nobility. All its inhabitants are
equal before the law, and admissible to employment without any other
requirement than their ability. Equality is the basis of taxation and public
burdens.
Section 17 []
Property may not be violated, and no inhabitant of the Nation can be deprived
of it except by virtue of a sentence based on law. Expropriation for reasons of
public interest must be authorized by law and previously compensated. Only
Congress levies the taxes mentioned in Section 4. No personal service can be
requested except by virtue of a law or sentence based on law. Every author or
inventor is the exclusive owner of his work, invention, or discovery for the
term granted by law. The confiscation of property is hereby abolished forever
from the Argentine Criminal Code. No armed body may make requisitions nor
demand assistance of any kind.
Section 18 []
No inhabitant of the Nation may be punished without previous trial based on a
law enacted before the act that gives rise to the process, nor tried by special
committees, nor removed from the judges appointed by law before the act for
which he is tried. Nobody may be compelled to testify against himself, nor be
arrested except by virtue of a written warrant issued by a competent authority.
The defense by trial of persons and rights may not be violated. The domicile
may not be violated, as well as the written correspondence and private papers;
and a law shall determine in which cases and for what reasons their search
and occupation shall be allowed. Death penalty for political causes, any kind
of tortures and whipping, are forever abolished. The prisons of the Nation
shall be healthy and clean, for the security and not for the punishment of the
prisoners confined therein; and any measure taken with the pretext of
precaution which may lead to mortify them beyond the demands of security, shall
render liable the judge who authorizes it.
Section 19 []
The private actions of men which in no way offend public order or morality, nor
injure a third party, are only reserved to God and are exempted from the
authority of judges. No inhabitant of the Nation shall be obliged to perform
what the law does not demand nor deprived of what it does not prohibit.
Section 20 []
Foreigners enjoy within the territory of the Nation all the civil rights of
citizens; they may exercise their industry, trade and profession; own real
property, buy and sell it; navigate the rivers and coasts; practice freely
their religion; make wills and marry under the laws. They are not obliged to
accept citizenship nor to pay extraordinary compulsory taxes. They may obtain
naturalization papers residing two uninterrupted years in the Nation; but the
authorities may shorten this term in favor of those so requesting it, alleging
and proving services rendered to the Republic.
Section 21 []
Every Argentine citizen is obliged to bear arms in defense of the fatherland
and of this Constitution, in accordance with the laws issued by Congress and
the Decrees of the National execcutive Power to this effect. Citizens by
naturalization are free to render or not this service for a period of ten years
as from the date they obtain naturalization papers.
Section 22 []
The people neither deliberate nor govern except through their representatives
and authorities established by this Constitution. Any armed force or meeting of
persons assuming the rights of the people and petitioning in their name,
commits the crime of sedition.
Section 23 []
In the event of domestic disorder or foreign attack endangering the full
enforcement of this Constitution and of the authorities hereby established, the
province or territory which is in a turmoil shall be declared in state of siege
and the constitutional guarantees shall be suspended therein. But during such a
suspension the President of the Republic shall not pronounce judgment or apply
penalties on his own. In such case, his power shall be limited, with respect to
persons, to their arrest or transfer from one place of the Nation to another,
should they not prefer to leave the Argentine territory.
Section 24 []
Congress shall promote the reform of the present legislation in all its
branches, and the establishment of trial by jury.
Section 25 []
The Federal Government shall foster European immigration; and may not
restrict, limit or burden with any tax whatsoever, the entry into the Argentine
territory of foreigners who arrive for the purpose of tilling the soil,
improving industries, and introducing and teaching arts and sciences.
Section 26 []
Navigation of the inland rivers of the Nation is free for all flags, only
subject to the regulations issued by the national authority.
Section 27 []
The Federal Government is under the obligation to strengthen its relationships
of peace and trade with foreign powers, by means of treaties in accordance with
the principles of public law laid down by this Constitution.
Section 28 []
The principles, guarantees and rights recognized in the preceding sections
shall not be modified by the laws that regulate their enforcement.
Section 29 []
Congress may not vest on the National execcutive Power - nor may the
provincial legislatures vest on the provincial governors - extraordinary powers
or the total public authority; it may not grant acts of submission or
supremacy whereby the life, honor, or wealth of the Argentine people will be at
the mercy of governments or any person whatsoever. Acts of this nature shall be
utterly void, and shall render those who formulate them, consent to them or
sign them, liable to be condemned as infamous traitors to their fatherland.
Section 30 []
The Constitution may be totally or partially amended. The necessity of reform
must be declared by Congress with the vote of at least two-thirds of the
members; but it shall not be carried out except by an Assembly summoned to
that effect.
Section 31 []
This Constitution, the laws of the Nation enacted by Congress in pursuance
thereof, and treaties with foreign powers, are the supreme law of the Nation;
and the authorities of each province are bound thereby, notwithstanding any
provision to the contrary included in the provincial laws or constitutions,
except for the province of Buenos Aires, the treaties ratified after the Pact
of November 11, 1859.
Section 32 []
The Federal Congress shall not enact laws restricting the freedom of printing
or establishing federal jurisdiction over it.
Section 33 []
The declarations, rights and guarantees which the Constitution enumerates shall
not be construed as a denial of other rights and guarantees not enumerated, but
rising from the principle of sovereignty of the people and from the republican
form of government.
Section 34 []
The judges of the federal courts cannot at the same time hold an office in the
provincial courts. The federal service, whether civil or military, shall not
grant a right of residence in the province in which it is performed unless it
is where the employee habitually resides, this provision being understood as
pertaining to the right to choose employments in the province in which he
accidentally happens to be.
Section 35 []
The denominations successively adopted from 1810 up to the present, namely:
"United Provinces of the River Plate"; "Argentine Republic"; "Argentine
Confederation", shall henceforth be official names to be indistinctly used for
the designation of the government and territory of the provinces, the words
"Argentine Nation" being used in the making and enactment of laws.
Chapter II New Rights and Guarantees
Section 36 []
(1) This Constitution shall rule even when its observance is interrupted by
acts of force against the institutional order and the democratic system. These
acts shall be irreparably null.
(2) Their authors shall be punished with the penalty foreseen in Section 29,
disqualified in perpetuity from holding public offices and excluded from the
benefits of pardon and commutation of sentences.
(3) Those who, as a consequence of these acts, were to assume the powers
foreseen for the authorities of this Constitution or for those of the
provinces, shall be punished with the same penalties and shall be civil and
criminally liable for their acts. The respective actions shall not be subject
to prescripttion.
(4) All citizens shall have the right to oppose resistance to those committing
the acts of force stated in this section.
(5) He who, procuring personal enrichment, incurs in serious fraudulent offense
against the Nation shall also attempt against the democratic system, and shall
be disqualified to hold public office for the term specified by law.
(6) Congress shall enact a law on public ethics which shall rule the exercise
of public office.
Section 37 []
(1) This Constitution guarantees the full exercise of political rights, in
accordance with the principle of popular sovereignty and with the laws derived
therefrom. Suffrage shall be universal, equal, secret and compulsory.
(2) Actual equality of opportunities for men and women to elective and
political party positions shall be guaranteed by means of positive actions in
the regulation of political parties and in the electoral system.
Section 38 []
(1) Political parties are basic institutions of the democratic system.
(2) This Constitution guarantees the free establishment and exercise of their
activities, as well as their democratic organization and performance,
representation of minority groups, competition for those standing as candidates
for elective public positions, access to public information and communication
of their ideas.
(3) The State contributes to the economic support of their activities and the
training of their leaders.
(4) Political parties shall make public the source and destiny of their funds
and assets.
Section 39 []
(1) Citizens shall have the right to introduce bills before the House of
Deputies. Congress shall consider them within the term of twelve months.
(2) Congress shall enact, with the vote of the absolute majority of all the
members of each House, a regulatory law that cannot demand more than three per
cent of the national voters register, which shall be consistent with an
adequate territorial distribution in order to support the initiative.
(3) Bills referring to constitutional reform, international treaties, taxation,
budget, and criminal legislation shall not originate in popular initiatives.
Section 40 []
(1) At the initiative of the House of Deputies, Congress may submit a bill to
popular consultation. The law calling said consultation shall not be vetoed.
With the affirmative vote of the people of the Nation, the bill shall become a
law and its promulgation shall be automatic.
(2) Congress or the President of the Nation, according to their respective
powers, shall call a non-binding popular consultation. In this case voting
shall not be compulsory.
(3) With the vote of the absolute majority of all the members of each House,
Congress shall regulate the subjects, procedures and time of the popular
consultation.
Section 41 []
(1) All inhabitants are entitled to the right to a healthy and balanced
environment fit for human development in order that productive activities shall
meet present needs without endangering those of future generations; and shall
have the duty to preserve it. As a first priority, environmental damage shall
bring about the obligation to repair it according to law.
(2) The authorities shall provide for the protection of this right, the
rational use of natural resources, the preservation of the natural and cultural
heritage and of the biological diversity, and shall also provide for
environmental information and education.
(3) The Nation shall regulate the minimum protection standards, and the
provinces those necessary to reinforce them, without altering their local
jurisdictions.
(4) The entry into the national territory of present or potential dangerous
wastes, and of radioactive ones, is forbidden.
Section 42 []
(1) As regards consumption, consumers and users of goods and services have the
right to the protection of their health, safety, and economic interests; to
adequate and truthful information; to freedom of choice and equitable and
reliable treatment.
(2) The authorities shall provide for the protection of said rights, the
education for consumption, the defense of competition against any kind of
market distortions, the control of natural and legal monopolies, the control of
quality and efficiency of public utilities, and the creation of consumer and
user associations.
(3) Legislation shall establish efficient procedures for conflict prevention
and settlement, as well as regulations for national public utilities. Such
legislation shall take into account the necessary participation of consumer and
user associations and of the interested provinces in the control entities.
Section 43 []
(1) Any person shall file a prompt and summary proceeding regarding
constitutional guarantees, provided there is no other legal remedy, against any
act or omission of the public authorities or individuals which currently or
imminently may damage, limit, modify or threaten rights and guarantees
recognized by this Constitution, treaties or laws, with open arbitrariness or
illegality. In such case, the judge may declare that the act or omission is
based on an unconstitutional rule.
(2) This summary proceeding against any form of discrimination and about rights
protecting the environment, competition, users and consumers, as well as about
rights of general public interest, shall be filed by the damaged party, the
ombudsman and the associations which foster such ends registered according to a
law determining their requirements and organization forms.
(3) Any person shall file this action to obtain information on the data about
himself and their purpose, registered in public records or data bases, or in
private ones intended to supply information; and in case of false data or
discrimination, this action may be filed to request the suppression,
rectification, confidentiality or updating of said data. The secret nature of
the sources of journalistic information shall not be impaired.
(4) When the right damaged, limited, modified, or threatened affects physical
liberty, or in case of an illegitimate worsening of procedures or conditions of
detention, or of forced missing of persons, the action of habeas corpus shall
be filed by the party concerned or by any other person on his behalf, and the
judge shall immediately make a decision even under state of siege.
[Part II] Second Part Authorities of the Nation
Title I Federal Government
First Division: Legislative Power
[Chapter 0 General Provision]
Section 44 [Legislative Power]
The Legislative Power of the Nation shall be vested in a Congress composed of
two Houses, one of Deputies of the Nation and the other of Senators for the
provinces and for the City of Buenos Aires.
Chapter I The House of Deputies
Section 45 []
The House of Deputies shall be composed of representatives directly elected by
the people of the provinces, of the City of Buenos Aires, and of the Capital
City in case of its moving, which for this purpose are considered as
constituencies of a single state, and by simple plurality of votes. The number
of representatives shall be one for every thirty-three thousand inhabitants or
fraction not under sixteen thousand five hundred inhabitants. After each
census, Congress shall establish the representation in accordance with the
same, being empowered to increase but not to decrease the basis indicated for
each deputy.
Section 46 []
The deputies for the first legislative session shall be appointed in the
following proportion: for the province of Buenos Aires, twelve; for that of
Còrdoba, six; for that of Catamarca, three; for that of Corrientes, four;
for that of Entre Ríos, two; for that of Jujuy, two; for that of Mendoza,
three; for that of La Rioja, two; for that of Salta, three; for that of
Santiago, four; for that of San Juan, two; for that of Santa Fe, two; for
that of San Luis, two; and for that of Tucumán, three.
Section 47 []
For the second legislative session a general census shall be carried out and
the number of deputies shall be arranged according thereto; but this census
shall only be renewed every ten years.
Section 48 []
In order to be a deputy it is necessary to have attained to the age of 25
years; to have been four years a fully qualified citizen; and to be a
native of the province electing him or to have two years of immediate residence
therein.
Section 49 []
On this occasion, the Legislatures of the provinces shall regulate the means to
hold the direct election of the deputies of the Nation; in the future,
Congress shall enact a general law.
Section 50 []
Deputies shall hold office for a term of four years and may be re-elected;
but the House shall be renewed by halves every two years; for this purpose
those elected for the first legislative session, after meeting, shall draw lots
to decide those who shall leave after the first period.
Section 51 []
In case of vacancy, the Government of the province or of the Capital City shall
proceed to call a legal election for a new member.
Section 52 []
All bills for raising revenue and for the recruitment of troops shall
exclusively originate in the House of Deputies.
Section 53 []
Only the House of Deputies has the power to impeach before the Senate the
President, the Vice-President, the Chief of the Ministerial Cabinet, the
Ministers, and the Justices of the Supreme Court, in such cases of
responsibility as are brought against them for misconduct or crimes committed
in the fulfillment of their duties; or for ordinary crimes, after havingg
known about them and after the decision to bring an action had been voted by a
majority of two-thirds of its members present.
Chapter II The Senate
Section 54 []
The Senate shall be composed of three senators for each province, and three for
the City of Buenos Aires, jointly and directly elected, corresponding two seats
to the political party obtaining the majority of votes, and the other seat to
the political party following in number of votes. Each senator shall have one
vote.
Section 55 []
In order to be elected senator the following conditions are required: to have
attained to the age of 30 years, to have been six years a citizen of the
Nation, to have an annual income of two thousand strong pesos or similar
revenues, and to be a native of the province electing him or to have two years
of immediate residence therein.
Section 56 []
Senators shall hold office for a term of six years and may be indefinitely
re-elected; but the Senate shall be renewed by one-third of the
constituencies every two years.
Section 57 []
The Vice-President of the Nation shall be President of the Senate; but he
shall have no vote unless in case of equality of votes.
Section 58 []
The Senate shall appoint a President pro tempore to preside it in case of
absence of the Vice-President, or when he holds the office of President of the
Nation.
Section 59 []
The Senate is empowered to judge in public trial those impeached by the House
of Deputies, its members being on oath for the case. When the President of the
Nation is impeached, the Senate shall be presided by the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court. No person shall be declared guilty without the majority of
two-thirds of the members present.
Section 60 []
The judgment shall not extend further than to remove the accused person from
office, and to disqualify him to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit in
the Nation. But the party declared guilty shall, nevertheless, be subject to
accusation, trial, and punishment according to law before the ordinary courts.
Section 61 []
In case of foreign attack, the Senate is also empowered to authorize the
President of the Nation to declare in state of siege one or several places of
the Republic.
Section 62 []
When any vacancy occurs in the Senate because of death, resignation or other
cause, the government to which the vacancy belongs shall immediately call an
election for a new member.
Chapter III Povisions applicable to both Houses
Section 63 []
Both Houses shall assemble, on their own account, every year in ordinary
legislative session from March 1 until November 30. The President of the Nation
may convoke to extraordinary legislative session or extend the ordinary one.
Section 64 []
Each House shall be the judge of the elections, rights and qualifications of
its members, as regards their validity. Neither of them shall meet without the
absolute majority of its members; but a smaller number may compel the absent
members to attend the meetings, in the terms and under the penalties as each
House may provide.
Section 65 []
Both Houses begin and conclude their legislative session simultaneously.
Neither of them, while they sit, shall adjourn its meetings for more than three
days without the consent of the other.
Section 66 []
Each House shall make its rules of proceedings, and with the concurrence of
two-thirds may correct any one of its members for disorderly behavior in the
exercise of his duties, or can remove him on account of physical or moral
disability occurring after his admission, and may even expel him from the body;
but a majority of one more than the half of those present shall be enough to
decide on voluntary resignations from office.
Section 67 []
Senators and deputies, on assuming office, shall take an oath to duly perform
their duties and to act in all matters in accordance with the provisions herein
established.
Section 68 []
No member of Congress shall be accused, judicially examined, or disturbed for
opinions expressed or speeches delivered by him while holding office as
legislator.
Section 69 []
No senator or deputy shall be arrested as from the day of his election until
the expiration of his term, except when flagrantly surprised committing a crime
deserving capital punishment or other infamous or serious punishment, in which
case a summary report of the facts shall be submitted the corresponding House.
Section 70 []
When a written complaint is filed before the ordinary courts against any
senator or deputy, once examined if there is enough evidence in a public trial,
each House may, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the votes, suspend the
accused party from his office and place him under the jurisdiction of the
competent court to be judged.
Section 71 []
Either House shall summon the Ministers of the execcutive Power to receive
such explanations or reports as it may deem necessary.
Section 72 []
No member of Congress shall be appointed to any civil office or commission
under the execcutive Power, without the previous consent of the respective
House, except for employments subject to promotions.
Section 73 []
Neither the regular members of the clergy nor governors in representation of
their own provinces, may be members of Congress.
Section 74 []
The senators and deputies shall receive a remuneration for their services, to
be ascertained by law, and paid out of the Treasury of the Nation.
Chapter VI Powers of Congress
Section 75 []
Congress is empowered:
1. To legislate about national Customs. To lay import and export duties that
shall be uniform throughout the Nation as well as the valuations on which they
are assessed.
2. To levy indirect taxes as a power concurrent with the provinces. To levy
direct taxes for a specified term and proportionally equal throughout the
national territory, provided that the defense, common security and general
welfare of the State so require it. The taxes under this subsection are subject
to joint participation, except for those which, in part or in all, have
specific allocation.
An agreement-law based on understandings between the Nation and the provinces
shall establish systems of joint participation for these taxes, guaranteeing
the automatic remittance of funds.
The distribution among the Nation, the provinces and the City of Buenos Aires,
and among themselves, shall be carried out in direct relation to the
jurisdictions, services and functions of each one of them taking into account
objecttive sharing criteria; it shall be based on principles of equity and
solidarity giving priority to the achievement of a similar degree of
development, of living standards and equal opportunities throughout the
national territory.
The agreement-law shall originate in the Senate and shall be enacted with the
absolute majority of all the members of each House; it shall be neither
unilaterally amended nor regulated, and shall be approved by the provinces.
There shall be no transfer of jurisdictions, services or functions without the
corresponding reallocation of funds approved by a law of Congress, when
appropriate, and by the interested province or the City of Buenos Aires, as the
case may be.
A federal fiscal body shall be in charrge of the control and monitoring of
what is laid down in this subsection, according to the law which shall
guarantee the representation of all the provinces and of the City of Buenos
Aires as regards its composition.
3. To set and modify specific allocations that may be subject to joint
participation, for a specified term, by a special law enacted with the absolute
majority of all the members of each House.
4. To borrow money on the credit of the Nation.
5. To decide about the use and sale of national lands.
6. To establish and regulate a Federal bank with power to issue money, as well
as other national banks.
7. To settle the payment of the domestic and foreign debt of the Nation.
8. To fix annually, according to the standards laid down in the third paragraph
of subsection 2 of this Section, the general budget of expenses and the
estimate of resources of the National Administration, based on the general
program of the government and on the public investment plan, and to approve or
reject the investment account.
9. To grant subsidies from the National Treasury to those provinces the incomes
of which, according to their budgets, do not cover their ordinary expenses.
10. To regulate the free navigation of inland rivers, to authorize the
operation of such ports as it shall consider necessary, and to set up or
suppress Customs.
11. To coin money, to regulate the value thereof and that of foreign currency;
and to adopt a uniform standard of weights and measures for the whole
Nation.
12. To enact the Civil, Commercial, Criminal, Mining, Labor and Social Security
Codes, in unified or separate bodies, provided that such codes do not alter
local jurisdictions, and their enforcement shall correspond to the federal or
provincial courts depending on the respective jurisdictions for persons or
things; and particularly to enact general laws of naturalization and
nationality for the whole nation, based on the principle of nationality by
birth or by option for the benefit of Argentina; as well as laws on
bankruptcy, counterfeiting of currency and public documents of the State, and
those laws that may be required to establish trial by jury.
13. To regulate trade with foreign nations, and of the provinces among
themselves.
14. To regulate and establish the general post offices of the Nation.
15. To settle definitely the boundaries of the national territory, to fix those
of the provinces, to createe new ones, and to determine, by special
legislation, the organization, administration and government that the national
territories outside the boundaries assigned to the provinces are to have.
16. To provide for the security of the frontiers.
17. To recognize the ethnic and cultural pre-existence of indigenous peoples of
Argentina. To guarantee respect for the identity and the right to bilingual
and intercultural education; to recognize the legal capacity of their
communities, and the community possession and ownership of the lands they
traditionally occupy; and to regulate the granting of other lands adequate
and sufficient for human development; none of them shall be sold, transmitted
or subject to liens or attachments. To guarantee their participation in issues
related to their natural resources and in other interests affecting them. The
provinces may jointly exercise these powers.
18. To provide for the prosperity of the country, for the advance and welfare
of all the provinces, and for the progress of education, drawing up general and
university educational plans, and promoting industry, immigration, the
construction of railways and navigable canals, the colonization of government-
owned lands, the introduction and establishment of new industries, the imports
of foreign capital, and the exploration of inland rivers, through laws
protecting these aims and through temporary grants of privileges and
stimulating rewards.
19. To provide everything relevant to human development, economic progress with
social justice, the growth of the national economy, the creation of jobs, the
professional training of workers, the defense of the currency value, the
scientific and technological research and development, their overall diffusion
and beneficial use.
To provide for the harmonious growth of the Nation and the settlement of its
territory; to promote differential policies in order to balance the relative
unequal development of provinces and regions. These initiatives shall originate
in the Senate.
To enact laws referring to the organization and basis of education
consolidating national unity and respecting provincial and local
charracteristics; which ensure the state responsibility that cannot be
delegated, family and society participation, the fostering of democratic values
and equal opportunities and possibilities with no discrimination whatsoever;
and which guarantee the principles of free and equitable State public education
as well as the autonomy and autarky of national universities.
To enact laws protecting the cultural identity and plurality, the free creation
and circulation of artistic works of authors, the artistic heritage and places
devoted to cultural and audiovisual activities.
20. To establish courts inferior to the Supreme Court; to createe and
suppress employments, to fix the duties thereof, to grant pensions, to decree
honors and to grant general amnesties.
21. To accept or reject the reasons for the resignation of the President or
Vice-President of the Republic, and declare the need to call a new election
when required.
22. To approve or reject treaties concluded with other nations and
international organizations, and concordats with the Holy See. Treaties and
concordats have a higher hierarchy than laws.
The American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man; the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights; the American Convention on Human Rights; the
International Pact on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the International
Pact on Civil and Political Rights and its empowering Protocol; the
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide; the International
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination; the
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Woman;
the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatments
or Punishments; the Convention on the Rights of the Child; in the full
force of their provisions, they have constitutional hierarchy, do no repeal any
section of the First Part of this Constitution and are to be understood as
complementing the rights and guarantees recognized herein. They shall only be
denounced, in such event, by the National execcutive Power after the approval
of two-thirds of all the members of each House.
In order to attain constitutional hierarchy, the other treaties and conventions
on human rights shall require the vote of two-thirds of all the members of each
House, after their approval by Congress.
23. To legislate and promote positive measures guaranteeing true equal
opportunities and treatment, the full benefit and exercise of the rights
recognized by this Constitution and by the international treaties on human
rights in force, particularly referring to children, women, the aged, and
disabled persons.
To issue a special and integral social security system to protect children from
abandonment, since pregnancy up to the end of elementary education, and to
protect the mother during pregnancy and the period of lactation.
24. To approve treaties of integration which delegate powers and jurisdiction
to supranational organizations under reciprocal and equal conditions, and which
respect the democratic order and human rights. The rules derived therefrom have
a higher hierarchy than laws.
The approval of these treaties with Latin American States shall require the
absolute majority of all the members of each House. In the case of treaties
with other States, the National Congress, with the absolute majority of the
members present of each House, shall declare the advisability of the approval
of the treaty which shall only be approved with the vote of the absolute
majority of all the members of each House, one hundred and twenty days after
said declaration of advisability.
The denouncement of the treaties referred to in this subsection shall require
the prior approval of the absolute majority of all the members of each House.
25. To authorize the execcutive Power to declare war or make peace.
26. To empower the execcutive Power to order reprisals and to make rules
concerning the booty.
27. To establish the Armed Forces in times of peace and war; and to make
rules for their organization and government.
28. To authorize the entry of foreign troops into the territory of the Nation
and to allow national troops to leave the country.
29. To declare in state of siege one or several parts of the Nation in case of
domestic commotion, and to approve or suspend the state of siege declared by
the execcutive Power during a recess of Congress.
30. To exercise exclusive legislation over the territory of the Capital City of
the Nation and to enact the legislation necessary for the achievement of the
specific ends of premises of national interest in the territory of the
Republic. Provincial and municipal authorities shall hold power to levy taxes
and power of police over these premises, insofar as they do not interfere with
the achievement of those ends.
31. To order the federal intervention of a province or of the City of Buenos
Aires.
To approve or revoke the intervention decreed by the execcutive Power during
its recess.
32. To make all appropriate laws and rules to put into effect the
aforementioned powers, and all other powers granted by this Constitution to the
Government of the Argentine Nation.
Section 76 []
(1) The legislative powers shall not be delegated to the execcutive Power save
for issues concerning administration and public emergency, with a specified
term for their exercise and according to the delegating conditions established
by Congress.
(2) The expiration of the term foreseen in the previous paragraph shall not
imply the revision of the legal relationships emerging from the rules issued as
a result of the powers delegated by Congress.
Chapter V Making and enactment of laws
Section 77 []
(1) Laws shall originate in either House of Congress, through bills introduced
by their members or by the execcutive Power, save for the exceptions
established in this Constitution.
(2) Bills modifying the electoral system and that of political parties shall be
approved by the absolute majority of all the members of the Houses.
Section 78 []
When a bill is passed by the House in which it originated, it is sent to the
other House for its debate. Once approved by both, it is sent to the
execcutive Power of the Nation for its examination; and if it is also
approved, it shall become a law.
Section 79 []
After the general approval of a bill, each House is empowered to delegate to
its committees the detailed approval of said bill with the vote of the absolute
majority of all its members. With equal number of votes, the House may revoke
the powers delegated and return to the ordinary procedure. The committee
approval shall require the vote of the absolute majority of all its members.
Once the bill is approved by the committee, the ordinary procedures shall be
followed.
Section 80 []
Any bill not returned within ten working days is to be considered approved by
the execcutive Power. When a bill is partially rejected, the remaining part
shall not be approved. However, non-vetoed parts may only be promulgated if
they have normative autonomy and if their partial approval does not alter the
spirit or the unity of the bill approved by Congress. In this case, the
procedure foreseen for decrees of necessity and urgency shall be applicable.
Section 81 []
No bill wholly rejected by either House shall be reintroduced in the
legislative session of the same year. No House shall totally reject a bill
originated in it and later added or amended by the revising House. If the bill
were subject to additions and amendments by the revising House, the result of
the voting shall be made known in order to state if such additions or
amendments were made by the absolute majority or by two-thirds of the members
present. With the absolute majority of its members present, the originating
House shall approve the bill with the additions or amendments made or insist on
the original text, unless the additions or amendments were made by the revising
House with two-thirds of those members present. In such a case, the bill shall
be sent to the execcutive Power with the additions or amendments of the
revising House, unless the originating House were to insist on the original
text with the vote of two-thirds of the members present. The originating House
shall not include new additions or amendments to those already made by the
revising House.
Section 82 []
The will of each House shall be expressly stated; the tacit or fictitious
approval is excluded in all cases.
Section 83 []
If a bill is totally or partially rejected by the execcutive Power, it shall
return with the objecttions to the originating House; the latter shall
reconsider it and if it is confirmed by a majority of two-thirds of the votes,
it shall be sent again to the revising House. If both Houses approve it by such
majority, the bill becomes a law and is sent to the execcutive Power for
promulgation. In all such cases the voting in both Houses shall be by roll
call, by yeas and nays; and both the names and grounds of the voters, as well
as the objecttions of the execcutive Power shall be immediately published by
the press. If the Houses differ as to the objecttions, the bill cannot be
reintroduced in the legislative session of that year.
Section 84 []
In the enactment of laws the following formula shall be used: The Senate and
House of Deputies of the Argentine Nation, in Congress assembled, decree or
enact as law.
Chapter VI General Auditing Office of the Nation
Section 85 []
(1) The Legislative Power is exclusively empowered to exercise the external
control of the national civil service as regards its estates and its economic,
financial and operative aspects.
(2) The revision and opinion of the Legislative Power about the performance and
the general situation of the national civil service are to be based on the
reports of the General Auditing Office of the Nation.
(3) This technical advisory body of Congress with functional autonomy, shall be
made up as established by the law regulating its creation and operation, which
shall be approved by the absolute majority of the members of each House. The
chairman of the body shall be appointed under the proposal of the Opposition
with the largest number of legislators in Congress.
(4) It shall be in charrge of the control of the legal aspects, management and
auditing of all the activities of the centralized and decentralized civil
service, whatever its forms of organization may be, as well as of other powers
granted by law. It must take part in the approval or rejection of the revenue
and investment accounts of public funds.
Chapter VII The Ombudsman
Section 86 []
(1) The Ombudsman is an independent body createed within the sphere of the
National Congress operating with full autonomy without receiving instructions
from any authority. The mission of the Ombudsman is the defense and protection
of human rights and other rights, guarantees and interests sheltered under this
Constitution and the laws, in the face of deeds, acts or omissions of the
Administration; as well as the control of public administrative functions.
(2) The Ombudsman has capacity to be a party in a lawsuit. He is appointed and
removed by Congress with the vote of two-thirds of the members present of each
House. He has the immunities and privileges of legislators. He shall hold
office for the term of five years and may only be re-appointed on one occasion.
(3) The organization and operation of this body shall be ruled by a special
law.
Second Division: execcutive Power
Chapter I Its nature and duration
Section 87 []
The execcutive Power of the Nation shall be vested in a citizen with the title
of "President of the Argentine Nation".
Section 88 []
In case of illness, absence from the Capital City, death, resignation, or
removal of the President from office, the execcutive Power shall devolve upon
the Vice- President of the Nation. In case of removal, death, resignation, or
inability of the President and the Vice- President of the Nation, Congress
shall determine the public officer who shall exercise the Presidency until the
ceasing of the grounds of inability or the election of a new President.
Section 89 []
To be elected President or Vice-President of the Nation it is necessary to have
been born in the Argentine territory, or to be the son of a native born citizen
if born in a foreign country; and to have the other qualifications required
to be elected senator.
Section 90 []
The President and Vice-President shall hold their offices for the term of four
years; and they may be re- elected or may succeed each other for only one
consecutive term. If they have been re-elected or they have succeeded each
other, they cannot be elected for either of these two positions but with the
interval of one term.
Section 91 []
The President of the Nation shall cease to exercise power on the same day his
four-years term expires; no event that may have interrupted it shall
constitute grounds for completing the term later.
Section 92 []
The President and Vice-President receive a remuneration paid out of the
Treasury of the Nation, which shall not be altered during their term of office.
During this same period they shall neither hold any other office nor receive
any other emolument from the Nation or from any province whatsoever.
Section 93 []
On assuming office, the President and Vice- President shall take oath before
the President of the Senate and before Congress assembled, respecting their
religious beliefs, to: "perform with loyalty and patriotism the office of
President (or Vice-President) of the Nation, and to faithfully observe the
Constitution of the Argentine Nation, and to cause it to be observed.
Chapter II Procedure and time of the election of President and
Vice-President of the Nation
Section 94 []
The President and Vice-President of the Nation shall be directly elected by the
people, by second ballot, according to this Constitution. To this end, the
national territory shall be a single constituency.
Section 95 []
The election shall be held within the two months previous to the expiration of
the term of the President in office.
Section 96 []
The second ballot, when appropriate, shall be held between the two voting
formulas of the most voted candidates, within thirty days of the previous
election.
Section 97 []
If in the first ballot the most voted formula obtains more than forty-five per
cent of the affirmative votes validly cast, its members shall be proclaimed
President and Vice-President of the Nation.
Section 98 []
If in the first ballot the most voted formula obtains at least forty per cent
of the affirmative votes validly cast, and there is a difference of more than
ten per cent regarding all the affirmative votes validly cast for the formula
following in number of votes, its members shall be proclaimed President and
Vice-President of the Nation.
Chapter III Powers of the execcutive Branch
Section 99 []
The President of the Nation has the following powers:
1. He is the supreme head of the Nation, head of the government and he is
politically responsible for the general administration of the country.
2. He issues the instructions and rules necessary for the enforcement of the
laws of the nation, without altering their spirit with regulatory exceptions.
3. He takes part in the making of laws according to the Constitution,
promulgates them and has them published.
The execcutive Power shall in no event issue provisions of legislative nature,
in which case they shall be absolutely and irreparably null and void.
Only when due to exceptional circumstances the ordinary procedures foreseen by
this Constitution for the enactment of laws are impossible to be followed, and
when rules are not referred to criminal issues, taxation, electoral matters, or
the system of political parties, he shall issue decrees on grounds of necessity
and urgency, which shall be decided by a general agreement of ministers who
shall countersign them together with the Chief of the Ministerial Cabinet.
Within the term of ten days, the Chief of the Ministerial Cabinet shall
personally submit the decision to the consideration of the Joint Standing
Committee of Congress, which shall be composed according to the proportion of
the political representation of the parties in each House. Within the term of
ten days, this committee shall submit its report to the plenary meeting of each
House for its specific consideration and it shall be immediately discussed by
both Houses. A special law enacted with the absolute majority of all the
members of each House shall regulate the procedure and scope of Congress
participation.
4. He appoints the justices of the Supreme Court with the consent of the Senate
by two-thirds of its members present, in a public meeting convoked to this
effect.
He appoints the other judges of the lower federal courts according to a binding
proposal consisting of a list of three candidates submitted by the Council of
Magistracy, with the consent of the Senate in a public meeting, in which the
qualifications of the candidates shall be taken into account.
Once they have attained to the age of seventy five years, a new appointment,
with the same consent, shall be necessary so that they may continue in office.
Judges of that age or over shall be appointed for five years, and may be
indefinitely re- appointed by this same procedure.
5. He may grant pardons or commute punishments for crimes subject to federal
jurisdiction, after the report of the corresponding court, except in cases of
impeachment by the House of Deputies.
6. He may grant pensions, retirements, leaves of absence, and widowed pensions
according to the laws of the Nation.
7. He appoints and removes ambassadors, ministers plenipotentiary and
commercial attaches with the consent of the Senate; on his own account, he
appoints and removes the Chief of the Ministerial Cabinet and the Ministers,
the officers of his Secretariat, consular agents, and other employees whose
appointments are not otherwise regulated by this Constitution.
8. He annually performs the opening of the legislative session of Congress,
both Houses being assembled for this purpose, reporting on this occasion on the
state of the Nation, on amendments promised by the Constitution, and
recommending for consideration the measures he deems necessary and advisable.
9. He extends the ordinary legislative session of Congress, or convokes to an
extraordinary one when some serious order or progress interest so requires it.
10. He oversees the performance of the duties of the Chief of the Ministerial
Cabinet as regards the collection of the revenues of the Nation, and their
investment according to the law or budget of national expenditures.
11. He concludes and signs treaties, concordats and other agreements required
for the maintenance of good relations with international organizations and
foreign powers, he receives their ministers and admits their consuls.
12. He is commander-in-chief of all the Armed Forces of the Nation.
13. He provides for the military posts of the Nation: with the consent of the
Senate, he grants posts or ranks for the higher officers of the Armed Forces;
and on his own account, he has the same faculties in the battlefield.
14. He has the control of the Armed Forces and is in charrge of their
organization and distribution, according to the needs of the Nation.
15. He declares war and orders reprisals with the consent and approval of
Congress.
16. In the event of foreign attack, he declares, with the consent of the
Senate, one or more places of the Nation in state of siege for a limited
period. In the event of domestic disorder, he only exerts this power when
Congress is in recess, since this is a power pertaining to this body. The
President exercises it under the limitations prescribed in Section 23.
17. He may request whatever information he may consider proper from the Chief
of the Ministerial Cabinet and from the heads of all branches and departments
of the Administration, and through them, from other employees. They are
compelled to supply such information.
18. He may leave the territory of the Nation with the consent of Congress.
During the recess of the latter, he may only do so without permission on
justified grounds of public interest.
19. He is empowered to fill vacancies requiring the consent of the Senate and
occurring during its recess, by means of appointments on commission expiring at
the end of the next legislative session.
20. He decrees the federal intervention of a province or of the City of Buenos
Aires in the event of the recess of Congress, and simultaneously he must
convoke the latter to consider such intervention.
Chapter IV The Chief of the Ministerial Cabinet and other Ministers of the
execcutive Power
Section 100 []
(1) The Chief of the Ministerial Cabinet and the other secretary ministers,
whose number and powers shall be determined by a special law, shall be in
charrge of the business of the Nation and shall countersign and legalize the
acts of the President with their signatures, which are essential to become
effective.
(2) The Chief of the Ministerial Cabinet, politically liable before the
National Congress, is empowered:
1. To exercise the general administration of the country.
2. To perform the acts and issue the rules necessary to exercise the powers
granted by this section as well as those delegated by the President of the
Nation, being countersigned by the pertinent secretary minister to which the
act or rule refers.
3. To appoint the employees of the Administration, except for those pertaining
to the President.
4. To exercise the functions and powers delegated to him by the President of
the Nation and, in cabinet agreement, to decide about matters that the
execcutive Power may indicate to him or, on his own account, about those he
deems it necessary due to their importance, within the scope of his
jurisdiction.
5. To coordinate, prepare and convoke the meetings of the ministerial cabinet,
presiding at them in the absence of the President.
6. To submit to Congress the bills on Ministries and National Budget, with
their prior consideration in cabinet agreement and their approval by the
execcutive Power.
7. To have the revenues of the Nation collected and to enforce the National
Budget Act.
8. To countersign regulatory decrees of the laws, decrees to extend the
ordinary legislative session of Congress or to convoke to an extraordinary one,
and the messages of the President supporting legislative initiatives.
9. To attend the meetings of Congress and take part in its debates, but not to
vote.
10. Once the ordinary legislative session of Congress has begun, to submit
together with the other ministers a detailed report on the state of the Nation
regarding the business of the respective departments.
11. To give such oral and written reports and explanations that either of the
Houses may request from the execcutive Power.
12. To countersign decrees about powers delegated by Congress, which shall be
under the control of the Joint Standing Committee.
13. To countersign, together with the other ministers, decrees of necessity and
urgency and decrees on partial promulgation of laws. Within ten days of their
approval, he shall personally submit these decrees to the consideration of the
Joint Standing Committee.
(3) The Chief of the Ministerial Cabinet shall not be simultaneously appointed
to another ministry.
Section 101 []
The Chief of the Ministerial Cabinet shall attend Congress at least once a
month, alternating between each House, to report on the progress of the
government, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 71. He may be
interpellated for the purpose of considering a vote of censure, by the vote of
the absolute majority of all the members of either House, and he may be removed
by the vote of the absolute majority of the members of each House.
Section 102 []
Each minister shall be responsible for the acts he legalizes; and shall be
jointly responsible for those he agrees on with his colleagues.
Section 103 []
Ministers shall in no case adopt resolutions on their own account, except in
relation to matters concerning the economic and administrative affairs of their
respective departments.
Section 104 []
After the opening of the legislative session, the ministers of the Cabinet
shall submit to Congress a detailed report on the state of the Nation regarding
the business of their respective departments.
Section 105 []
The ministers shall be neither senators nor deputies without resigning their
offices as ministers.
Section 106 []
Ministers may attend the meetings of Congress and take part in its debates, but
shall not vote.
Section 107 []
They shall receive for their services a remuneration established by law, which
shall neither be increased nor diminished in favor or to the detriment of the
incumbents.
Third Division: The Judicial Power
Chapter I Its nature and duration
Section 108 []
The Judicial Power of the Nation shall be vested in a Supreme Court and in such
lower courts as Congress may constitute in the territory of the Nation.
Section 109 []
In no case the President of the Nation shall exercise judicial functions,
assume jurisdiction over pending cases, or reopen those already adjudged.
Section 110 []
The Justices of the Supreme Court and the judges of the lower courts of the
Nation shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall receive for
their services a remuneration to be ascertained by law and which shall not be
diminished in any way while holding office.
Section 111 []
To be a member of the Supreme Court it is necessary to be a lawyer of the
Nation, with eight years of practice, and with the same qualifications required
to be a senator.
Section 112 []
On occasion of the first installation of the Supreme Court, the persons
designated shall take an oath before the President of the Nation, to perform
their duties, to administer justice in a proper and faithful manner, and in
accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. In the future, they shall
take the oath before the Chief Justice of the Court.
Section 113 []
The Supreme Court shall issue its own internal regulations, and appoint its
subordinate employees.
Section 114 []
(1) The Council of Magistracy, ruled by a special law enacted by the absolute
majority of all the members of each House, shall be in charrge of the
selecttion of the judges and of the administration of the Judicial Power.
(2) The Council shall be periodically constituted so as to achieve the balance
among the representation of the political bodies arising from popular election,
of the judges of all instances, and of the lawyers with federal registration.
It shall likewise be composed of such other scholars and scientists as
indicated by law in number and form.
(3) It is empowered:
1. To selectt the candidates to the lower courts by public competition.
2. To issue proposals in binding lists of three candidates for the appointment
of the judges of the lower courts.
3. To be in charrge of the resources and to administer the budget assigned by
law to the administration of justice.
4. To apply disciplinary measures to judges.
5. To decide the opening of the proceedings for the removal of judges, when
appropriate to order their suspension, and to make the pertinent accusation.
6. To issue the rules about the judicial organization and all those necessary
to ensure the independence of judges and the efficient administration of
justice.
Section 115 []
(1) The judges of the lower courts of the Nation shall be removed on the
grounds stated in Section 53, by a special jury composed of legislators,
judges, and lawyers with federal registration.
(2) The decision, which cannot be appealed, shall have no other effect than the
removal of the accused. But the condemned party shall nevertheless be subject
to accusation, trial, and punishment according to law before the ordinary
courts.
(3) If no decision was taken after the term of one hundred and eighty days
since the opening of the proceedings for removal, said proceedings are to be
filed and, in that event, the suspended judge shall be reinstated.
(4) The composition and procedure of this jury shall be stated in the special
law mentioned in Section 114.
Chapter II Powers of the Judiciary
Section 116 []
The Supreme Court and the lower courts of the Nation are empowered to hear and
decide all cases arising under the Constitution and the laws of the Nation,
with the exception made in Section 75, subsection 12, and under the treaties
made with foreign nations; all cases concerning ambassadors, public ministers
and foreign consuls; cases related to admiralty and maritime jurisdiction;
matters in which the Nation shall be a party; actions arising between two or
more provinces, between one province and the inhabitants of another province,
between the inhabitants of different provinces, and between one province or the
inhabitants thereof against a foreign state or citizen.
Section 117 []
In the aforementioned cases the Supreme Court shall have appellate
jurisdiction, with such regulations and exceptions as Congress may prescribe;
but in all matters concerning foreign ambassadors, ministers and consuls, and
in those in which a province shall be a party, the Court shall have original
and exclusive jurisdiction.
Section 118 []
The trial of all ordinary criminal cases not arising from the right to impeach
granted to the House of Deputies, shall be decided by jury once this
institution is established in the Nation. The trial shall be held in the
province where the crime has been committed; but when committed outside the
territory of the Nation against public international law, the trial shall be
held at such place as Congress may determine by a special law.
Section 119 []
Treason against the Nation shall only consist in rising in arms against it, or
in joining its enemies, supplying them with aid and assistance. Congress shall
by a special law determine the punishment for this crime; but the penalty
shall not extend beyond the person of the convicted, nor shall this dishonor be
transmitted to relatives of any degree.
Fourth Division: The Public Ministry
Section 120 []
(1) The Public Ministry is an independent body with functional autonomy and
financial autarky, with the function of promoting the participation of justice
for the defense of the legal charracter of the general interests of society,
in coordination with the other authorities of the Republic.
(2) It is composed of an Attorney General of the Nation and a General Defender
of the Nation, and such other members as the law may establish.
(3) Its members enjoy functional immunities and intangibility of remunerations.
Title II Provincial Governments
Section 121 []
The provinces reserve to themselves all the powers not delegated to the Federal
Government by this Constitution, as well as those powers expressly reserved to
themselves by special pacts at the time of their incorporation.
Section 122 []
They determine their own local institutions and are governed by them. They
elect their governors, legislators, and other provincial officers, without
intervention of the federal government.
Section 123 []
Each province enacts its own Constitution as stated in Section 5, ensuring
municipal autonomy and ruling its scope and content regarding the
institutional, political, administrative, economic and financial aspects.
Section 124 []
(1) The provinces are empowered to set up regions for the economic and social
development and to establish entities for the fulfillment of their purposes,
and they are also empowered, with the knowledge of Congress, to enter into
international agreements provided they are consistent with the national foreign
policy and do not affect the powers delegated to the Federal Government or the
public credit of the Nation. The City of Buenos Aires shall have the regime
which is to be established to that effect.
(2) The provinces have the original dominion over the natural resources
existing in their territory.
Section 125 []
(1) The provinces may enter into partial treaties for purposes of the
administration of justice, of economic interests, and works of common benefit,
with the knowledge of the Federal Congress; and may promote their industry,
immigration, the construction of railways and navigable canals, the
colonization of provincial-owned lands; the introduction and establishment of
new industries, the imports of foreign capitals and the exploration of their
rivers, by means of laws protecting these ends and with their own resources.
(2) The provinces and the City of Buenos Aires may continue with their own
social security entities for civil servants and professionals; and may
promote economic progress, human development, creation of jobs, education,
science, knowledge and culture.
Section 126 []
The provinces do not exercise the power delegated to the Nation. Provinces
shall in no case enter into any partial treaty of political nature; enact
laws dealing with commerce, inland or foreign navigation; establish
provincial Customs; coin money; establish banks with power to issue money
without authorization from the Federal Congress; enact civil, commercial,
criminal, or mining codes after Congress had enacted them; enact special laws
regarding citizenship and naturalization, bankruptcy, counterfeiting of
currency or State documents; lay any duty on tonnage; supply ships of war
or raise armies, except in the event of foreign invasion or in such imminent
danger that shall not admit a delay, notifying immediately to the Federal
Government; appoint or receive foreign agents.
Section 127 []
No province shall declare or make war against another province. Their claims
must be submitted to the Supreme Court and settled by it. Their de facto
hostilities are acts of civil war, considered as sedition or mutiny, which the
Federal Government must suppress and punish in accordance with the law.
Section 128 []
The governors of the provinces are the natural agents of the Federal Government
for the enforcement of the Constitution and the laws of the Nation.
Section 129 []
(1) The City of Buenos Aires shall have an autonomous system of government with
power of legislation and jurisdiction, and the head of its government shall be
directly elected by the people of the City.
(2) While the City of Buenos Aires is the Capital City of the Nation, a law
shall guarantee the interests of the National State.
(3) According to the aforementioned provisions of this section, the National
Congress shall convoke the inhabitants of the City of Buenos Aires so that the
representatives that are to be elected for that purpose issue the Organizing
Statute of their institutions.
[Part III] Temporary Provisions
[Section 1] First []
(1) The Argentine Nation ratifies its legitimate and non-prescribing
sovereignty over the Malvinas, Georgias del Sur and Sandwich del Sur Islands
and over the corresponding maritime and insular zones, as they are an integral
part of the National territory.
(2) The recovery of said territories and the full exercise of sovereignty,
respectful of the way of life of their inhabitants and according to the
principles of international law, are a permanent and unrelinquished goal of the
Argentine people.
[Section 2] Second Referring to Section 37
Positive actions referred to in the last paragraph of Section 37 shall not
comprise less guarantees than those in force at the time this Constitution was
approved, and their duration shall be determined by law.
[Section 3] Third Referring to Section 39
The law regulating the exercise of the popular initiative shall be approved
within eighteen months of this enactment.
[Section 4] Fourth Referring to Section 54
(1) The present members of the Senate of the Nation shall hold office until the
expiration of their respective terms.
(2) At the time of the renewal of one third of the Senate in nineteen
ninety-five, due to the expiration of the terms of all the senators elected in
nineteen eighty-six, a third senator shall be designated for the constituency
of each Legislature. The group of senators for each constituency shall be
composed, as far as possible, in such a way that two seats belong to that
political party or electoral alliance with the largest number of members in the
Legislature, and the third seat to that political party or electoral alliance
following in number of members. In case of equality of votes, that political
party or electoral alliance havingg obtained the largest number of votes in
the immediately previous election of the provincial legislature shall prevail.
(3) The election of senators who replace those whose terms expire in nineteen
ninety-eight, as well as the election of whoever replaces any one of the
present senators in case of application of Section 62, shall be carried out by
these same rules of election. However, the political party or electoral
alliance havingg the largest number of members in the Legislature at the time
of the election of senator shall have the right to have its candidate elected,
with the sole limitation that the three senators do no belong to the same
political party or electoral alliance.
(4) These rules shall also be applicable to the election of senators for the
City of Buenos Aires, in nineteen ninety-five by the electoral body, and in
nineteen ninety-eight by the legislative organ of the City.
(5) The election of all the senators referred to in this provision shall be
carried out within a period neither shorter than sixty nor longer than ninety
days as from the date the senator must take office.
(6) In all cases, the candidates for senators shall be proposed by the
political parties or electoral alliances. The fulfillment of the legal and
statutory requirements to be declared candidate shall be certified by the
National Electoral Court and reported to the Legislature.
(7) Whenever a national senator is elected a deputy senator shall be
designated, who shall take office in the cases foreseen in Section 62.
(8) The senators elected due to the application of this temporary provision
shall hold office until December nine, two thousand and one.
[Section 5] Fifth Referring to Section 56
All the members of the Senate shall be elected as indicated in Section 54
within the term of two months previous to December ten, two thousand and one,
drawing lots, after they have all met, to decide who shall leave in the first
and second biennium.
[Section 6] Sixth Referring to Section 75, Subsection 2
(1) A system of joint participation according to Section 75, Subsection 2, and
the regulations of the Federal Fiscal entity, shall be stated before the end of
the year 1996; the distribution of jurisdiction, services and functions in
force at the time of the enactment of this amendment, shall not be modified
without the approval of the interested province; nor shall the distribution
of resources in force at the time of the enactment of this amendment be
modified to the detriment of the provinces, and in both cases until the
aforementioned system of joint participation is stated.
(2) This provision shall not affect pending administrative or judicial claims
originated in differences about the distribution of jurisdiction, services,
functions or resources between the Nation and the provinces.
[Section 7] Seventh Referring to Section 75, Subsection 30
Congress shall exercise in the City of Buenos Aires, insofar as it is the
Capital of the Nation, the legislative powers which it holds according to
Section 129.
[Section 8] Eighth Referring to Section 76
The preexisting delegated legislation with no specified term for its
application shall expire after this provision had been in force for five years,
except for that legislation expressly ratified by the National Congress through
a new law.
[Section 9] Ninth Referring to Section 90
The tenure of the president holding office at the time of the enactment of this
reform shall be considered the first term.
[Section 10] Tenth Referring to Section 90
The tenure of office of the President of the Nation who shall be inaugurated on
July 8, 1995 shall expire on December 10, 1999.
[Section 11] Eleventh Referring to Section 99, Subsection 4
The expiration of the appointments and the limited duration foreseen in Section
99, Subsection 4, shall become effective five years after the enactment of this
constitutional reform.
[Section 12] Twelfth Referring to Section 99, Subsection 7; 100 and 101
(1) The provisions established in Section 100 and 101, Chapter IV, Second
Division, Second Part of this Constitution about the Chief of the Ministerial
Cabinet shall become effective on July 8, 1995.
(2) The Chief of the Ministerial Cabinet shall be appointed for the first time
on July 8, 1995; until then his powers shall be exercised by the President of
the Republic.
[Section 13] Thirteenth Referring to Section 114
Three hundred and sixty days after this reform becomes effective the judges of
the lower courts shall only be appointed according to this Constitution. Until
then the previous system shall be applied.
[Section 14] Fourteenth Referring to Section 115
Causes pending before the House of Deputies at the time of the creation of the
Council of Magistracy shall be referred to the latter for the purposes of
Section 114, Subsection 5. Those introduced before the Senate shall continue
therein until their conclusion.
[Section 15] Fifteenth Referring to Section 129
(1) Until the powers arising from the new regime of autonomy of the City of
Buenos Aires are to be established, Congress shall exercise exclusive
legislation over its territory, in the same terms applied until the enactment
of this Constitution.
(2) The head of the government shall be elected during the year nineteen
ninety-five.
(3) The law foreseen in Section 129, Paragraphs Second and Third, shall be
enacted within the term of two hundred and seventy days as from the approval of
this Constitution.
(4) Until the issue of the Organizing Statute, the appointment and removal of
the judges of the City of Buenos Aires shall be ruled according to Sections 114
and 115 of this Constitution.
[Section 16] Sixteenth []
(1) This reform shall become effective the day after its publication. The
members of the Constituent Assembly, the President of the Argentine Nation, the
Presidents of the Legislative Houses, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court shall take oath in a single act on August 24, 1994, at the Palacio San
Jos'', Concepcion del Uruguay, province of Entre Ríos.
(2) Each power of the State and of the provincial and municipal authorities
shall provide the necessary measures so that their members and officers swear
this Constitution.
[Section 17] Seventeenth []
(1) The final constitutional text, which has been enacted by this Constituent
Assembly, replaces the text heretofore enforced.
(2) Approved in the Hall of Sessions of the National Constituent Assembly, in
the city of Santa Fe, on the twenty-second day of August of the year nineteen
ninety-four.
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© 1994 - 17. Feb. 2004 / For corrections please contact A. Tschentscher.