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Cuerpo de traductores
CONSTITUTION OF THE ARGENTINE NATION
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 union, 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.
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 charge 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.- 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 union organizations
recognized by the mere registration in a special record.
Trade unions are hereby guaranteed: the right to enter into
collective labor bargains; to resort to conciliation and
arbitration; the right to strike. Union representatives shall
have the guarantees necessary for carrying out their union tasks
and those related to the stability of their employment.
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 charge 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 Executive 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 Executive
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 the press 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.- 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.
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.
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
prescription.
All citizens shall have the right to oppose resistance to those
committing the acts of force stated in this section.
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.
Congress shall enact a law on public ethics which shall rule the
exercise of public office.
Section 37.- 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.
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.- Political parties are basic institutions of the
democratic system.
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.
The State contributes to the economic support of their
activities and the training of their leaders.
Political parties shall make public the source and destiny of
their funds and assets.
Section 39.- Citizens shall have the right to introduce bills
before the House of Deputies. Congress shall consider them
within the term of twelve months.
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.
Bills referring to constitutional reform, international treaties,
taxation, budget, and criminal legislation shall not originate
in popular initiatives.
Section 40.- 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.
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.
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.- 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.
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.
The Nation shall regulate the minimum protection standards, and
the provinces those necessary to reinforce them, without
altering their local jurisdictions.
The entry into the national territory of present or potential
dangerous wastes, and of radioactive ones, is forbidden.
Section 42.- 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.
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.
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.- 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.
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.
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.
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.
SECOND PART
AUTHORITIES OF THE NATION
TITLE I
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
FIRST DIVISION
LEGISLATIVE POWER
Section 44.- 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 C¢rdoba, six; for that of
Catamarca, three; for that of Corrientes, four; for that of
Entre R¡os, 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 Tucum
n, 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
which seats shall be vacated 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
having 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 from
each province, and three from the City of Buenos Aires, who
shall be jointly and directly elected, corresponding two seats
to the most voted political party, 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, 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 the
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 shall have the sole power to judge in
public trial those impeached by the House of Deputies, and its
members must be on oath when sitting for this purpose. 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 concurrence 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
Provisions 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 to 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
Executive 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 Executive 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 lV
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 objective 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 charge 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 create 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 characteristics; 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
create 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 Executive 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 Executive Power to declare war or make
peace.
26.- To empower the Executive 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 Executive 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 Executive
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.- The legislative powers shall not be delegated to
the Executive 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.
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.- Laws shall originate in either House of Congress,
through bills introduced by their members or by the Executive
Power, save for the exceptions established in this Constitution.
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 Executive 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 absolute majority vote of 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 Executive 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 Executive 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
Executive Power, it shall return with the objections 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
Executive 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 objections
of the Executive Power shall be immediately published by the
press. If the Houses differ as to the objections, 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.- 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.
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.
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.
It shall be in charge 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.- The Ombudsman is an independent authority created
within the sphere of the National Congress operating with full
autonomy and without receiving instructions from any other
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.
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.
The organization and operation of this body shall be ruled by a
special law.
SECOND DIVISION
EXECUTIVE POWER
CHAPTER I
Its nature and duration
Section 87.- The Executive 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
Executive 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 Executive 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 Executive 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 the 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 charge 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
Executive Power
Section 100.- 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 charge of the business of the
Nation and shall countersign and legalize the acts of the
President with their signatures, without which said acts are
void.
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, with the consent of the Cabinet, to
decide about matters that the Executive 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 the prior consent of the Cabinet and the approval
of the Executive 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 Executive 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.
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.- The Council of the Magistracy, ruled by a special
law enacted by the absolute majority of all the members of each
House, shall be in charge of the selection of the judges and of
the administration of the Judicial Power.
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.
It is empowered:
1.- To select 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 charge 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.- 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.
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.
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.
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.- 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 character of the general interests of society, in
coordination with the other authorities of the Republic.
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.
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.- 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.
The provinces have the original dominion over the natural
resources existing in their territory.
Section 125.- 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.
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.
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