Translation:Constitution of the Portuguese Republic (1976)

by Constituent Assembly of Portugal

For other versions of this work, see Constitution of the Portuguese Republic.

2nd April 1976

Preamble

On April 25, 1974, the Armed Forces Movement, crowning the long resistance of the Portuguese people and interpreting their deepest feelings, overthrew the fascist regime. Freeing Portugal from dictatorship, oppression, and colonialism represented a revolutionary transformation and the beginning of a historic turning point in Portuguese society. The Revolution restored fundamental rights and freedoms to the Portuguese. In exercising these rights and freedoms, the legitimate representatives of the people met to draft a Constitution that corresponded to the aspirations of the country. The Constituent Assembly affirms the decision of the Portuguese people to defend national independence, to guarantee the fundamental rights of citizens, to establish the basic principles of democracy, to ensure the primacy of the democratic rule of law and to pave the way for a socialist society, while respecting the will of the Portuguese people, with a view to building a freer, fairer and more fraternal country. The Constituent Assembly, meeting in plenary session on 2 April 1976, approves and decrees the following Constitution of the Portuguese Republic:

Fundamental Principles

ARTICLE 1. (Portuguese Republic)

Portugal is a sovereign Republic, based on the dignity of the human person and the will of the people and committed to its transformation into a classless society.

ARTICLE 2. (Democratic state and transition to socialism)

The Portuguese Republic is a democratic state, based on popular sovereignty, on respect for and the guarantee of fundamental rights and freedoms, and on pluralism of expression and democratic political organization, which aims to ensure the transition to socialism by creating the conditions for the democratic exercise of power by the working classes.

ARTICLE 3. (Sovereignty and legality)

1. Sovereignty, which is one and indivisible, resides in the people, who exercise it in the manner prescribed in the Constitution.

2. The Armed Forces Movement, as the guarantor of democratic achievements and the revolutionary process, shall participate, in alliance with the people, in the exercise of sovereignty, under the terms of the Constitution.

3. Political parties shall contribute towards the organization and expression of the popular will, with respect for the principles of national independence and political democracy.

4. The state is subject to the Constitution and is founded on democratic legality.

ARTICLE 4. (Portuguese citizenship)

Portuguese citizens are all those who are considered to be such by law or international convention.

ARTICLE 5. (Territory)

1. Portugal comprises the territory historically defined on the European continent and the archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira.

2. The state shall not alienate any part of the Portuguese territory or the sovereign rights it exercises over it, without prejudice to the rectification of borders.

3. The law shall define the extent and limits of territorial waters and the rights of Portugal to the adjacent seabed.

4. The territory of Macao, under Portuguese administration, shall be governed by statutes appropriate to its special situation.

ARTICLE 6. (Unitary state)

1. The state shall be unitary and its organization shall respect the principles of local self-government and the democratic decentralization of public administration.

2. The archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira shall constitute autonomous regions with their own political and administrative statutes.

ARTICLE 7. (International Relations)

1. In international relations, Portugal shall be governed by the principles of national independence, the right of peoples to self-determination and independence, equality among states, the peaceful settlement of international conflicts, non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, and cooperation with all other peoples for the emancipation and progress of mankind.

2. Portugal advocates the abolition of all forms of imperialism, colonialism and aggression, general, simultaneous and controlled disarmament, the dissolution of political-military blocks and the establishment of a system of collective security, with a view to creating an international order capable of ensuring peace and justice in relations among peoples.

3. Portugal recognizes the right of the people to rise up against all forms of oppression, namely against colonialism and imperialism, and will maintain special ties of friendship and cooperation with the Portuguese-speaking countries.

ARTICLE 8. (International Law)

1. The norms and principles of general or common international law shall form an integral part of Portuguese law.

2. The norms contained in international conventions that have been duly ratified or approved shall apply in the internal legal system following their official publication and for as long as they are internationally binding on the Portuguese state.

ARTICLE 9. (Fundamental Tasks of the State)

The fundamental tasks of the State shall be:

(a) to guarantee national independence and create the political, economic, social and cultural conditions that promote it;

b) To ensure the organized participation of the people in solving national problems, to defend political democracy and to enforce democratic legality;

c) To socialize the means of production and wealth, through forms appropriate to the characteristics of the present historical period, to create the conditions to promote the well-being and quality of life of the people, especially the working classes, and to abolish the exploitation and oppression of man by man.

ARTICLE 10. (Revolutionary Process)

1. The alliance between the Armed Forces Movement and the democratic parties and organizations ensures the peaceful development of the revolutionary process.

2. The development of the revolutionary process imposes, on the economic level, the collective ownership of the principal means of production.

ARTICLE 11. (National Symbols)

1. The National Flag shall be that adopted by the Republic established by the Revolution of 5 October 1910.

2. The National Anthem is A Portuguesa.

PART I Fundamental Rights and Duties

TITLE I General principles

ARTICLE 12. (Principle of universality)

1. All citizens shall enjoy the rights and be subject to the duties enshrined in the Constitution.

2. Legal entities shall enjoy the rights and be subject to the duties compatible with their nature.

ARTICLE 13. (Principle of Equality)

1. All citizens have the same social dignity and are equal before the law.

2. No one shall be privileged, favoured, prejudiced, deprived of any right or exempted from any duty on the basis of ancestry, sex, race, language, territory of origin, religion, political or ideological beliefs, education, economic situation, or social condition.

ARTICLE 14. (Portuguese citizens abroad)

Portuguese citizens who are or reside abroad shall enjoy the protection of the State for the exercise of the rights and shall be subject to the duties that are not incompatible with the absence of the country.

ARTICLE 15. (Foreigners and Stateless Persons)

1. Foreigners and stateless persons who are or who reside in Portugal enjoy the rights and are subject to the duties of Portuguese citizens.

2. Political rights, the exercise of public functions that are not predominantly of a technical nature and the rights and duties reserved by the Constitution and the law exclusively for Portuguese citizens shall be exempt from the provisions contained in the previous point.

3. Citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries may, by means of an international convention and under conditions of reciprocity, be granted rights not conferred upon foreigners, with the exception of access to the offices of sovereign bodies and the autonomous regions, service in the armed forces and a diplomatic career.

ARTICLE 16. (Extension of rights)

1. The fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution shall not exclude any others contained in the applicable laws and rules of international law.

2. Constitutional and legal precepts relating to fundamental rights must be interpreted and integrated in harmony with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

ARTICLE 17. (Regulations governing rights, freedoms and guarantees)

The system of rights, freedoms and guarantees shall apply to the rights outlined in Title II, to the fundamental rights of workers, to other freedoms and also to rights of a similar nature, as outlined in the Constitution and in law.

ARTICLE 18. (Legal Force)

1. The constitutional precepts concerning rights, freedoms and guarantees are directly applicable and binding on public and private entities.

2. The law may only restrict rights, freedoms and guarantees in cases expressly stipulated in the Constitution.

3. Laws restricting rights, freedoms and guarantees must be of a general and abstract nature and may not reduce the extent and scope of the essential content of constitutional precepts.

ARTICLE 19. (Suspension)

1. The sovereign bodies may not, jointly or separately, suspend the exercise of rights, freedoms and guarantees, except in the event of a state of siege or state of emergency, declared in the manner prescribed in the Constitution.

2. The declaration of a state of siege or state of emergency must be sufficiently justified and must contain a specification of the rights, freedoms and guarantees whose exercise is suspended.

3. The declaration of a state of siege may in no case affect the right to life and personal integrity.

4. The declaration of a state of emergency may only determine the partial suspension of rights, liberties, and guarantees.

5. The declaration of a state of siege or a state of emergency shall confer upon the authorities the power to take the necessary and appropriate measures for the prompt restoration of constitutional normalcy.

ARTICLE 20. (Defense of rights)

1. Everyone shall be guaranteed access to the courts to defend their rights, and justice shall not be denied to anyone on the grounds of insufficient financial means.

2. Everyone shall have the right to resist any order that offends his rights, liberties and guarantees, and to repel any aggression by force when recourse to public authority is not possible.

ARTICLE 21. (State Civil Liability)

1. The state and other public entities shall be civilly liable, jointly and severally with the holders of their offices, employees or agents, for actions or omissions practiced in the exercise of their functions and because of such exercise, which result in the violation of rights, freedoms and guarantees or harm to others.

2. Citizens who have been unjustly sentenced shall have the right, under the conditions prescribed by law, to a review of their sentence and compensation for damages.

ARTICLE 22. (Right to asylum)

1. The right to asylum shall be guaranteed to foreigners and stateless persons persecuted as a result of their work for democracy, social and national liberation, peace among peoples, freedom and the rights of the individual.

2. The law shall define the status of political refugees.

ARTICLE 23. (Extradition and expulsion)

1. Extradition and expulsion of Portuguese citizens from national territory shall not be permitted.

2. Extradition for political reasons is not permitted.

3. Extradition is not allowed for crimes punishable by death under the law of the requesting State.

4. Extradition and expulsion may only be decided by a judicial authority.

ARTICLE 24. (Ombudsman)

1. Citizens may present complaints to the Office of the Ombudsman concerning actions or omissions by public authorities, which shall consider them without decision-making powers and shall make the necessary recommendations to the competent bodies to prevent and redress injustices.

2. The Ombudsman's activity shall be independent of the means of grace and litigation provided for in the Constitution and the laws.

3. The Ombudsman shall be appointed by the Assembly of the Republic.

TITLE II Rights, liberties and guarantees

ARTICLE 25. (Right to Life)

1. Human life is inviolable.

2. In no case shall there be the death penalty.

ARTICLE 26. (Right to personal integrity)

1. The moral and physical integrity of citizens shall be inviolable.

2. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment or punishment.

ARTICLE 27. (Right to liberty and security)

1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person.

2. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except as a result of a judicial sentence imposed for an act punishable by law with imprisonment or a detention order.

3. The deprivation of liberty for the time and under the conditions established by law shall be an exception to this principle in the following cases:

a) Preventive detention in flagrante delicto or for strong indications of the commission of an intentional crime to which a greater penalty corresponds;

b) Arrest or detention of a person who has entered the country irregularly or against whom extradition or expulsion proceedings are in progress.

4. Everyone deprived of their liberty must be informed as soon as possible of the reasons for their arrest or detention.

ARTICLE 28. (Preventive custody)

1. Detention without charge shall be submitted, within no more than forty-eight hours, to a court decision to validate or maintain it, and the judge must be informed of the reasons for detention and inform the detainee, question him/her and give him/her the opportunity for defense.

2. Preventive custody shall not be maintained whenever it may be replaced by bail or by the provisional release measure prescribed by law.

3. The judicial decision ordering or maintaining a measure of deprivation of liberty shall be immediately communicated to a relative or trusted acquaintance of the detainee.

4. Preventive custody, before and after the formation of guilt, shall be subject to the time limits established by law.

ARTICLE 29. (Application of the criminal law)

1. No-one may be sentenced to criminal charges except under a previous law that declares the action or omission punishable, nor may they be subjected to a custodial security measure the prerequisites for which are not established in a previous law.

2. The provisions contained in the previous point shall not impede the punishment, within the limits of domestic law, for an act or omission which, at the time it was committed, was considered criminal in accordance with the general principles of international law generally recognized.

3. Penalties or security measures that are not expressly prescribed by previous law may not be applied.

4. No-one shall be punished with a custodial sentence or security measure that is more severe than those provided for at the time of the conduct, and criminal laws with a content more favorable to the defendant shall be applied retroactively.

5. No-one may be tried more than once for the same crime.

ARTICLE 30. (Limits of sentences and security measures)

1. No sentence or security measure depriving liberty shall be perpetual in nature or of unlimited or indefinite duration.

2. In case of dangerousness based on serious psychic anomaly and the impossibility of open therapy, the security deprivation measures may be extended successively for as long as such condition persists, but always by means of a court decision.

3. Sentences may not be transferred.

4. No-one may be deprived, for political reasons, of their Portuguese citizenship, civil capacity or name.

ARTICLE 31. ("Habeas corpus")

1. There shall be habeas corpus against abuse of power by reason of illegal arrest or detention, to be interposed before a judicial or military court, depending on the case.

2. The writ of habeas corpus may be requested by the individual himself or by any citizen in possession of his political rights.

3. The judge shall decide on the petition for habeas corpus within eight days in an adversarial hearing.

ARTICLE 32. (Guarantees of criminal proceedings)

1. The criminal process shall assure all guarantees of defense.

2. Everyone accused shall be presumed innocent until the sentence of conviction has become final.

3. The defendant shall have the right to legal counsel at all stages of the proceedings, and the law shall specify the cases and phases in which legal counsel shall be mandatory.

4. All fact-finding shall be the responsibility of a judge, with the law specifying the cases in which it must take the form of adversarial proceedings.

5. The criminal process shall have an accusatorial structure and the hearing of the case shall be subject to the adversarial principle.

6. Any evidence obtained through torture, coercion, offenses against a person's physical or moral integrity, or abusive interference with a person's private life, home, correspondence or telecommunications, shall be null and void.

7. No case may be removed from the court whose jurisdiction is established by previous law.

ARTICLE 33. (Right to identity, good name and privacy)

1. Everyone shall have the right to his or her personal identity, good name and reputation, and to privacy in his or her private and family life.

2. The law shall establish effective guarantees against the abusive use, or use contrary to human dignity, of information relating to individuals and families.

ARTICLE 34. (Inviolability of home and correspondence)

1. The home and the secrecy of correspondence and other means of private communication shall be inviolable.

2. Entry into the home of citizens against their will may only be ordered by the competent judicial authority, in the cases and according to the forms prescribed by law.

3. No one may enter the home of any person during the night without their consent.

4. Any interference by public authorities in correspondence and telecommunications shall be prohibited, except in cases prescribed by law for criminal proceedings.

ARTICLE 35. (Use of information technology)

1. Every citizen shall have the right to know what is contained in any mechanographic records concerning him or her and the purpose for which the information is intended, and shall be entitled to demand that the data be corrected and updated.

2. Information technology may not be used to process data concerning political beliefs, religious faith, or private life, except when processing non-identifiable data for statistical purposes.

3. It is forbidden to assign citizens a unique national number.

ARTICLE 36. (Family, marriage and affiliation)

1. Everyone has the right to found a family and to marry under conditions of full equality.

2. The law shall regulate the requirements for and the effects of marriage and its dissolution by death or divorce, regardless of the form of celebration.

3. The spouses shall have equal rights and duties with regard to civil and political capacity and the maintenance and education of their children.

4. Children born out of wedlock shall not, for that reason, be the object of any discrimination and the law or official offices shall not use discriminatory designations regarding affiliation.

5. Parents have the right and duty to educate their children.

6. Children may not be separated from their parents except when the latter fail to fulfill their fundamental duties towards them, and always by judicial decision.

ARTICLE 37. (Freedom of expression and information)

1. Everyone shall have the right freely to express and disseminate his or her thoughts by word, image or any other means, and to inform himself or herself, without hindrance or discrimination.

2. The exercise of these rights may not be impeded or limited by any type or form of censorship.

3. Infractions committed in the exercise of these rights shall be subject to the punishment system provided for in general law, and their examination shall be the responsibility of the judicial courts.

4. All natural or legal persons shall be assured an equal and effective right of reply.

ARTICLE 38. (Freedom of the Press)

1. Freedom of the press shall be guaranteed.

2. Freedom of the press implies freedom of expression and creation on the part of journalists and literary collaborators, as well as the intervention of the former in the ideological orientation of information bodies not belonging to the state or political parties, without any other sector or group of workers being able to censor or impede their free creativity.

3. Freedom of the press implies the right to found newspapers and any other publications, independently of administrative authorization, bail or prior qualifications.

4. Periodical and non-periodical publications may be owned by any non-profit legal person and by journalistic and publishing companies under corporate form or by individuals of Portuguese nationality.

5. No administrative or fiscal regime, nor credit or foreign trade policy, may directly or indirectly affect freedom of the press, and the law shall ensure the means necessary to safeguard the independence of the press from political and economic powers.

6. Television may not be the object of private ownership.

7. The law shall establish the system for the media, namely those belonging to the state, through an information statute.

ARTICLE 39. (State-owned media)

1. The media belonging to the state, or to entities directly or indirectly subject to its economic control, shall be used in such a way as to safeguard their independence from the Government and Public Administration.

2. The possibility shall be ensured for the expression and confrontation of different trends of opinion in the media referred to in the previous point.

3. The media provided for in this article shall be created for information, to be integrated proportionally by representatives indicated by the political parties with seats in the Assembly of the Republic.

4. The information councils shall be empowered to ensure a general orientation that respects ideological pluralism.

ARTICLE 40. (Broadcasting Rights)

1. Political parties, labor unions and professional organizations shall have the right to broadcasting time on radio and television in accordance with their representatives and according to criteria to be defined in the information statute.

2. During election periods, competing political parties shall have the right to regular and equitable airtime.

ARTICLE 41. (Freedom of conscience, religion and worship)

1. Freedom of conscience, religion and worship shall be inviolable.

2. No one shall be persecuted, deprived of rights, or exempted from civic obligations or duties because of his or her religious convictions or practice.

3. Churches and religious communities are separate from the State and are free in their organization and in the exercise of their functions and worship.

4. The freedom to teach any religion practiced within the scope of the respective confession, as well as the use of proper media for the pursuit of their activities, shall be guaranteed.

5. The right to conscientious objection shall be recognised, and objectors shall be obliged to perform unarmed service of the same duration as compulsory military service.

ARTICLE 42. (Freedom of cultural creation)

1. Intellectual, artistic and scientific creation shall be free.

2. This freedom shall include the right to invent, produce, and disseminate scientific, literary, or artistic work, including the legal protection of copyrights.

ARTICLE 43. (Freedom to learn and teach)

1. Freedom to learn and teach shall be guaranteed.

2. The State may not grant itself the right to program education and culture according to any philosophical, aesthetic, political, ideological or religious guidelines.

3. Public education shall be non-denominational.

ARTICLE 44. (Right of displacement and emigration)

1. All citizens are guaranteed the right to move and settle freely in any part of the national territory.

2. Everyone is guaranteed the right to emigrate or to leave the national territory, and the right to return.

ARTICLE 45. (Right of Assembly and Demonstration)

1. Citizens shall have the right to assemble peacefully and unarmed, even in places open to the public, without the need for any authorization.

2. Every citizen shall have the right to demonstrate.

ARTICLE 46. (Freedom of Association)

1. Citizens shall have the right to freely form associations, without depending on any authorization, as long as these are not intended to promote violence and their objectives are not contrary to criminal law.

2. Associations shall freely pursue their aims without interference from public authorities and may not be dissolved by the state or have their activities suspended except in cases prescribed by law and by judicial decision.

3. No one may be compelled to belong to an association or coerced by any means to remain in it.

4. Armed or military-type associations, militarized or paramilitary associations outside the State or the Armed Forces, and organizations that espouse fascist ideology shall not be permitted.

ARTICLE 47. (Associations and political parties)

1. Freedom of association shall include the right to form or to participate in associations and political parties and, through them, to compete democratically in the formation of the popular will and the organization of political power.

2. No one may be simultaneously enrolled in more than one political party nor may he or she be deprived of the exercise of any right by being or ceasing to be enrolled in any legally constituted party.

3. Without prejudice to the philosophy or ideology inspiring their program, political parties may not use a denomination that contains expressions directly related to any religions or churches, as well as emblems that may be confused with national or religious symbols.

ARTICLE 48. (Participation in public life)

1. Every citizen shall have the right to take part in the political life and in the management of the public affairs of the country, directly or through freely elected representatives.

2. Suffrage shall be universal, equal and secret, and shall be granted to all citizens over the age of 18, with the exception of those incapacitated by general law, and its exercise shall be personal and shall constitute a civic duty.

3. All citizens shall have the right to be objectively informed about the acts of the State and other public entities and to be informed by the Government and other authorities about the management of public affairs.

4. All citizens have the right of access, in conditions of equality and freedom, to public functions.

ARTICLE 49. (Right to petition and popular action)

1. All citizens may individually or collectively submit petitions, representations, claims or complaints to sovereign bodies or any authorities to defend their rights, the Constitution, the laws or the general interest.

2. The right to popular action shall be recognized in the cases and under the terms established by law.

TITLE III Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Duties

Chapter I General Principle

ARTICLE 50. (Guarantees and Conditions for Effectuation)

Collective ownership of the principal means of production, the planning of economic development, and the democratization of institutions shall be guarantees and conditions for the realization of economic, social, and cultural rights and duties.

CHAPTER II Economic rights and duties

ARTICLE 51. (Right to Work)

1. Everyone has the right to work.

2. The duty to work is inseparable from the right to work, except for those who suffer diminished capacity because of age, illness, or disability.

3. Everyone has the right freely to choose his occupation or type of work, subject to the legal restrictions imposed by the collective interest or by his own capacity.

ARTICLE 52. (Obligations of the State concerning the right to work)

It shall be the duty of the State, through the application of economic and social policy plans, to guarantee the right to work, ensuring:

(a) The implementation of policies of full employment and the right to material assistance for those who involuntarily find themselves unemployed;

b) Job security, with the prohibition of dismissal without just cause or on political or ideological grounds;

c) Equal opportunities in the choice of profession or type of work and conditions so that access to any positions, work or professional categories is not denied or limited on the basis of sex;

d) The cultural, technical, and professional training of workers, combining manual and intellectual work.

ARTICLE 53. (Rights of Workers)

All workers, without distinction of age, sex, race, nationality, religion or ideology, have the right:

(a) to remuneration for work according to quantity, nature and quality, observing the principle that for equal work equal pay, so as to ensure a decent existence;

b) To work in socially dignifying conditions so as to enable personal fulfillment;

c) The provision of work under conditions of hygiene and safety;

d) Rest and leisure, a maximum limit on working hours, weekly rest and periodic paid vacations.

ARTICLE 54. (Obligations of the State with regard to workers' rights)

It shall be the duty of the State to ensure the conditions of work, pay and rest to which workers are entitled, namely:

(a) The establishment and updating of the national minimum wage as well as the maximum wage, taking into account, among other factors, the needs of the workers, the increase in the cost of living, the level of development of the productive forces, the requirements of economic and financial stability and accumulation for development;

(b) The establishment of a national working time;

c) The special protection of the work of women during pregnancy and after childbirth, as well as the work of minors, of the handicapped and of those who carry out particularly violent activities or under unhealthy, toxic or dangerous conditions

d) The systematic development of a network of rest and vacation centers, in cooperation with social organizations.

ARTICLE 55. (Workers' committees)

1. The workers shall have the right to create workers' committees to defend their interests and to intervene democratically in the life of the company, with the aim of strengthening the unity of the working classes and mobilising them for the revolutionary process of building the democratic power of the workers.

2. The committees are elected in plenary meetings of the workers by direct and secret ballot.

3. The by-laws of the committees must be approved in a workers' plenum.

4. The members of the committees shall enjoy the legal protection granted to shop stewards.

5. Coordinating committees may be created for better intervention in economic restructuring and in order to guarantee the interests of workers.

ARTICLE 56. (Rights of Workers' Committees)

The rights of the workers' committees are:

a) To receive all the information necessary for the exercise of their activity;

b) To exercise management control in companies;

c) To intervene in the reorganization of production units;

d) To participate in the elaboration of labour legislation and economic and social plans that contemplate the respective sector.

ARTICLE 57. (Freedom of Association)

1. Freedom of association shall be recognized as a condition and guarantee for workers to build their unity in defense of their rights and interests.

2. In the exercise of freedom of association, workers shall be guaranteed, without any discrimination, namely:

(a) The freedom to form trade union associations at all levels;

b) Freedom of affiliation, no worker being able to be forced to pay dues to a union of which he is not a member

c) Freedom of organization and internal regulation of trade union associations

d) The right to carry out union activities within the company.

3. The trade union associations shall be governed by the principles of democratic organization and management, based on the periodic election by secret ballot of the leading bodies, without subjection to any authorization or homologation, and based on the active participation of the workers in all aspects of the trade union activity.

4. Trade union associations shall be independent from employers, from the state, from religious denominations, from political parties and other political associations, and the law shall establish appropriate guarantees of such independence, the foundation of the unity of the working classes.

5. With the aim of ensuring unity and dialogue between the various trade union movements that may exist, workers shall be guaranteed the exercise of the right of tendency within trade unions in the cases and according to the forms in which this right is established by statute.

6. Trade union associations shall have the right to establish relations or affiliate with international trade union organizations.

ARTICLE 58. (Trade union rights and collective bargaining)

1. It shall be the duty of the trade unions to defend and promote the defense of the rights and interests of the workers they represent.

2. The rights of the trade unions associations shall include:

(a) To participate in the preparation of labor legislation;

b) To participate in the management of social security institutions and other organizations that aim to satisfy the interests of the working classes;

c) To participate in the control of the execution of economic and social plans.

3. It shall be incumbent upon trade union associations to exercise the right of collective bargaining.

4. The law shall establish the rules regarding the competence to enter into collective bargaining agreements, as well as the effectiveness of the respective regulations.

ARTICLE 59. (Right to Strike)

1. The right to strike is guaranteed.

2. It shall be up to the workers to define the scope of interests to be defended by striking, and the law may not limit this scope.

ARTICLE 60. (Prohibition of lock-out)

Lock-out is prohibited.

ARTICLE 61. (Cooperatives and self-management)

1. Everyone has the right to form cooperatives and the State, in accordance with the Plan, shall stimulate and support initiatives to this end.

2. The State shall support experiences of self-management.

ARTICLE 62. (Right to Private Property)

1. Everyone is guaranteed the right to private property and its transmission during life or by death, under the terms of the Constitution.

2. Outside the cases stipulated in the Constitution, expropriation for public use may only be carried out upon payment of fair compensation.

CHAPTER III Social Rights and Duties

ARTICLE 63. (Social Security)

1. Everyone has the right to social security.

2. The State shall be responsible for organizing, coordinating and subsidizing a unified and decentralized social security system, in agreement with and with the participation of trade unions and other working class organizations.

3. The organization of the social security system shall not prejudice the existence of private non-profit institutions of social solidarity, which shall be permitted, regulated by law and subject to the supervision of the state.

4. The social security system shall protect citizens in illness, old age, invalidity, widowhood and orphanhood, as well as in unemployment and all other situations of lack or diminution of means of subsistence or capacity for work.

ARTICLE 64. (Health)

1. Everyone has the right to the protection of health and the duty to defend and promote health.

2. The right to health protection shall be realized by the creation of a national universal, general and free health service, by the creation of economic, social and cultural conditions that guarantee the protection of childhood, youth and old age, and by the systematic improvement of living and working conditions, as well as by the promotion of physical and sporting, school and popular culture, and also by the development of health education for the people.

3. In order to ensure the right to health protection, the State shall be primarily responsible for:

a) Guarantee access to preventive, curative and rehabilitative medicine for all citizens, regardless of their economic condition;

b) To guarantee rational and efficient medical and hospital coverage throughout the country;

c) To orient its action towards the socialization of medicine and the medical-medicinal sectors;

d) Discipline and control the entrepreneurial and private forms of medicine, articulating them with the national health service;

e) Discipline and control the production, commercialization and use of chemical, biological and pharmaceutical products and other means of treatment and diagnosis.

ARTICLE 65. (Housing)

1. Everyone has the right, for himself or herself and for his or her family, to housing of adequate size, in hygienic and comfortable conditions, and which preserves personal intimacy and family privacy.

2. In order to ensure the right to housing, the State shall be responsible for

a) Program and execute a housing policy which is inserted in plans for the general reordering of the territory and supported by urbanization plans which guarantee the existence of an adequate transport and social equipment network;

b) Encourage and support the initiatives of local communities and populations to solve their housing problems and encourage self-construction and the creation of housing cooperatives;

c) Stimulate private construction, with subordination to the general interests.

3. The state will adopt a policy tending to establish a system of rents compatible with family income and access to home ownership.

4. The State and the local authorities shall exercise effective control over real estate, proceed with the necessary nationalization or municipalization of urban land, and define the respective right of use.

ARTICLE 66. (Environment and Quality of Life)

1. Everyone has the right to a humane, healthy and ecologically balanced living environment and the duty to defend it.

2. The State shall be responsible, through its own agencies and by appealing to popular initiatives

(a) Prevent and control pollution and its effects and harmful forms of erosion;

b) Order the territorial space in order to build biologically balanced landscapes;

c) To create and develop nature and recreation reserves and parks, as well as to classify and protect landscapes and sites in order to guarantee the conservation of nature and the preservation of cultural values of historical or artistic interest

d) Promote the rational use of natural resources, safeguarding their capacity for renewal and ecological stability.

3. A citizen who is threatened or injured in the right stipulated in point 1 may request, under the terms of the law, the cessation of the causes of violation and the respective compensation.

4. The state shall promote the progressive and accelerated improvement in the quality of life of all Portuguese people.

ARTICLE 67. (Family)

The state recognizes the constitution of the family and ensures its protection, and is responsible, namely, for:

(a) to promote the social and economic independence of households;

b) To develop a national network of mother-child care and to implement a policy for the elderly;

c) To cooperate with parents in the education of their children;

d) Promote, by the necessary means, the dissemination of family planning methods and organize the legal and technical structures that allow for the exercise of conscientious parenthood

e) Regulate taxes and social benefits, in harmony with family burdens.

ARTICLE 68. (Maternity)

1. The state shall recognize motherhood as an eminent social value, protecting mothers in the specific demands of their irreplaceable role in the upbringing of their children and guaranteeing their professional fulfillment and participation in the civic life of the country.

2. Working women shall be entitled to time off work, before and after childbirth, without loss of pay or any benefits.

ARTICLE 69. (Infancy)

1. Children shall have the right to protection by society and the state, with a view to their full development.

2. Children, particularly orphans and abandoned children, have the right to special protection by society and the state from all forms of discrimination and oppression and from the abuse of authority in the family and other institutions.

ARTICLE 70. (Youth)

1. Young people, especially young workers, shall enjoy special protection for the realization of their economic, social and cultural rights, namely:

(a) access to education, culture and work;

b) Professional training and promotion;

(c) physical education, sports and use of leisure time.

2. Youth policy shall have as its priority objectives the development of young people's personality, a taste for free creation, and a sense of service to the community.

3. The state, in collaboration with schools, businesses, grassroots popular organizations and cultural and recreational collectives, shall foster and assist youth organizations in the pursuit of these goals, as well as all forms of international youth exchange.

ARTICLE 71. (Disabled)

1. Physically or mentally disabled citizens shall fully enjoy the rights and be subject to the duties established in the Constitution, with the exception of the exercise or fulfillment of those for which they are incapacitated.

2. The state shall undertake to implement a national policy of prevention and of the treatment, rehabilitation and integration of the disabled, to develop a pedagogy that sensitizes society to the duties of respect and solidarity towards the disabled and to take charge of the effective realization of their rights, without prejudice to the rights and duties of parents or guardians.

ARTICLE 72. (Third Age)

1. The state shall promote a policy for the elderly that guarantees the economic security of the elderly.

2. The old-age policy shall also provide conditions of housing and family and community life which prevent and overcome the isolation or social marginalization of the elderly and offer them the opportunities to create and develop forms of self-fulfillment through active participation in the life of the community.

CHAPTER IV Cultural Rights and Duties

ARTICLE 73. (Education and Culture)

1. Everyone has the right to education and culture.

2. The State shall promote the democratization of education and the conditions for education, carried out through school and other formative means, to contribute to the development of the personality and to the progress of democratic and socialist society.

3. The State shall promote the democratization of culture by encouraging and ensuring access for all citizens, especially workers, to cultural enjoyment and creation through popular grassroots organizations, cultural and recreational collectives, the mass media and other appropriate means.

ARTICLE 74. (Teaching)

1. The state shall recognize and guarantee the right of all citizens to education and to equal opportunities for schooling.

2. The State shall modify education so as to overcome its conservative function in the social division of labor.

3. In carrying out the education policy it is incumbent upon the State to:

a) Ensure universal, compulsory and free basic education;

b) Create a public system of pre-school education;

c) Guarantee permanent education and eliminate illiteracy;

d) To guarantee to all citizens, according to their capacities, access to the highest levels of education, scientific research and artistic creation;

e) To progressively establish the gratuitousness of all levels of education;

f) To establish the link between education and productive and social activities;

g) Stimulate the formation of scientific and technical cadres from the working classes.

ARTICLE 75. (Public and private education)

1. The state shall create a network of official educational establishments to cover the needs of the entire population.

2. The State shall supervise private education which is supplementary to public education.

ARTICLE 76. (Access to the University)

Access to the University must take into account the country's needs in qualified cadres and stimulate and favor the entry of workers and the children of the working classes.

ARTICLE 77. (Scientific creation and research)

1. Scientific creation and research shall be encouraged and protected by the State.

2. The purpose of scientific and technological policy shall be to foster fundamental research and applied research, with preference being given to areas of interest to the development of the country, with a view to the progressive liberation from external dependence, within the scope of cooperation and exchange with all peoples.

ARTICLE 78. (Cultural heritage)

The state has the obligation to preserve, defend and value the cultural heritage of the Portuguese people.

ARTICLE 79. (Physical culture and sport)

The state shall recognize the right of citizens to physical culture and sport as a means of human enhancement, and shall be responsible for promoting, stimulating and guiding their practice and dissemination.

PART II Economic Organization

TITLE I General Principles

ARTICLE 80. (Basis of economic and social organization)

The economic and social organization of the Portuguese Republic shall be based on the development of socialist relations of production, through the collective appropriation of the main means of production and land, as well as of natural resources, and the exercise of democratic power by the working classes.

ARTICLE 81. (Prior duties of the State)

The State shall be primarily responsible for:

a) To promote an increase in the social and economic well-being of the people, especially the most disadvantaged classes;

b) To stabilize the economy and ensure the full use of the productive forces;

c) Promote equality among citizens through the transformation of economic and social structures;

d) To make the necessary corrections to inequalities in the distribution of wealth and income;

e) Guide economic and social development towards balanced growth in all sectors and regions;

f) To develop economic relations with all peoples, always safeguarding national independence and the interests of the Portuguese and the country's economy;

g) To eliminate and prevent the formation of private monopolies, through nationalizations or other forms, as well as repressing abuses of economic power and all practices harmful to the general interest

h) To carry out agrarian reform;

i) To progressively eliminate social and economic differences between the city and the countryside;

j) Ensure balanced competition between companies, with the law establishing protection for small and medium-sized companies that are economically and socially viable;

I) To create the legal and technical structures necessary for the establishment of a system of democratic planning of the economy;

m) Protect the consumer, namely by supporting the creation of cooperatives and consumer associations;

n) To encourage the development of socialist relations of production;

o) To stimulate the participation of the working classes and their organizations in the definition, control, and execution of all major economic and social measures.

ARTICLE 82. (Intervention, nationalization and socialization)

1. The law shall determine the means and forms of intervention and nationalization and socialization of the means of production, as well as the criteria for establishing compensation.

2. The law may determine that the expropriation of large landowners and businessmen or shareholders shall not give rise to any compensation.

ARTICLE 83. (Nationalizations carried out after April 25, 1974)

1. All nationalizations carried out after April 25, 1974, shall be irreversible conquests of the working classes.

2. Small and medium-sized indirectly nationalized enterprises outside the basic sectors of the economy may, by way of exception, be integrated into the private sector, provided that the workers do not opt for the self-management or co-operative regime.

ARTICLE 84. (Cooperativism)

1. The state shall foster the creation and activity of cooperatives, namely production, commercialization and consumer cooperatives.

2. Without prejudice to the framework of the Plan, and provided that the cooperative principles are observed, there shall be no restrictions on the creation of cooperatives, which may freely group together into unions, federations and confederations.

3. The establishment and operation of cooperatives shall not depend on any authorization.

4. The law shall define the fiscal and financial benefits of cooperatives, as well as more favorable conditions for obtaining credit and technical assistance.

ARTICLE 85. (Private initiative)

1. Within the framework defined by the Constitution, the law and the Plan, private economic initiative as an instrument of collective progress may be freely exercised.

2. The law shall define the basic sectors in which private companies and other entities of the same nature are prohibited from operating.

3. The state shall monitor private companies' respect for the Constitution, the law and the Plan and may intervene in their management to ensure the general interest and the rights of workers, under terms to be defined by law.

ARTICLE 86. (Economic activity and foreign investment)

The law shall regulate economic activity and investments by foreign individuals or legal entities, in order to ensure their contribution to the development of the country, in accordance with the Plan, and to defend national independence and the interests of the workers.

ARTICLE 87. (Abandoned means of production)

1. Abandoned means of production may be expropriated under conditions to be established by law, which will take into due consideration the specific situation of the property of emigrant workers.

2. In case of unjustified abandonment, expropriation shall not confer the right to compensation.

ARTICLE 88. (Criminal activities against the national economy)

1. Criminal activities against the national economy shall be defined by law and subject to penalties appropriate to their gravity.

2. The sanctions may include, as an effect of the penalty, the loss of assets, directly or indirectly obtained through the criminal activity, and the offender shall not be entitled to any compensation.

TITLE II Structures of ownership of the means of production

ARTICLE 89 (Sectors of ownership of the means of production)

1. In the phase of transition to socialism, there shall be three sectors of ownership of the means of production, land, and natural resources, defined according to their ownership and the social mode of management.

2. The public sector shall consist of the assets and units of production collectivized under the following social modes of management:

(a) Assets and production units managed by the State and other public legal persons;

b) Assets and units of production with beneficial ownership and management by worker collectives;

c) Community assets with useful ownership and management by local communities.

3. The cooperative sector shall consist of assets and production units owned and managed by the cooperative members, in compliance with the cooperative principles.

4. The private sector shall consist of assets and production units not included in the previous paragraphs.

ARTICLE 90. (Development of social property)

1. The basis for the development of social property, which shall tend to predominate, shall be assets and units of production with useful ownership and management by worker collectives, community assets with useful ownership and management by local communities, and the cooperative sector.

2. The conditions for the development of social property are nationalization, democratic planning, management control, and the democratic power of the workers.

3. Production units managed by the State and other public legal persons shall evolve, as far as possible, into self-managed forms.

TITLE III Plan

ARTICLE 91. (Objectives of the Plan)

1. In order to build a socialist economy through the transformation of capitalist relations of production and accumulation, the economic and social organization of the country shall be guided, coordinated and disciplined by the Plan.

2. The Plan shall guarantee the harmonious development of sectors and regions, the efficient use of productive forces, the fair individual and regional distribution of the national product, the coordination of economic policy with social, educational and cultural policy, the preservation of ecological balance, the protection of the environment and the quality of life of the Portuguese people.

ARTICLE 92. (Legal Force)

1. The Plan has an imperative nature for the state public sector and is mandatory, by force of program contracts, for other activities of public interest.

2. The Plan also defines the framework to which companies from other sectors must submit.

ARTICLE 93. (Structure)

The structure of the Plan comprises, namely:

(a) Long-term plan, which defines the major objectives of the Portuguese economy and the means to achieve them;

b) Medium-term plan, which must be valid for the duration of the legislature and which contains the overall, sectorial and regional action programs for this period

c) Annual plan, which constitutes the fundamental basis for the Government's activity and must be part of the State budget for that period.

ARTICLE 94. (Preparation and execution)

1. The Assembly of the Republic shall be responsible for approving the major options corresponding to each Plan and examining the respective execution reports.

2. The preparation of the plan shall be coordinated by a National Planning Council, in which the people, through the municipalities and local communities, the working class organizations and entities representing economic activities shall participate.

3. Implementation of the Plan shall be decentralized, regionally and sectorially, without prejudice to central coordination, which shall ultimately fall to the Government.

ARTICLE 95. (Flat Regions)

1. The country shall be divided into Plano regions based on the potentialities and the geographical, natural, social and human characteristics of the national territory, with a view to its balanced development and taking into account the needs and interests of the populations.

2. The law shall determine the Plano regions and shall define the outline of the regional planning bodies that comprise them.

TITLE IV Agrarian Reform

ARTICLE 96. (Objectives of Agrarian Reform)

Agrarian reform is one of the fundamental instruments for building a socialist society, and its aims are:

(a) to promote the improvement of the economic, social and cultural situation of rural workers and small and medium-sized farmers by the transformation of landholding structures and the progressive transfer of the useful ownership of land and the means of production directly used in its exploitation to those who work it, as a first step towards the creation of new relations of production in agriculture;

b) To increase production and productivity in agriculture, providing it with the appropriate infrastructures and human, technical, and financial means to ensure better supply for the country, as well as an increase in exports;

c) Create the necessary conditions to achieve effective equality of those who work in agriculture with other workers and avoid that the agricultural sector is disadvantaged in the exchange relations with other sectors.

ARTICLE 97. (Elimination of latifundia)

1. The transfer of the useful possession of the land and the means of production directly used in its exploitation to those who work it shall be achieved by the expropriation of the latifundia and of the large capitalist holdings.

2. The properties expropriated shall be given, for exploitation, to small farmers, to cooperatives of rural workers or small farmers, or to other units of collective exploitation by workers.

3. The operations provided for in this article shall be carried out under the terms defined by the agrarian reform law and in accordance with the Plan's scheme of action.

ARTICLE 98. (Minifundia)

Without prejudice to the right of ownership, agrarian reform will strive to achieve an adequate resizing of holdings in minifundia regions, preferably through cooperative integration of the various units or, whenever necessary, through land consolidation or leasing, through the mediation of the agrarian reform coordinating body.

ARTICLE 99. (Small and Medium Farmers)

1. Agrarian reform shall be carried out with a guarantee of land ownership for small and medium-sized farmers as an instrument or result of their work and safeguarding the interests of emigrants and those who have no other means of subsistence.

2. The law shall determine the criteria for setting maximum limits for private agricultural holding units.

ARTICLE 100. (Cooperatives and Other Forms of Collective Farming)

The achievement of the agrarian reform objectives implies the establishment by rural workers and small and medium-sized farmers, with the support of the State, of cooperatives for production, buying, selling, processing and services, as well as of other forms of collective exploitation by workers.

ARTICLE 101. (Forms of exploitation of third party land)

1. The leasing regimes and other forms of exploitation of third party land shall be regulated by law in such a way as to guarantee stability and the legitimate interests of the cultivator.

2. The tenancy and colony regimes shall be abolished and conditions created for cultivators for the effective abolition of the agricultural partnership regime.

ARTICLE 102. (State Aid)

1. Small and medium-sized farmers, individually or grouped into cooperatives, agricultural workers' cooperatives and other forms of collective exploitation by workers have the right to state aid.

2. State aid, in accordance with the agrarian reform schemes and the Plan, shall include the following:

(a) Granting of credit and technical assistance;

b) Support of public enterprises and marketing cooperatives upstream and downstream of production;

c) Socialization of the risks resulting from unpredictable or uncontrollable climatic and phytopathological accidents.

ARTICLE 103. (Land Use, Agrarian Reconversion and Prices)

The State shall promote a policy of land use and agrarian reconversion, in accordance with the country's ecological and social constraints, and shall ensure the disposal of agricultural products within the scope of the guidelines defined for agricultural and food policies, setting the respective guarantee prices at the beginning of each campaign.

ARTICLE 104. (Participation in Agrarian Reform)

In the definition and execution of agrarian reform, namely in the bodies created by it, the participation of rural workers and small and medium-sized farmers, through their own organizations, as well as cooperatives and other forms of collective exploitation by workers, shall be ensured.

TITLE V Financial and Tax System

ARTICLE 105. (Financial and Monetary System)

1. The financial system shall be structured by law so as to guarantee the collection and security of savings, as well as the application of the financial resources needed to expand the productive forces, with a view to the progressive and effective socialization of the economy.

2. The Banco de Portugal, as the central bank, has exclusive rights to issue currency and, in accordance with the Government's plan and directives, it shall collaborate in implementing monetary and financial policies.

ARTICLE 106. (Tax system)

1. The tax system shall be structured by law with a view to the equal distribution of wealth and income and meeting the financial needs of the state.

2. Taxes shall be created by law, which shall determine their incidence, rate, tax benefits and guarantees for taxpayers.

3. No-one may be compelled to pay taxes that have not been created under the terms of the Constitution and which are not assessed and collected in the manner prescribed by law.

ARTICLE 107. (Taxes)

1. Personal income tax will aim to reduce inequalities, will be unique and progressive, taking into account the needs and income of the household, and will tend to limit income to a national maximum, defined annually by law.

2. The taxation of companies will focus primarily on their real income.

3. Inheritance and gift tax will be progressive, so as to contribute to equality among citizens, and will take into account the transmission by inheritance of the fruits of labor.

4. Consumption taxation will aim to adapt the structure of consumption to the needs of the socialization of the economy, exempting from it the goods necessary for the subsistence of the most disadvantaged and their families, and taxing luxury consumption.

ARTICLE 108. (Budget)

1. The budget law, to be voted on annually by the Assembly of the Republic, shall contain:

(a) The breakdown of revenues and that of expenditures in the part concerning the global appropriations corresponding to the functions and Ministries and Secretariats of State;

b) The fundamental lines of organization of the social security budget.

2. The State Budget shall be prepared by the Government, in accordance with the budget law and the Plan and taking into account the obligations arising from law or contract.

3. The Budget shall be unitary and shall specify the expenditures, in order to avoid the existence of secret appropriations or funds.

4. The Budget shall provide for the revenues necessary to cover expenditures, the law defining the rules for the preparation and execution and the term of the Budget, as well as the conditions for recourse to public credit.

5. The execution of the Budget shall be monitored by the Court of Auditors and by the Assembly of the Republic, which, after receiving the opinion of the Court, shall examine and approve the General State Account, including the social security account.

TITLE VI Commercial circuits

ARTICLE 109. (Prices and distribution circuits)

1. The State shall intervene in the formation and control of prices, and shall be responsible for rationalizing distribution circuits and eliminating unnecessary ones.

2. Malicious advertising shall be prohibited.

ARTICLE 110. (Foreign Trade)

In order to develop and diversify foreign trade relations and safeguard national independence, the state shall be responsible for:

(a) Promote the control of foreign trade operations, namely by creating public companies or other types of companies;

b) Discipline and monitor the quality and prices of imported and exported goods.

PART III Organization of Political Power

TITLE I General Principles

ARTICLE 111. (Ownership and exercise of power)

Political power belongs to the people and shall be exercised in accordance with the terms of the Constitution.

ARTICLE 112. (Political participation of the citizens)

The direct and active participation of citizens in political life constitutes a fundamental condition and instrument for consolidating the democratic system.

ARTICLE 113. (Organs of sovereignty)

1. Sovereign bodies shall be the President of the Republic, the Council of the Revolution, the Assembly of the Republic, the Government and the courts.

2. The formation, composition, powers and functioning of the sovereign bodies shall be as defined in the Constitution.

ARTICLE 114. (Separation and interdependence)

1. The sovereign bodies must observe the separation and interdependence established in the Constitution.

2. No sovereign body, autonomous region or local authority may delegate its powers to other bodies, except in cases and under the terms expressly prescribed in the Constitution and the law.

ARTICLE 115. (Conformity of acts with the Constitution)

The validity of the laws and other acts of the state, the autonomous regions and the local authorities depends on their conformity to the Constitution.

ARTICLE 116. (General Principles of Electoral Law)

1. Direct, secret and periodic suffrage shall constitute the general rule for the appointment of the office holders of the elective bodies of the sovereign state, the autonomous regions and the local authorities.

2. Voter registration shall be unofficial, obligatory and unique for all elections by direct and universal suffrage.

3. Electoral campaigns shall be governed by the following principles:

(a) Freedom of propaganda;

b) Equal opportunity and equal treatment of the various candidacies

c) Impartiality of public entities with regard to candidacies;

d) Supervision of electoral accounts.

4. Citizens have the duty to collaborate with the electoral administration, in the manner prescribed by law.

5. The conversion of votes into mandates shall be carried out in accordance with the principle of proportional representation.

ARTICLE 117. (Political parties and right of opposition)

1. Political parties shall participate in bodies based on universal and direct suffrage, in accordance with their democratic representatives.

2. Minorities shall be recognized the right to democratic opposition, under the terms of the Constitution.

ARTICLE 118. (Grassroots Popular Organizations)

Grassroots organizations formed under the terms of the Constitution shall have the right to to participate, in the manner prescribed by law, in the exercise of local power.

ARTICLE 119. (Collegial Organs)

1. The meetings of the assemblies which function as sovereign bodies, autonomous regions or local authorities shall be public, except in cases prescribed by law.

2. Unless the Constitution or the law requires a qualified majority, the decisions of collegiate bodies shall be taken by plurality of votes, with the majority of the legal number of their members present.

ARTICLE 120. (Liability of holders of political offices)

1. Political office holders shall be politically, civilly and criminally accountable for the acts and omissions they perform in the exercise of their functions.

2. The law shall determine the crimes of responsibility of political office holders, as well as the applicable sanctions and their effects.

ARTICLE 121. (Principle of Renewal)

No one may hold any national, regional or local political office for life.

ARTICLE 122. (Publicity of Acts)

1. Acts of sovereign bodies, autonomous regions and local government with external efficacy must be disclosed.

2. The following shall be published in the Diário da República, the official gazette:

a) Constitutional laws;

b) International conventions;

c) Decrees of the President of the Republic;

d) Decrees and resolutions of the Council of the Revolution;

e) The laws and resolutions of the Assembly of the Republic;

f) Government decrees and regulations

g) Court decisions on which the Constitution or the law confers general binding force;

h) The decrees of the autonomous regions.

3. The law shall determine the forms in which other acts shall be published.

4. Lack of publicity shall imply that the act does not legally exist.

TITLE II President of the Republic

CHAPTER I Status and Election

ARTICLE 123. (Definition)

The President of the Republic shall represent the Portuguese Republic and shall inherently perform the functions of President of the Council of the Revolution and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

ARTICLE 124. (Election)

1. The President of the Republic shall be elected through universal, direct and secret suffrage by Portuguese citizens who are registered voters within the national territory.

2. The right to vote shall be exercised in person within the national territory.

ARTICLE 125. (Eligibility)

Citizens who are Portuguese citizens of origin and over the age of 35 shall be eligible to vote.

ARTICLE 126. (Re-electability)

1. Reelection shall not be permitted for a third consecutive term of office, nor during the five-year period immediately following the end of the second consecutive term of office.

2. If the President of the Republic resigns from office within thirty days of the elections to the Assembly of the Republic held as a result of the dissolution of the Assembly, he or she shall not be eligible to stand in the immediate election.

ARTICLE 127. (Candidacies)

1. Nominations for President of the Republic shall be proposed by a minimum of 7,500 and a maximum of 15,000 electors.

2. Nominations shall be submitted up to thirty days prior to the date set for the election before the Supreme Court of Justice.

3. In the event of the death of any candidate, the electoral process shall be reopened, under the terms to be defined by law.

ARTICLE 128. (Election date)

1. The President of the Republic shall be elected up to thirty days before the end of the term of office of his predecessor or within sixty days after the office becomes vacant.

2. The election shall not take place within sixty days prior to or after the date of the elections to the Assembly of the Republic, and the term of office of the outgoing President shall be extended for the necessary period.

3. During the extension of the term of office prescribed in the previous point, the Assembly of the Republic may not be dissolved, without prejudice to the provisions contained in article 198(3).

ARTICLE 129. (Electoral system)

1. The candidate who obtains more than half of the validly expressed votes shall be elected President of the Republic.

2. If none of the candidates obtains this number of votes, a second ballot shall be held before the twenty-first day following the first ballot.

3. Only the two most voted candidates who have not withdrawn their candidacy shall run in this ballot.

ARTICLE 130. (Investiture and oath)

1. The President-elect shall be sworn in before the Assembly of the Republic or, in the event of the Assembly being dissolved, before the Supreme Court of Justice.

2. The inauguration shall take place on the last day of the term of office of the outgoing President or, in the case of a vacancy election, on the eighth day following the publication of the election results.

3. At the swearing in, the President of the Republic elect shall make the following declaration of commitment:

I swear on my honor to faithfully perform the functions in which I am invested and to defend and enforce the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic.

ARTICLE 131. (Mandate)

1. The term of office of the President of the Republic shall last for five years and shall end with the inauguration of the new President-elect.

2. In the event of a vacancy, the newly elected President of the Republic shall begin a new term of office.

ARTICLE 132. (Absence from national territory)

1. The President of the Republic may not leave the national territory without the authorization of the Council of the Revolution and the assent of the Assembly of the Republic, if it is in session.

2. The assent of the Assembly of the Republic shall be dispensed with in cases of transit or travel of an unofficial nature lasting no more than ten days.

3. Failure to comply with the provisions contained in paragraph 1 above shall automatically result in forfeiture of office.

ARTICLE 133. (Criminal liability)

1. The President of the Republic shall be answerable to the Supreme Court of Justice for crimes committed in the exercise of his duties.

2. The Revolutionary Council shall be responsible for initiating the process, although it shall only proceed after a favorable decision by the Assembly of the Republic, approved by a two-thirds majority of its Members in full exercise of their office.

3. Conviction shall result in removal from office.

4. The President of the Republic shall be answerable after the end of his term of office for crimes not related to the exercise of his functions.

ARTICLE 134. (Renunciation of office)

1. The President of the Republic may resign from office in a message addressed to the Council of the Revolution and the Assembly of the Republic.

2. Resignation shall become effective upon publication of the message in the Diário da República.

ARTICLE 135. (Interim Substitution)

1. During the absence or temporary impediment of the President of the Republic, as well as during the vacancy of the office until the new President elect takes office, the functions shall be assumed by the President of the Assembly of the Republic or, in the event that the Assembly is dissolved, the member of the Council of the Revolution that he or she designates.

2. While serving as interim President of the Republic, the President of the Assembly of the Republic may not exercise his or her mandate as a member of parliament.

CHAPTER II Competence

ARTICLE 136. (Competence in relation to the operation of other bodies)

With regard to other bodies, the President of the Republic shall be responsible for:

a) Chair the Council of the Revolution;

b) Selecting the day for the election of deputies, in accordance with the electoral law;

c) summoning an extraordinary session of the Assembly of the Republic; d) addressing messages to the Assembly of the Republic

d) to address messages to the Assembly of the Republic

e) dissolving the Assembly of the Republic, after receiving the assent of the Council of the Revolution or, compulsorily, in the cases provided for in article 198 (3) of the Constitution

f) To appoint and exonerate the Prime Minister, under the terms of article 190

g) To appoint and exonerate members of the Government, upon proposal by the Prime Minister

h) To preside over the Council of Ministers when the Prime Minister requests it

i) To dissolve or suspend the bodies of the autonomous regions, after consultation with the Council of the Revolution;

j) Appoint one of the members of the Constitutional Commission and the president of the consultative commission for the affairs of the autonomous regions;

l) On the proposal of the Government, appoint and dismiss the President of the Court of Auditors, the Attorney General and the representatives of the State in the autonomous regions.

ARTICLE 137. (Competence for the practice of own acts)

1. It shall be incumbent upon the President of the Republic to perform his own acts:

a) To exercise the office of Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces;

b) To promulgate and order the publication of the laws of the Assembly of the Republic and the decree-laws and regulatory decrees of the Council of the Revolution and the Government, as well as signing the remaining decrees;

c) To declare a state of siege or a state of emergency, with the authorization of the Council of the Revolution, in all or part of the national territory in cases of actual or imminent aggression by foreign forces, serious threat to or disturbance of democratic order, or public calamity

d) To pronounce on all serious emergencies for the life of the Republic, after consulting the Council of the Revolution;

e) To pardon and commute sentences.

2. The absence of enactment or signature shall render the act legally non-existent.

3. The state of siege or state of emergency may not be extended beyond thirty days without ratification by the Assembly of the Republic.

ARTICLE 138. (Competence in international relations)

In international relations, the President of the Republic shall be responsible for:

(a) to appoint ambassadors and extraordinary envoys, upon the proposal of the Government, and to accredit foreign diplomatic representatives;

b) Ratify international treaties, after they have been duly approved;

c) Declaring war in the case of actual or imminent aggression and making peace, with the authorization of the Council of the Revolution.

ARTICLE 139. (Enactment and veto)

1. Within fifteen days of receiving any decree from the Assembly of the Republic for promulgation as law or the end of the period prescribed in article 277, if the Council of the Revolution does not decide that it is unconstitutional, the President of the Republic, after hearing the Council of the Revolution and in a reasoned message, may exercise his right of veto and request that the decree-law be reconsidered.

2. If the Assembly of the Republic confirms the vote by an absolute majority of its Members in full exercise of their office, enactment may not be refused.

3. However, a qualified majority of two-thirds of the deputies present shall be required for the confirmation of decrees concerning the following matters:

(a) boundaries between the public, cooperative and private property sectors;

b) Foreign relations;

c) Organization of national defense and the definition of duties arising from it;

d) Regulating electoral acts provided for in the Constitution.

4. The President of the Republic shall also exercise the right of veto under the terms of articles 277 and 278 of this Constitution.

ARTICLE 140. (Acts of the Interim President)

The interim President of the Republic may not perform any of the acts provided for in lines h), c), f) and i) of article 136, a) of no. 1 of article 137 and a) of article 138 without the favorable deliberation of the Council of the Revolution.

ARTICLE 141. (Ministerial Referendum)

1. The acts of the President of the Republic under the terms of Article 136 (g), (i) and (l), Article 137 (1) (b), (c) and (e) and Article 138 (a), (b) and (c) of the Constitution shall require a referendum of the Government.

2. The promulgation of the acts of the Council of the Revolution provided for in Article 137(1)(b) shall only require a referendum when they involve an increase in expenditure or decrease in revenue.

3. The lack of a referendum shall determine that the act does not legally exist.

TITLE III Revolutionary Council

CHAPTER I Function and Structure

ARTICLE 142. (Definition)

The functions of the Council of the Revolution shall be to act as the Council of the President of the Republic and to guarantee the regular functioning of democratic institutions, to guarantee compliance with the Constitution and fidelity to the spirit of the Portuguese Revolution of 25 April 1974, and as a political and legislative body in military matters.

ARTICLE 143. (Composition)

1. The Council of the Revolution shall consist of:

(a) the President of the Republic;

b) The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces and the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, if there is one;

c) The Chiefs of Staff of the three branches of the Armed Forces

d) The Prime Minister, when he is military

e) Fourteen officers, eight from the Army, three from the Air Force and three from the Navy, designated by the respective branches of the Armed Forces.

2. In the event of death, resignation or permanent impediment, verified by the Council itself, of any of the members referred to in e) of the previous number, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the respective branch of the Armed Forces.

ARTICLE 144. (Organization and functioning)

1. It shall be incumbent upon the Council of the Revolution to regulate its organization and functioning and to draw up internal regulations.

2. The Council of Revolution shall function on a permanent basis.

3. The powers of the Council of Revolution may not be fully or irrevocably delegated to any of its members.

CHAPTER II Competence

ARTICLE 145. (Competencies as a Council of the President of the Republic and guarantor of the regular functioning of democratic institutions)

As a Council of the President of the Republic and guarantor of the regular functioning of democratic institutions, the Council of the Revolution shall be responsible for:

(a) To advise the President of the Republic in the exercise of his functions;

b) To authorize the President of the Republic to declare war and make peace;

c) To authorize the President of the Republic to declare a state of siege or a state of emergency in all or part of the national territory;

d) To authorize the President of the Republic to absent himself from national territory;

e) To declare the permanent physical impossibility of the President of the Republic and to verify temporary impediments to the exercise of his functions.

ARTICLE 146. (Competence as guarantor of compliance with the Constitution)

As the guarantor of compliance with the Constitution, the Council of the Revolution shall be responsible for:

a) To pronounce, on its own initiative or at the request of the President of the Republic, on the constitutionality of any legislation before it is promulgated or signed:

b) To see that the necessary measures are taken to comply with constitutional norms, and to this end may make recommendations;

c) To review the constitutionality of any published legislation and to declare the unconstitutionality of such legislation with generally binding force, under the terms of article 281 of the Constitution.

ARTICLE 147. (Competence as guarantor of fidelity to the spirit of the Portuguese Revolution)

As guarantor of fidelity to the spirit of the Portuguese Revolution of April 25, 1974, the Council of the Revolution shall:

(a) To pronounce before the President of the Republic on the appointment and dismissal of the Prime Minister;

b) To make representations to the President of the Republic on the exercise of the right to a suspensive veto under the terms of Article 139 of the Constitution.

ARTICLE 148. (Competence in military matters)

1. As the political and legislative organ in military matters, the Council of the Revolution shall be responsible for:

(a) Make laws and regulations on the organization, operation and discipline of the Armed Forces;

b) Approve international treaties or agreements concerning military affairs.

2. The authority referred to in subparagraph a) of the preceding paragraph shall be vested exclusively in the Council of the Revolution.

ARTICLE 149. (Form and value of acts)

1. The legislative or regulatory acts of the Council of the Revolution provided for in articles 144, 148 and 285 of the Constitution shall take the form of a decree-law or regulatory decree, respectively.

2. Other acts of the Council of the Revolution shall take the form of resolutions and shall be published, regardless of their promulgation by the President of the Republic.

3. The decree-laws of the Council of the Revolution shall have the same force as the laws of the Assembly of the Republic or decree-laws of the Government, and the regulatory decrees shall have the same force as the regulatory decrees of the Government.

TITLE IV Assembly of the Republic

CHAPTER I Statute and Election

ARTICLE 150 (Definition)

The Assembly of the Republic is the representative assembly of all Portuguese citizens.

ARTICLE 151. (Composition)

The Assembly of the Republic shall have a minimum of two hundred forty and a maximum of two hundred fifty Members, in accordance with the electoral law.

ARTICLE 152. (Electoral Constituencies)

1. Members shall be elected by constituencies established by law.

2. The number of Members for each constituency on the national territory shall be proportional to the number of registered voters therein.

3. The Members shall represent the entire country and not the constituencies for which they are elected.

ARTICLE 153. (Conditions of eligibility)

All Portuguese citizens who vote shall be eligible, with the exception of any restrictions imposed by electoral law due to local incompatibilities or the holding of certain offices.

ARTICLE 154. (Candidacies)

1. Candidacies shall be presented, within the terms of the law, by the political parties, individually or in coalitions, and the lists may include citizens who are not registered with the respective parties.

2. Nobody may be a candidate for more than one constituency or appear on more than one list.

ARTICLE 155. (Electoral System)

1. Members shall be elected in accordance with the system of proportional representation and the d'Hondt method of the highest average.

2. The law may not establish limits on the conversion of votes into mandates by requiring a minimum percentage of national votes.

ARTICLE 156. (Vacancies, substitution of Members)

The filling of vacancies occurring in the Assembly, as well as the temporary replacement of Members for relevant reasons, shall be regulated by the Electoral Law.

ARTICLE 157. (Incompatibilities)

1. Members who are employees of the State or other public collective persons may not exercise the respective functions during the effective functioning of the Assembly.

2. Deputies who are appointed members of the Government may not exercise their mandate until they cease to hold this office and shall be replaced in accordance with the terms of the previous article.

ARTICLE 158. (Exercise of the office of Member)

1. Members of Parliament shall not be prejudiced in their position, social benefits or permanent employment by virtue of the exercise of their mandate.

2. The law shall regulate the conditions under which the absence of Members, due to meetings or missions of the Assembly, from official acts or events unrelated to it shall constitute justifiable grounds for their postponement.

ARTICLE 159. (Powers of Members)

The powers of Members, in addition to those established in the Rules of Procedure, are the following:

a) To present bills or draft resolutions and proposals for resolutions;

b) To ask questions to the Government about any acts of the Government or the Public Administration

c) To request from the Government or from the organs of any public entity the elements, information, and official publications that they deem useful for the exercise of their mandate.

ARTICLE 160. (Immunities)

1. Members shall not be held civilly, criminally or disciplinary liable for the votes and opinions they cast in the exercise of their duties.

2. No deputy may be detained or arrested without the authorization of the Assembly, except for a crime punishable by a higher penalty and in flagrante delicto.

3. If criminal proceedings are brought against a deputy and the deputy is indicted by indictment or equivalent, except in the case of a felony punishable by a major sentence, the Assembly shall decide whether or not the deputy should be suspended for the purposes of continuing the proceedings.

ARTICLE 161. (Rights and Privileges)

1. Members of the Assembly may not be jurors, experts or witnesses without the authorization of the Assembly, during its effective functioning period.

2. Members shall enjoy the following rights and privileges:

(a) Postponement of military service, civilian service or civilian mobilization;

b) Free transit and the right to a special passport on their official trips abroad

c) Special identification card;

d) Allowances as prescribed by law.

ARTICLE 162. (Duties)

The duties of Members are:

(a) Attend the meetings of the plenary and those of the committees to which they belong;

b) Perform the positions in the Assembly and the functions for which they are designated, on the proposal of the respective parliamentary groups;

c) Participate in the voting.

ARTICLE 163. (Loss and renunciation of office)

1. Members shall lose their mandate if:

(a) come to be injured by any of the incapacities or incompatibilities provided by law;

b) They do not take their seat in the Assembly or exceed the number of absences established in the Rules of Procedure;

c) They register with a party other than the one for which they were submitted to the ballot;

d) Are judicially condemned for participation in organizations with fascist ideology.

2. Deputies may resign from office by means of a written statement.

CHAPTER II Competence

ARTICLE 164. (Political and Legislative Competence)

The Assembly of the Republic shall be responsible for

a) Submit amendments to the Constitution under the terms of Articles 286 to 291 of the Constitution

b) Approving the political and administrative statutes of the autonomous regions;

c) Approving the statutes of the territory of Macau:

d) Make laws on all matters, except those reserved by the Constitution for the Council of the Revolution or the Government:

e) To grant the Government legislative authorizations;

f) Grant amnesties;

g) To approve the Plan and Budget laws;

h) To authorize the Government to carry out loans and other credit operations, other than floating debt, establishing the respective general conditions

i) To define the limits of territorial waters and the rights of Portugal to contiguous sea beds

j) To approve treaties concerning matters within its exclusive legislative powers, treaties of participation of Portugal in international organizations, treaties of friendship, peace, defense and border rectification, and any others that the Government may decide to submit to it:

l) Perform such other functions as may be assigned to it by the Constitution and the law.

ARTICLE 165. (Competence of Auditing)

In exercising its supervisory functions, the Assembly of the Republic shall be responsible for

a) Monitor compliance with the Constitution and the laws and evaluate the acts of the government and the administration;

b) Ratifying the declaration of a state of siege or of emergency that exceeds thirty days, on pain of forfeiture at the end of this period

c) Ratify decree-laws of the Government, except those made in the exercise of its exclusive legislative powers

d) Draw up the State's accounts and those of the other public entities that the law determines, which shall be presented no later than December 31 of the following year, with the report of the Court of Auditors, if one has been drawn up, and the other elements necessary for their appreciation

e) To examine the annual and final reports on the execution of the Plan, which shall be presented together with the public accounts.

ARTICLE 166. (Competence in relation to other bodies)

In relation to other bodies, the Assembly of the Republic shall be responsible for

(a) to appraise the program of the Government;

b) To vote motions of confidence and censure of the Government;

c) To pronounce on the dissolution or suspension of the bodies of the autonomous regions;

d) Appoint the Ombudsman, one of the members of the Constitutional Commission and two of the members of the consultative commission for the affairs of the autonomous regions.

ARTICLE 167. (Reserve of legislative competence)

The Assembly of the Republic shall have exclusive power to legislate on the following matters

(a) acquisition, loss and reacquisition of Portuguese citizenship;

b) The status and capacity of persons;

c) Rights, liberties and guarantees;

d) State of siege and state of emergency regimes;

e) Definition of crimes, sentences and security measures and criminal procedure, except as provided in article 148(1)(a)

f) Elections of the office holders of the sovereign bodies, the autonomous regions and the local government

g) Political associations and parties

h) Organization of local authorities;

i) Participation of grassroots organizations in the exercise of local government

j) Organization and competence of the courts and the Public Prosecutor's Office and the status of the respective magistrates, except in the case of military courts, without prejudice to the provisions of article 218(2) of the Constitution

l) Organization of national defense and definition of the duties arising therefrom

m) The system and scope of civil service and the civil liability of the Administration;

n) Bases of the education system;

o) Creation of taxes and the tax system;

p) Definition of the sectors of ownership of the means of production, including the basic sectors in which private companies and other entities of the same nature are prohibited from operating;

q) Means and forms of intervention and nationalization and socialization of the means of production, as well as criteria for establishing compensation;

r) Bases for agrarian reform, including the criteria for fixing the maximum limits of private agricultural holding units

s) Monetary system and standard of weights and measures

t) Planning system, composition of the National Planning Council, determination of the plan-regions and definition of the scheme of regional planning bodies;

u) Remuneration of the President of the Republic, Deputies, members of the Government and judges of higher courts.

ARTICLE 168. (Legislative Authorizations)

1. The Assembly of the Republic may authorize the government to issue decree-laws on matters of its exclusive jurisdiction, defining the object and extent of the authorization and its duration, which may be extended.

2. Legislative authorizations may not be used more than once, without prejudice to their execution in installments.

3. Authorizations shall expire with the resignation of the government to which they were granted, with the end of the Legislature, or with the dissolution of the Assembly of the Republic.

ARTICLE 169. (Form of Acts)

1. The acts provided for in article 164 (a) shall have the form of a constitutional law.

2. The acts provided for in subparagraphs b) to j) of article 164 and subparagraph b) of article 165 shall have the form of law.

3. Acts provided for in subparagraphs a) and b) of article 166 shall take the form of motions.

4. All other acts of the Assembly of the Republic shall take the form of resolutions.

5. Resolutions, except those approving international treaties, shall be published independently of enactment.

ARTICLE 170. (Legislative initiative)

1. The initiative for legislation shall lie with Members of Parliament and the Government, as well as, where the autonomous regions are concerned, with the respective regional assemblies.

2. Members of Parliament may not introduce bills or proposed alterations which involve an increase in state expenditure or a reduction in state revenue as provided for in the budget law.

3. Bills and proposals for legislation that have been definitively rejected may not be renewed during the same legislative session, unless a new Assembly of the Republic is elected.

4. Bills and draft legislation that are not voted upon in the legislative session in which they were presented shall not need to be renewed in the following legislative sessions, except for the end of the legislative term, dissolution of the Assembly and, in the case of the draft legislation, resignation of the Government.

ARTICLE 171. (Discussion and voting)

1. Discussion of the bills and draft legislation shall comprise a general debate and a special debate.

2. If the Assembly so decides, texts approved in general terms shall be voted on in special terms by the committees, without prejudice to the power of recall by the Assembly and its final vote for overall approval.

3. Laws on the matters covered in paragraphs a), d), g), h) and i) of article 167 of the Constitution must be put to a special vote.

ARTICLE 172. (Ratification of decree-laws)

1. In the case of decree-laws published by the Government while the Assembly of the Republic is functioning, ratification shall be deemed to have been granted if, in the first fifteen meetings following the publication of the decree-law, at least five deputies do not request that it be submitted for ratification,

2. In the case of decree-laws published by the Government outside of the functioning of the Assembly of the Republic or in the use of legislative authorization, ratification shall be considered to have been granted if, in the first five meetings following the publication of the decree-law, at least twenty Members do not request that they be submitted for ratification.

3. Ratification may be granted with amendments and, in this case, the decree-law shall be altered under the terms of the law that the Assembly votes on.

4. If ratification is refused, the decree-law shall cease to be in effect from the day on which the resolution is published in the Diário da República.

ARTICLE 173. (Urgency procedure)

The Assembly of the Republic may, on the initiative of any deputy or of the Government, declare the urgent processing of any bill or draft law or resolution, as well as the consideration of any decree-law recommended to it by the Standing Committee.

CHAPTER III Organization and functioning

ARTICLE 174. (Legislature)

1. The term of office shall be four years.

2. In case of dissolution, the Assembly then elected shall not begin a new legislature.

3. In the event of an election due to dissolution during the time of the last legislative session, it shall be incumbent upon the elected Assembly to complete the legislature in progress and complete the next one.

ARTICLE 175. (Dissolution)

1. The decree dissolving the Assembly of the Republic shall set the date for new elections, which shall be held within ninety days, in accordance with the electoral law in effect at the time of the dissolution.

2. The Assembly of the Republic may not be dissolved during a state of siege or state of emergency.

3. Nonobservance of the provisions of this article shall render the decree of dissolution null and void.

ARTICLE 176. (Meeting after the elections)

1. The Assembly of the Republic shall meet, in its own right, on the tenth day following the tabulation of the final results of the elections.

2. If this date falls outside the legislative session, the Assembly shall meet for the purposes of the provisions of article 178.

ARTICLE 177. (Legislative session and convening the Assembly)

1. The legislative session shall run from 15 October to 15 June, without prejudice to any suspensions which the Assembly may establish.

2. Outside the period indicated in the preceding number, the Assembly shall meet on the initiative of the Permanent Commission or, in the event of a serious emergency, on its own initiative.

3. The Assembly may also be summoned extraordinarily by the President of the Republic to deal with specific matters.

ARTICLE 178. (Internal Competencies of the Assembly)

The Assembly of the Republic shall be responsible for preparing and approving its own bylaws; under the terms of the Constitution, it shall elect its President and the other members of the Bureau, and it shall establish and elect the Standing Commission and the other committees.

ARTICLE 179. (Agenda for plenary meetings)

1. The agenda shall be set by the President of the Assembly of the Republic according to the priority of matters defined in the bylaws.

2. The Government may request priority for matters of national interest that require urgent resolution.

3. All parliamentary groups shall have the right to determine the agenda for a certain number of meetings, according to criteria to be established in the rules of procedure, with the exception always of the position of minority parties or parties not represented in the Government.

ARTICLE 180. (Participation of members of the Government in plenary meetings)

1. The members of the Government shall have the right to attend the plenary meetings of the Assembly and may speak, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure.

2. Meetings may be scheduled, in agreement with the Government, at which members of the Government shall be present to answer questions and requests for clarification from Members of Parliament formulated orally or in writing.

ARTICLE 181. (Committees)

1. The Assembly of the Republic shall have the committees provided for in the Bylaws and may set up ad hoc committees of inquiry or for any other specific purpose.

2. Committees may request the participation of members of the government in their work.

3. Petitions addressed to the Assembly shall be considered by the committees, which may request the testimony of any citizen.

ARTICLE 182. (Standing Committee)

1. During intervals or suspensions of legislative sessions, the Standing Commission of the Assembly of the Republic shall function.

2. The Standing Commission shall be responsible for:

a) To monitor the activity of the Government and the Administration;

b) Exercising the powers of the Assembly in relation to the mandate of its members

c) Promoting the convening of the Assembly whenever necessary;

d) to prepare the opening of the legislative session

e) recommend the examination of decree-laws published by the Government outside the effective functioning of the Assembly.

ARTICLE 183. (Parliamentary Groups)

1. Members elected by each party or coalition of parties may form parliamentary groups.

2. Each parliamentary group shall have the following rights

a) To participate in the committees of the Assembly according to the number of its members, appointing their representatives in them;

b) To be heard when the agenda is set;

c) to call for the opening of two debates in each legislative session on matters of general policy, by means of an interpellation to the Government

d) To request the Standing Committee to promote the convening of the Assembly

e) Requesting the establishment of parliamentary committees of inquiry.

3. Each parliamentary group shall be entitled to have working premises at the seat of the Assembly, as well as technical and administrative staff of its own confidence, under such terms as may be determined by law.

ARTICLE 184. (Officials and specialists at the service of the Assembly)

The work of the Assembly and that of its committees shall be assisted by a permanent body of technical and administrative employees and by experts on request or under temporary contract, in such number as the President considers necessary.

TITLE V Government

CHAPTER I Function and Structure

ARTICLE 185. (Definition)

1. The Government is the body that conducts the general policy of the country and the highest body of the public administration.

2. The Government shall define and implement its policy with respect for the Constitution, in order to meet the objectives of democracy and the construction of socialism.

ARTICLE 186. (Composition)

1. The Government shall consist of the Prime Minister, the Ministers, and the Secretaries and Under-Secretaries of State.

2. The Government may include one or more Deputy Prime Ministers.

3. The number, designation, and attributions of the Ministries and Secretariats of State, as well as the forms of coordination among them, shall be determined, as the case may be, by the decrees appointing their respective holders or by decree-law.

ARTICLE 187. (Council of Ministers)

1. The Council of Ministers shall consist of the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Ministers, if any, and the Ministers.

2. The law may create specialized Councils of Ministers according to subject matter.

3. Secretaries and Under-Secretaries of State may be summoned to take part in meetings of the Council of Ministers.

ARTICLE 188. (Replacement of members of the Government)

1. If there is no Deputy Prime Minister, the Prime Minister shall be replaced in his absence or impediment by the Minister nominated by him to the President of the Republic or, failing such nomination, by the Minister designated by the President of the Republic, after consultation with the Council of the Revolution.

2. Each Minister shall be substituted in his or her absence or impediment by the Secretary of State he or she indicates to the Prime Minister or, in the absence of such indication, by the member of the Government designated by the Prime Minister.

ARTICLE 189. (Termination of duties)

1. The functions of the Prime Minister shall cease with the resignation of the President of the Republic.

2. The functions of all members of the Government shall cease with the resignation of the Prime Minister.

3. The functions of the Secretaries and Under-Secretaries of Study shall cease with the resignation of the respective Minister.

4. In case of resignation, the members of the outgoing Government shall remain in office until the new Government takes office.

CHAPTER II Training and Responsibility

ARTICLE 190. (Formation)

1. The Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President of the Republic, after consulting the Council of the Revolution and the parties represented in the Assembly of the Republic, taking into account the election results.

2. The remaining members of the Government shall be appointed by the President of the Republic on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.

ARTICLE 191. (Program of the Government)

The Government program shall contain the main political and legislative measures to be adopted or proposed to the President of the Republic or the Assembly of the Republic for the execution of the Constitution.

ARTICLE 192. (Government solidarity)

The members of the Government shall be bound by the Government program and the deliberations taken in the Council of Ministers.

ARTICLE 193. (Political Responsibility of the Government)

The Government shall be politically accountable to the President of the Republic and to the Assembly of the Republic.

ARTICLE 194. (Political responsibility of members of the Government)

1. The Prime Minister shall be politically accountable to the President of the Republic and, within the scope of governmental responsibility, to the Assembly of the Republic.

2. The Deputy Prime Ministers and the Ministers shall be politically responsible to the Prime Minister and, within the scope of governmental responsibility, to the Assembly of the Republic.

3. Secretaries and Under-Secretaries of State shall be politically responsible to the Prime Minister and the respective Minister.

ARTICLE 195. (Consideration of the Government program by the Assembly of the Republic)

1. The program of the Government shall be submitted to the Assembly of the Republic for consideration within ten days of the appointment of the Prime Minister.

2. If the Assembly of the Republic is not functioning, it must be convened for this purpose by its President.

3. The debate shall not exceed five days and, until it is concluded, any parliamentary group may propose the rejection of the Government's program.

4. Rejection of the Government program shall require an absolute majority of the Members in full exercise of their office.

ARTICLE 196. (Request for a vote of confidence)

The Government may request the Assembly of the Republic to approve a vote of confidence on a general policy statement or on any relevant matter of national interest.

ARTICLE 197. (No confidence motions)

1. The Assembly of the Republic may vote motions of no confidence in the Government on the execution of its program or on relevant matters of national interest, on the initiative of a quarter of its Members in full exercise of their office or any parliamentary group.

2. No confidence motions may only be considered forty-eight hours after their presentation, in a debate lasting no longer than three days.

3. If a no confidence motion is not approved, its signatories may not table another during the same legislative session.

ARTICLE 198. (Effects)

1. The following shall imply the resignation of the Government

(a) the rejection of the Government's program;

b) Failure to pass a vote of confidence;

c) The passing of two motions of no confidence, at least thirty days apart, by an absolute majority of the Members in full exercise of their office.

2. The President of the Republic may not dissolve the Assembly due to the rejection of the Government's program, except in the case of three consecutive rejections.

3. The President of the Republic must compulsorily dissolve the Assembly of the Republic when it has refused confidence in or voted to censure the Government, determining, for any of these reasons, the third replacement of the Government.

ARTICLE 199. (Civil and criminal liability of members of the Government)

1. The members of the Government shall be civilly and criminally liable for the acts they perform or legalize.

2. If legal proceedings are brought against a member of the Government for the commission of any crime and indicted by indictment or equivalent, the proceedings shall only continue, in the event of a greater penalty, if the member of the Government is suspended from exercising his or her functions.

CHAPTER III Competence

ARTICLE 200. (Political Competence)

In the exercise of political functions, the Government shall be responsible for:

(a) to referendums on the acts of the President of the Republic, in accordance with article 141 of the Constitution

b) To negotiate and adjust international conventions;

c) Approving international agreements, as well as treaties for which approval does not fall within the competence of the Council of the Revolution or the Assembly of the Republic, or which have not been submitted to it;

d) Carrying out any other acts established in the Constitution or by law.

ARTICLE 201. (Legislative Competence)

1. In the exercise of legislative functions, the Government shall be responsible for

a) Make decree-laws on matters not reserved to the Council of the Revolution or the Assembly of the Republic;

b) To make decree-laws on matters reserved for the Assembly of the Republic, by means of authorization from the latter;

c) the making of decree-laws to develop the principles or general bases of the legal systems contained in laws that are limited to them.

2. The Government shall have exclusive legislative powers on matters concerning its own organization and functioning.

3. Decree-laws not submitted to the Council of Ministers shall be signed by the Prime Minister and the relevant Ministers.

ARTICLE 202. (Administrative Competence)

It is incumbent upon the Government, in the exercise of administrative functions;

a) To draw up the Plan, based on the respective law, and to execute it;

b) To draw up the General State Budget, based on the respective law, and to execute it

c) Make the necessary regulations for the good execution of the laws

d) To direct the services and activities of the direct and indirect administration of the State and to superintend autonomous administration;

e) Performing all the acts required by law regarding the employees and agents of the state and other public collective persons;

f) To defend democratic legality;

g) To perform all the acts and take all the measures necessary to promote social and economic development and to satisfy collective needs.

ARTICLE 203. (Competence of the Council of Ministers)

1. The Council of Ministers shall be responsible for:

(a) to define the general lines of government policy, as well as those of its execution;

b) To deliberate on the request for confidence to the Assembly of the Republic;

c) To approve proposed laws and resolutions;

d) Approve decree-laws that translate into the direct execution of the Government's program

e) To approve the Plan and the Budget

f) To approve Government acts involving increases or decreases in public revenue or expenditure

g) To deliberate on other matters of Government competence assigned by law or presented by the Prime Minister or any Minister.

2. The specialized Councils of Ministers shall exercise the powers conferred upon them by law or delegated to them by the Council of Ministers.

ARTICLE 204. (Competence of the members of the Government)

1. The Prime Minister shall be responsible for:

(a) To direct the general policy of the Government, coordinating and guiding the action of all the Ministers;

b) To direct the functioning of the Government and to establish general relations between it and other organs of the State

c) To exercise the other functions conferred upon it by the Constitution and the law.

2. It shall be incumbent upon the Ministers:

a) To execute the policy defined for their Ministries;

b) Establishing general relations between the Government and other state bodies within the scope of the respective ministries.

TITLE VI Courts

CHAPTER I General Principles

ARTICLE 205. (Definition)

The courts are sovereign bodies with the power to administer justice on behalf of the people.

ARTICLE 206. (Judicial function)

In the administration of justice, it shall be the duty of the courts to ensure the defense of the legally protected rights and interests of citizens, to repress violations of democratic legality and to settle conflicts of public and private interests.

ARTICLE 207. (Assessment of unconstitutionality)

In cases submitted for trial, the courts may not apply unconstitutional rules, and to this end, and without prejudice to the provisions of article 282, they shall be responsible for assessing the existence of unconstitutionality.

ARTICLE 208. (Independence)

The courts are independent and subject only to the law.

ARTICLE 209. (Assistance from other authorities)

In exercising their functions, the courts have the right to the assistance of other authorities.

ARTICLE 210. (Execution of decisions)

1. The decisions of the courts shall be binding on all public and private entities and shall prevail over those of any other authorities.

2. The law shall regulate the terms for enforcing court rulings against any authority and shall determine the sanctions to be applied to those responsible for their non-enforcement.

ARTICLE 211. (Court hearings)

Court hearings shall be public, unless the court itself decides otherwise in a reasoned order to safeguard personal dignity and public morals, or to guarantee its normal functioning.

CHAPTER II Organization of the Courts

ARTICLE 212. (Categories of courts)

1. There shall be courts of first instance, courts of second instance and the Supreme Court of Justice.

2. There shall be military courts and a Court of Auditors.

3. There may be administrative and fiscal courts.

ARTICLE 213. (Specialization)

1. At first instance there may be courts with specific jurisdiction and specialized courts for the trial of specific matters.

2. The courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Justice may operate in specialized chambers.

3. The existence of courts with exclusive jurisdiction to try certain categories of crimes shall be prohibited.

ARTICLE 214. (Instances)

1. The courts of first instance shall, as a rule, be the district courts, to which the courts mentioned in paragraph 1 of the preceding article are equivalent.

2. The courts of appeal shall, as a rule, be the Circuit Courts.

3. The Supreme Court of Justice shall function as a court of appeal in cases determined by law.

ARTICLE 215. (Supreme Court of Justice)

The Supreme Court of Justice shall be the highest body in the hierarchy of judicial courts.

ARTICLE 216. (Jury)

1. The jury is composed of the judges of the collective court and jurors.

2. The jury shall intervene in the trial of serious crimes and shall function when the prosecution or the defense request it.

ARTICLE 217. (Popular participation and technical advisory services)

1. The law may create popular judges and establish other forms of popular participation in the administration of justice.

2. The law may establish the participation of technically qualified advisors to judge certain matters.

ARTICLE 218. (Competence of military courts)

1. Military courts shall have jurisdiction for the trial, in criminal matters, of essentially military crimes.

2. The law, for relevant reasons, may include in the jurisdiction of military courts intentional crimes comparable to those provided for in paragraph 1.

ARTICLE 219. (Competence of the Court of Auditors)

The Court of Auditors shall be responsible for issuing an opinion on the General State Account, supervising the legality of public expenditure and judging the accounts that the law orders to be submitted to it.

CHAPTER III Magistrates of the Judicial Courts

ARTICLE 220. (Unity of the Judiciary)

The judges of the courts of justice shall form a single body and shall be governed by a single statute.

ARTICLE 221. (Guarantees)

1. Judges shall be irremovable and may not be transferred, suspended, retired or dismissed except in cases prescribed by law.

2. Judges may not be held responsible for their decisions, save for the exceptions prescribed by law.

ARTICLE 222. (Incompatibilities)

1. Judges in office may not hold any other remunerated public or private office.

2. Judges in office may not be appointed to service commissions unrelated to judicial activity without the authorization of the Superior Council of the Judiciary.

ARTICLE 223. (Superior Council of the Judiciary)

1. The law shall determine the composition of the Superior Council of the Judiciary, which shall include members elected by the judges from among their number.

2. The Superior Council of the Judiciary shall be responsible for the appointment, placement, transfer and promotion of judges and for disciplinary action.

CHAPTER IV Public Prosecutor's Office

ARTICLE 224. (Functions and status)

1. The Public Prosecutor's Office shall be responsible for representing the state, prosecuting, defending democratic legality and the interests determined by law.

2. The Public Prosecutor's Office shall have its own statute.

ARTICLE 225. (Public Prosecutors)

1. Public Prosecutors shall be responsible magistrates who are hierarchically subordinate and may only be transferred, suspended, retired or dismissed in the cases prescribed by law.

2. The appointment, placement, transfer and promotion of public prosecutors and the exercise of disciplinary action shall be the responsibility of the Attorney-General's Office.

ARTICLE 226. (Attorney General's Office)

1. The Attorney-General's Office shall be the highest body of the Public Prosecutor's Office and shall be headed by the Attorney-General.

2. The law shall determine the rules of organization and composition of the Attorney-General's Office.

TITLE VII Autonomous Regions

ARTICLE 227. (Political-administrative regime of the Azores and Madeira)

1. The political-administrative regime proper to the archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira shall be based on the geographic, economic and social conditioning and on the historical aspirations for autonomy of the island populations.

2. The autonomy of the regions is aimed at the democratic participation of citizens, economic and social development, the promotion and defense of regional interests, and the strengthening of national unity and the ties of solidarity among all Portuguese people.

3. Regional political and administrative autonomy shall not affect the integrity of state sovereignty and shall be exercised within the framework of the Constitution.

ARTICLE 228. (Bylaws)

1. Draft political-administrative statutes for the autonomous regions shall be drawn up by the regional assemblies and sent to the Assembly of the Republic for discussion and approval.

2. If the Assembly of the Republic rejects the draft statute or makes amendments to it, it shall forward it to the respective regional assembly for consideration and an opinion.

3. Once the opinion has been drawn up, the Assembly of the Republic shall take the final decision.

ARTICLE 229. (Powers of the autonomous regions)

1. The autonomous regions are legal persons governed by public law and shall have the following powers, which shall be defined in the respective statutes:

a) To legislate, with respect for the Constitution and the general laws of the Republic, on matters of specific interest to the regions that are not reserved to the proper competence of the organs of sovereignty;

b) To regulate regional legislation and the general laws emanating from the organs of sovereignty that do not reserve to them the respective power to regulate

c) Exercise legislative initiative, by submitting draft laws to the Assembly of the Republic;

d) To exercise its own executive power

e) To administer and dispose of its assets and enter into the acts and contracts in which it has an interest;

f) To dispose of the tax revenues they collect and others that are assigned to them and allocate them to their expenses;

g) To exercise power of guidance and supervision over the local authorities

h) Supervise the services, public institutes, and nationalized companies that carry out their activities exclusively in the region and in other cases in which the regional interest justifies it

i) To elaborate the regional economic plan and to participate in the elaboration of the Plan

j) To participate in the definition and execution of fiscal, monetary, financial and exchange policies in order to ensure regional control of the means of payment in circulation and the financing of the investments necessary for its economic and social development

l) Participate in the negotiation of international treaties and agreements that directly concern them, as well as in the benefits arising from them.

2. The regional assemblies may request the Council of the Revolution to declare the unconstitutionality of legal norms issued by the sovereign bodies on the grounds that they violate the rights of the regions enshrined in the Constitution.

ARTICLE 230. (Limits on Powers)

The autonomous regions are forbidden:

a) Restricting the legally recognized rights of workers;

b) Establishing restrictions on the transit of people and goods between them and the rest of the national territory;

c) Reserve the exercise of any profession or access to any public office for natural persons or residents of the region.

ARTICLE 231. (Cooperation between sovereign and regional bodies)

1. The organs of sovereignty shall, in co-operation with the regional government bodies, ensure the economic and social development of the autonomous regions, with a particular view to correcting the inequalities deriving from insularity.

2. The organs of sovereignty shall always listen to the organs of regional government on matters within their competence that pertain to the autonomous regions.

ARTICLE 232. (Representation of the sovereignty of the Republic)

1. The sovereignty of the Republic shall be especially represented in each of the autonomous regions by a Minister of the Republic appointed by the President of the Republic, following a proposal by the Prime Minister and after consulting the Council of the Revolution.

2. The Minister of the Republic shall be responsible for coordinating the activity of the central State services with regard to the interests of the region, for which purpose he shall have ministerial authority and shall sit in the Council of Ministers in meetings dealing with issues of interest to the respective region.

3. The Minister of the Republic shall superintend the administrative functions exercised by the State in the region, and shall coordinate them with those exercised by the region itself.

4. In his absences and impediments, the Minister of the Republic shall be replaced in the region by the President of the Regional Assembly.

ARTICLE 233. (Organs of self-government of the regions)

1. The organs of self-government of each region shall be the regional assembly and the regional government.

2. The regional assembly shall be elected by universal, direct and secret ballot, in accordance with the principle of proportional representation.

3. The regional assembly shall be solely responsible for exercising the powers referred to in Article 229(a), the second part of Article 229(b) and Article 229(c), and for approving the budget and the regional economic plan.

4. The regional government shall be politically accountable to the regional assembly and its president shall be appointed by the Minister of the Republic, taking into account the results of the elections.

5. The Minister of the Republic shall appoint and dismiss the remaining members of the regional government on the recommendation of the respective president.

ARTICLE 234. (Dissolution and suspension of regional bodies)

1. The bodies of the autonomous regions may be dissolved or suspended by the President of the Republic for acts contrary to the Constitution, after the Revolutionary Council and the Assembly of the Republic have been heard.

2. The dissolution of regional bodies shall require the holding of new elections within a maximum period of ninety days, in accordance with the electoral law in force at the time of the dissolution, on pain of the nullity of the respective decree.

3. The suspension of regional bodies shall be for a fixed period of time, not exceeding fifteen days, and no more than two suspensions may occur during each legislative term of the regional assembly.

4. In the event of dissolution or suspension of the regional bodies, the government of the region shall be assumed by the Minister of the Republic.

ARTICLE 235. (Regional Decrees)

1. Regional decrees, as well as regulations of the general laws of the Republic, shall be sent to the Minister of the Republic to be signed and published.

2. Within fifteen days of receiving any of the decrees specified in the previous point, the Minister of the Republic may, in a reasoned message, exercise his right of veto and request that the decree-law be reconsidered.

3. If the regional assembly confirms the vote by an absolute majority of its members in full exercise of their functions, the signature may not be withheld.

4. If, however, the Minister of the Republic finds that the statute is unconstitutional, he may succeed to the question of unconstitutionality before the Council of the Revolution under the terms and for the purposes of articles 277 and 278, with the necessary adaptations.

ARTICLE 236. (Consultative Commission for the Autonomous Regions)

1. A consultative commission for the affairs of the autonomous regions shall be attached to the President of the Republic, with the following competencies;

a) Issue opinions, at the request of the Minister of the Republic, on the legality of statutes issued by regional bodies;

b) To issue an opinion, at the request of the presidents of the regional assemblies, concerning the conformity of laws, regulations, and other acts of the sovereign bodies to the rights of the regions, enshrined in the statutes;

c) To express its opinion on all other matters that the President of the Republic requests it to examine or that are attributed to it by the statutes or by the general laws of the Republic.

2. The Committee shall be composed of

a) One citizen of recognized merit, who shall preside, designated by the President of the Republic;

b) Four citizens of recognized merit and proven competence in legal matters, two designated by the Assembly of the Republic and one by each regional assembly.

3. The trial of the issues provided for in Points a) and b) of Point 1 shall be the responsibility of the court of last instance designated by law of the Republic.

TITLE VIII Local Authorities

CHAPTER I General Principles

ARTICLE 237. (Local Authorities)

1. The democratic organization of the state shall include local authorities.

2. Local authorities shall be territorial bodies endowed with representative bodies whose purpose shall be to pursue the interests of the respective populations.

ARTICLE 238. (Categories of local authorities and administrative division)

1. In the mainland, the local authorities shall be the parishes, the municipalities and the administrative regions.

2. The autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira shall comprise parishes and municipalities.

3. In the large metropolitan areas, the law may establish, in accordance with their specific conditions, other forms of local authority territorial organization.

4. The administrative division of the territory shall be established by law.

ARTICLE 239. (Functions and organization of local authorities)

The powers and organization of local authorities and the responsibilities of their bodies shall be regulated by law, in accordance with the principle of administrative decentralization.

ARTICLE 240. (Local Assets and Finances)

1. Local authorities shall have their own property and finances.

2. The local finance system shall be established by law and shall aim to ensure the fair distribution of public resources between the state and the local authorities and the necessary correction of inequalities between local authorities of the same level.

3. The local authorities' own revenue shall obligatorily include revenue from the management of their assets and revenue collected from the use of their services.

ARTICLE 241. (Deliberative and executive bodies)

1. The organization of local authorities shall comprise an elected assembly with deliberative powers and an executive collegiate body responsible to it.

2. The assembly shall be elected by universal, direct and secret ballot of the resident citizens, according to the system of proportional representation.

ARTICLE 242. (Regulatory power)

The local authority assembly shall have its own regulatory powers within the limits of the Constitution, the laws and the regulations issued by higher-level authorities or authorities with supervisory power.

ARTICLE 243. (Administrative guardianship)

1. Local authority administrative supervision shall be exercised in the forms and in the cases prescribed by law and shall be the responsibility of the Government on the mainland and the respective regional bodies in the Azores and Madeira.

2. Measures that are especially restrictive to local autonomy shall be preceded by the opinion of a local authority body to be defined by law.

3. The dissolution of the assembly shall be accompanied by the scheduling of new elections, which must be held within sixty days, and there may not be another dissolution before one year has elapsed.

ARTICLE 244. (General Personnel Chart)

1. With the aim of assisting local authorities and guaranteeing the efficiency of their action, a general civil service shall be organized under the auspices of the relevant ministry, including specialists in specialized areas of interest to local government.

2. The appointment of administrative officials integrated into the general framework to local authority posts shall depend upon the hearing of the local authorities.

Chapter II Parish

ARTICLE 245. (Bodies of the parish)

The representative bodies of the parish are the parish assembly and the parish council.

ARTICLE 246. (Parish Assembly)

1. The parish assembly is elected by the voters residing in the area of the parish.

2. In addition to political parties, other groups of electing citizens, under the terms established by law, may nominate candidates for election to the bodies of the parish.

3. The law may determine that, in the parishes with a small population, the parish assembly shall be replaced by a plenary meeting of the voting citizens.

ARTICLE 247. (Parish Council)

1. The parish council is the executive body of the parish and is elected by secret ballot by the assembly from among its members.

2. The president of the parish council is the citizen who heads the list with the most votes in the election of the assembly or, in the absence of an assembly, the citizen elected for this position by the plenary.

ARTICLE 248. (Delegation of tasks)

The parish assembly may delegate administrative tasks that do not involve the exercise of authority to territorially based popular organizations.

Chapter III Municipality

ARTICLE 249. (Counties and municipalities)

The existing municipalities are those provided for in the Constitution, and the law may create others or extinguish those which are manifestly unfeasible.

ARTICLE 250. (Municipal bodies)

The representative bodies of the municipality are the municipal assembly, the municipal council and the municipal council.

ARTICLE 251. (Municipal Assembly)

The municipal assembly comprises the mayors of the parish councils and members, no fewer in number than the mayors, elected by the electoral college of the municipality.

ARTICLE 252. (Town Council)

The municipal council is the collegiate executive body of the municipality, elected by the voting citizens residing in its area, and its president is the first candidate from the list with the most votes.

ARTICLE 253. (Municipal council)

The municipal council is the municipal advisory body, and its composition shall be defined by law in such a way as to guarantee adequate representation for the economic, social, cultural and professional organizations existing in the respective area.

ARTICLE 254. (Association and federation)

1. Municipalities may form associations and federations for the administration of common interests.

2. The law may establish the obligation to form a federation.

ARTICLE 255. (Participation in the revenue from direct taxes)

The municipalities shall, by their own right and under the terms defined by law, participate in the revenue from direct taxes.

CHAPTER IV Administrative Region

ARTICLE 256. (Establishment of Regions)

1. The regions shall be established simultaneously, and the regional statute may establish differentiation as to the regime applicable to each of them.

2. The area of the regions shall correspond to that of the plan regions.

3. The actual establishment of each region shall depend upon the favorable vote of a majority of the municipal assemblies representing a majority of the population of the regional area.

ARTICLE 257. (Attributions)

In addition to participating in the preparation and execution of the regional plan, the regions will be given, in particular, tasks to coordinate and support the action of municipalities, as well as to direct public services.

ARTICLE 258. (Organs of the Region)

The representative bodies of the region shall be the Regional Assembly, the Regional Council and the Regional Council.

ARTICLE 259. (Regional Assembly)

The regional assembly shall comprise, in addition to the representatives elected directly by the citizens, members elected by the municipal assemblies, in a smaller number than the former.

ARTICLE 260. (Regional Council)

The regional board is the collegiate executive body of the region and shall be elected by secret ballot by the regional assembly from among its members.

ARTICLE 261. (Regional Council)

The regional council is the region's consultative body and its composition shall be defined by law, in such a way as to guarantee adequate representation for the cultural, social, economic and professional organizations existing in the respective area.

ARTICLE 262. (Government representative)

There shall be a Government representative in the region, appointed by the Council of Ministers, whose powers shall also be exercised in relation to the local authorities in the respective area.

ARTICLE 263. (Districts)

1. Until regions are established, the district division shall subsist.

2. There shall be a deliberative assembly in each district, under terms to be defined by law, composed of representatives of the municipalities and presided over by the civil governor.

3. The civil governor, assisted by a council, shall be responsible for representing the government and exercising supervisory powers in the area of the district.

CHAPTER V Territorially Based Popular Organizations

ARTICLE 264. (Constitution and area)

1. In order to intensify the participation of the people in local administrative life, territorially-based people's organizations may be formed for areas smaller than the parish.

2. The parish assembly, on its own initiative, or at the request of residents' committees or a significant number of residents, shall demarcate the territorial areas of the organizations referred to in the preceding paragraph and shall resolve any conflicts arising therefrom.

ARTICLE 265. (Structure)

1. The structure of territorially based popular organizations shall be as established by law and shall comprise the neighborhood assembly and the neighborhood committee.

2. The residents' assembly is composed of residents registered in the parish census and of non-registered residents under the age of 16 who provide documentary proof of their status as residents.

3. The assembly meets when publicly convened, with due notice, by at least twenty of its members or by the residents' committee.

4. The Residents' Committee is elected by secret ballot by the Residents' Assembly and freely dismissed by it.

ARTICLE 266. (Functions)

1. The territorially-based popular organizations have the right:

a) To petition the local authorities on administrative matters of interest to the residents;

b) To participate, without voting, through their representatives, in the parish assembly.

2. The territorially-based popular organizations shall be responsible for carrying out the tasks which the law entrusts to them or which the parish bodies delegate to them.

TITLE IX Public Administration

ARTICLE 267. (Fundamental principles)

1. The Public Administration shall pursue the public interest, with respect for the legally protected rights and interests of citizens.

2. Administrative bodies and agents are subordinate to the Constitution and the law and must act with justice and impartiality in exercising their functions.

ARTICLE 268. (Administration Structure)

1. The Public Administration shall be structured so as to bring services closer to the people, to ensure the participation of those interested in their effective management, namely through grassroots organizations or other forms of democratic representation, and to avoid bureaucratization.

2. For the purposes of the previous point, the law shall establish appropriate forms of administrative decentralization and de-concentration, without prejudice to the necessary effectiveness and unity of action and the powers of direction and superintendence of the Government.

3. The processing of administrative activity shall be the object of special law, which shall ensure the rationalization of the means to be used by the services and the participation of citizens in forming the decisions or deliberations that concern them.

ARTICLE 269. (Rights and guarantees of the administrators)

1. Citizens shall have the right to be informed by the administration, whenever they request it, of the progress of cases in which they have a direct interest, as well as the right to know the final decisions made about them.

2. Interested parties are guaranteed a contentious appeal, on the grounds of illegality, against any definitive and enforceable administrative acts.

ARTICLE 270. (Civil Service Regime)

1. The employees and agents of the state and other public entities are exclusively at the service of the public interest, as defined, under the terms of the law, by the competent bodies of the administration.

2. Civil servants and agents of the state and other public bodies may not be prejudiced or benefited due to the exercise of any political rights prescribed in the Constitution, namely due to party political affiliation.

3. In disciplinary proceedings, the accused shall be guaranteed a hearing and a defense.

4. The accumulation of jobs or public positions shall not be permitted, except in cases expressly permitted by law.

5. The law shall determine incompatibilities between the exercise of public employment or positions and other activities.

ARTICLE 271. (Responsibilities of employees and agents)

1. Employees and agents of the state and other public bodies shall be liable in civil, criminal and disciplinary terms for their actions and omissions which result in the violation of the rights or legally protected interests of citizens; their actions or procedures, at any stage, shall not depend on hierarchical authorization.

2. An official or agent acting in compliance with orders or instructions issued by a legitimate hierarchical superior and in service matters shall not be held liable if he or she has previously complained about them or demanded that they be transmitted or confirmed in writing.

3. The duty of obedience shall cease whenever compliance with orders or instructions implies the commission of any crime.

4. The law shall regulate the terms under which the state and other public bodies shall have the right of recourse against the members of their bodies, employees and agents.

ARTICLE 272. (Police)

1. The role of the Police shall be to defend the democratic legality and the rights of citizens.

2. Police measures shall be those prescribed by law and shall not be used beyond what is strictly necessary.

3. The prevention of crimes, including crimes against state security, can only be carried out in observance of the general rules on policing and with respect for the rights, freedoms and guarantees of citizens.

TITLE X Armed Forces

ARTICLE 273. (Functions)

1. The Portuguese Armed Forces shall guarantee national independence, the unity of the State and the integrity of the territory.

2. The Portuguese Armed Forces are part of the people and, identified with the spirit of the Program of the Armed Forces Movement, they ensure the continuation of the Revolution of April 25, 1974.

3. The Portuguese Armed Forces guarantee the regular functioning of democratic institutions and compliance with the Constitution.

4. The Portuguese Armed Forces have the historical mission of ensuring the conditions that permit the peaceful and pluralistic transition of Portuguese society towards democracy and socialism.

5. The Portuguese Armed Forces collaborate in the tasks of national reconstruction.

ARTICLE 274. (Structure)

1. The Portuguese Armed Forces shall constitute a national institution and their organization, as well as that of the militarized forces, shall be unique throughout the territory.

2. The Portuguese Armed Forces shall be composed exclusively of Portuguese citizens.

3. The Portuguese Armed Forces shall obey the competent organs of sovereignty, under the terms of the Constitution.

ARTICLE 275. (Partisan exemption)

1. The Portuguese Armed Forces are at the service of the Portuguese people, and not of any party or organization, and are strictly non-partisan.

2. The members of the Portuguese Armed Forces shall observe the objectives of the Portuguese people as laid down in the Constitution and shall not use their arms, rank or function to impose, influence or impede the choice of a particular democratic political path.

ARTICLE 276. (Homeland defense and military service)

1. The defense of the Motherland is the fundamental duty of all Portuguese.

2. Military service shall be obligatory under the terms and for the period of time prescribed by law.

3. Those considered unfit for armed military service and conscientious objectors shall perform unarmed military service or civic service appropriate to their situation.

4. Civic service may be established in lieu of or in addition to military service and made compulsory by law for citizens not subject to military duties.

5. No citizen may retain or obtain employment from the State or other public entity if he fails to fulfill his military or civic service duties when compulsory.

6. No citizen shall be prejudiced in his placement, in his social benefits, or in his permanent employment by virtue of performing compulsory military or civil service.

PART IV Guarantee and revision of the Constitution

TITLE I Guarantee of the Constitution

CHAPTER I Supervision of Constitutionality

ARTICLE 277. (Preventive review of constitutionality)

1. All decrees sent to the President of the Republic to be promulgated as laws or decree-laws, or which consist of the approval of international treaties or agreements, shall simultaneously be sent to the Council of the Revolution and may not be promulgated before five days have elapsed since they were received by the Council.

2. In the event that the President of the Republic recognizes the urgency of enactment, he shall inform the Council of the Revolution of the purpose of immediate enactment.

3. If the Council of the Revolution has doubts as to the constitutionality of a decree and decides to consider it, it shall, within the period referred to in paragraph 1, notify the President of the Republic so that he or she does not enact it.

4. Following a decision by the Council or a request by the President of the Republic to evaluate the constitutionality of a decree, the Council of the Revolution shall pronounce within twenty days, which may be reduced by the President of the Republic in cases of urgency.

ARTICLE 278. (Effects of the decision)

1. If the Council of the Revolution rules that any statute is unconstitutional, the President of the Republic shall exercise his right of veto and shall not promulgate or sign it,

2. In the case of a decree issued by the Assembly of the Republic, it may not be promulgated without the Assembly again approving it by a two-thirds majority of the deputies present.

3. In the case of a decree issued by the Government, it may not be enacted or signed.

ARTICLE 279. (Unconstitutionality by omission)

When the Constitution is not being complied with due to the omission of legislative measures necessary to render constitutional norms enforceable, the Council of the Revolution may recommend that the competent legislative bodies issue them within a reasonable time.

ARTICLE 280. (Unconstitutionality by action)

1. Rules that violate the provisions of the Constitution or the principles enshrined in it are unconstitutional.

2. Unconstitutional norms may not be applied by the courts, and the Council of the Revolution shall be responsible for declaring their unconstitutionality with generally binding force, under the terms of the following articles.

3. The organic or formal unconstitutionality of international conventions shall not prevent their norms from being applied within the Portuguese internal legal system, unless they prevent it within the internal legal system of the other party or parties.

ARTICLE 281. (Declaration of unconstitutionality)

1. The Council of the Revolution shall consider and declare the unconstitutionality of any rules, with binding general force, at the request of the President of the Republic, the President of the Assembly of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Ombudsman, the Attorney General or, in the cases prescribed in Article 229(2), the assemblies of the autonomous regions.

2. The Council of the Revolution may declare, with generally binding force, the unconstitutionality of a rule if the Constitutional Commission has judged it unconstitutional in three specific cases or in just one case if it is organically or formally unconstitutional, without offending the cases judged.

ARTICLE 282. (Judicial review of constitutionality)

1. Whenever the courts refuse to apply a rule contained in a law, decree-law, regulatory decree, regional decree-law or similar, on the grounds of unconstitutionality, and once all the ordinary appeals that may be applicable have been exhausted, there shall be a free appeal, which shall be mandatory as regards the Public Prosecutor's Office and restricted to the unconstitutionality issue, to the Constitutional Commission for a definitive ruling on the specific case.

2. There shall also be a free appeal to the Constitutional Commission, which shall be mandatory as regards the Public Prosecutor's Office, against decisions which apply a rule previously judged unconstitutional by the Constitutional Commission.

3. In the case of a norm contained in a statute not provided for in Point 1, the courts shall pass final judgment on the unconstitutionality.

CHAPTER II Constitutional Commission

ARTICLE 283. (Constitutional Commission)

1. The Constitutional Commission shall be attached to the Council of the Revolution.

2. The Constitutional Commission shall consist of:

(a) A member of the Council of the Revolution, appointed by it, as chairman and with casting vote;

b) Four judges, one appointed by the Supreme Court of Justice and the others by the Supreme Judicial Council, one of whom shall be a judge of the courts of appeal and two of the courts of first instance

c) One citizen of recognized merit appointed by the President of the Republic;

d) One citizen of recognized merit appointed by the Assembly of the Republic;

e) Two citizens of recognized merit appointed by the Council of the Revolution, one of whom must be a jurist of proven competence.

3. The members of the Constitutional Commission shall hold office for four years, shall be independent and irremovable, and, when performing judicial functions, shall enjoy guarantees of impartiality and the guarantee of the unaccountability of judges.

ARTICLE 284. (Competencies)

The Constitutional Commission shall be responsible for:

a) To issue a mandatory opinion on the constitutionality of bills to be considered by the Council of the Revolution, under the terms of article 277 and no. 1 of article 281

b) To obligatorily issue an opinion on the existence of violation of constitutional rules by omission, under the terms and for the purposes of article 279

c) Judge questions of unconstitutionality that are submitted to it, under the terms of article 282.

ARTICLE 285. (Organization, functioning and process)

1. The organization, functioning and process of the Constitutional Commission shall be regulated by the Revolution Council.

2. The rules of procedure may be altered by the Assembly of the Republic.

TITLE II Constitutional Revision

ARTICLE 286. (First Revision)

1. During the 2nd parliamentary term, the Assembly of the Republic shall have constitutional revision powers, which shall end with the passing of the revision law.

2. Alterations to the Constitution must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the Members present, provided that this is higher than the absolute majority of Members in full exercise of their office and the President of the Republic may not refuse to enact the revision law.

ARTICLE 287. (Subsequent revisions)

1. The Assembly of the Republic may revise the Constitution five years after the date of publication of any revision law.

2. However, at any time after the revision provided for in the previous article, the Assembly of the Republic may assume powers to revise the Constitution by a majority of four fifths of the Members in full exercise of their office.

3. The amendments to the Constitution provided for in this article must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the Members in full exercise of their office.

ARTICLE 288. (Review Process)

1. The initiative for revision shall lie with the Members of Parliament.

2. Once a constitutional revision bill has been presented, any other bills must be presented within thirty days.

3. Amendments to the Constitution which are approved shall be brought together in a single revision law.

ARTICLE 289. (New text of the Constitution)

1. Amendments to the Constitution shall be inserted in the proper place, through necessary substitutions, deletions and additions.

2. The Constitution, in its new text, shall be published together with the revision law.

ARTICLE 290. (Material limits of the revision)

Constitutional revision laws shall respect:

(a) the national independence and the unity of the State;

b) The republican form of government

c) The separation of Churches from the State;

d) The rights, liberties and guarantees of the citizens

e) The rights of workers, workers' committees and trade union associations;

f) The principle of collective ownership of the principal means of production and land, as well as natural resources, and the elimination of monopolies and latifundia

g) The democratic planning of the economy;

h) Universal, direct, secret, and periodic suffrage in the appointment of elective holders of the sovereign bodies, the autonomous regions, and local government, and the system of proportional representation;

i) Pluralism of political expression and organization, including political parties, and the right of democratic opposition;

j) The participation of grassroots popular organizations in the exercise of local government

l) The separation and interdependence of the organs of sovereignty;

m) The review of constitutionality by action or by omission of legal norms

n) The independence of the courts;

o) The autonomy of local authorities;

p) Political and administrative autonomy of the Azores and Madeira archipelagos.

ARTICLE 291. (Circumstantial limits on revision)

No act of constitutional revision may be performed during a state of siege or a state of emergency.

Final and transitory provisions

ARTICLE 292. (Previous constitutional law)

1. The provisions of the 1933 Constitution, revoked by the Revolution of April 25, 1974, which were safeguarded by Law no. 3/74, of May 14th, expire when the Constitution comes into force.

2. Constitutional laws passed after April 25th 1974 which are not referred to in article 294 or safeguarded in this chapter shall be considered ordinary laws, without prejudice to the provisions of article 293 (Constitution).

ARTICLE 293. (Previous ordinary law)

1. Laws that existed prior to the Constitution coming into force shall remain in force as long as they are not contrary to the Constitution or the principles it enshrines.

2. The Military Justice Code and complementary legislation are expressly forbidden and must be harmonized with the Constitution, on pain of forfeiture, within one year of the date on which the Constitution is published.

3. The adaptation of the previous rules concerning the exercise of the rights, freedoms and guarantees enshrined in the Constitution shall be completed by the end of the first legislative session.

ARTICLE 294. (Entry into operation of the system of sovereign bodies)

1. The system of sovereign bodies prescribed in the Constitution shall come into operation when the President of the Republic elected under the terms of the Constitution takes office.

2. Until the date referred to in the previous point the constitutional laws on the organisation, powers and functioning of the sovereign bodies in force after 25 April 1974 shall remain in force.

ARTICLE 295. (Election of the President of the Republic)

1. The election of the first President of the Republic under the terms of the Constitution shall take place, with due observance of the provisions contained in article 128 (2), not later than the seventieth day after the date on which the Assembly of the Republic is elected.

2. It shall be the responsibility of the acting President of the Republic, having consulted the Council of the Revolution, to set the date for the election.

3. By decree-law sanctioned by the Council of the Revolution, the Provisional Government shall define, observing the applicable precepts of the Constitution, the electoral law for the election of the President of the Republic, which shall remain in force until the National Assembly passes legislation on the matter.

4. The President of the Republic shall take office, under the terms of article 130, on the eighth day following the tabulation of the election results.

ARTICLE 296. (First term of office of the President of the Republic)

1. The first term of office of the President of the Republic shall end three months after the end of the first legislature.

2. In the event of a vacancy in the office, the President of the Republic then elected shall complete the term of office.

ARTICLE 297. (Constituent powers of the Council of the Revolution)

The constituent powers granted to the Council of the Revolution by the constitutional laws after April 25, 1974, shall cease with the vote on the decree of the Constituent Assembly approving the Constitution.

ARTICLE 298. (Election of the Assembly of the Republic)

1. The election of Members of the first Assembly of the Republic shall take place no later than the 30th day after the date of the decree approving the Constitution, on a day set by the President of the Republic, after consulting the Council of the Revolution.

2. The number of Members of the first Assembly of the Republic shall be that which results from the application of the respective electoral law drawn up by the Provisional Government.

ARTICLE 299. (First Legislature)

1. The first legislature shall end on October 14, 1980, and the first legislative session shall commence on the day fixed in article 176.

2. The provisions of article 174 (3) shall not apply to the first Legislature.

3. Until it approves its own regulations, the first Assembly of the Republic shall be governed by the applicable provisions of the regulations for the Constituent Assembly, and the Bureau shall be formed by a President and two secretaries, the former appointed by the majority party and the latter by the two parties following in order of electoral results.

ARTICLE 300. (Provisional Government)

The Provisional Government in office on the date on which the President of the Republic takes office shall remain in office, for the resolution of current affairs, until the first Government appointed under the terms of the Constitution takes office.

ARTICLE 301. (Courts)

1. The revision of the current legislation on the organization of the courts and the status of judges shall be completed by the end of the first legislative session.

2. The laws provided for in Article 223(1) and Article 226(2) shall be published by 31 December 1976.

3. In the districts where there are no criminal investigation courts, and until such courts have been created, in compliance with Article 32(4), criminal investigation shall be the responsibility of the Public Prosecutor's Office under the direction of a judge.

ARTICLE 302. (Autonomous Regions)

1. The first elections for the assemblies of the autonomous regions shall be held by 30 June 1976, on a date to be decided by the acting President of the Republic, under the terms of the applicable electoral law.

2. Before April 30, 1976, the Government, upon proposal by the regional councils, shall prepare by decree-law, sanctioned by the Council of the Revolution, provisional statutes for the autonomous regions, as well as the electoral law for the first regional assemblies.

3. The provisional statutes of the autonomous regions shall remain in force until definitive statutes, to be drawn up under the terms of the Constitution, have been promulgated.

ARTICLE 303. (First local elections)

1. The first elections for local authority bodies shall be held by 15 December 1976, on the same day throughout the national territory, on a date to be set by the Government.

2. With a view to holding the elections, the Government shall make provisional legislation to harmonize the structure, competence and functioning of the municipal and parish bodies with the provisions of the Constitution, and to establish the respective electoral system.

3. The legislation referred to in the previous point shall be sanctioned by the Council of the Revolution, and the Assembly of the Republic may subject it, under the general terms, to ratification, if publication takes place after the date on which the President of the Republic takes office.

ARTICLE 304. (Constitutional Committee)

1. By June 30, 1976, the Council of the Revolution shall draft the legislation provided for in Article 285 of the Constitution.

2. By 31 August 1976 the members of the Constitutional Commission shall be appointed by the President of the Republic, the Assembly of the Republic, the Council of the Revolution and the Supreme Court of Justice.

3. The Constitutional Commission shall commence its duties once the members referred to in the previous point have taken office, and it may deliberate with the presence of five members.

4. The members of the Commission to be appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council shall be appointed immediately after it is established.

ARTICLE 305. (Review of constitutionality)

The system for the review of constitutionality provided for in the Constitution shall operate, where applicable, without the intervention of the Constitutional Commission until such time as it is established.

ARTICLE 306. (Macao Statute)

1. The statute of the Territory of Macao, as contained in Law No. 1/76, of 17 February, shall remain in force.

2. On the proposal of the Legislative Assembly of Macao and after consulting the Revolutionary Council, the National Assembly may approve amendments to the statute or its replacement.

3. If the proposal is approved with amendments, the President of the Republic shall not promulgate the decree of the Assembly of the Republic until the Legislative Assembly of Macao has pronounced in favor of it.

ARTICLE 307. (Independence of Timor)

1. Portugal shall continue to be bound by its responsibilities, in accordance with international law, to promote and guarantee the right to independence of East Timor.

2. It falls to the President of the Republic, assisted by the Council of the Revolution, and to the Government to carry out all acts necessary to achieve the objectives stated in the previous paragraph.

ARTICLE 308. (Civil Disabilities)

1. The electoral disqualifications provided for in Decree-Law 621 B/74 of 15 November shall apply to elections for the sovereign, autonomous region and local government bodies that are to take office during the first legislative term.

2. The judicial rehabilitation provided for in the diploma referred to in the preceding paragraph shall obey the principles of publicity and adversarial proceedings, with the exception of res judicata.

3. Citizens who are covered by the passive electoral incapacity referred to in paragraph 1 of this article may not be nominated to sovereign bodies or to hold any political office during the period of the first legislative term.

4. Citizens who in the five years prior to the 25th of April 1974 have served as president of any local authority body shall also be ineligible for election to local authority bodies.

5. The provisions set out in no. 2 and article 3 of Decree-Law no. 621-B/74, of 15 November 1974 shall apply to the incapacities prescribed in nos. 3 and 4 of this article.

ARTICLE 309. (Incrimination and trial of PIDE/DGS agents and officers)

1. Law no. 8/75, of 25 July, as amended by Law no. 16/75, of 23 December and Law no. 18/75, of 26 December, shall remain in force.

2. The law may specify the criminal typifications set out in Article 2(2), Article 3, Article 4(b) and Article 5 of the law referred to in the previous point.

3. The law may specifically regulate the extraordinary relief provided for in article 7 of the same law.

ARTICLE 310. (Sanitation of the civil service)

1. The legislation pertaining to the reorganization of the civil service shall remain in force until 31st December 1976, under the terms of the following numbers.

2. New reorganization and reclassification processes may not be initiated after the President of the Republic elected under the terms of the Constitution has taken office.

3. Reorganization or reclassification processes pending on the date stipulated in the previous point must be decided, on pain of forfeiture, by no later than 31st December 1976, without prejudice to appeals.

4. All interested parties who have not timely appealed reorganization or reclassification measures may do so up to thirty days after the publication of the Constitution.

ARTICLE 311. (Special Rules on Parties)

1. The provision contained in article 47(3) shall apply to parties already established, and the law shall regulate the matter.

2. Parties may not be formed which, due to their name or programmatic objectives, are regional in nature or scope.

ARTICLE 312. (Promulgation, publication, date and entry into force of the Constitution)

1. The decree approving the Constitution shall be signed by the President of the Constituent Assembly, promulgated by the President of the Republic and published by 10 April 1976.

2. The Constitution of the Portuguese Republic shall bear the date of its approval by the Constituent Assembly.

3. The Constitution of the Portuguese Republic shall come into force on the 25th of April 1976.

The President of the Constituent Assembly, Henrique Teixeira Queiroz de Barros. Promulgated on the 2nd of April 1976. To be published. The President of the Republic, Francisco Da Costa Gomes.