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