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CONSTITUTION OF CUBA
PREAMBLE
WE, CUBAN CITIZENS,
heirs and continuators of the creative work and the traditions of
combativity, firmness, heroism and sacrifice fostered by our
ancestors;
by the Indians who preferred extermination to submission;
by the slaves who rebelled against their masters;
by the patriots who in 1868 launched the wars of independence against
Spanish colonialism and those who in the last drive of 1895 brought them
to victory in 1898, a victory usurped by the military intervention and
occupation of Yankee imperialism;
by the workers, peasants, student and intellectuals who struggled for
over fifty years against imperialist domination, political corruption,
the absence of people’s rights and liberties, unemployment and
exploitation by capitalists and landowners;
by those who promoted, joined and developed the first organizations of
workers and peasants, spread socialist ideas and founded the first
Marxist and Marxist-Leninist movements;
by the members of the vanguard of the generation of the centenary of
the birth of Martí who, imbued with his teachings, led us to the people’s
revolutionary victory of January;
by those who defended the Revolution at the cost of their lives, thus
contributing to its definitive consolidation;
by those who en masse carried out heroic internationalist missions;
GUIDED
by the ideas of José Martí and the political and social ideas of Marx,
Engels and Lenin;
BASING OURSELVES
on proletarian internationalism, on the fraternal friendship, aid,
cooperation and solidarity of the peoples of the world, especially those
of Latin America and the Caribbean;
AND HAVING DECIDED
to carry forward the triumphant Revolution of the Moncada and of the
Granma of the Sierra and of Girón under the leadership of Fidel Castro,
which sustained by the closest unity of all revolutionary forces and of
the people won full national independence, established revolutionary
power, carried out democratic changes, started the construction of
socialism and, with the Communist Party at the forefront, continues this
construction with the final objective of building a communist society;
AWARE
that all the regimes based on the exploitation of man by man cause the
humiliation of the exploited and the degradation of the human nature of
the exploiters;
that only under socialism and communism, when man has been freed from
all forms of exploitation – slavery, servitude and capitalism – can full
dignity of the human being be attained; and
that our Revolution uplifted the country and of Cubans;
WE DECLARE
our will that the law of laws of the Republic be guided by the
following strong desire of José Martí, at last achieved;
"I want the fundamental law of our republic to be the tribute of
Cubans to the full dignity of man";
AND ADOPT
by means of our free vote in a referendum, the following:
CONSTITUTION
CHAPTER I
POLITICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC
PRINCIPLES OF THE STATE
ARTICLE 1. Cuba
is an independent and sovereign socialist state of workers, organized
with all and for the good of all as a united and democratic republic, for
the enjoyment of political freedom, social justice, individual and
collective well-being and human solidarity.
ARTICLE 2. The name of the Cuban state is Republic
of Cuba, the official
language is Spanish and its capital city is Havana.
ARTICLE 3. In the Republic
of Cuba sovereignty lies in
the people, from whom originates all the power of the state. That power
is exercised directly or through the assemblies of People’s Power and
other state bodies which derive their authority from these assemblies, in
the form and according to the norms established in the Constitution and
by law.
When no other recourse is possible, all citizens have the right to
struggle through all means, including armed struggle, against anyone who
tries to overthrow the political, social and economic order established
in this Constitution.
ARTICLE 4. The national symbols are those which, for over one hundred
years, have presided over the Cuban struggles for independence, the
tights of the people and social progress:
the lag of the lone star;
the anthem of Bayamo;
the coat of arms of the royal palm.
ARTICLE 5. The Communist Party of Cuba, a follower of Martí’s ideas
and of Marxism-Leninism, and the organized vanguard of the Cuban nation,
is the highest leading force of society and of the state, which organizes
and guides the common effort toward the goals of the construction of
socialism and the progress toward a communist society,
ARTICLE 6. The Young Communist League, the organization of Cuba’s
vanguard youth, has the recognition and encouragement of the state in its
main duty of promoting the active participation of young people in the
tasks of building socialism and adequately preparing the youth to be
conscientious citizens capable of assuming ever greater responsibilities
for the benefit of our society.
ARTICLE 7. The Cuban socialist state recognizes and stimulates the
social and mass organizations, which arose from the historic process of
struggles of our people. These organizations gather in their midst the
various sectors of the population, represent specific interests of the
same and incorporate them to the tasks of the edification, consolidation
and defense of the socialist society.
ARTICLE 8. The state recognizes, respects and guarantees freedom of
religion.
In the Republic of Cuba,
religious institutions are separate from the state.
The different beliefs and religions enjoy the same consideration.
ARTICLE 9. The state:
a) carries out the will of the working people and
- channels the efforts of the nation in the construction of socialism;
- maintains and defends the integrity and the sovereignty of the
country;
- guarantees the liberty and the full dignity of man, the enjoyment of
his rights, the exercise and fulfillment of his duties and the integral
development of his personality;
- consolidates the ideology and the rules of living together and of
conduct proper of a society free from the exploitation of man by man;
- protects the constructive work of the people and the property and
riches of the socialist nation;
- directs in a planned way the national economy;
- assures the educational, scientific, technical and cultural progress
of the country;
b) as the power of the people and for the people, guarantees
- that every man or woman, who is able to work, have the opportunity
to have a job with which to contribute to the good of society and to the
satisfaction of individual needs;
- that no disabled person be left without adequate mean of
subsistence;
- that no sick person be left without medical care;
- that no child be left without schooling, food and clothing;
- that no young person be left without the opportunity to study;
- that no one be left without access to studies, culture and sports;
c) works to achieve that no family be left without a comfortable place
to live.
ARTICLE 10. All state bodies, their leaders, officials and employees
function within the limits of their respective competency and are under
the obligation to strictly observe socialist legality and to look after
the respect of the same within the context of the whole of society.
ARTICLE 11. The state exercises its sovereignty:
a) over the entire national territory, which consists of the island of
Cuba, the Isle of Youth and all other adjacent islands and keys; internal
waters; the territorial waters in the extension prescribed by law; and
the air space corresponding to the above;
b) over the environment and natural resources of the country;
c) over mineral, plant and animal resources on and under the ocean
floor and those in waters comprised in the Republic’s maritime economic
area, as prescribed by law, in keeping with international practice.
The Republic of Cuba
rejects and considers illegal and null all treaties, pacts and
concessions which were signed in conditions of inequality, or which
disregard or diminish its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
ARTICLE 12. The Republic of Cuba
espouses the principles of anti-imperialism and internationalism, and
a) ratifies its aspirations to a valid, true and dignified peace for
all states, big or small, weak or powerful, based on respect for the
independence and sovereignty of the peoples and the right to
self-determination;
b) establishes its international relations based on the principles of
equality of rights, self-determination of the peoples, territorial
integrity, independence of states, international cooperation for mutual
and equitable benefit and interest, peaceful settlement of disputes on an
equal footing and based on respect and the other principles proclaimed in
the United Nations Charter and in other international treaties which Cuba
is a party to;
c) reaffirms its desire for integration and cooperation with the
countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, whose common identity and
historical need to advance united on the road to economic and political
integration for the attainment of true independence would allow us to achieve
our rightful place in the world;
d) advocates the unity of all Third World
countries in the face of the neocolonialist and imperialist policy which
seeks to limit and subordinate the sovereignty of our peoples, and worsen
the economic conditions of exploitation and oppression of the
underdeveloped nations;
e) condemns imperialism, the promoter and supporter of all fascist,
colonialist, neocolonialist and racist manifestations, as the main force
of aggression and of war, and the worst enemy of the peoples;
f) repudiates direct or indirect intervention in the internal and
external affairs of any state and, therefore, also repudiates armed
aggression, economic blockade, as well as any other kind of economic or
political coercion, physical violence against people residing in other
countries, or any other type of interference with or aggression against
the integrity of states and the political, economic and cultural elements
of nations;
g) rejects the violation of the inalienable and sovereign right of all
states to regulate the use and benefits of telecommunications in their
territory, according to universal practice and international agreements
which they have signed;
h) considers wars of aggression and of conquest international crimes;
recognizes the legitimacy of the struggle for national liberation, as
well as of armed resistance to aggression; and considers that its
solidarity with those under attack and with the peoples that struggle for
their liberation and self-determination constitutes its internationalist
duty;
i) bases its relations with those countries building socialism on
fraternal friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance, founded on the
common objectives of the construction of a new society;
j) maintains friendly relations with those countries which – although
having a different political, social and economic system – respect its
sovereignty, observe the rules of coexistence among states and the
principles of mutual conveniences, and adopt an attitude of reciprocity
with our country.
ARTICLE 13. The Republic of Cuba grants asylum to those who are
persecuted because of their ideals or their struggles for democratic
rights; against imperialism, fascism, colonialism and neocolonialism;
against discrimination and racism; for national liberation; for the
rights of workers, peasants and students and the redress of their
grievances; for their progressive political, scientific, artistic and
literary activities; for socialism and peace.
ARTICLE 14. In the Republic
of Cuba rules the socialist
system of economy based on the people’s socialist ownership of the
fundamental means of production and on the abolition of the exploitation
of man by man.
In Cuba
also rules the principle of socialist distribution of "from each
according to his capacity, to each according to his work." The law
establishes the provisions which guarantee the effective fulfillment of
this principle.
ARTICLE 15. Socialist state property, which is the property of the
entire people, comprises:
a) the lands that do not belong to small farmers or to cooperatives
formed by them, the subsoil, mines, mineral, plant and animal resources
in the Republic’s maritime economic area, forests, waters and means of
communications;
b) the sugar mills, factories, chief means of transportation and all
those enterprises, banks and facilities that have been nationalized and
expropriated from the imperialist, landholders and bourgeoisie, as well
as the factories, enterprises and economic facilities and scientific,
social, cultural and sports centers built, fostered or purchased by the
state and those to be built, fostered or purchased by the state in the
future.
Property ownership may not be transferred to natural persons or legal
entities, save for exceptional cases in which the partial or total
transfer of an economic objective is carried out for the development of
the country and does not affect the political, social and economic
foundations of the state, prior to approval by the Council of Ministers
or its Executive Committee.
The transfer of other property rights to state enterprises and other
entities authorized to fulfill this objective will be prescribed by law.
ARTICLE 16. The state organizes, directs and controls the economic
life of the nation according to a plan that guarantees the programmed
development of the country, with the purpose of strengthening the
socialist system, of increasingly satisfying the material and cultural
needs of society and of citizens, of promoting the flourishing of human
beings and their integrity, and of serving the progress and security of
the country.
The workers of all branches of the economy and of the other spheres of
social life have an active and conscious participation in the elaboration
and execution of the production and development plans.
ARTICLE 17. The state directly administers the goods that make up the
socialist property of the entire people’s, or may create and organize
enterprises and entities to administer them, whose structure, powers,
functions and the system of their relations are prescribed by law.
These enterprises and entities only answer for their debts through
their financial resources, within the limits prescribed by law. The state
does not answer for debts incurred by the enterprises, entities and other
legal bodies, and neither do these answer for those incurred by the
state.
ARTICLE 18. The state controls and directs foreign trade. The law
establishes the state institutions and officials authorized to:
- create foreign trade enterprises;
- standardize and regulate export and import transactions; and
- determine the natural persons or legal bodies with judicial powers
to carry out these export and import transactions and to sign trade
agreements.
ARTICLE 19. The state recognizes the right of small farmers to legal
ownership of their lands and other real estate and personal property
necessary for the exploitation of their land, as prescribed by law.
Small farmers may only incorporate their lands to agricultural
production cooperatives with the previous authorization of the competent
state body and fulfillment of the other legal requirements. They may also
sell their lands, swap them or transfer them for another title to the
state and agricultural production cooperatives, or to small farmers in
the cases, forms and conditions prescribed by law, without detriment to
the preferential right of the state to the purchase of the land while
paying a fair price.
Land leases, sharecropping, mortgages and all other acts which entail
a lien on the land or cession to private individuals of the rights to the
land which is the property of the small farmers are all prohibited.
The state supports the small farmers’ individual production which
contributes to the national economy.
ARTICLE 20. Small farmers have the right to group themselves, in the
way and following the requirements prescribed by law both for the purpose
of agricultural production and for obtaining state loans and services.
The establishment of agricultural production cooperatives in the
instances and ways prescribed by law is authorized. Ownership of the cooperatives,
which constitutes an advanced and efficient form of socialist production,
is recognized by the state.
The agricultural production cooperatives manage, own use and dispose
of the goods they own, as prescribed by law and by its regulations.
Land owned by cooperatives may not be seized or taxed and its
ownership may be transferred to other cooperatives or to the state,
according to the causes and as prescribed by law.
The state gives all possible support to this form of agricultural
production.
ARTICLE 21. The state guarantees the right to personal ownership of
earnings and savings derived from one’s own work, of the dwelling to
which one has legal title and of the other possessions and objects which
serve to satisfy one’s material and cultural needs.
Likewise, the state guarantees the right of citizens to ownership of
their personal or family work tools. These tools may not be used to
obtain earning derived from the exploitation of the work of others.
The law establishes the amount of goods owned by a person which can be
seized.
ARTICLE 22. The state recognizes the right of political, mass and
social organizations to ownership of the goods intended for the
fulfillment of their objectives.
ARTICLE 23. The state recognizes the right to legal ownership of joint
ventures, companies and economic associations which are created as
prescribed by law.
The use enjoyment and disposal of the goods owned by the
above-mentioned entities are ruled by that prescribed by law and by
accords, as well as by their statutes and regulations.
ARTICLE 24. The state recognizes the right of citizens to inherit
legal title to a place of residence and to other personal goods and
chattels.
The land and other goods linked to production in the small farmers’
property may be inherited by and only be awarded to those heirs who work
the land, save exceptions and as prescribed by law.
The law prescribes the cases, conditions and ways under which the
goods of cooperative ownership may by inherited.
ARTICLE 25. The expropriation of property for reasons of public
benefit or social interest and with due compensation is authorized.
The law establishes the method for the expropriation and the bases on
which the need for and usefulness of this action is to be determined, as
well as the form of compensation, taking into account the interest and
the economic and social needs of the person whose property has been
expropriated.
ARTICLE 26. Anybody who suffers damages unjustly caused by a state
official or employee while in the performance of his public functions has
the right to claim and obtain the corresponding indemnification as
prescribed by law.
ARTICLE 27. The state the environment and natural resources. It
recognizes the close links they have with sustainable economic and social
development to make human life more rational and to ensure the survival,
well-being and security of present and future generations. The
application of this policy corresponds to the competent bodies.
It is the duty of citizens to contribute to the protection of the
waters, atmosphere, the conservation of the soil, flora, fauna and
nature’s entire rich potential.
CHAPTER II
CITIZENSHIP
ARTICLE 28. Cuban citizenship is acquired by birth or through
naturalization.
ARTICLE 29. Cuban citizens by birth are:
a) those born in national territory, with the exception of the
children of foreign persons at the service of their government or
international organizations. In the case of the children of temporary
foreign residents in the country, the law stipulates the requisites and
formalities;
b) those born abroad, one of whose parents at least is Cuban and on an
official mission;
c) those born abroad, one of whose parents at least is Cuban, who have
complied with the formalities stipulated by law;
d) those born outside national territory, one of whose parents at
least is Cuban and who lost their Cuban citizenship provide they apply
for said citizenship according to the procedures stated by law;
e) foreigners who, by virtue of their exceptional merits won in the
struggles for Cuba’s
liberation, were considered Cuban citizens by birth.
ARTICLE 30. Cuban citizens by naturalization are:
a) those foreigners who acquire Cuban citizenship in accordance with
the regulations established by law;
b) those who contributed to the armed struggle against the tyranny
overthrown on January 1, 1959,
provided they show proof of this in the legally established form;
c) those who having been arbitrarily deprived of their citizenship of
origin, obtain Cuban citizenship by virtue of an express agreement of the
Council of State.
ARTICLE 31. Neither marriage nor its dissolution affect the
citizenship status of either of the spouses or their children.
ARTICLE 32. Cubans may not be deprived of their citizenship save for
established legal causes. Neither may they be deprived of the right to
change citizenship.
Dual citizenship is not recognized. Therefore, when a foreign
citizenship is acquired, the Cuban one will be lost.
Formalization of the loss of citizenship and the authorities empowered
to decide on this is prescribed by law.
ARTICLE 33. Cuban citizenship may be regained in those cases and ways
specified by law.
CHAPTER II
ALIENS
ARTICLE 34. Foreign residents in the territory of the Republic are
equal to Cubans in:
- the safeguarding of persons and property;
- the enjoyment of the rights and the fulfillment of the duties
recognized in this Constitution, under the conditions and with the
limitations prescribed by law;
- the obligation to observe the Constitution and the law;
- the obligation to contribute to the public expenditure in the form
and amount prescribed by law;
- the submission to the jurisdiction and resolutions of the Republic’s
courts of justice and authorities.
The law establishes the cases and the ways in which foreigners may be
expelled from national territory and the authorities empowered to decide
on this.
CHAPTER IV
THE FAMILY
ARTICLE 35. The state protects the family, motherhood and matrimony.
The state recognizes the family as the main nucleus of society and
attributes to it the important responsibilities and functions in the
education and formation of the new generations.
ARTICLE 36. Marriage is the voluntarily established union between a
man and a woman, who are legally fit to marry, in order to live together.
It is based on full equality of rights and duties for the partners, who
must see to the support of the home and the integral education of their
children through a joint effort compatible with the social activities of
both.
The law regulates the formalization, recognition and dissolution of
marriage and the rights and obligations deriving from such acts.
ARTICLE 37. All children have the same rights, regardless of being
born in or out of wedlock.
Any qualification concerning the nature of the filiation is abolished.
No statement shall be made either with to the difference in birth or
the civil status of the parents in the registration of the children’s
birth or in any other documents that mention parenthood.
The state guarantees, through adequate legal mean, the determination
and recognition of paternity.
ARTICLE 38. The parents have the duty to provide nourishment for their
children; to help them to defend their legitimate interests and in the
realization of their just aspirations; and to contribute actively to
their education and integral development as useful and well-prepared
citizens for life in a socialist society.
It is the children’s duty, in turn, to respect and help their parents.
CHAPTER V
EDUCATION AND CULTURE
ARTICLE 39. The state orients, foments and promotes
education, culture and science in all their manifestations.
Its educational and cultural policy is based on the following
principles:
a) the state bases its educational and cultural policy on the progress
made in science and technology, the ideology of Marx and Martí, and
universal and Cuban progressive pedagogical tradition;
b) education is a function of the state and is free of charge. It is
based on the conclusions and contributions made by science and on the close
relationship between study and life, work and production.
The state maintains a broad scholarship system for students and
provides the workers with multiple opportunities to study to be able to
attain the highest possible of knowledge and skills.
The law established the integration and structure of the national
system of education and the extent of compulsory education and defines
the minimum level of general education that every citizen should acquire;
c) the state promotes the patriotic and communist education of the new
generations and the training of children, young people and adults for
social life.
In order to make this principle a reality, general education and
specialized scientific, technical or artistic education are combined with
work, development research, physical education, sports, participation in
political and social activities and military training;
d) there is freedom of artistic creation as long as its
content is not contrary to the Revolution. There is freedom of artistic
expression;
e) in order to raise the level of culture of the people, the state
foments and develops artistic education, the vocation for creation and
the cultivation and appreciation of art;
f) there is freedom of creation and research in science. The state
encourages and facilitates research and gives priority to that which is
aimed at solving the problems related to the interests of society and the
well-being of the people;
g) the state makes it possible for the workers to engage in scientific
work and to contribute to the development of science;
h) the state promotes, foments and develops all forms of physical
education and sports as a means of education and of contribution to the
integral development of citizens;
i) the state defends Cuban culture’s identity and sees to the
conservation of the nation’s cultural heritage and artistic and historic
wealth. The state protects national monuments and places known for their
natural beauty or their artistic or historic values;
j) the state promotes the participation of the citizens, through the
country’s social and mass organizations, in the development of its
educational and cultural policy.
ARTICLE 40. The state and society give special protection to children
and young people.
It is the duty of the family, the schools, the state agencies and the
social and mass organizations to pay special attention to the integral
development of children and young people.
CHAPTER VI
EQUALITY
ARTICLE 41. All citizens have equal rights and are subject to equal
duties.
ARTICLE 42. Discrimination because of race, skin color, sex, national
origin, religious beliefs and any other form of discrimination harmful to
human dignity is forbidden and will be punished by law.
The institutions of the state educate everyone from the earliest
possible age in the principle of equality among human beings.
ARTICLE 43. The state consecrates the right achieved by the Revolution
that all citizens, regardless of race, skin color, sex, religious belief,
national origin and any situation that may be harmful to human dignity:
- have access, in keeping with their merits and abilities, to all
state, public administration, and production services positions and jobs;
- can reach any rank in the Revolutionary Armed Forces and in Security
and internal order, in keeping with their merits and abilities;
- be given equal pay for equal work;
- have a right to education at all national educational institutions,
ranging from elementary schools to the universities, which are the same
for all;
- be given health care in all medical institutions;
- live in any sector, zone or area and stay in any hotel;
- be served at all restaurants and other public service
establishments;
- use, without any separations, all means of transportation by sea,
land and air;
- enjoy the same resorts, beaches, parks, social centers and other
centers of culture, sports, recreation and rest.
ARTICLE 44. Women and men have the same rights in the economic,
political, cultural and social fields, as well as in the family.
The state guarantees women the same opportunities and possibilities as
men, in order to achieve woman’s full participation in the development of
the country.
The state organizes such institutions as children’s day-care centers,
semi-boarding schools and boarding schools, homes for the elderly and
services to make it easier for the working family to carry out its
responsibilities.
The state looks after women’s health as well as that of their
offspring, giving working women paid maternity leave before and after
giving birth and temporary work options compatible with their maternal
activities.
The state strives to create all the conditions which help make real
the principle of equality.
CHAPTER VII
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, DUTIES AND GUARANTEES
ARTICLE 45. Work in a socialist society is a right and duty and a
source of pride for every citizen.
Work is remunerated according to its quality and quantity; when it is
provided, the needs of the economy and of society, the choice of worker
and his skills and ability are taken into account; this is guaranteed by
the socialist economic system, that facilitates social and economic
development, without crises, and has thus eliminated unemployment and the
"dead season."
Nonpaid, voluntary work carried out for the benefit of all society in
industrial, agricultural, technical, artistic and service activities is
recognized as playing an important role in the formation of our people’s
communist awareness.
Every worker has the duty to faithfully carry tasks corresponding to
him at his job.
ARTICLE 46. All those who work have the right to rest, which is
guaranteed by the eight-hour workday, a weekly rest period and annual
paid vacations.
The state contributes to the development of vacation plans and
facilities.
ARTICLE 47. By means of the Social Security System the state assures
adequate protection to every worker who is unable to work because of age,
illness or disability.
If the worker dies this protection will be extended to his family.
ARTICLE 48. The state protects, by means of social assistance, senior
citizens lacking financial resources or anyone to take them in or care
for them, and anyone who is unable to work and has no relatives who can
help them.
ARTICLE 49. The state guarantees the right to protection, safety and
hygiene on the job by means of the adoption of adequate measures for the
prevention of accidents at work and occupational diseases.
Anyone who suffers an accident on the job or is affected by an
occupational disease has the right to medical care and to compensation or
retirement in those cases in which temporary or permanent work disability
ensues.
ARTICLE 50. Everyone has the right to health protection and care. The
state guarantees this right;
- by providing free medical and hospital care by means of the
installations of the rural medical service network, polyclinics,
hospitals, preventative and specialized treatment centers;
- by providing free dental care;
- by promoting the health publicity campaigns, health education,
regular medical examinations, general vaccinations and other measures to
prevent the outbreak of disease. All the population cooperates in these
activities and plans through the social and mass organizations.
ARTICLE 51. Everyone has the right to education. This right is guaranteed
by the free and widespread system of schools, semi-boarding and boarding
schools and scholarships of all kinds and at all levels of education and
because of the fact that all educational material is provided free of
charge, which gives all children and young people, regardless of their
family’s economic position, the opportunity to study in keeping with
their ability, social demands and the needs of socioeconomic development.
Adults are also guaranteed this right; education for them is free of
charge and with the specific facilities regulated by law, by means of the
adult education program, technical and vocational education, training
courses in state agencies and enterprises and the advanced courses for
workers.
ARTICLE 52. Everyone has the right to physical education, sports and
recreation.
Enjoyment of this right is assured by including the teaching and
practice of physical education and sports in the curricula of the
national educational system; and by the broad nature of the instruction
and means placed at the service of the people, which makes possible the
practice of sports and recreation on a mass basis.
ARTICLE 53. Citizens have freedom of speech and of the press in
keeping with the objectives of socialist society. Material conditions for
the exercise of that right are provided by the fact that the press,
radio, television, cinema, and other mass media are state or social
property and can never be private property. This assures their use at
exclusive service of the working people and in the interests of society.
The law regulated the exercise of those freedoms.
ARTICLE 54. The rights to assembly, demonstration and association are
exercised by workers, both manual and intellectual, peasants, women,
students and other sectors of the working people, and they have the
necessary means for this. The social and mass organizations have all the
facilities they need to carry out those activities in which the members
have full freedom of speech and opinion based on the unlimited right of
initiative and criticism.
ARTICLE 55. The state, which recognizes, respects and guarantees
freedom of conscience and of religion, also recognizes, respects and
guarantees every citizen’s freedom to change religious beliefs or to not
have any, and to profess, within the framework of respect for the law,
the religious belief of his preference.
The law regulates the state’s relations with religious institutions.
ARTICLE 56. The home is inviolable. Nobody can enter the home of
another against his will, except in those cases foreseen by law.
ARTICLE 57. Mail is inviolable. It can only be seized, opened and
examined in cases prescribed by law. Secrecy is maintained on matters
other than those which led to the examination.
The same principle is to be applied in the case of cable, telegraph
and telephone communications.
ARTICLE 58. Freedom and inviolability of persons is assured to all
those who live in the country.
Nobody can be arrested, except in the manner, with the guarantees and
in the cases indicated by law.
The persons who has been arrested or the prisoner is inviolable in his
personal integrity.
ARTICLE 59. Nobody can be tried or sentenced except by the competent
court by virtue of laws which existed prior to the crime and with the
formalities and guarantees that the laws establish.
Every accused person has the right to a defense.
No violence or pressure of any kind can be used against people to
force them to testify,
All statements obtained in violation of the above precept are null and
void and those responsible for the violation will be punished as outlined
by law.
ARTICLE 60. Confiscation of property is only applied as a punishment
by the authorities in the cases and by the methods determined by law.
ARTICLE 61. Penal laws are retroactive when they benefit the accused
or person who has been sentenced. Other laws are not retroactive unless
the contrary is decided for reasons of social interest or because it is
useful for public purposes.
ARTICLE 62. None of the freedoms which are recognized for citizens can
be exercised contrary to what is established in the Constitution and by
law, or contrary to the existence and objectives of the socialist state,
or contrary to the decision of the Cuban people to build socialism and
communism. Violations of this principle can be punished by law.
ARTICLE 63. Every citizen has the right to file complaints with and
send petitions to the authorities and to be given the pertinent response
or attention within a reasonable length of time, in keeping with the law.
ARTICLE 64. Every citizen has the duty of caring for public and social
property, observing work discipline, respecting the rights of others,
observing standards of socialist living and fulfilling civic and social
duties.
ARTICLE 65. Defense of the socialist homeland is the greatest honor
and the supreme duty of every Cuban citizen.
The law regulates the military service which Cubans must do.
Treason against one’s country is the most serious of crimes; those who
commit it are subject to the most severe penalties.
ARTICLE 66. Strict fulfillment of the Constitution and the laws is an
inexcusable duty of all.
CHAPTER VIII
STATE OF EMERGENCY
ARTICLE 67. In the case of or in the face of an imminent natural
disaster or catastrophe or any other circumstance that because of its
nature, proportion or importance affects public order, the country’s
security or the state’s stability, the president of the Council of State
may declare a state of emergency in the entire national territory or in
part of it, and order the mobilization of the population while it is in
force.
The law regulates the manner in which the state of emergency is
declared, its effects and its termination. It also determines the
fundamental rights and duties recognized in the Constitution, its
exercise being regulated in a different manner during the time the state
of emergency is in force.
CHAPTER IX
PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIZATION
AND FUNCTIONING OF STATE AGENCIES
ARTICLE 68. State agencies are set up carry out their activity based
on the principles of socialist democracy, which are manifested in the
following regulations:
a) all members or representative bodies of state power are elected and
subject to recall;
b) the masses control the activity of the state agencies, the
deputies, delegates and officials;
c) those elected must render an account of their work and may be
revoked at any time;
d) every state agency develops in a far-reaching manner, within its
jurisdiction, initiatives aimed at taking advantage of the resources and
possibilities which exist on a local level and to include the mass and
social organizations in their work;
e) decisions of higher state bodies are compulsory for inferior ones;
f) inferior state bodies are responsible to higher ones and must
render accounts of their work;
g) freedom of discussion, criticism and self-criticism and
sub-ordination of the minority to the majority prevail in all collegiate
state bodies.
CHAPTER X
HIGHER BODIES OF PEOPLE’S POWER
ARTICLE 69. The National Assembly of People’s Power is the supreme
body of state power and represents and expresses the sovereign will of
all the people.
ARTICLE 70. The National Assembly of People’s Power is the only body
in the Republic invested with constituent and legislative authority.
ARTICLE 71. The National Assembly of People’s Power is comprised of
deputies elected by free, direct and secret vote, in the proportion and
according to the procedure established by law.
ARTICLE 72. The National Assembly of People’s Power is elected for a
period of five years.
The period can only extended by virtue of a resolution of the Assembly
itself in the event of war or in the case of other exceptional
circumstances that may impede the normal holding of elections and while
such circumstances exist.
ARTICLE 73. The National Assembly of People’s Power, on meeting for a
new legislature, elects from among its deputies its president, vice
president and secretary. The law regulates the manner and procedure in
which the Assembly is constituted and carries out this election.
ARTICLE 74. The National Assembly of People’s Power elects, from among
its deputies, the Council of State, which consists of one president, one
first vice president, five vice presidents, one secretary and 23 other
members.
The president of the Council of State is, at the same time, the head
of state and head of government.
The Council of State is accountable for its action to the National
Assembly of People’s Power, to which it must render accounts of all its
activities.
ARTICLE 75. The National Assembly of People’s Power is invested with
the following powers:
a) deciding on reforms to the Constitution according to that
established inARTICLE 137;
b) approving, modifying and annulling laws after consulting with the
people when it is considered necessary in view of the nature of the law
in question;
c) deciding on the constitutionality of laws, decree-laws, decrees and
all other general provisions;
d) revoking in total or in part the decree-laws issued by the Council of
State;
e) discussing and approving the national plans for economic and social
development;
f) discussing and approving the state budget;
g) approving the principles of the system for planning and the
management of the national economy;
h) approving the monetary and credit system;
i) approving the general outlines of foreign and domestic policy;
j) declaring a state of war in the event of military aggression and
approving peace treaties;
k) establishing and modifying the political-administrative division of
the country pursuant to that established inARTICLE 102;
l) electing the president, vice president and secretary of the
National Assembly;
m) electing the president, the first vice president, the vice
presidents, the secretary, and the other members of the Council of State;
n) approving, at the initiative of the president of the Council of
State, the first vice president, the vice presidents and the other
members of the Council of Ministers;
o) electing the president, vice presidents and other judges of the
People’s Supreme Court;
p) electing the attorney general and the deputy attorney generals of
the Republic;
q) appointing permanent and temporary commissions;
r) revoking the election or appointment of those persons elected or
appointed by it;
s) exercising the highest supervision over state and government
bodies;
t) keeping informed and evaluating and adopting pertinent decisions on
the reports on the rendering of accounts submitted by the Council of
State, the Council of Ministers, the People’s Supreme Court, the Office
of the Attorney General of the Republic and the Provincial Assemblies of
People’s Power.
u) revoking those provisions or decree-laws of the Council of State
and the decrees or resolutions of the Council of Ministers which are
contrary to the Constitution or the law;
v) revoking or modifying those resolutions or provisions of the local
bodies of People’s Power which encroach on the Constitution, the laws,
the decree-laws, the decrees and other provisions issued by a higher
body, or those which are detrimental to the interests of other localities
or the general interests of the nation;
w) granting amnesty;
x) calling for the holding of a referendum in those cases provided by
the Constitution and others which the Assembly considers pertinent;
y) establishing its ruler and regulations;
z) all other powers invested by this Constitution.
ARTICLE 76. All laws and resolutions of the National Assembly or
People’s Power, barring those in relation to reforms in the Constitution,
are adopted by a simple majority vote.
ARTICLE 77. All laws approved by the National Assembly of People’s
Power go into effect on the date determined by those laws in each case.
Laws, decree-laws, decrees and resolutions, regulations and other
general provisions of the national state bodies are published in the
Official Gazette of the Republic.
ARTICLE 78. The National Assembly of People’s Power holds two regular
sessions a year and a special session when requested by one third of the
membership or when called by the Council of State.
ARTICLE 79. More than half of the total number of deputies must be
present for a session of the National Assembly of People’s Power to be
held.
ARTICLE 80. All sessions of the National Assembly of People’s Power
are public, excepting when the Assembly resolves to hold a closed-door
session on the grounds of state interest.
ARTICLE 81. The president of the National Assembly of People’s Power
is invested with the power to:
a) preside over the sessions of the National Assembly and see to it
that its regulations are put into effect;
b) call the regular sessions of the National Assembly;
c) propose the draft agenda for the sessions of the National Assembly;
d) sign and order the publication in the Official Gazette of the
Republic of the laws and resolutions adopted by the National Assembly;
e) organize the international relations of the National Assembly;
f) conduct and organize the work of the permanent and temporary
commissions appointed by the National Assembly;
g) attend the meeting of the Council of State;
h) all other powers assigned to him by this Constitution or the
National Assembly of People’s Power.
ARTICLE 82. The status of deputy does not entail personal privileges
or economic benefits of any kind.
During the period in which they carry out their activities, the
deputies receive the same salary as in their workplace and maintain their
links with it, for all purposes.
ARTICLE 83. No deputy to the National Assembly of People’s Power may
be arrested or placed on trial without the authorization of the Assembly
– or the Council of State if the Assembly is not in session – except in
cases of flagrant offenses.
ARTICLE 84. It is the duty of the deputies to the National Assembly of
People'’ Power to exercises their duties in benefit of the people'’
interests, stay in contact with their electors, listen to their problems,
suggestions and criticism, and explain the policy of the state. They will
also render account to them of the results of their activities, as
prescribed by law.
ARTICLE 85. The mandate of the deputies to the National Assembly of
People’s Power may be revoked at any time, in the ways and for the causes
prescribed by law.
ARTICLE 86. The deputies to the National Assembly of People’s Power
have the right to make inquiries to the Council of State, the Council of
Ministers or the members of either and to have these inquiries answered
during the course of the same session or at the next session.
ARTICLE 87. It is the duty of all state bodies and enterprises to
provide all necessary cooperation to the deputies in the discharge of
their duties.
ARTICLE 88. The proposal of laws is the responsibility of:
a) the deputies to the National of People’s Power;
b) the Council of State;
c) the Council of Ministers;
d) the commissions of the National Assembly of People’s Power;
e) the Central Organization of Cuban Trade Unions and the national
offices of the other social and mass organizations;
f) the People’s Supreme Court, in matters related to the
administration of justice;
g) the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic, in maters
within its jurisdiction;
h) the citizens. In this case it is an indispensable prerequisite that
the proposal be made by at least 10 000 citizens who are eligible to
vote.
ARTICLE 89. The Council of State is the body of the National Assembly
of People’s Power that represents it in the period between sessions, puts
its resolutions into effect and complies with all the other duties
assigned by the Constitution.
It is collegiate and for national and international purposes it is the
highest representative of the Cuban state.
ARTICLE 90. The Council of State is invested with the power to:
a) summon special sessions of the National Assembly of People’s Power;
b) set the date for the elections for the periodic renovation of the
National Assembly of People’s Power;
c) issue decree-laws in the period between the sessions of the
National Assembly of People’s Power;
d) give existing laws a general and obligatory interpretation whenever
necessary;
e) exercise legislative initiative;
f) make all the necessary arrangements for the holding of referendums
called for by the National Assembly of People’s Power;
g) decree a general mobilization whenever the defense of the country
makes it necessary and assume the authority to declare war in the event
of aggression or to approve peace treaties – duties which the
Constitution assigns to the National Assembly of People’s Power – when
the Assembly is in recess and cannot be called to session with the
necessary security and urgency;
h) replace, at the initiative of its president, the members of the
Council of Ministers in the period between the sessions of the National
Assembly of People’s Power;
i) issue general instructions to the courts through the Governing
Council of the People’s Supreme Court;
j) issue instructions to the Office of the Attorney General of the
Republic;
k) appoint and remove, at the initiative of its president, the
diplomatic representatives of Cuba in others states;
l) grant decorations and honorary titles;
m) name commissions;
n) grant pardons;
o) ratify or denounce international treaties;
p) grant or refuse recognition to diplomatic representatives of other
states;
q) suspend those provisions of the Council of Ministers and the
resolutions and provisions of the Local Assemblies of People’s Power
which run counter to the Constitution or the law or which run counter to
the interests of other localities or to the general interests of the
country, reporting on this action to the National Assembly of People’s
Power in the first session held following the suspension agreed upon;
r) revoke those resolutions and provisions of the local bodies of
People’s Power which infringe the Constitution, the laws, the
decree-laws, the decrees and other provisions issued by a higher body or
when they are detrimental to the interests of other localities or to the
general interests of the nation;
s) approve its rules and regulations;
t) it is also invested with the other powers conferred by the
Constitution and laws or granted by the National Assembly of People’s
Power.
ARTICLE 91. All the decisions of the Council of State are adopted by a
simple majority vote of its members.
ARTICLE 92. The mandate entrusted to the Council of State by the
National Assembly of People’s Power expires when the new Council of State,
elected by virtue of its periodic renovation, takes power.
ARTICLE 93. The president of the Council of State is head of
government and is invested with the power to:
a) represent the state and the government and conduct their general
policy;
b) organize and conduct the activities of, call for the holding of and
preside over the sessions of the Council of State and the Council of
Ministers;
c) control and supervise the development of the activities of the
ministries and other central agencies of the administration;
d) assume the leadership of any ministry or central agency of the
administration;
e) propose to the National Assembly of People’s Power, once elected by
the later, the members of the Council of Ministers;
f) accept the resignation of the members of the Council of Ministers
or propose either to the National Assembly of People’s Power or the
Council of State the replacement of any of those members and, in both
cases, to proposes the corresponding substitutes;
g) receive the credentials of the heads of the heads of foreign
diplomatic missions. This responsibility may be delegated to any of the
vice presidents of the Council of State;
h) assume the supreme command of all armed institutions and determine
their general organization;
i) preside over the National Defense Council;
j) declare a state emergency in those cases provided for in this
Constitution, stating his decision, as soon as the circumstances permit
it, to the National Assembly of People’s Power or to the Council of State
if the Assembly is unable to meet, according to legal effects;
k) sign decree-laws and other resolutions of the Council of State and
the legal provisions adopted by the Council of Ministers or its Executive
Committee, and arrange for their publication in the Official Gazette of
the Republic;
l) assume all other duties assigned it by the Constitution or by law.
ARTICLE 94. In cases of the absence, illness or death of the president
of the Council of State, the first vice president assumes the president’s
duties.
ARTICLE 95. The Council of Ministers is the highest ranking executive
and administrative body and constitutes the government of the Republic.
The number, denomination and functions of the ministries and central
agencies making up the Council of Ministers are determined by law.
ARTICLE 96. The Council of Ministers is composed of the head of state
and government, as its president, the first vice president, the vice
presidents, the ministers, the secretary and the other members that the
law determines.
ARTICLE 97. The president, first vice president, vice presidents and
other members of the Council of Ministers, as determined by the
president, make up the Executive Committee.
In periods between the meetings of the Council of Ministers, the
Executive Committee can decide on matters under the jurisdiction of the
Council of Ministers.
ARTICLE 98. The Council of Ministers is invested with the power to:
a) organize and conduct the political, economic, cultural, scientific,
social and defense activities outlined by the National Assembly of
People’s Power;
b) propose the draft general plans for the socioeconomic development
of the state and, after these are approved by the National Assembly of
People’s Power, organize, conduct and supervise their implementation;
c) conduct the foreign policy of the Republic and relations with other
governments;
d) approve international treaties and submit them to ratification by
the Council of State;
e) direct and control foreign trade;
f) draw up the draft for the state budget and, once it is approved by
the National Assembly of People’s Power, to see to its implementation;
g) adopt measures aimed at strengthening the monetary and credit
system;
h) draw up bills and submit them to the consideration of the National
Assembly of people’s Power or the Council of State, accordingly;
i) see to national defense, the maintenance of order and security at
home, the protection of citizens’ rights and the protection of lives and
property in the event of natural disasters;
j) conduct the administration of the state and unify, coordinate and
supervise the activities of the agencies of the central administration
and local administrations;
k) implement the laws and resolutions of the National Assembly of
People’s Power and the decree-laws and provisions issued by the Council
of State and, if necessary, dictate the corresponding regulations;
l) issue decrees and provisions on the basis of and pursuant to the
existing laws and supervise their implementation;
m) revoke the decisions taken by those administrations subordinated to
the Provincial or Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power, adopted
according to the powers delegated by the central state administration
agencies, when these are contrary to the instructions issued from a
higher level and whose fulfillment is compulsory;
n) propose to the Provincial and Municipal Assemblies of People’s
Power the revocation of those provisions adopted during their specific
activities by the provincial and municipal administrations subordinated
to them, when these are contrary to the instructions approved by the
central state administration agencies, in the exercise of their
functions;
o) revoke those provisions issued by heads of central state administration
agencies when these are contrary to the instructions issued from a higher
level and whose fulfillment is compulsory;
p) propose to the National Assembly of People’s Power or to the
Council of State the suspension of those resolutions and provisions
issued by the local assemblies of People’s Power which infringe existing
laws and other provisions or are detrimental to the interests of other
communities or the general interests of the nation;
q) name the commissions it deems necessary to facilitate the
fulfillment of the tasks assigned to it;
r) appoint and remove officials in keeping with the powers it is
invested with by the law;
s) assume any duty assigned to it by the National Assembly of People’s
Power or the Council of State.
The law regulates the organization and functioning of the Council of
Ministers.
ARTICLE 99. The Council of Ministers is accountable to and
periodically renders account of its activities to the National Assembly
of People’s Power.
ARTICLE 100. The members of the Council of Ministers are invested with
the power to:
a) conduct the affairs and tasks of the ministry or agency under their
care, issuing the necessary resolutions and provisions to that effect;
b) dictate, in the event it is not the specific duty of another state
body, the necessary regulations to make possible the implementation of
those laws and decree-laws which concern them;
c) attend the sessions of the Council of Ministers, with the right to
speak and vote, and submit to the consideration of the Council whatever
bill, decree-law, decree, resolution or any other proposal they consider
advisable;
d) appoint, according to the law, the corresponding officials;
e) they are also invested with any other power with which the
Constitution and laws invest them.
ARTICLE 101. The National Defense Council is constituted and prepared
during peacetime to lead the country in conditions of a state of war,
during a war, a general mobilization or a state of emergency. The law
regulates its organization and activities.
CHAPTER XI
POLITICAL-ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
ARTICLE 102. For political-administrative purposes the country is
divided into provinces and municipalities; their number, boundaries and
names are determined by law.
The law many also establish other divisions.
The province is the local society having, to all legal effects, a
juridical personality. It is politically organized according to law to
serve as an intermediate link between the central and municipal governments,
covering a surface area equivalent to the municipalities within its
demarcation. It exercises the functions and fulfills the state and
administrative duties which are under its jurisdiction and has the
fundamental duty of promoting the economic and social development of its
territory, for which it coordinates and controls the fulfillment of the
policies, programs and plans approved by the higher state bodies, with
the support of its municipalities and taking their interests into
account.
The municipality is the local society having, to all legal effects, a
juridical personality. It is politically organized according to law,
covering a surface are that is determined by the necessary economic and
social relations of its population, and with the capacity to meet the
minimum local needs.
The provinces and municipalities, in addition to exercising their
corresponding functions, contribute to the realization of the state’s
objectives.
CHAPTER XII
LOCAL BODIES OF PEOPLE’S POWER
ARTICLE 103. The Assemblies of People’s Power set up in the
political-administrative divisions into which the country is divided are
the higher local bodies of state power. Therefore, they are invested with
the highest authority for the exercise of their state functions within their
respective boundaries. To this effect they govern in all that is under
their jurisdiction and the law.
They also aid in the development of activities and the fulfillment of
plans of those units in their territory which are not subordinated to
them, as prescribed by law.
The local administrations established by these Assemblies direct the
economic, production and service entities locally subordinated to them,
with the purpose of meeting the needs for economic, health care,
assistance, educational, cultural, sports and recreational services of
the collective in the territory under the jurisdiction of each.
For the exercise of their functions the local Assemblies of People’s
Power find support in the People’s Councils and the initiative and broad
participation of the population and they act in close coordination with
the social and mass organizations.
ARTICLE 104. The People’s Councils are constituted in cities, towns,
neighborhoods and rural areas; they are invested with the highest
authority for carrying out their functions; they represents the territory
where they carry out their functions and also represent the municipal,
provincial and national bodies of People’s Power.
They work actively for efficiency in the development of production and
service activities and for meeting the needs for health care, economic,
educational, cultural and social activities of the population, promoting
the broadest participation of the population and the local initiatives to
resolve their problems.
They coordinate the work of the existing entities in their field of
action, promote cooperation among them and control and supervise their
activities.
The People’s Councils are made up of the delegates elected in the
districts, who must choose among themselves their president. The
representatives of mass organizations and the most important institutions
in the territory may form part of the Councils.
The law regulates the organizations and functions of the People’s
Councils.
ARTICLE 105. In the limits of their jurisdiction, the Provincial
Assemblies of People’s Power are invested with the power to:
a) obey and help to enforce the laws and other general regulations
adopted by the higher state bodies;
b) approve and control the execution of the province’s income and
spending budget and plan, according to the policies agreed upon by the
competent national agencies;
c) elect or recall the president and vice president of the Provincial
Assembly;
d) designate or substitute the secretary of the Assembly;
e) participate in the drawing up and supervision of the state budget
and technical-economic plan, corresponding to the entities located in its
territory and subordinated to other bodies, as prescribed by law;
f) control and supervise the activities of the provincial
administration body with the help of its work commissions;
g) designate or substitute the members of the provincial
administration body, at the proposal of its president;
h) determine, according to the principles established by the Council
of Ministers, the organization, functioning and tasks of the entities in
charge of carrying out the economic, production and services,
educational, health care, cultural, sports, protection of the environment
and recreational activities, which are subordinated to the provincial
administration body;
i) adopt agreements concerning administration matters in its territory
and which, according to law, do not correspond to the general
jurisdiction of the central state administration or to that of the
municipal bodies of state power;
j) approve the creation and organization of the People’s Councils at
the proposal of the Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power;
k) revoke, in the framework of its jurisdiction, the decisions adopted
by the provincial administration body or propose their revocation to the
Council of Ministers when these decisions have been adopted while acting
according to the faculties entrusted to them by the central state
administration agencies;
l) study and evaluate the rendering of accounts reports presented by
their administration body and the Assemblies of People’s Power which are
their subordinates, and adopt the pertinent decisions regarding those
reports;
m) set up or dissolve work commissions;
n) attend to all that relevant to the application of the policy on
cadres drawn up by the higher state bodies;
o) strengthen legality, public order and the country’s defense
capacity;
p) assume any other duty assigned by the Constitution and by law.
ARTICLE 106. In the limits of their jurisdiction, the Municipal
Assemblies of People’s power are invested with the power to:
a) obey and help to enforce the laws and other general regulations
adopted by the higher state bodies;
b) elect or recall the president and vice president of the Assembly;
c) designate or substitute the secretary of the Assembly;
d) supervise and control the entities subordinated to the municipal
body, with the support of the work commissions;
e) revoke or modify the resolutions and measures of the bodies or authorities
subordinated to them which are contrary to the Constitution or the laws,
decrees-laws, decrees, resolutions enacted by the higher state bodies or
those which affect the interest of the community, of other territories or
the general interests of the country, or propose their revocation to the
Council of Ministers when they have been adopted while acting according
to the faculties entrusted to them by the central state administration
agencies;
f) adopt agreements and enact measures in the framework of the
Constitution and the laws in force, on matters of municipal interest, and
control their application;
g) designate or substitute the members of its administration body on
the proposal of its president;
h) determine, according to the principles established by the Council
of Ministers, the organization, functioning and tasks of the entities in
charge of carrying out economic, production and services, and health care
activities, and others such as assistance, educational, cultural, sports,
protection of the environment and recreational activities which are
subordinated to its administration body;
i) propose the creation and organization of the People’s Councils, as
established by law;
j) constitute or dissolve work commissions;
k) approve the municipality’s socioeconomic plan and budget, following
the policy drawn up for this by the competent agencies of the central
state administration, and control their execution;
l) help in the development of activities and the fulfillment of
production and service plans of the entities located in their territory
which are not subordinated to them, for which they can draw support from
their work commissions and administration body;
m) study and evaluate the rendering of accounts reports presented by
their administration body and adopt the pertinent decisions thereof;
n) attend to all that having to do with the application of the policy
on cadres drawn up by the higher state bodies:
o) strengthen legality, public order and the country’s defense
capacity;
p) carry out any other functions assigned by the Constitution and by
law.
ARTICLE 107. The regular and special sessions of the local Assemblies
of People’s Power are public, except in cases when it is agreed to hold
them behind closed doors for reasons of state or when matters referring
to the decorum of persons are involved.
ARTICLE 108. In order for agreements of the local Assemblies of
People’s Power to be valid, more than half of the total number of members
must be present. Agreements are adopted by simple majority.
ARTICLE 109. The entities organized to meet local needs with the aim
of fulfilling their specific objectives, are ruled by laws, decree-laws
and decrees; by agreements adopted by the Council of Ministers; by regulations
issued by the heads of central state administration agencies on matters
under their jurisdiction which are of general interest and that require
being regulated on a national level; and by agreements adopted by the
local bodies to which they are subordinated.
ARTICLE 110. The permanent work commissions are constituted by the
Provincial and Municipal Assemblies of People's Power to meet the
specific interests of their localities, in order to help them carry out
their activities and especially to control and supervise the locally
subordinated entities and others corresponding to further levels of
subordination which are located in their territory.
Temporary commissions fulfill specific tasks assigned within the time
limits indicated.
ARTICLE 111. The Provincial Assemblies of People’s Power are renovated
every five years, which is the delegates’ tern of office.
The Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power are renovated every two and
a half years, which is the delegates’ tern of office.
These terns may only be extended by decision of the National Assembly
of People’s Power, in the cases mentioned inARTICLE 72.
ARTICLE 112. The tern of the delegated to local Assemblies may be
revoked at any time. The law prescribes the manner, the cases and the
methods in which they may be revoked.
ARTICLE 113. The delegates fulfill the mandate of their electors, in
the interest of all the community, for which they must coordinate their
functions as such with their usual responsibilities and tasks. The law
regulates the manner in which these functions are carried out.
ARTICLE 114. The delegates to the Municipal Assemblies of People’s
Power have the rights and duties conferred by the Constitution and by law
and they are especially obliged to:
a) make the opinions, needs and problems expressed by their electors
known to the Assembly and to the local administration;
b) report to their electors on the policies of the Assembly and the
measures adopted to resolve the problems posed by the population or
outline the reason why they have not been resolved;
c) render account of their activities on a regular basis to their
electors, and report to the Assembly or to the commission they belong to
on the fulfillment of the tasks assigned to them when they are asked to
do so.
ARTICLE 115. The delegates to the Provincial Assemblies of People’s
Power have the duty to carry out their activities for the benefit of the
collective and report on the measures taken by them on a personal basis,
according to the procedure established by law.
ARTICLE 116. The Provincial and Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power
elect their president and vice president from among their delegates.
ARTICLE 117. The president of the Provincial and Municipal Assemblies
of People’s Power are also the presidents of their respective
administration bodies and represent the state in their territories. Their
functions are established by law.
ARTICLE 118. The administration bodies which constitute the Provincial
and Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power work on a collegiate basis and
their composition, integration, functions and duties are established by
law.
ARTICLE 119. The Provincial and Municipal Defense Councils and the
Defense Zone Councils are constituted and organized during peacetime to
conduct their respective territories’ affairs, in conditions of a state
of war, during a war, a general mobilization or a state of emergency,
based on the general defense plan and the army’s military councils
corresponding role and responsibilities. The National Defense Council
determines, according to law, the organization and functions of these
Councils.
CHAPTER XIII
THE COURTS AND THE OFFICE
OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
ARTICLE 120. The function of administering justice springs from the
people and is carried out on its behalf by the People’s Supreme Court and
the other courts which the law establishes.
The law establishes the main objectives of judicial activity and
regulates the organization of the courts; the extension of their
jurisdiction and competence; their authority and the form of exercising
it; the standards that judges must meet, the manner in which they must be
elected and the causes and methods for recalling them or for the
cessation of their functions.
ARTICLE 121. The courts constitute a system of state bodies which are
set up with functional independence from all other systems and they are
only subordinated to the National Assembly of People’s Power and the
Council of State.
The People’s Supreme Court is the foremost judicial authority and its
decisions in this field are final.
Through its Governing Council it can propose and issue regulations;
make decisions and enact norms whose fulfillment is compulsory for all
courts and, based on their experience, it issues instructions which are
also compulsory in order to establish uniform judicial practice in the
interpretation and application of the law.
ARTICLE 122. The judges, in their function of administering justice,
are independent and only owe obedience to the law.
ARTICLE 123. The sentences and other decisions of the courts,
pronounced or enacted within the limits of their jurisdiction, must be
obeyed and implemented by state agencies, economic and social
institutions and citizens, by those directly affected and by those who do
not have a direct interest in their implementation but have the only the
duty to participate in it.
ARTICLE 124. For administering justice all courts function in a
collegiate form and professional and lay judges participate in them with
equal rights and duties.
The judicial functions assigned to lay judges, in view of their social
importance, have priority over their usual occupation.
ARTICLE 125. The courts render an account of the results of their work
in the manner and with the periodicity established by law.
ARTICLE 126. Judges can only be recalled by the body which elected
them.
ARTICLE 127. The Office of the Attorney General of the Republic is the
state body which has, as its fundamental objective, jurisdiction over the
control and preservation of legality by ensuring that the Constitution,
the law and other legal regulations are strictly obeyed by state
agencies, economic and social entities and citizens; and representing the
state in the promotion and exercise of public legal action.
The law determines the other objectives and functions as well as the
form, duration and occasion in which the Office of the Attorney General
exercises its power.
ARTICLE 128. The Office of the Attorney General of the Republic
constitutes an organic unit which is only subordinated to the National
Assembly of People’s Power and the Council of State.
The Attorney General of the Republic is given instructions directly
from the Council of State.
The Attorney General of the Republic will handle the direction and
control of all the work done by his office all over the country.
The bodies of the Office of the Attorney General are organized in a
vertical manner all over the country. They are subordinate only to the
Office of the Attorney General of the Republic and are independent of all
local bodies.
ARTICLE 129. The Attorney General of the Republic and the assistant
attorney generals are elected and subject to recall by the National
Assembly of People’s Power.
ARTICLE 130. The Attorney General of the Republic renders an account
of his work to the National Assembly of People’s Power in the form and
with the periodicity established by law.
CHAPTER XIV
ELECTORAL SYSTEM
ARTICLE 131. All citizens, with the legal capacity to do so, have the
right to take part in the leadership of the state, directly or through
their elected representatives to the bodies of People’s Power, and to
participate, for this purpose and as prescribed by law, in the periodic
elections and people’s referendums through free, equal and secret vote.
Every voter has only vote.
ARTICLE 132. All Cubans over 16 years of age, men and women alike,
have the right to vote except those who:
a) are mentally disabled and have been declared so by court;
b) have committed a crime and because of this have lost the right to
vote.
ARTICLE 133. All Cuban citizens, men and women alike, who have full
political rights can be elected.
If the election is for deputies to the National Assembly of People’s
Power they must be more than 18 years old.
ARTICLE 134. Members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and other
military institutions of the nation have the right to elect and be
elected, just like any other citizen.
ARTICLE 135. The law determines the number of delegates that make up
each of the Provincial and Municipal Assemblies, in proportion to the
number of people who live in each of the regions into which, for
electoral purposes, the country is divided.
The delegates to the Provincial and Municipal Assemblies are elected
by the voters through free, direct and secret vote. Moreover, the law
regulates the procedure for their election.
ARTICLE 136. In order for deputies or delegates to be considered
elected they must get more than half the number of valid votes cast in
the electoral districts.
If this does not happen, or in cases of vacant posts, the law
regulates the procedure to be followed.
CHAPTER XV
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS
ARTICLE 137. This Constitution can only be totally or partially
modified by the National Assembly of People’s Power by means of
resolutions adopted by roll-call vote by a majority of no less than
two-thirds of the total number of members.
If the modification is total of has to do with the integration and
authority of the National Assembly of People’s Power or its Council of
State or the rights and duties contained in the Constitution, the
approval of the majority of citizens with the right to vote is required
via a referendum organized for this purpose by the Assembly.
This Constitution, which was proclaimed on February 24, 1976, contains
the reforms approved by the National Assembly of People’s Power in the
11th Regular Session of the 3rd Legislature, held on July 10, 11 and 12
of 1992.
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