User:Glide08/Sandbox/Brazil

CONSTITUTION

of the

UNITED STATES OF BRAZIL

September 24, 1946 ^

WE, the representatives of the Brazilian people, met in Constituent Assembly to organize a democratic regime, under the protection of God, decree and promulgate the following Constitution of the United States of Brazil.

TITLE ONE . THE FEDERAL ORGANIZATION

Chapter I. PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

Art. 1.

The United States of Brazil maintain, under the representative system, the Federation and the Republic.

All power emanates from the people and shall be exercised in its name.

The Union includes, in addition to the states, the federal district and the territories.

The federal district is the capital of the Union.

Art. 2.

The states may merge with one another, subdivide, or partition in order to annex themselves to others or to form new states, by vote of the respective legislative assemblies, plebiscite of the populations directly concerned, and approval of the National Congress.

Art. 3.

The territories may, by special law, be constituted as states, subdivided into new territories, or restored as parts of the states from which they were separated.

Art. 4.

Brazil shall resort to war only in case of non-applicability or failure of resort to arbitration or pacific means of solution of the conflict, regulated by any international security organization in which it may participate; and in no case shall it embark on a war of conquest, directly or indirectly, alone or in alliance with another state.

Art. 5.

The Union shall have power:

I. To maintain relations with foreign states and to make treaties and conventions with them;

II. To declare war and make peace;

III. To decree, extend, and suspend the state of siege;

IV. To organize the armed forces, the security of the frontiers, and the external defense;

V. To permit foreign forces to pass through national territory or, for reasons of war, to remain therein temporarily;

VI. To authorize the production and control the commerce of war material;

VII. To supervise, throughout the national territory, the services of maritime, air, and frontier police;

VIII. To coin and issue money and establish banks of issue;

IX. To control the operations of establishments of credit, capitalization, and insurance;

X. To establish the national plan of transport;

XI. To maintain the postal service and the national air mail;

XII. To develop, directly or through authorization or concession, the services of telegraphs, radio communication, radio broadcasting, interstate and international telephones, air navigation, and railways connecting seaports and national frontiers or crossing the boundaries of a state;

XIII. To organize permanent defense against the effects of drought, rural endemic diseases, and floods;

XIV. To grant amnesty;

XV. To legislate upon:

(a) Civil, commercial, penal, procedural, electoral, aeronautical, and labor law;

(b) General norms of law with respect to finance; insurance, and social security; defense and protection of health; and penitentiary system;

(c) Production and consumption;

(d) Policies and bases of national education;

(e) Public registries and commercial boards;

(f) Organization, instruction, justice, and guaranties of the military police and general conditions of their utilization by the federal government in cases of mobilization or of war;

(g) Expropriation;

(h) Civil and military requisitions in time of war;

(i) System of ports and of coastwise navigation;

(j) Interstate traffic;

(k) Foreign and interstate commerce; institutions of credit, exchange, and transfer of values abroad;

(l) Subsoil wealth, mining, metallurgy, waters, electric energy, forests, hunting, and fishing;

(m) Monetary and standard measures systems, title and guarantee of metals;

(n) Naturalization, entry, extradition, and expulsion of foreigners;

(o) Emigration and immigration;

(p) Conditions of capacity for the exercise of the technical, scientific, and liberal professions;

(q) Use of the national symbols;

(r) Incorporation of aborigines into the national community.

Art. 6.

The federal power to legislate upon the matters of Article 5, Number XV, letters b, c, d, f, h, j, l, o, and r does not exclude supplementary or complementary state legislation.

Art. 7.

The federal government shall not intervene in the states except;

I. To maintain the national integrity;

II. To repel foreign invasion or that of one state in another;

III. To suppress civil war;

IV. To guarantee the free exercise of any of the state powers;

V. To insure the execution of judicial orders or decisions;

VI. To reorganize the finances of any state which, without reasons of force majeure, may suspend for more than two consecutive years services on its funded external debt;

VII. To assure the observance of the following principles:

(a) Representative republican form;

(b) Independence and harmony of powers;

(c) Temporality of the elective functions;

(d) Municipal autonomy;

(e) Rendering of administrative accounts;

(f) Guaranties of judicial power.

Art. 8.

Intervention shall be decreed by federal law in the cases of Numbers VI and VII of the preceding Article.

Sole Paragraph — In the case of Number VII, the act alleged to be unconstitutional shall be submitted by the attorney general of the Republic to examination by the Federal Supreme Court, and, if the latter so declares the act, the intervention shall be decreed.

Art. 9.

The President of the Republic shall have power to decree intervention in the cases of Numbers I to V of Article 7.

§ 1. Issuance of the decree shall be dependent upon:

I. In the case of Number V, the requisition of the Federal Supreme Court; or if the order or decision should be of electoral justice, the requisition of the electoral supreme court.

II. In the case of Number IV, the request of the legislative power or of the executive, obstructed or impeded, or the requisition of the Federal Supreme Court if the obstruction should be exercised against the judicial power.

§ 2. In the second case provided for by Article 7, Number II, the intervention shall be decreed only in the invading state.

Art. 10.

In cases other than requisition of the Federal Supreme Court or the electoral supreme court, the President of the Republic shall decree the intervention and shall submit it, without prejudice to its immediate execution, to the approval of the National Congress, which, if not in session, shall be convened extraordinarily for this purpose.

Art. 11.

The law or decree of intervention shall fix: its scope, its duration, and the conditions under which it is to be executed.

Art. 12.

The President of the Republic shall have power to make the intervention effective and, if necessary, to appoint the interventor.

Art. 13.

In the cases enumerated in Article 7, Number VII, and with observance of the provisions of Article 8, Sole Paragraph, the National Congress shall limit itself to suspending the execution of the act alleged to be unconstitutional, if this measure be sufficient for the re-establishment of normality in the state.

Art. 14.

Upon cessation of the motives which may have determined the intervention, the state authorities removed in consequence thereof shall return to the exercise of their offices.

Art. 15.

The Union shall have power to decree taxes upon:

I. Importation of merchandise of foreign origin;

II. Consumption of merchandise;

III. Production, commerce, distribution, and consumption, as well as importation and exportation, of liquid or gaseous lubricants and fuels of whatever origin or nature, this regime being extended insofar as it may be applicable to the minerals of the country and to electric energy;

IV. Income and profits of whatever nature;

V. Transfer of funds abroad;

VI. The busiuess of its own economy, acts and instruments regulated by federal law.

§ 1 . Articles classified by law as the minimum indispensable to housing, clothing, nourishment, and medical treatment of persons of limited economic capacity are exempt from consumption tax.

§ 2. The taxation dealt with in Item III shall have the form of a single tax, which shall fall upon each kind of product. Of the resulting revenue, sixty per cent, as minimum, shall be delivered to the states, to the federal district, and to the municipalities in proportion to their area, population, consumption, and production, according to the terms and for the purposes set forth in federal law.

§ 3. The Union may tax the income from obligations of the state or municipal public debt and the profits of agents of states and municipalities, but it cannot do so to an extent greater than fixed for its own obligations and for the profits of its own agents.

§ 4. The Union shall deliver to the municipalities, except those of the capitals, ten per cent of the total it may collect of the tax dealt with in Number IV, with distribution being made in equal parts and at least half of the amount applied in benefits of a rural nature.

§ 5. The juridical acts to which the Union, the states, or the municipalities may be parties, or the instruments to which these acts may be reduced, or again, those included in the tax qualifications established by Articles 19 and 29, do not come under the provisions of Item VI.

§ 6. In the imminence or in case of foreign war, it is lawful for the Union to decree extraordinary taxes, which shall not be distributed in the manner of Article 21, and shall be eliminated gradually, within five years, counted from the date of the signing of peace.

Art. 16.

The Union shall, moreover, have power to decree the taxes provided for in Article 19 which are to be collected by the territories.

Art. 17.

The Union is forbidden to decree taxes which are not uniform throughout the national territory or which may result in distinction or preference for one port or another, to the detriment of another of any other state.

Art. 18.

Every state shall govern itself by the Constitution and by the laws it may adopt, with observance of the principles established in this Constitution.

§ 1. To the states are reserved all powers which are not implicitly or explicitly forbidden to them by this Constitution.

§ 2. The states shall provide for the needs of their government and the administration thereof; but in case of public calamity, it is incumbent on the Union to lend them aid.

§ 3. By agreement with the Union, the states may charge federal officials with the execution of state laws and services or of acts and decisions of their authorities; and, reciprocally, the Union may, in matters of its jurisdiction, entrust analogous duties to state officials, providing the

necessary expenses.

Art. 19.

The States shall have power to decree taxes upon:

I. Territorial property, except urban;

II. Transfer of property causa mortis;

III. Transfer of real property inter vivos and its incorporation into the capital of companies;

IV. Sales and consignments effected by traders and producers, including industrialists, with exemption, however, of the first operation of the small producer, as defined by state law;

V. Exportation of merchandise of their production abroad, up to the maximum of five per cent ad valorem, any additional taxes being prohibited;

VI. Acts regulated by state law, those of their judicial service, and the business of their economy.

§ 1 . The tax on territorial holdings shall not be incident upon farms having an area not exceeding twenty hectares when cultivated by the proprietor, alone or with his family, and who does not own any other property.

§ 2. The taxes upon the transfer of tangible property (II and III) belong to the state in whose territory these may be situated.

§ 3. The tax upon transfer causa mortis of intangible property, including securities and credits, belongs to the state in whose territory the values of the inheritance may be liquidated or transferred to the heirs, even though the succession may have opened abroad.

§ 4. The states may not tax securities of the public debt issued by other juridical persons of national public law to an extent greater than that established for their own obligations.

§ 5. The tax on sales and consignments shall be uniform, without distinction as to origin or destination.

§ 6. In exceptional cases, the Federal Senate may authorize the increase for a fixed time of the tax upon exportation up to a maximum of ten per cent ad valorem.

Art. 20.

When the state collection of taxes, except that of the export tax, shall exceed in any municipality other than that of the capital, the total of local revenues of whatever nature, the states shall return to such municipality annually thirty per cent of the excess collected.

Art. 21.

The Union and the states may decree other taxes in addition to those attributed to them by this Constitution, but a federal tax shall exclude an identical state tax. The states shall make collection of such taxes, and, as this is effected, shall deliver twenty per cent of the proceeds to the Union and forty per cent to the municipalities where the collection has been effected.

Art. 22.

The financial administration, especially the execution of the budget, shall be supervised in the Union by the National Congress, with the aid of the tribunal of accounts, and in the states and municipalities according to the manner established in the state constitutions.

Sole Paragraph — In the preparation of the budget, the provisions of Articles 73 to 75 shall be observed.

Art. 23.

The states shall not intervene in the municipalities, except in order to regularize their finances, when:

(a) There shall occur lack of punctuality in the service of a loan guaranteed by the state;

(b) They fail to pay, for two consecutive years, their funded debt.

Art. 24.

The state is permitted to create an organ for technical assistance to municipalities.

Art. 25.

The administrative and judicial organization of the federal district and of the territories shall be governed by federal law with observance of the provisions of Article 124.

Art. 26.

The federal district shall be administered by a mayor appointed by the President of the Republic, and a chamber elected by the people, with legislative functions.

§ 1. The appointment shall be made after the Federal Senate has given its consent to the name proposed by the President of the Republic.

§ 2. The mayor shall be dismissible at will.

§ 3. The judges of the tribunal of justice shall receive compensation not inferior to the greatest remuneration of the magistrates of equal rank in the states.

§ 4. The same taxes attributed by this Constitution to the states and to the municipalities shall belong to the federal district.

Art. 27.

The Union, the states, the federal district, and the municipalities are forbidden to establish limitations upon traffic of whatever nature by means of interstate or intermunicipal taxes, except for the collection of tolls or of taxes destined exclusively for the repayment of expenses incurred for the construction and for the maintenance and improvement of roads.

Art. 28.

The autonomy of municipalities shall be assured:

I. By the election of mayors and municipal councilors;

II. By self-administration in all matters concerning their own interest and especially:

(a) The determination and collection of taxes within their jurisdiction and the application of their revenues;

(b) The organization of their local public services.

Art. 29.

In addition to the revenue which is attributed to them by virtue of paragraphs 2 and 4 of Article 15 and of the taxes which in whole or in part may be transferred to them by the state, the following taxes shall belong exclusively to the municipalities:

I. Urban land and buildings;

II. License;

III. Industries and professions;

IV. Public diversions;

V. Acts of their economy or matters belonging to their particular sphere.

Art. 30.

The Union, the states, the federal district and the municipalities shall have power to collect:

I. Tax on improvements when there shall be an increase in value of real property, as a consequence of public works;

II. Taxes;

III. Any other revenues which may arise out of the exercise of their attributes and of the utilization of their properties and services.

Sole Paragraph. The tax on improvements cannot be demanded in amount greater than the expense realized or the increase in value which may accrue to the real property benefited by the work.

Art. 31.

The Union, the states, the municipalities, and the federal district are forbidden:

I. To create distinctions between Brazilians or preferences favoring any states or municipalities as against any others;

II. To establish or subsidize religious sects or embarrass their activities;

III. To have relations of alliance or dependence with any sect or church, without prejudice to reciprocal collaboration in furtherance of the collective interest;

IV. To refuse to honor public documents;

V. To levy tax upon:

(a) Property, revenues, and services of one another, without prejudice, however, to the taxation of public services granted under concession with observance of the provisions of the sole paragraph of this article;

(b) Temples of any sect, property and services of political parties, educational and social welfare institutions, provided that their income is applied entirely within the country for the proper purposes;

(c) Paper destined exclusively for the printing of newspapers, periodicals, and books.

Sole Paragraph. Public services granted under concession do not enjoy tax exemption, except when so determined by the competent power, or when the Union may institute such exemption in a special law, with respect to its own services, having in view the common interest.

Art. 32.

The states, the federal district, and the municipalities may not establish any tax differential between properties of any nature by reason of their origin.

Art. 33.

The states and the municipalities are prohibited to contract external loans without previous authorization of the Federal Senate.

Art. 34.

Included in the property of the Union are:

I. Lakes and water courses in territory of its domain of which border on more than one state, serve as boundaries with other countries, or extend to foreign territory; as well as river and lake islands in the boundary zones with other countries.

II. The portion of ceded land which may be indispensable for the defense of frontiers, fortifications, military construction, and railways.

Art. 35.

Among the properties of the state domain are included lakes and rivers in territory of the same state domain and those which have their source and mouth within the frontiers of the state.

Art. 36.

The powers of the Union are the legislative, the executive, and the judicial, independent and harmonious among themselves.

§ 1. The citizen invested with the function of one of these shall not exercise the function of another, except as provided in this Constitution.

§ 2. It is forbidden for any of the powers to delegate their attributes.

Chapter II. THE LEGISLATIVE POWER

Section I. Preliminary Provisions

Art. 37.

The legislative power is exercised by the National Congress, which is composed of the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate.

Art. 38.

The election for deputies and senators shall be held simultaneously throughout the country.

Sole Paragraph. The conditions of eligibility for the National Congress are:

I. To be a Brazilian as defined in Article 129, Numbers I and II;

II. To be in full enjoyment of political rights;

III. For the Chamber of Deputies, to be more than twenty-five years old, and for the Federal Senate, to be more than thirty years old.

Art. 39.

The National Congress shall meet in the capital of the Republic, on the fifteenth of March each year, and shall function until the fifteenth of December.

Sole Paragraph. The National Congress may be convoked extraordinarily only by the President of the Republic or by initiative of one third of one of the chambers.

Art. 40.

Each chamber shall have power to provide, by internal regulation, for its own organization and police, and the creation and filling of offices.

Sole Paragraph. In the selection of committees, proportional representation of the national parties forming part of the respective chamber shall be assured as far as possible.

Art. 41.

The Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate, under the direction of the executive committee of the latter, shall meet in joint session in order to:

I. Inaugurate the lesiglative session;

II. Elaborate common regulations;

III. Receive the oath of the President and of the Vice President of the Republic;

IV. Deliberate upon the veto.

Art. 42.

In each chamber, except for constitutional provision to the contrary, resolutions shall be taken by majority of votes, with a majority of their members present.

Art. 43.

The vote shall be secret in the elections and in the cases established by Articles 45, paragraph 2; 63, Number I; 66, Number VIII; 70, paragraph 3; 211 and 213.

Art. 44.

The deputies and senators are inviolable in the exercise of their mandate for their opinions, words, and votes.

Art. 45.

From the time of issuing their diplomas until the inauguration of the subsequent legislature, the members of the National Congress may not be arrested, except in flagrante delicto in an unbailable crime, nor may they be prosecuted criminally without previous permission of their chamber.

§ 1. In the case of in flagrante delicto of an unbailable crime, notice of arrest shall be sent within forty-eight hours to the respective chamber in order that it may decide upon the imprisonment and authorize the trial.

§ 2. The chamber concerned shall always deliberate by vote of the majority of its members.

Art. 46.

Deputies and senators, whether civilian or military, may not be incorporated into the armed forces except in time of war and by permission of their chamber, being thereafter subject to military legislation.

Art. 47.

Deputies and senators shall receive, annually, an equal remuneration and shall have equal allowances for expenses.

§ 1. The remuneration shall be divided into two parts: one fixed, which shall be paid in the course of the year, and the other variable, corresponding to their attendance.

§ 2. The allowance for expenses and remuneration shall be fixed at the end of each legislature.

Art. 48.

Deputies or senators may not:

I. From and after issuance of the diploma:

(a) Make a contract with a juridical person of public law, autarchic entities, or societies of mixed economy, except when the contract adheres to uniform standards;

(b) Accept or exercise remunerated commission or employment from a juridical person of public law, autarchic entities, societies of mixed economy, or private firms holding concessions for public service.

II. From and after taking office:

(a) Be the owner or director of an enterprise which may benefit by a contract with a juridical person of pubUc law, or exercise remunerated employment thereby;

(b) Occupy public office from which they may be dismissed at will;

(c) Exercise another legislative mandate, whether federal, state or municipal;

(d) Bring suit against a juridical person of public law.

§ 1. Infractions of the provisions of this Article, as well as absence without permission from the sessions for more than six consecutive months, shall result in loss of the mandate, declared by the chamber to which the deputy or senator may belong, upon the initiative of any of its members or documented representation by a political party or by the attorney general of the Republic.

§ 2. The deputy or senator whose action may be held to be incompatible with the decorum of the chamber to which he belongs, by a vote of two-thirds of its members, shall likewise lose his mandate.

Art. 49.

It is permissible for deputies or senators, with previous permission of the chamber to which they belong, to carry out diplomatic missions of transitory character, or to participate in congresses, conferences, and cultural missions abroad.

Art. 50.

During the period of his mandate, a public officer shall be separated from the functions of his office, with time of service being counted in his favor merely for promotion by seniority and retirement.

Art. 51.

A deputy or senator invested with the funtcion of minister of state, federal interventor, or state secretary shall not lose his mandate.

Art. 52.

The Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate shall create committees of inquiry upon a given matter, whenever one-third of their members shall so request.

Sole Paragraph. In the organization of these committees, the criterion established in the Sole Paragraph of Article 40 shall be observed.

Art. 53.

The ministers of state are obliged to appear before the Chamber of Deputies or Federal Senate, or any of their committees, when either chamber shall call them personally to give information respecting matters previously determined.

Sole Paragraph. Failure to appear, without justification, shall constitute a crime of responsibility.

Art. 54.

The ministers of state may participate in discussions in either chamber of the National Congress.

Sole Paragraph. The Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate, as well as their committees, shall designate day and hour to hear any minister of state who may desire to furnish them with explanations, or request of them legislative measures.

Section II. The Chamber of Deputies

Art. 55.

The Chamber of Deputies is composed of representatives of the people, elected according to the system of proportional representation by the states, by the federal district, and by the territories.

Art. 56.

Each legislature shall last four years. In the cases established by this Constitution, the President of the Republic shall dissolve the Chamber of Deputies and call new elections that will take place within a maximum period of ninety days.

§ 1. The Chamber of Deputies elected in consequence of a dissolution shall be inaugurated twenty-one days after the election. The dissolved Chamber shall continue to exercise its functions until the inauguration.

§ 2. The Chamber of Deputies elected in consequence a dissolution shall complete the legislature of its predecessor, unless there should remain less than nine months to the end of the term. In that case, the inauguration of the subsequent legislature shall be brought forward.

§ 3. The Chamber of Deputies may propose, by vote of an absolute majority of its members, its own dissolution to the President of the Republic.

Art. 57.

The number of deputies shall be fixed by law in a proportion not to exceed one for each one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, up to twenty deputies, and beyond this limit one for each two hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants.

§ 1. One deputy shall be the minimum number for each state and territory and for the federal district.

§ 2. The representation shall be fixed following the receipt of each census.

§ 3. The representation already fixed for a given legislature may not be modified.

Art. 58.

In the case of Article 51 and in the case of leave, if permitted by the internal regulations, or in case of vacancy in the office of a deputy, the respective alternate shall be called.

Sole Paragraph. If there should be no alternate to fill the vacancy, the president of the Chamber of Deputies shall communicate the fact to the superior electoral tribunal to arrange for the election, unless there should remain less than nine months to the end of the term. The deputy elected to the vacancy shall exercise the mandate for the remaining time.

Art. 59.

The Chamber of Deputies shall have exclusive power:

I. To declare founded or unfounded, by vote of an absolute majority of its members, accusations against the President of the Republic, under the terms of Article 88, and against the ministers of state in crimes connected with those of the President of the Republic;

II. To take the initiative in demanding accounts from the President of the Republic by designation of a special committee, when they are not presented to the National Congress withm sixty days after the opening of the legislative session.

Section III. The Federal Senate

Art. 60.

The Federal Senate is composed of representatives of the states and of the federal district, elected according to the majority principle.

§ 1. Each state shall elect three senators whose mandate shall be for six years.

§ 2. Each territory, as well as the federal district, shall elect one senator, whose mandate shall be for two years.

§ 3. The representation of each state shall be renewed every two years, alternately, one-third at a time, simultaneously with the renewal of the representation of each territory and of the federal district.

§ 4. In the case of Article 51 and in the case of leave, if permitted by the internal regulations, or in case of vacancy in the office of a senator, the president of the Senate shall communicate the fact to the superior electoral tribunal to arrange for the election, unless there should remain less than nine months to the end of the term. The senator elected to the vacancy shall exercise the mandate for the remaining time.

Art. 61.

The Vice President of the Republic shall exercise the functions of president of the Federal Senate where he shall only have the deciding vote.

Art. 62.

The Federal Senate shall have exclusive power:

I. To judge the President of the Republic in respect of crimes of responsibility and the ministers of state in respect of crimes of the same nature that may be connected with the former;

II. To prosecute and judge the ministers of the Federal Supreme Court and the attorney general of the Republic, in respect of crimes of responsibility.

§ 1. When functioning as a tribunal of justice, the Federal Senate shall be presided over by the president of the Federal Supreme Court.

§ 2. The Federal Senate shall only pronounce condemnatory sentence by the vote of two- thirds of its members.

§ 3. The Federal Senate may not impose any penalties other than loss of office and prohibition against the exercise of another without prejudice to the action of ordinary justice.

Art. 63.

The Federal Senate shall likewise have exclusive power:

I. To approve, by secret vote, the appointment of magistrates in the cases established by the Constitution, and likewise the appointment of the attorney general of the Republic, of the ministers of the tribunal of accounts, of the mayor of the federal district, of the members of the national economic council, and of the chiefs of diplomatic mission of permanent character.

II. To authorize foreign loans of states, of the federal district, and of the municipalities.

Art. 64.

It shall be incumbent upon the Federal Senate to suspend the execution, wholly or in part, of any law or decree declared unconstitutional by final decision of the Federal Supreme Court.

Section IV. Attributes of the Legislative Power

Art. 65.

The National Congress shall have power, with the approval of the President of the Republic:

I. To vote the budget;

II. To vote the taxes belonging to the Union and to regulate the collection and distribution of its revenues;

III. To make provisions concerning the federal public debt and the means of its payment;

IV. To create and abolish federal public posts, and fix the salaries attached thereto, in all cases by special law;

V. To vote the law of establishment of armed forces for peacetime;

VI. To authorize opening of credits, credit operations, and issues of legal tender currency;

VII. To transfer temporarily the seat of the federal government;

VIII. To resolve questions concerning boundaries of the national territory;

IX. To legislate regarding property of the federal domain, and all matters of the competence of the Union, the provisions of the following article being respected.

Art. 66.

The National Congress shall have exclusive power:

I. To give final decision respecting treaties and conventions celebrated with foreign states by the President of the Republic;

II. To authorize the President of the Republic to declare war and make peace;

III. To authorize the President of the Republic to permit foreign forces to pass through the national territory or, by reason of war, to remain therein temporarily;

IV. To approve or suspend federal intervention when decreed by the President of the Republic;

V. To grant amnesty;

VI. To approve the resolutions of state legislative assemblies regarding merger, sub-division or partitioning of the states;

VII. To authorize the President and the Vice President of the Republic to absent themselves from the country;

VIII. To judge the accounts of the President of the Republic;

IX. To fix the allowance of expenses and the subsidy of the members of the National Congress, as well as those of the President and Vice President of the Republic;

X. To temporarily move its seat.

Section V. Laws

Art. 67.

The initiative of laws, excepting the cases of exclusive power, shall belong to the President of the Republic and to any member or committee of the Chamber of Deputies or of the Federal Senate.

§ 1. The initiative of the law establishing the armed forces and of all laws regarding financial matters appertains to the Chamber of Deputies and to the President of the Republic.

§ 2. Excepting the powers of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Federal Senate, as well as of the federal courts, in matters concerning their respective administrative services, the President of the Republic shall have exclusive power of initiative of laws which create positions in existing services, increase salaries, or modify in the course of each legislature the law of establishment of the armed forces.

§ 3. Discussion of bills initiated by the President of the Republic shall begin in the Chamber of Deputies.

Art. 68.

A bill adopted in one of the chambers shall be reviewed by the other, which, approving it, shall send it for approval or promulgation as prescribed by Articles 70 and 71.

Sole Paragraph. The revision shall be discussed and voted upon in a single session.

Art. 69.

If a bill of one chamber is amended in the other, it shall return to the first for pronouncement regarding the modification and approval or disapproval.

Sole Paragraph. The bill shall be sent for approval in the terms in which it was finally voted.

Art. 70.

In the case of Article 65, the chamber where the voting of a bill is concluded shall send it to the President of the Republic who, acquiescing, shall approve it.

§ 1. If the President of the Republic shall judge the bill, in whole or in part, unconstitutional or contrary to the national interests, he may veto the same, totally or partially, within ten business days, counted from that on which he receives it, and he shall, within the same period, inform the president of the Senate of the reasons for the veto. If approval is refused after the legislative session is over, the President of the Republic shall publish the veto.

§ 2, After the lapse of ten days, the silence of the President of the Republic shall be equivalent to approval.

§ 3. When the veto is communicated to the president of the Senate, he shall convoke the two chambers to inform them in joint session, and if the vetoed bill obtain the vote of two-thirds of the representatives present, it shall be considered approved. In this case, the bill shall be sent to the President of the Republic for promulgation.

§ 4. If the law should not be promulgated within forty-eight hours by the President of the Republic, in the cases of paragraphs 2 and 3, the president of the Senate shall promulgate it; but if the latter should not do so within the same period of time, the vice president of the Senate shall promulgate it.

Art. 71.

In the cases of Article 66, the elaboration of the law shall be considered closed with the final voting, and it shall be promulgated by the president of the Senate.

Art. 72.

Bills which are rejected or not approved may be renewed only in the same legislative session, by proposal of an absolute majority of the members of either of the chambers.

Section VI. The Budget

Art. 73.

The budget shall be one and it shall be obligatory to include in it all the receipts and the allotments of funds, and to discriminate in the expenses all the allotments necessary for the payment of all the public services.

§ 1. The budget law shall not contain any provision foreign to the estimate of the receipts and the fixing of the expenses for services previously created. This prohibition shall not include :

I. Authorization for opening of supplementary credits and credit operations in anticipation of receipts;

II. Application of balances and manner of covering deficits.

§ 2. Budgeting of expenses shall be divided into two parts : one of them fixed, which may not be altered except by virtue of previous law; the other variable, which shall be subject to strict specialization.

Art. 74.

If the budget shall not have been sent for approval by November 30, the one which was in effect shall be extended for the following fiscal year.

Art. 75.

The transfer of budget items, the granting of unlimited credits, and the opening of special credits without legislative authorization are prohibited.

Sole Paragraph. The opening of extraordinary credits shall be admitted only for urgent or unforeseen necessity, in case of war, internal commotion, or public calamity.

Art. 76.

The tribunal of accounts shall have its seat in the capital of the Republic and jurisdiction throughout the national territory.

§ 1. The ministers of the tribunal of accounts shall be appointed by the President of the Republic after approval of the selection by the Federal Senate and shall have the same rights, guaranties, prerogatives, and remuneration as the judges of the federal courts of appeals.

§ 2. The tribunal of accounts shall exercise, in matters concerning it, the same attributes as the judicial tribunals set forth in Article 97, and shall likewise have its own staff.

Art. 77.

The tribunal of accounts shall have power:

I. To follow and control directly, or through agencies created by law, the execution of the budget;

II. To judge the accounts of those responsible for public funds and other property, as well as the accounts of the administrators of autarchic entities;

III. To judge the legality of contracts, retirements, removals and pensions.

§ 1. Contracts which in any wise shall affect receipts or expenditures shall be considered complete only after they have been registered by the tribunal. Refusal of registry shall suspend the execution of the contract until the National Congress shall issue pronouncement.

§ 2. Any act of public administration which may result in an obligation of payment by the national treasury or for its account, shall be subject to registry in the tribunal of accounts, either before or afterwards, as the law may determine.

§ 3. In any case, the refusal of registry for lack of credit balance or for charge to an improper credit, shall have prohibitive character. When the refusal shall have other basis, the expenditure may be made after an order by the President of the Republic, registry with reservation by the tribunal of accounts, and appeal ex-officio to the National Congress.

§ 4. The tribunal of accounts shall give its prior opinion, within a period of sixty days, upon the accounts which the President of the Republic is to render annually to the National Congress. If these are not sent within the period of the law, it shall communicate the fact to the National Congress for the purposes of law, presenting to it in either case a detailed report of the financial and fiscal year terminated.

Chapter III. THE EXECUTIVE POWER

Section I. The President and the Vice President of the Republic

Art. 78.

The executive power is exercised by the President of the Republic and by the Council of Ministers, which is responsible for the direction and responsibility of the government's policy, as well as the federal administration.

Art. 79.

The President shall be replaced, in case of impediment, and succeeded, in case of vacancy in office, by the Vice President of the Republic.

§ 1. In case of impediment or vacancy in office of the President and of the Vice President of the Republic, the president of the Council of Ministers, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, the vice president of the Federal Senate and the president of the Federal Supreme Court shall be successively called to the exercise of the presidency.

§ 2. In case of vacancy in office of the Vice President of the Republic, an election shall be held thirty days after the vacancy by the National Congress in the form established by law. In either case the Vice President of the Republic elected shall complete the period of his predecessor.

§ 3. If there should be no Vice President to fill the vacancy in the office of President of the Republic, an election to both offices shall be held sixty days after the occurrence of the vacancy in the Presidential office. If the vacancy should occur less than nine months before the end of the presidential period, the election for both offices shall be held thirty days after the vacancy in the Presidential office by the National Congress in the form established by law. In either case those elected shall complete the period of their predecessors.

Art. 80.

The conditions of eligibility for President and Vice President of the Republic are:

I. To be a Brazilian (Article 129, I and II);

II. To be in the exercise of political rights;

III. To be over thirty-five years of age.

Art. 81.

The President and Vice President of the Republic shall be elected simultaneously throughout the country, one hundred and twenty days before the expiration of the presidential period.

Art. 82.

The President and Vice President of the Republic shall hold office for five years.

Art. 83.

The President and the Vice President of the Republic shall take office at a session of the National Congress or, if the Congress is not in session, before the Federal Supreme Court.

Sole Paragraph. The President of the Republic, upon taking office, shall take the following pledge: "I promise to maintain, defend and comply with the Constitution of the Republic, observe its laws, promote the general welfare of Brazil, maintain its union, its integrity, and its independence."

Art. 84.

If the President or the Vice President of the Republic have not taken office thirty days after the date fixed for their doing so, except because of illness, the office shall be declared vacant by the supreme electoral tribunal.

Art. 85.

The President and the Vice President of the Republic cannot leave the country without permission of the National Congress, under penalty of the loss of their office.

Art. 86.

During the last legislative year previous to the election of the President and the Vice President of the Republic, their remuneration shall be fixed by the National Congress.

Section II. The Attributes of the President of the Republic

Art. 87.

The President of the Republic shall have exclusive power:

I. To approve, promulgate, and have the laws published and to issue decrees and regulations for their faithful execution;

II. To veto bills in accordance with Article 70, § 1;

III. To appoint and dismiss the president of the Council of Ministers and, on his nomination, the other ministers of state;

IV. To convene extraordinarily the Council of Ministers under his presidency;

V. To appoint and dismiss the mayor of the federal district (Article 26, §§ 1 & 2) and the members of the national council of economy (Article 205, § 1);

I. To fill federal public offices according to law and with the exceptions established by this Constitution;

VII. To maintain relations with foreign states;

VIII. To conclude international treaties and conventions subject to ratification of the National Congress;

IX. To declare war, upon authorization by the National Congress, but without this authorization in the case of foreign aggression, when such occurs in the interval between legislative sessions;

X. To make peace, with authorization and subject to ratification of the National Congress;

XI. Upon authorization by the National Congress, but without this authorization in the interval between legislative sessions, to permit foreign forces to pass through the territory of the country or, by reason of war, to remain therein temporarily;

XII. To exercise supreme command of the armed forces administering them through the medium of the competent organs;

XIII. To decree total or partial mobilization of the armed forces;

XIV. To decree the state of siege under the terms of this Constitution;

XV. To decree and execute federal intervention under the terms of Articles 7 to 14;

XVI. To authorize Brazilians to accept pensions, employment, or commissions from foreign governments;

XVII. To send to the Chamber of Deputies, within the first two months of the legislative session, the budget proposal;

XVIII. To render annually to the National Congress, within sixty days after the opening of the legislative session, the accounts relative to the preceding fiscal year;

XIX. To send a message to the National Congress upon the occasion of the opening of the legislative session, giving it an account of the state of the Nation and requesting of it the action which he may judge necessary;

XX. To grant pardon and commute sentences, with hearing before the organs instituted by law.

Section III. The Responsibility of the President of the Republic

Art. 88.

The President of the Republic, after the Chamber of Deputies have declared valid the accusation by the vote of the absolute majority of its members, shall be submitted to judgment before the Federal Supreme Court for common crimes or before the Federal Senate for those of responsibility.

Sole Paragraph. When the accusation has been declared founded, the President of the Republic shall be suspended from his functions.

Art. 89.

Acts of the President of the Republic are crimes of responsibility when they are attempts against the federal Constitution and especially against:

I. The existence of the Union;

II. The free exercise of the legislative power, or of the judicial power, as well as of the constitutional powers of the states;

III. The exercise of political, individual and social rights;

IV. The internal security of the country;

V. The probity of the administration;

VI. The budget law;

VII. The safe keeping and legal employment of public funds;

VIII. The fulfillment of judicial decisions.

Sole Paragraph. These crimes shall be defined in a special law, which shall establish the forms of the respective prosecution and judgment.

Section IV. The Council of Ministers and the Ministers of State

Art. 90.

The President of the Republic is assisted by the Council of Ministers, composed of the ministers of state.

§ 1. The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Chamber of Deputies for the Government policy and for the federal administration, and each Minister of State is individually responsible for the acts he performs in the exercise of his functions.

§ 2. The ministers of state shall depend on the confidence of the Chamber of Deputies and shall be dismissed when it is denied.

§ 3. A new Council of Ministers shall be formed upon the occasion of the inauguration of a new Chamber of Deputies.

§ 4. The Council of Ministers currently serving shall continue to exercise its functions until the inauguration of the succeeding Council.

§ 5. Essential conditions for investiture in the office of minister of state are:

I. To be a Brazilian (Article 129, I and II) ;

II. To be in the exercise of political rights;

III. To be over twenty-five years of age.

Art. 90a.

Once appointed, the Council of Ministers shall appear before the Chamber of Deputies in order to present its government program.

Sole Paragraph. The Chamber of Deputies, in the subsequent session and by the vote of an absolute majority of its members, shall express its confidence in the Council of Ministers. Refusal of confidence shall require the appointment of a new Council of Ministers.

Art. 90b.

A motion of no confidence in the Council of Ministers, or of censure of any of its members, may only be proposed by at least fifty Deputies, shall not be deliberated and voted on less than five days after proposal, except in exceptional cases regulated by law, and shall be approved by vote of an absolute majority of members of the Chamber of Deputies.

Art. 90c.

A motion of confidence requested from the Chamber of Deputies by the Council of Ministers shall be deliberated and voted on immediately and shall be considered approved unless rejected by vote of an absolute majority of members of the Chamber of Deputies.

Art. 90d.

In case maintaining the Council of Ministers is proven impossible due to lack of parliamentary support, expressed by consecutive motions of no confidence made against three Councils, the President of the Republic shall dissolve the Chamber of Deputies.

Art. 90e.

The Council of Ministers decides by majority vote. In the event of a tie, the vote of the president of the Council shall prevail.

Art. 91.

In addition to the attributes which the law may fix, the ministers of state shall have power:

I. To countersign the acts signed by the President of the Republic;

II. To issue instructions for the good execution of the laws, decrees, and regulations;

III. To present to the President of the Republic a report of the services of each year carried out in the ministry;

IV. To appear before the Chamber of Deputies and before the Federal Senate in the cases and for the purposes specified in this Constitution.

Sole Paragraph. The president of the Council shall exercise these powers regarding all matters; the other ministers of state shall do so in matters belonging to the jurisdiction of their ministries.

Art. 92.

The ministers of state, in common crimes and those of responsibility, shall be prosecuted and judged by the Federal Supreme Court; and in crimes connected with those of the President of the Republic, by the organs competent for the prosecution and judgment of the latter.

Art. 93.

In addition to that provided in Article 53, Sole Paragraph, the acts defined in law according to the provisions of Article 89, when practiced or ordered by the ministers of state, are crimes of responsibility.

§ 1. The Ministers of State are responsible for the acts which they may sign, even though jointly with the President of the Republic, or which they may perform by his order.

§ 2. The presidency of the Council of Ministers shall be responsible for any matter not belonging to the particular jurisdiction of another ministry.

Chapter IV. THE JUDICIAL POWER

Section I. Preliminary Provisions

Art. 94.

The Judicial Power is exercised by the following organs:

I. Federal Supreme Court;

II. Federal court of appeals;

III. Military judges and tribunals;

IV. Electoral judges and tribunals;

V. Labor judges and tribunals.

Art. 95.

Except for the restrictions expressed in this Constitution, judges shall enjoy the following guaranties:

I. Life tenure, being unable to lose office except by judicial sentence;

II. Irremovability, except when there should occur some motive of public interest, recognized by the vote of two-thirds of the effective members of the competent higher court;

III. Irreducibility of remuneration which, however, shall remain subject to general taxes.

§ 1. Retirement shall be compulsory at s^5:ent^_jeara. of age or for proven ill health, and optional after thirty years of public service counted in the form of law;

§ 2. Retirement, in any case, shall be decreed with full remuneration.

§ 3. Life tenure shall not extend compulsorily to those judges whose functions are limited to the preparation of cases and the substitution of effective judges, except after ten years of continuous exercise of the office.

Art. 96.

Judges are prohibited:

I. To exercise, even though inactive, any other public function except the secondary and higher teaching, and the cases provided for in this Constitution, under penalty of loss of judicial office;

II. To receive percentages, under any pretext, in the cases subject to their handling and judgment;

III. To exercise political party activity.

Art. 97.

The courts shall have power:

I. To elect their presidents, when their method of selection is not determined by constitutional or legal provision;

II. To elect their organs of direction;

III. To draw up their internal regulations and organize the auxiliary services, filling their offices in the form of law; and likewise to propose to the competent legislative power the creation or extinction of offices and the fixing of the respective emoluments;

IV. To grant leave and vacations in the terms of the law to their members and to the judges and employees who may be immediately subordinate to them.

Section II. The Federal Supreme Court

Art. 98.

The Federal Supreme Court, with seat in the capital of the Republic and jurisdiction throughout the national territory, shall be composed of eleven justices. This number, upon the proposal of the Federal Supreme Court itself, may be increased by law.

Art. 99.

The justices of the Federal Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President of the Republic, after the selection has been approved by the Federal Senate, from among Brazilians (Article 129, I and II) of notable juridical wisdom and spotless reputation, who shall not be less than thirty-five years of age.

Sole paragraph. The most senior justice of the Federal Supreme Court shall exercise the functions of president of the Federal Supreme Court.

Art. 100.

The justices of the Federal Supreme Court, in crimes of responsibility, shall be prosecuted and judged by the Federal Senate.

Art. 101.

The Federal Supreme Court shall have power:

I. To prosecute and judge in first instance:

(a) The President of the Republic in common crimes:

(b) Its own justices and the attorney general of the Republic in common crimes;

(c) The ministers of state, the judges of the federal superior courts, the judges of the tribunals of justice of the states, of the federal district, and of the territories, the ministers of the tribunal of accounts and the chiefs of diplomatic mission of permanent character, both in common crimes and in those of responsibility, except, with respect to the ministers of state, that provided in the latter part of Article 92;

(d) Litigation between foreign states and the Union, the states, the federal district, or the municipalities;

(e) Cases and conflicts between the Union and the states or between these latter;

(f) Conflicts of jurisdiction between judges or diverse federal tribunals of justice, between any federal judges or tribunals and those of the states, and between judges or tribunals of different states, including those of the federal district and those of the territories;

(g) Extradition of criminals, requested by foreign states and the homologation of foreign sentences ;

(h) Habeas corpus, when the party exercising or suffering restraint is a court, an official, or authority whose acts may be directly subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Supreme Court; in matters of crime subject to this same jurisdiction in sole instance; when there may be peril of violence being committed before another judge or court can take cognizance of the request;

(i) Writs of security against acts of the President of the Republic, of the administration of the Chamber or of the Senate and of the president of the Federal Supreme Court itself;

(j) The execution of sentences in cases of its original jurisdiction, it having the right to delegate the acts of procedure to an inferior judge or to another court;

(k) Rescissory actions of its decisions.

II. To judge on ordinary appeal:

(a) Writs of security and habeas corpus decided in final instance by local or federal courts when the decision is one of denial;

(b) Cases decided by local judges based on contract or treaty between a foreign state and the Union, as well as those in which a foreign state and a person domiciled in the country may be parties;

(c) Political crimes.

III. To judge on special appeal cases decided in sole or final instance by other courts or judges:

(a) When the decision is contrary to a provision of this Constitution or the text of a federal treaty or law;

(b) When question is raised as to the validity of federal law under the Constitution, and the decision appealed denies application of the law impugned;

(c) When the validity of a law or act of a local government is impugned under this Constitution or under a federal law and the decision appealed holds the law or act valid.

(d) When in the decision appealed the interpretation of the federal law invoked is different from that which has been given to it by any of the other judicial tribunals or the Federal Supreme Court itself.

IV. To review in the interest of those condemned, its criminal decisions in closed proceedings.

Art. 102.

With voluntary appeal to the Federal Supreme Court, its president shall have power to grant exequatur to letters rogatory from foreign tribunals.

Section III. The Federal Court of Appeals

Art. 103.

The Federal Court of Appeals, with seat in the federal capital, shall be composed of nine judges, appointed by the President of the Republic, after their selection has been approved by the Federal Senate, two thirds among magistrates and one third among lawyers and members of the public ministry with the requirements of Article 99.

Sole Paragraph. The court may divide itself into chambers or sections.

Art. 104.

The Federal Court of Appeals shall have power:

I. To prosecute and judge in first instance:

(a) Rescissory actions of its decisions;

(b) Writs of security when the restraining authority is a minister of state, the court itself, or its president.

II. To judge on the level of appeal:

(a) Cases decided in first instance, when the Union is involved as plaintiff or defendant, witness or opponent, except in matters of bankruptcy; or in matters of crimes committed against the property, services, or interests of the Union, safeguarding the jurisdiction of the electoral and military justice;

(b) The decisions of local judges when denying habeas corpus, and decisions issued in writs of security when the restraining authority indicated is federal.

III. To review, in the interest of those convicted, its criminal decisions in closed proceedings.

Art. 105.

The law may create, in different regions of the country, other federal courts of appeals, through proposal of the court itself and with the approval of the Federal Supreme Court, fixing their seat and territorial jurisdiction and with the observance of the provisions of Articles 103 and 104.

Section IV. Military Judges and Tribunals

Art. 106.

The military superior court and the inferior tribunals and judges which the law may establish are organs of military justice.

Sole Paragraph. The law shall make provision regarding the number and the manner of selection of the military judges and magistrates of the military superior court, who shall receive remuneration equal to that of the judges of the Federal Court of Appeals, and it shall determine the form of access of its members.

Art. 107.

The irremovability assured to members of the military justice does not exempt them from the obligation to accompany the forces with which they are to serve.

Art. 108.

The military justice shall have power to prosecute and judge military and similar persons in military crimes defined in the law.

§ 1. This special jurisdiction may be extended to civilians in cases provided in the law, for the repression of crimes against the external security of the country or against its military institutions.

§ 2. The law shall regulate the application of the penalties of military legislation in time of war.

Section V. Electoral Judges and Tribunals

Art. 109.

The organs of electoral justice are:

I. Supreme electoral tribunal;

II. Regional electoral tribunals;

III. Electoral boards;

IV. Electoral judges.

Art. 110.

The supreme electoral tribunal, with seat in the capital of the Republic, shall be composed:

I. By election in secret ballot:

(a) Of two judges chosen by the Federal Supreme Court, from among its justices;

(b) Of two judges selected by the Federal Court of Appeals, from among its judges;

(c) And of one judge selected by the court of appeals of the federal district from among its judges.

II. By appointment of the President of the Republic, of two from among six citizens of notable juridical learning and spotless reputation who may not be incompatible by law, indicated by the Federal Supreme Court.

Sole Paragraph. The supreme electoral tribunal shall elect as its president one of the two justices of the Federal Supreme Court, and its vice-presidency shall fall to the other.

Art. 111.

There shall be a regional electoral tribunal in the capital of each state and in the federal district.

Sole Paragraph. Upon proposal of the supreme electoral tribunal, a regional electoral tribunal may be created by law in the capital of any territory.

Art. 112.

The regional electoral tribunals shall be composed:

I. By election in secret ballot:

(a) Of three judges chosen by the tribunal of justice from among its members;

(b) Of two judges chosen by the tribunal of justice from among the judges of law.

II. by appointment of the President of the Republic, of two from among six citizens of notable juridical learning and spotless reputation, who may not be incompatible by law, indicated by the tribunal of justice.

Sole Paragraph. The president and the vice president of the regional electoral tribunal shall be chosen among the three judges of the tribunal of justice.

Art. 113.

The number of judges of the electoral courts shall not be reduced, but it may be increased, up to nine, upon proposal of the supreme electoral tribunal and in the form suggested by it.

Art. 114.

The judges of the electoral courts, unless there should be a justified reason, shall serve compulsorily for two years and may not serve for more than two consecutive two-year periods.

Art. 115.

The alternates of the effective members of the electoral courts shall be chosen, on the same occasion and by the same process, in equal number for each category.

Art. 116.

The organization of the electoral boards shall be regulated by law. They shall be presided over by a judge of law, and their members shall be appointed, after approval of the regional electoral tribunal, by its president.

Art. 117.

The judges of law shall have power to exercise, with full jurisdiction and in the form of the law, the functions of electoral judges.

Sole Paragraph. The law may grant other judges powers for functions other than those of decision.

Art. 118.

For as long as they shall serve, the electoral magistrates shall enjoy, insofar as may be applicable to them, the guaranties established in Numbers I and II of Article 95, and, as such, shall not have other incompatibilities except those declared by law.

Art. 119.

The law shall regulate the powers of the electoral judges and tribunals. Among the attributes of the electoral justice, shall be included:

I. The registry and cancellation of registry of political parties;

II. Electoral division of the country;

III. Electoral registration;

IV. The fixing of the date of elections, when not determined by constitutional or legal provision;

V. The electoral process, the tallying of elections and the issuance of diplomas to those elected;

VI. Cognizance and decision of allegations of ineligibility;

VII. The prosecution and judgment of electoral crimes and common crimes which may be connected therewith, and likewise those of habeas corpus and writ of security in electoral matters;

VIII. Cognizance of complaints relative to obligations imposed by law upon political parties, with respect to their accounting and to the ascertainment of the origin of their funds.

Art. 120.

Decisions of the supreme electoral tribunal may not be appealed, except those which may declare the invalidity of a law or act contrary to the Federal Constitution, and those denying habeas corpus or writ of security, in which latter cases appeal may be had to the Federal Supreme Court.

Art. 121.

Appeal may be had from the decisions of regional electoral tribunals to the supreme electoral tribunal only when:

I. They are taken contrary to express provision of law;

II. There occurs difference in interpretation of law between two or more electoral tribunals;

III. They bear upon the issuance of diploma in federal and state elections;

IV. They deny habeas corpus or writ of security.

Section VI. Labor Judges and Tribunals

Art. 122.

The organs of labor justice are:

I. Superior labor tribunal;

II. Regional labor tribunals;

III. Boards or judges of conciliation and judgment.

§ 1. The superior labor tribunal has its seat in the federal capital.

§ 2. The law shall fix the number of the regional labor tribunals and their seats.

§ 3. The law shall establish the boards of conciliation and judgment and may attribute their functions to the judges of law in districts where boards are not established.

§ 4. Other organs of labor justice may be created by law.

§ 5. The constitution, investiture, jurisdiction, powers, guaranties, and conditions of the exercise of organs of labor justice shall be regulated by law, preserving the equality of representation of employees and employers.

Art. 123.

The labor justice shall have power to conciliate and judge individual and collective disputes between employees and employers, as well as other controversies arising out of labor relations ruled by special legislation.

§ 1. Disputes relative to labor accidents are within the jurisdiction of ordinary courts.

§ 2. The law shall specify the cases in which decisions in collective disputes might establish norms and conditions of work.

TITLE TWO. STATE JUSTICE

Art. 124.

The states shall organize their justice with observance of Articles 95 to 97 and also the following principles:

I. The judiciary division and organization shall be inalterable during five years from the date of the law establishing them, except for well-grounded proposal put forward by the tribunal of justice;

II. Courts of jurisdiction inferior to the tribunals of justice may be created;

III. Entry into life-tenure magistracy shall be dependent upon competitive examinations, organized by the tribunal of justice with collaboration of the sectional council of the order of attorneys of Brazil, and indication of the candidates shall be made whenever possible in a triplicate list;

IV. The promotion of judges shall be made from one classification to another by length of service and by merit, alternately, and, in the second case, shall be dependent upon a triplicate list organized by the tribunal of justice. An equal proportion shall be observed in accession to this tribunal, except as provided in Item V of this article. For this purpose, in cases of merit, the triplicate list shall be composed of names selected from among judges of any classification. In cases of length of service, which shall be ascertained in the last classification, the tribunal shall decide first whether the judge with longest service is to be indicated; and if this one is refused by three-quarters of the judges, the voting shall be repeated with respect to the next in line, and so on successively, until the selection is fixed. Only after two years of effective service in the respective classification may the judge be promoted;

V. In the composition of any tribunal, a fifth of the places shall be filled by attorneys and members of the public ministry, of renowned merit and spotless reputation, with at least ten years of forensic practice. For each vacancy, the tribunal shall vote upon a triplicate list, in secret session and with secret ballot. If a member of the public ministry is selected, the following vacancy shall be filled by an attorney;

VI. The remuneration of the judges shall be fixed at an amount not inferior to that received, in any form, by the state secretaries; and that of the other life-tenure judges, with a difference not to exceed thirty percent between one classification and another, and attributing to those of highest classification not less than two-thirds of the remuneration of the judges;

VII. In case of transfer of the seat of the tribunal, the judge is authorized to move to the new seat or to a district of equal classification or to request placement on an available list with full remuneration;

VIII. Only by proposal of the tribunal of justice may the number of its members or of the members of any other tribunal be altered;

IX. The tribunal of justice shall have exclusive power to prosecute and judge inferior judges in ordinary crimes and in those of responsibility;

X. A temporary justice of the peace may be instituted, with the judicial attributes of substitution, except for judgment of final or appellate cases, and with powers for the licensing and celebration of marriages, and other acts which the law may determine;

XI. Magistrates may be created with investiture in office limited to a certain time and powers to judge cases of small value. These judges may substitute for life-tenure judges;

XII. State military justice, organized with observance of the general precepts of federal law (Article 5, Number XV, f), shall have as organs of first instance the councils of justice and as organ of second instance a special court or the tribunal of justice.

TITLE THREE. THE PUBLIC MINISTRY

Art. 125.

The law shall organize the public ministry of the Union in conjunction with the ordinary, military, electoral, and labor courts.

Art. 126.

The federal public ministry has as its head the attorney general of the Republic. The attorney general, appointed by the President of the Republic, after approval of the selection by the Federal Senate from among citizens with the requisites indicated in Article 99, is dismissible at will.

Sole Paragraph. The Union shall be represented in court by the attorneys of the Republic, but the law may entrust this representation, in the districts of the interior, to the local public ministry.

Art. 127.

The members of the public ministry of the Union, of the federal district, and of the territories, shall enter into the initial positions of the career by competition. After two years of service, they may not be dismissed except by judicial sentence or administrative process allowing them the most ample defense; nor shall they be removed, except upon representation put forward by the head of the public ministry, based upon the convenience of the service.

Art. 128.

In the states, the public ministry shall also be established on a career basis, with observance of the precepts of the preceding article, as well as that of promotion from one classification to another.

TITLE FOUR. DECLARATION OF RIGHTS

Chapter I. NATIONALITY AND CITIZENSHIP

Art. 129.

The following are Brazilians:

I. Persons born in Brazil, even though of foreign parents, if the latter are not resident in the service of the government of their country;

II. The children of a Brazilian father or mother born in a foreign country, if the parents are in the service of Brazil, or, if they should not be, if they come to reside in the country. In this case, after the attainment of majority they should, in order to conserve Brazilian nationality, choose it within four years;

III. Those who acquired Brazilian nationality under the terms of Article 69, Numbers IV and V, of the Constitution of February 24, 1891;

IV. Foreigners naturalized in the form which the law may establish, it being required of the Portuguese merely that they reside in the country one uninterrupted year and be of good moral standing and physical health.

Art. 130.

A Brazilian shall lose his nationality:

I. Who, by voluntary naturalization, shall acquire another nationality;

II. Who, without permission of the President of the Republic, shall accept a commission, employment, or pension from a foreign government;

III. Who, by judicial sentence, in process established by law, shall have his naturalization cancelled by reason of exercising activity injurious to the national interest.

Art. 131.

Electors shall be Brazilians more than eighteen years of age who register as prescribed by law.

Art. 132.

The following may not register as electors:

I. The illiterate;

II. Those who do not know how to express themselves in the national tongue;

III. Those who may be deprived temporarily or permanently of political rights.

Art. 133.

Registration and voting are obligatory for Brazilians of both sexes, subject to the exceptions established by law.

Art. 134.

Suffrage is universal and direct; the vote is secret; and the proportional representation of political parties is assured in the form which the law may establish.

Art. 135.

Political rights shall be suspended or lost only in the following cases:

§ 1. They shall be suspended:

I. For absolute civil incapacity;

II. For criminal conviction, for as long as its effects shall last;

§ 2. They shall be lost:

I. In the cases established in Article 130;

II. For the refusal provided for in Article 141, § 8;

III. For the acceptance of foreign title of nobility or decoration which may imply restriction of right or duty before the State.

Art. 136.

The loss of political rights carries with it, simultaneously, the loss of public office or function.

Art. 137.

The law shall establish the conditions of reacquisition of political rights and of nationality.

Art. 138.

Those who may not be registered may not be elected.

Sole Paragraph. Enlisted soldiers also may not be elected, except officer candidates, sub-officers, sub-lieutenants, sergeants, and students of military schools of higher education.

Art. 139.

The following also may not be elected:

I. As President and Vice President of the Republic:

(a) Until six months after definite separation from their functions, the governors, the federal interventors appointed in accordance with Article 12, the ministers of state and the mayor of the federal district;

(b) Until three months after definitive cessation of their functions, the justices of the Federal Supreme Court, and the attorney general of the Republic, the chiefs of staff, the judges, the attorney general and the regional attorneys of the electoral justice, the secretaries of state and the chiefs of police;

II. As Governor:

(a) In each state, a Governor who may have held the office for any period of time in the period immediately preceding, or person who may have succeeded him, or who may have substituted for him within the six months preceding the election; and a federal interventor appointed in the form of Article 12, who may have exercised the functions for any space of time in the governmental period immediately preceding ;

(b) Until one year after definitive separation from his functions, the President, the Vice President of the Republic, and any substitutes who may have assumed the presidency;

(c) In each state, until three months after definitive cessation of their functions, the state secretaries, the chiefs of the military districts, the coromandants of police, the federal and state magistrates and the chief of the public ministry;

(d) Until three months after definitive cessation of their functions, those who may be ineligible for President of the Republic, except those mentioned in items (a) and (b) of this number;

III. As Mayor, anyone who may have held the office in the period imme- diately preceding, as well as anyone who may have succeeded him or who,

within the six months preceding the election, may have substituted for him; and, likewise, for the same period, the poUce authorities with jurisdiction in the municipality;

IV. For the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate, the authorities mentioned in Numbers I and II, under the same conditions estabUshed therein, if in office during the three months preceding the election;

V. For the legislative assemblies, the governors, state secretaries, and the chief of police, until two months after definitive cessation of their functions.

Sole Paragraph. The precepts of this article apply to the ofl&ce-holders, both regular and provisional, in the offices mentioned.

Art. 140. Likewise ineligible, under the same conditions set forth in the preceding article, are the spouse and relatives or kin, to the second degree :

I. Of the President and the Vice President of the Republic or of the sub- stitute who may assume the presidency:

(a) For President and Vice President;

(b) For governor;

(c) For deputy or senator, except in case of having already exercised the mandate or of having been elected simultaneously with the President and Vice President of the RepubUc;

II. Of the governor or federal interventor, appointed in accordance with Article 12 in each state:

(a) For governor;

(b) For deputy or senator except in case of having already exercised the mandate or of having been elected simultaneously with the governor;

III. Of the mayor for the same office.