The History of Cuba Volume IV Part 13

ART. 8. Cuban nationality may be reacquired in the manner to be provided by law.

ART. 9. Every Cuban shall be bound:

1. To bear arms in defense of his country in such cases and in such manner as may be determined by the laws.

2. To contribute to the payment of public expenses in such manner and proportion as the laws may prescribe.

t.i.tLE III

FOREIGNERS

ART. 10. Foreigners residing within the territory of the Republic shall be on the same footing as Cubans:

1. In respect to protection of their persons and property.

2. In respect to the enjoyment of the rights guaranteed by Section first of the following t.i.tle, excepting those exclusively reserved to citizens.

3. In respect to the enjoyment of civil rights under the conditions and limitations prescribed in the law of aliens.

4. In respect to the obligation of obeying the laws, decrees, regulations, and all other statutes that may be in force in the Republic, and complying with their provisions.

5. In respect to submission to the jurisdiction and decisions of the courts of justice and all other authorities of the Republic.

6. In respect to the obligation of contributing to the public expenses of the State, province, and munic.i.p.ality.

t.i.tLE IV

RIGHTS GUARANTEED BY THIS CONSt.i.tUTION

SECTION FIRST

INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS

ART. 11. All Cubans are equal before the law. The Republic does not recognize any personal prerogatives.

ART. 12. No law shall have retroactive effect, except when penal and favorable to the defendant.

ART. 13. Obligations of a civil nature arising out of contracts or other acts or omissions shall not be nullified by either the legislative or the executive power.

ART. 14. The penalty of death shall in no case be imposed for offenses of political character, said offenses to be defined by law.

ART. 15. No person shall be detained except in the cases and in the manner prescribed by law.

ART. 16. Every arrested person shall be set at liberty or placed at the disposal of the competent judge or court within twenty-four hours immediately following the arrest.

ART. 17. All arrests shall be terminated, or turned into formal imprisonments, within seventy-two hours, immediately after the delivery of the arrested person to the judge or court of competent jurisdiction.

Within the same time notice shall be served upon the interested party of the action taken.

ART. 18. No person shall be imprisoned except by order of a competent judge or court.

The order directing the imprisonment shall be affirmed or reversed, upon the proper hearing of the prisoner, within seventy-two hours next following the committal.

ART. 19. No person shall be prosecuted or sentenced except by a competent judge or court, by virtue of laws in force, prior to the commission of the offense, and in the manner and form prescribed by said laws.

ART. 20. Every person arrested or imprisoned without the formalities of law, or outside of the cases foreseen in this const.i.tution or the laws, shall be set at liberty at his own request or that of any citizen.

The law shall determine the form of summary proceedings to be followed in this case.

ART. 21. No one shall be bound to testify against himself, neither shall he be compelled to testify against his consort, nor against his relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or second of affinity.

ART. 22. The secrecy of correspondence and other private doc.u.ments is inviolable, and neither shall be seized or examined except by order of a competent authority and with the formalities prescribed by the laws. In all cases matters therein contained not relating to the subject under investigation shall be kept secret.

ART. 23. Domicile is inviolable; and therefore no one shall enter at night the house of another except by permission of its occupant, unless it be for the purpose of giving aid and a.s.sistance to victims of crime or accident; or in the daytime, except in the cases and in the manner prescribed by law.

ART. 24. No person shall be compelled to change his domicile or residence except by virtue of an order issued by a competent authority and in the cases prescribed by law.

ART. 25. Every one may freely express his ideas either orally or in writing, through the press, or in any other manner, without subjection to previous censors.h.i.+p; but the responsibilities specified by law, when attacks are made upon the honor of individuals, the social order, or the public peace, shall be properly enforced.

ART. 26. The profession of all religions, as well as the practice of all forms of wors.h.i.+p, is free, without any other restriction than that demanded by the respect for Christian morality and public order. The church shall be separated from the state, which in no case shall subsidize any religion.

ART. 27. All persons shall have the right to address pet.i.tions to the authorities, to have them duly acted upon, and to be informed of the action taken thereon.

ART. 28. All the inhabitants of the Republic have the right to a.s.semble peacefully, without arms, and to a.s.sociate with others for all lawful pursuits of life.

ART. 29. All persons shall have the right to enter or leave the territory of the Republic, to travel within its limits, and to change their residence, without necessity of safe conducts, pa.s.sports, except when otherwise provided by the laws governing immigration, or by the authorities, in cases of criminal prosecution.

ART. 30. No Cuban shall be banished from the territory of the Republic or prohibited from entering it.

ART. 31. Primary instruction shall be compulsory and gratuitous. The teaching of arts and trades shall also be gratuitous. Both shall be supported by the State, as long as the munic.i.p.alities and Provinces, respectively, may lack sufficient funds to defray their expenses.

Secondary and superior education shall be controlled by the State. All persons however, may, without restriction, learn or teach any science, art, or profession, and found and maintain establishments of education and instruction, but it pertains to the State to determine what professions shall require special t.i.tles, what conditions shall be required for their practice and for the securing of diplomas, as well as for the issuing thereof as established by law.

ART. 32. No one shall be deprived of his property, except by competent authority, upon proof that the condemnation is required by public utility, and previous indemnification. If the indemnification is not previously paid, the courts shall protect the owners and, if needed, restore to them the property.

ART. 33. In no case shall the penalty of confiscation of property be imposed.

ART. 34. No person is bound to pay any tax or impost not legally established and the collection of which is not carried out in the manner prescribed by the laws.

ART. 35. Every author or inventor shall enjoy the exclusive owners.h.i.+p of his work or invention for the time and in the manner determined by law.

ART. 36. The enumeration of the rights expressly guaranteed by this Const.i.tution does not exclude other rights based upon the principle of the sovereignty of the people and the republican form of Government.

ART. 37. The laws regulating the exercise of the rights which this Const.i.tution guarantees shall be null and void if said rights are abridged, restricted, or adulterated by them.

SECTION SECOND

RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE