Paraguay 1992 (rev. 2011)

The right to life is inherent to the human person. Its protection is guaranteed, in general, from [its] conception. The death penalty is hereby abolished. All persons will be protected by the State in their physical and psychic integrity, as well as in their honor and their reputation. The law will regulate the freedom of persons to dispose of their own body, only for scientific or medical ends.

No one will be submitted to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading penalties or treatments.

Genocide and torture, as well as the forced disappearance of persons, kidnapping and homicide for political reasons are imprescriptible.

The quality of life shall be promoted by the State through plans and policies that recognize conditioning factors, such as extreme poverty and the impediments of disability or of age.

The State shall also promote research on the factors of population and their links with socioeconomic development, with the preservation of the environment and with the quality of life of the inhabitants.

Everyone has the right to live in a healthy and ecologically balanced [equilibrado] environment.

The preservation, the conservation the re-composition and the improvement of the environment, as well as its conciliation with the complete [integral] human development, constitute priority objectives of social interest. These purposes orient the legislation and the pertinent governmental policy.

The law will regulate the activities susceptible of producing [an] environmental alteration. In the same way [asimismo], it may restrict or prohibit those [activities] that it qualifies as dangerous.

The manufacture, the assembly, the importation, the commercialization, the possession or the use of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, as well as the introduction of toxic waste into the country is prohibited. The law may extend this prohibition to other dangerous elements; in the same way, it may regulate the traffic of genetic resources and their technology, [as a] precaution in [precautelando] the national interests.

Ecological crime will be defined and sanctioned by the law. Any damage to the environment will result in [importará] the obligation to repair [recomponer] and to indemnify.

All the inhabitant of the Republic have the right to a legal job, freely chosen and to realize it in dignifying and just conditions.

The law will protect work in all its forms and the rights that it grants to the workers are non-renounceable.

The State shall promote policies that tend to the full employment and to the professional training of human resources, giving preference to national workers.

No kind of discrimination will be admitted between the workers for motives of ethnic, gender [sexo], age, religion, social status and political or syndical preferences.

The work of persons with limitations or physical or mental incapacities will be especially protected [amparado].

The workers of both sexes have the same labor rights and obligations, but maternity will be subject to special protection, that will include the assistance services and the corresponding leaves of absence [descansos], which will not be less than 12 weeks. A woman may not be terminated [despedida] during the pregnancy, or as long as the leaves of absence for maternity continue.

The law will establish the regime of paternity licenses.

Priority will be given to the rights of working minors to guarantee their normal physical, intellectual and moral development.

The maximum duration of the ordinary working day will not exceed eight daily hours and 48 weekly hours, of daytime, except those legally established for special motives. The law will establish more favorable working days for the unsanitary, dangerous, painful, [and] night time tasks, or those whose development is in continuous rotating shifts.

The annual leaves of absence and vacations will be remunerated in accordance with the law.

The workers have right to enjoy a remuneration that assures, them and their families, of a free and dignifying life. The law will consecrate the minimum and mobile living wage [salario vital], the annual year-end bonus [aguinaldo], the family bonuses, the recognition of a superior salary to the basic for hours of [a] unsanitary or risky work, and the extraordinary, night and holiday hours. Basically, equal salary for equal work corresponds.

The State will establish a regime of stimulus for the enterprises that encourage their workers with additional benefits. Such additional remunerations [emolumentos] will be independent from the respective salaries and from the other legal benefits.

The right to stability of the workers is guaranteed within the limits established by the law, as well as their right to indemnification in the case of unjustified dismissal.

The law will established the obligatory and complete [integral] system of social security for the dependent workers and their families. Its extension will be promoted to all the sectors of the population.

The services of the social security system may be public, private or mixed, and in all cases will be supervised by the State.

The financial resources of the social securities will not be diverted from their specific goals [fines] and; will be available for this objective, without prejudice to the lucrative investments that could increase their patrimony.

All workers[,] public and private[,] have the right to organize themselves in trade unions [sindicatos] without a prior authorization. The members of the Armed Forces and of the Police Forces are excepted from this right.

The employers enjoy an equal freedom of organization. No one may be obligated to belong to a trade union [sindicato].

For the recognition of a trade union [sindicato], it will be enough to register it with the competent administrative organ.

For the election of authorities and for the functioning of the trade unions [sindicatos], democratic practices established in the law will be observed, which will also guarantee the stability of the syndical leader [dirigente].

The trade unions [sindicatos] have the right to promote collective actions and to concur in [concertar] agreements on the conditions of work.

The State will favor conciliatory solutions of the conflicts of labor and social concurrence [concertación]. Arbitration will be optional.

All the workers of the public and private sectors have the right to invoke [recurrir] the strike in the case of conflict of interests. The employers enjoy the right of lock-out in the same conditions.

The rights to strike and of lock-out do not extend to [alcanzan] the members of the Armed Forces of the Nation, nor those of the police.

The law will regulate the exercise of these rights, so that they do not affect public services indispensable [imprescindibles] to the community.

Compliance with the labor norms and those of safety and hygiene at work will be subject to the fiscal control of the authorities created by the law, which will establish the sanctions in the case of their violation.

All the inhabitants of the Republic have the right to a dignifying housing.

The State will establish the conditions to make this right effective, and shall promote plans of housing of social interest, specially those destined to families of scarce resources, through systems of adequate financing.

The functionaries and the public employees are at the service of the country. All Paraguayans have the right to occupy public functions and employments.

The law will regulate the various careers in which these functionaries and employees provide [presten] services, which, without prejudice to others, are the judicial, teaching [la docente], the diplomatic and consular, that of scientific and technological research, that of civil service, the military and the police [careers].

The functionaries and the public employees enjoy the rights established in this Constitution in the section concerning labor rights, in a uniform regime for the various careers within the limits established by the law and safeguarding the acquired rights.

The law will regulate the regime of retirement of the functionaries and the public employees within the national system of social security, seeing to it [atendiendo] that the autarchic organs created with that purpose grant [acuerden] to the contributors [aportantes] and retired [persons] [jubilados] the administration of those entities [entes] under state control. All those who, under any title, provide [presten] services to the State will participate in the same regime.

The law will guarantee the updating of the retirement assets in equality of treatment exempting [dispensando] the public functionary in active [service].

The functionaries and the public employees, including those of popular election, those of bi-national, autarchic, decentralized state entities [entidades] and, in general, those who receive permanent remunerations from the State, will be obligated to provide [prestar] [a] sworn declaration of assets and income [rentas] within fifteen days of entering into possession of their office [cargo], and in [an] equal time period at the ceasing of the same.

No person may perceive as [a] functionary or [a] public employee, more than one salary or remuneration simultaneously, with the exception of those coming from the exercise of teaching.

No functionary or public employee is exempt from responsibility. In the cases of transgressions, misdemeanors or faults committed while in the performance of their functions, they are personally responsible, without prejudice to the subsidiary responsibility of the State, with right of the State to claim [repetir] the payment of what it were to credit [abonar] under such concept.

All persons have the right to dedicate themselves to the legal economic activity of their preference, within a regime of equal opportunities.

Competition at the market is guaranteed. The creation of monopolies and the artificial increase or decrease of prices that restrict [traben] free competition will not be permitted.

Usury and the unauthorized commerce of harmful articles will be punished by the penal law.

The goods of national production or fabrication, and those coming legally from abroad, will freely circulate within the territory of the Republic.

Private property, whose content and limits will be established by the law, attending to its economic and social function, in order to make it accessible to all[,] is guaranteed.

Private property is inviolable.

No one may be deprived of his property if not by virtue of [a] judicial sentence, nevertheless the expropriation for cause of public utility or social interest, which will be determined in each case by law, is admitted. It will guarantee the prior payment of a fair indemnification, established conventionally or by a judicial sentence, except the unproductive latifundia [large scale land ownership] destined for agrarian reform, according to the procedure for expropriations to be established by law.

All authors, inventors, producers, or merchants [comerciantes] will enjoy the exclusive property of their work, invention, brand or commercial name, in accordance with the law.

Whenever the State decides to transfer public enterprises or its participation in them to the private sector, it will give preferential option of purchase to the workers and sectors directly involved with the enterprise. The law will regulate the form in which this option will be established.

The dominion [dominio] over the hydrocarbons, solid, liquid and gaseous minerals that are found in a natural state in the territory of the Republic, with the exception of the petrous, earthy and calcareous substances[,] corresponds to the State.

The State may grant concessions to persons or to public or private enterprises, mixed, national or foreign, for the prospecting, the exploration, the research, the mining [cateo] or the exploitation of deposits [yacimientos] for a limited time.

The law will regulate the economic regime that contemplates the interests of the State, those of the concessionaires and those of the owners that could be affected.

The State will promote cooperative enterprise and other associative forms of production of goods and services, based on the solidarity and the social profitability [rentabilidad], to which it will guarantee their free organization and their autonomy.

The principles of the cooperativism, as instruments for the national economic development, shall be diffused through the education system.

Agrarian reform is one of the fundamental factors to achieve rural well-being. It consists of the effective incorporation of the peasant [campesina] population to the economic and social development of the Nation. Equitable systems of distribution, property and tenancy of the land shall be adopted; the credit and the technical, educational and sanitary assistance shall be organized; the creation of agricultural cooperatives and other similar associations shall be promoted; and the production, the industrialization and the rationalization of the market for the complete [integral] development of the agricultural [sector] shall be promoted.

Agrarian reform and rural development are effected in accordance with the following bases:

1. the adoption of a tax system and other measures that stimulate the production, discourage the latifundium [large-scale ownership] and guarantee the development of pequeña [small-scale] and medium-sized rural property, accordingly to the particulars of each zone;

2. the rationalization and the regularization of the use of the land and of the practices of farming to prevent its degradation, as well as the promotion of intensive and diversified agricultural production;

3. the promotion of pequeña and of medium-sized agricultural enterprise;

4. the programming of peasant settlements; the adjudication [adjudicación] of parcels of land as property to the beneficiaries of agrarian reform, specifying the infrastructure needed for its settlement and permanent settlement [arraigo], with an emphasis on roads [vialidad], education, and health;

5. the establishment of systems and organizations that assure fair prices to the primary producer;

6. the granting of agricultural credits, at low-cost and without intermediaries;

7. the defense and the preservation of the environment;

8. the creation of agricultural insurance [seguro agrícola];

9. support to the peasant woman, especially to who is head of [the] family;

10. the participation of the peasant woman, in equality with the man, in the plans of agrarian reform;

11. the participation of the subjects of agrarian reform in the respective process, and the promotion of peasant organizations in defense of their economic, social and cultural interests;

12. the preferential support to nationals in the plans of agrarian reform;

13. the education of the farmer and that of his family, in order to capacitate them as active agents of national development;

14. The creation of regional centers for the study and agrological classification [tipificación] of the soils, to establish agricultural titles [rubros] in the regions [where] apt;

15. the adoption of policies that stimulate the interest of the population in agricultural tasks, by creating professional training centers in rural areas, and

16. the promotion of internal migration, attending to demographic, economic and social reasons.

With the objective to progressively eliminate the unproductive latifundia, the law will attend to the natural aptitude of the lands, to the needs of the sector of the population linked to agriculture and to the advisable specifications [previsiones aconsejables] for the balanced development of the agricultural, farming, forest and industrial activities, as well as to the sustainable better use of [aprovechamiento] the natural resources and of the preservation of the ecological equilibrium.

The expropriation of the unproductive latifundia allocated to agrarian reform will be established in each case by the law, and will be credited [se abonará] in the reform and in the period of time determined by the same.

The national territory may never be yielded, transferred, leased, or alienated in any way, even temporarily, to any foreign power [potencia]. The States maintaining diplomatic relations with the Republic, as well as the international organs of which it is a part, may only acquire the necessary estates [inmuebles] for the seat [sede] of their representations, in accordance with the prescriptions of the law. In these cases, the national sovereignty over the ground will always be safe.

For the purpose of the political and administrative structuring of the State, the national territory is divided into departments, municipalities and districts, which, within the limits of this Constitution and of the laws, enjoy political, administrative and normative autonomy for the administration [gestión] of their interests, and of autarchy in the collection [recaudación] and investment of their resources.

The City of Asunción is the capital of the Republic and seat to the powers of the State. It is constituted as a Municipality, and is independent from all Departments. The law will establish its limits.

The creation and the functioning of services of national character in the jurisdiction of the departments and of the municipalities will be authorized by the law.

They may be established equally departmental services, through agreements between the respective departments and municipalities.

The creation, the fusion, or the modification of the departments and their capitals, the municipalities and the districts, in such case, will be determined by the law, attending to the socioeconomic, demographic, ecological, cultural and historical conditions of the same.

The departments may be grouped in regions, for the better development of their respective communities. Their constitution and their functioning will be regulated by the law.

The government of each department will be exercised by a governor and by departmental board [junta]. They will be elected by direct vote of the citizens residing in the respective departments, in elections [comicios] coincident with the general elections, and they will remain five years in their functions.

The governor represents the Executive Power in the execution of the national policy. He may not be reelected.

The law will determine the composition and the functions of the departmental boards [juntas].

To be governor it is required:

1. to be a natural Paraguayan;

2. to be already thirty years of age, and

3. to be [a] native of the department and with residence in the same for at least one year. In the case that the candidate is not a native [oriundo] of the department, he must have resided in it for at least five years. Both time periods will be counted immediately before the elections.

4. The inabilities for candidates to governor will be the same as those for President and Vice-President of the Republic.

The same requirements as for the office [cargo] of governor rule [rigen] to be [a] member of the departmental board [junta]; except for the age, which must be that of already twenty-five years of age.

[The following] are of the competence of the departmental government:

1. to coordinate their activities with those of the different municipalities of the department; to organize the common departmental services, such as public works, power [and] potable water supply and others that would affect jointly more than one Municipality, as well as to promote the associations of cooperation among them;

2. to prepare [preparar] the departmental development plan, which must be coordinated with the National Development Plan, and to prepare [elaborar] the annual budgetary formulation, to be considered in the General Budget of the Nation;

3. to coordinate the departmental action with the activities of the central government, especially [concerning] that related to the offices of national character of the department, primarily in the area of health and in that of education;

4. to provide for the integration of the Councils of Departmental Development, and

5. the other competences established by this Constitution and the law.

The resources of the departmental administration are [the following]:

1. the corresponding portion of taxes, rates and contributions defined and regulated by this Constitution and by the law;

2. The allocations [asignaciones] or subsidies that the national Government assigned to them;

3. The proprietary [propias] income [rentas] determined by the law, as well as the donations and the legacies, and

4. the other resources established by the law.

The Executive Power can intervene in the departments and the municipalities, with the prior agreement of the Chamber of Deputies, in the following cases:

1. at the request of the board of the department or of the municipality, by decision of an absolute majority;

2. because of the disintegration of the board of the department or of the municipality that makes its functioning impossible, and

3. because of grave irregularity in the execution of the budget or in the administration of its assets, after resolution [dictamen] of the Comptroller General of the Republic.

The intervention will not be prolonged for more than ninety days, and if the result of it was the existence of the case specified in paragraph 3), the Chamber of Deputies, by an absolute majority, may dismiss the governor or the mayor [intendente], or the board of the department or of the municipality[;] the Superior Electoral Tribunal must convoke new elections to constitute the authorities that will replace the ones that have ceased their functions, within the ninety days following the resolution dictated by the Chamber of Deputies.

The municipalities are the local government organs with juridical personality [personería juridica] that, within their competence, have political, administrative and normative autonomy, as well as autarchy in the collection and investing of their resources.

The government of the municipalities will be the responsibility of a mayor and of a municipal board, which will be elected by direct suffrage by the legally qualified [habilitadas] persons.

The attributions of the municipalities, in their territorial jurisdiction and in accordance with the law are:

1. the free administration [gestión] in the matters of their competence, particularly in those of urbanism, environment, food supplies [abasto] education, culture, sports, tourism, sanitary and social assistance, institutions of credit, bodies [cuerpos] of inspection and of police;

2. the administration and the disposition of their assets;

3. the elaboration of their budgets of income and expenses;

4. the participation in the national income [rentas]

5. the regulation of the amount of the retributive rates of services effectively provided [prestados], which may not exceed their cost;

6. The issuance [dictado] of ordinances, regulations and resolutions;

7. the access to private credit and to public credit, national and international;

8. the regulation and the fiscal control of traffic, of the public transportation and that of other matters relative to the circulation of vehicles, and

9. the other attributions established by this Constitution and the law.

The totality of the tax revenues from real estate property in a direct form will correspond to the municipalities and to the departments. Its collection will be competence of the municipalities. Seventy percent of the [amount] collected by each municipality will remain as its property [propiedad], fifteen percent in that of the respective department and the remaining fifteen percent will be distributed among the municipalities of less resources, in accordance with the law.

No institution of the State, autonomous entity, autarchic or decentralized[,] may appropriate income or revenues from the municipalities.

The law will establish the different categories and regimes of municipalities, attending to [atendiendo] the conditions of population, of economic development, of geographical, ecological, cultural [and] historical situation and to other determinant factors of its development.

The municipalities may associate with each other to face commonly the realization of their goals [fines] and, through law, with municipalities from other countries.

The economic policy will have as goals [fines], fundamentally, the promotion of the economic, social and cultural development.

The State shall promote economic development through the rational use of the available resources, with the objective of stimulating [impulsar] an orderly and sustained growth of the economy, of creating new sources of jobs and of wealth, of increasing the national patrimony and of assuring the well-being of the population. Development will be promoted with global programs that coordinate and orient the national economic activity.

The national plans of development will be indicative for the private sector, and of obligatory fulfillment for the public sector.

For the fulfillment of its goals [fines], the State establishes taxes, rates, contributions and other resources; it exploits by itself or through concessionaires the assets of its private domain, over which it determines "royalties", compensations or other rights, in just [justas] and appropriate conditions for the national interests; it organizes the exploitation of the public services and it provides for [percibe] the canon [canon] of the rights to be established. It contracts internal or international loans destined to the national programs of development; it regulates the financial system of the country, and it organizes, establishes and composes the monetary system.

All taxes, whatever their nature or denomination may be, will be exclusively established by the law, in response to just economic and social principles, as well as to policies favorable to the national development.

Determining the taxable matters, the obligated subjects and the character of the tax system is also proprietary to the law.

The same act that generates the tax obligation may not be subject to double imposition. In [its] international relations, the State may celebrate agreements that avoid double imposition, on the basis of reciprocity.

Equality is the basis of the tax. No tax will have a confiscatory character. Its creation and its enforcement [vigencia] will attend to the contributive capacity of the inhabitants and to the general conditions of the economy of the country.

The Legislative Power will be exercised by the Congress, composed by one Chamber of Senators and another of Deputies.

The titular and substitute members of both Chambers will be directly elected by the People, in accordance with the law.

The substitute members will substitute the titular members in the case of death, resignation or inability of them, for the rest of the constitutional term or for as long as the inability lasts, if it were temporary. In all the other cases, the regulation of each Chamber will resolve it [resolverá].

Only both Chambers, meeting in Congress, will have the following duties and attributions:

1. to receive the oath or the promise, when assuming the office [cargo], of the President of the Republic, of the Vice President and of the members of the Supreme Court of Justice;

2. to grant or to deny to the President of the Republic the corresponding permission, in the cases specified by this Constitution;

3. to authorize the entry of foreign armed forces into the territory of the Republic and the departure abroad of the national [forces], except for the cases of mere courtesy;

4. to receive the Heads of State or of Government of other countries, and

5. the other duties and attributions established in this Constitution.

The Presidents of the Chamber of Senators and of the Chamber of Deputies will preside over the meetings of the Congress as President and Vice President, respectively.

Both Chambers of the Congress will meet annually in ordinary sessions, from the first of July of each year to the next 30 of June with a time period of recess from the twenty-first of December to the first of March, [the] date at which they will rendered their report to the President of the Republic. Both Chambers will be convoked to extraordinary sessions or will extend their sessions by the decision of one-fourth of the members of either of them; by resolution of two- thirds of the members [integrantes] of the Permanent Commission of the Congress, or by decree of the Executive Power. The President of the Congress or that of the Permanent Commission must convoke them in the peremptory time [término] of forty-eight hours.

The extension of the sessions will be effected in the same way.

The extraordinary [sessions] will be convoked to discuss a determined agenda, and will be closed once this [agenda] has been exhausted.

The [two] Chambers will sit jointly in the cases specified in this Constitution or in the Regulation of the Congress, where the necessary formalities will be established.

The legal quorum will be formed with half plus one of the total of each Chamber. Except for the cases in which this Constitution establishes qualified majorities, the decisions will be taken by [a] simple majority of votes of the members present.

For the votes of the Chambers of the Congress, half plus one of the members present will be understood for simple majority; for majority of two-thirds, the two-thirds parts of the members present; for absolute majority, the legal quorum, and for absolute majority of two-thirds, the two-thirds parts of the total number of members of each Chamber.

The provisions specified in this Article will also be applied to the joint sessions of both Chambers meeting in Congress.

The same regime of quorum and majorities will be applied to any elective collegiate [colegiado] organ specified by this Constitution.

The [two] Chambers will function in plenary [sessions] and in unicameral or bicameral commissions.

All the commissions will be integrated, as possible, proportionally, in accordance with the blocs [bancadas] represented in the Chambers.

At the beginning of the annual sessions of the legislature, each Chamber will designate the advisory permanent commissions. These may request reports or opinions from persons and public or private entities, in order to produce their resolutions [dictámenes] or to facilitate the exercise of the other faculties that correspond to the Congress.

The titular and substitute Senators and Deputies will be elected in elections simultaneously with the presidential [elections].

The legislators will remain five years in their mandate, from the first of July and they may be reelected.

The definitive or temporary vacancies of the Chamber of Deputies will be filled by the substitutes elected for the same department, and those of the Chamber of Senators will be filled by the substitutes of the list proclaimed by the Electoral Justice.

In the act of their incorporation to the Chambers, the Senators and Deputies will take an oath or a promise to perform themselves duly in their office and to act in accordance with what this Constitution prescribes.

None of the Chambers may sit, deliberate or adopt decisions without the presence of the absolute majority. A lesser number may, nevertheless, compel the absent members to attend the sessions under the terms established by each Chamber.

The former Presidents of the Republic, democratically elected, will be Senators for life of the Nation, unless they were submitted to political trial and found guilty. They will not integrate the quorum. They will have voice but not vote.

Each Chamber will write its regulations. With a majority of two-thirds it may admonish or warn any of its members, for misconduct in exercising their functions, and suspend them up to sixty days without compensation [dieta]. By an absolute majority it may remove [a member] for mental or physical incapacity, declared by the Supreme Court of Justice. In the cases of resignation, it will be decided by a simple majority of votes.

No member of the Congress may be accused judicially [judicialmente] for the opinions emitted by him in the performance of his functions. No Senator or Deputy may be detained from the day of their election until the ceasing of their functions, unless they are caught in flagrante delicto that deserves physical penalty. In this case, the authority intervening will place them under house arrest, it will immediately inform the respective Chamber and the competent judge of the fact, to whom it will remit the prior record [antecedentes] as soon as possible.

When a cause is formed against a Senator or a Deputy before the ordinary tribunals, the judge will communicate it, with a copy of the prior record [antecedentes], to the respective Chamber, which will examine the merit of the sumario [statement of facts], and by a majority of two-thirds will decide if there should be loss of privilege [desafuero] or not [ha lugar o no], [in order for him] to be submitted to [a] process. In the affirmative case, it will suspend him from his privileges [fueros].

The [two] Chamber may request from the other powers of the State, from the autonomous, autarchic and decentralized entities [entes], and from the public functionaries, the reports on matters of public interest that they consider necessary, with the exception of the jurisdictional activity.

The affected [parties] are obligated to respond to the requisition for reports within the assigned time period, which may not be less than fifteen days.

Each Chamber, by an absolute majority, may summon and interpellate individually the Ministers and other high functionaries of the Public Administration, as well as the directors and administrators of the autonomous, autarchic, and decentralized entities, those of the entities that administer funds of the State and those of the enterprises with a major participation of the State, when they are discussing a law or studying a matter concerning their respective activities. The questions must be conveyed to the summoned [person] with at least five days of advance. Excepting just cause, it will be obligatory for the summoned [person] to attend to the requirements, to answer the questions and to provide all the information asked of them.

The law will determine the participation of the majority and of the minority in the formulation of the questions. The President of the Republic, the Vice President and the members of the Judicial Power, in jurisdictional matters, may not be summoned or interpellated.

If the summoned [person] does not attend the respective Chamber, or if it considers his declarations unsatisfactory, both Chambers, by an absolute majority of two-thirds, may emit a vote of censure against him and recommend his removal from the office to the President of the Republic or to his hierarchic superior.

If the motion of censure is not approved, no other motion on the same theme regarding the same summoned Minister or functionary may be presented, in that period of sessions.

Both Chambers of the Congress may constitute joint commissions of investigation on any matter of public interest, as well as on the conduct of their members.

The directors and administrators of the autonomous, autarchic and decentralized entities [entes], those of the entities that administrate funds of the State, those of the enterprises with a major participation of the State, the public functionaries and the individuals [particulares] are obligated to appear before the two Chambers and to supply to them the information and the documentations required from them. The law will establish the sanctions for the non-fulfillment of this obligation.

The President of the Republic, the Vice President, the Ministers of the Executive Power and the judicial Magistrates, in jurisdictional matters, may not be investigated.

The activity of the investigating commissions will not affect the privative attributions of the Judicial Power, nor infringe [lesionar] the rights and guarantees consecrated in this Constitution; their conclusions will not be binding on the tribunals nor may they undermine the judicial resolutions, without prejudice to the result of the investigation, which will be communicated to the ordinary justice.

The judges will order, in accordance with the law, the proceedings [diligencias] and proofs required, for the purposes of the investigation.

The advisers of public offices [reparticiones], the functionaries and other employees with a salary from the State or from the municipalities, whatever may be the denomination with which they appear [figuran] and the concept of their remunerations, as long as the designation to such offices subsist[,] may be elected, but may not perform legislative functions.

The partial exercise of teaching and that of the scientific research are exempted from the incompatibilities established in this Article.

No Senator or Deputy may be a party in enterprises exploiting public services or having concessions from the State, nor exercise juridical assistance or the representation of such, personally [por sí] or by an intermediate person.

[The following] may not be candidates for Senators or Deputies:

1. those condemned by a executory [firme] sentence to penalties deprivative of freedom, as long as the sentence lasts;

2. those condemned to a penalty of inability for the exercise of the public function, as long as such lasts;

3. those condemned for the commission of electoral crimes, for as long as the sentence lasts;

4. the judicial Magistrates, the representatives of the Public Ministry, the Procurator General of the State, the Public Defender, the Comptroller General of the Republic, the Sub-Comptroller, and the members of the Electoral Justice;

5. the ministers or clergymen of any faith;

6. the representatives or mandatories [mandatarios] of national or foreign enterprises, corporations or entities [entidades], which are concessionaires of services for the State, or executors of works [obras] or suppliers of goods for the State;

7. the military and police personnel on active service;

8. the candidates for President of the Republic or for Vice President; and

9. the owners or co-owners of the media of communication;

The citizens affected by the inabilities specified in paragraphs 4), 5), 6), and 7) must cease in their inability to be candidates ninety days, at least, before the date of registration of their lists at the Superior Tribunal of Electoral Justice.

The Ministers of the Executive Power; the Sub-Secretaries of State; the Presidents of Councils or general administrators of the decentralized, autonomous, autarchic, bi-national or multinational entities [entes], those of enterprises with a major participation of the State, and the governors and mayors, if they do not resign from their respective offices and [their resignations] are accepted at least ninety days before the date of the elections[,] may not be elected Senators or Deputies.

The Senators and Deputies may only accept responsibilities [cargos] of Minister or of diplomat. To perform them, they must request permission from the respective Chamber, to which they can be reinstated at the end of those functions.

Each Chamber will constitute their authorities and designate their employees.

The Senators and Deputies may lose their investiture, in addition to the cases already specified, for the following causes:

1. the violation of the regime of inabilities and incompatibilities specified in this Constitution, and

2. the improper use of influence, [as a] proven fact [fehaciente comprobado].

The Senators and Deputies may not be subject to imperative mandates.

[The following] are duties and attributions of the Congress:

1. to see to the observance of this Constitution and of the laws;

2. to dictate the codes and other laws, to modify them or repeal them, by interpreting this Constitution;

3. to establish the political division of the territory of the Republic, as well as the regional, departmental and municipal organizations;

4. to legislate on tax matters;

5. to sanction annually the law of the General Budget of the Nation;

6. to dictate the electoral law;

7. to determine the legal regime of the sale and that of the acquisition of the fiscal, departmental and municipal assets;

8. to issue internal resolutions and agreements, as well as to formulate declarations, in accordance with their faculties;

9. to approve or to reject the treaties and other international agreements signed by the Executive Power;

10. to approve or to reject the contracting of loans;

11. to authorize, for a determined time, concessions for the exploitation of national or multinational public services or of the assets of the State, as well as for the extraction and transformation of solid, liquid and gaseous minerals;

12. to dictate laws for the organization of the administration of the Republic, for the creation of decentralized entities [entes] and for the ordering [ordenamiento] of the public credit;

13. to issue laws of emergency in the case of disaster or of public calamity;

14. to receive the constitutional oath or promise of the President of the Republic, of the Vice President and of the other functionaries, in accordance with that established in this Constitution;

15. to receive from the President of the Republic, a report on the general situation of the country, on his administration and on the plans of government; in the form provided for in this Constitution;

16. To accept or to reject the resignation of the President of the Republic and that of the Vice President;

17. to provide [prestar] the agreements and to effect the appointments that this Constitution prescribes, as well as the designations of representatives of the Congress to other organs of the State;

18. to grant amnesties;

19. to decide on the transfer of the Capital of the Republic to another point of the national territory, by an absolute majority of two-thirds of the members of each Chamber;

20. to approve or reject, totally or partially and [with] prior report from the Comptroller General of the Republic, the detail and the justification of the income and expenses of the public finances concerning the budgetary execution;

21. to regulate river, maritime, air, and space navigation, and

22. the other duties and attributions specified by this Constitution.

The laws may have origin in any of the [two] Chambers of the Congress, by a proposal from their members; by a proposal from the Executive Power; by popular initiative or by that of the Supreme Court of Justice, in the cases and in the conditions specified in this Constitution and in the law.

The exceptions concerning the origin of the laws in favor of one or the other Chamber or of the Executive Power are, exclusively, those established expressly in this Constitution.

Every bill of law will be presented with an exposition of motives.

A bill of law approved by the Chamber of origin, will immediately be passed on to the other Chamber for its consideration. If this [Chamber], in its turn, approves it also, the bill will be sanctioned and, if the Executive Power provides [prestara] its approval to it, it will promulgate it as law and will provide for its publication within five days.

Any bill of law that is not objected to or returned to the Chamber of origin in the time period of six working days, if the bill contains up to ten Articles, or twelve working days, if the bill contains from twelve to twenty Articles, and of twenty working days if the Articles are more than twenty[,] is considered approved by the Executive Power. In all these cases, the bill will be automatically promulgated and its publication will be provided for.

When a bill of law, approved by one of the Chambers, is completely rejected by the other, it will return to that [Chamber] for a new consideration. When the Chamber of origin ratifies itself by absolute majority, it will pass again to the reviewing [Chamber], which can only reject it again by absolute majority of two-thirds and, if it is not obtained, the bill will be considered [reputará] sanctioned.

A bill of law approved by the Chamber of origin, that has been partially modified by the other, will pass on to the first [Chamber], where only each one of the modifications made by the reviewing [Chamber] will be discussed.

For these cases the following is established:

1. if all the modifications are accepted, the bill will be sanctioned.

2. If all the modifications were rejected by absolute majority, they will pass again to the reviewing Chamber and, if this [Chamber] ratifies itself in its previous sanction by absolute majority, the bill will be sanctioned; if there were no ratification, the bill approved by the Chamber of origin will be sanctioned, and,

3. if some of the modifications were accepted and others were rejected, the bill will pass again to the reviewing Chamber, where only the rejected modifications will be discussed in a global form, and if they were accepted by absolute majority, or rejected, the bill will be sanctioned in the form resolved by it.

The bill of law sanctioned, with any of the alternatives specified in this Article, will be passed on to the Executive Power for its promulgation.

A bill of law, partially objected to by the Executive Power, will be returned to the Chamber of origin for it to study and pronounce on the objections. If this Chamber rejects them by absolute majority, the bill will pass on to the reviewing Chamber, where it will follow the same process [trámite]. If this [Chamber] also rejects those objections by the same majority, the original [primitiva] sanction will be confirmed, and the Executive Power will promulgate and publish it. If the [two] Chambers desist on the objections, the bill may not be repeated in the sessions of that year.

The objections may be totally or partially accepted or rejected by both Chambers of the Congress. If the objections were totally or partially accepted, both Chambers may decide, by absolute majority, [on] the sanction of the non- objected part of the bill of law, in which case, this [part] must be promulgated and published by the Executive Power.

The objections will be treated by the Chamber of origin within the sixty days of its reception [ingreso] at the same, and in identical case [plazo] by the reviewing Chamber.

If a bill of law is totally rejected by the Executive Power, it will return to the Chamber of origin, which will discuss it again. If this [Chamber] confirms the initial sanction by absolute majority, it will pass on to the reviewing Chamber; if this [Chamber] approves it by the same majority, the Executive Power will promulgate and publish it. If the [two] Chambers desist on the total rejection, that bill may not be repeated in the sessions of that year.

The Executive Power may request the urgent treatment of bills of law that it sends to Congress. In these cases, the bill will be treated by the Chamber of origin within the thirty days of its reception, and by the reviewing one in the thirty next days. The bill will be considered approved if it is not rejected within the specified time periods.

The treatment of urgency may be requested by the Executive Power even after the remission of the draft, or in any stage of its process [trámite]. In those cases, the time period will start running from the reception of the request.

Each Chamber, by a two-thirds majority, may rescind [dejar sin efecto], at any moment, the process of urgency, in which case the ordinary one will be applied from that moment.

The Executive Power, within the ordinary legislative period, may request the Congress for urgent treatment of only three draft of law, unless the Chamber of origin, by a two-thirds majority, agrees to give such treatment to other bills.

A bill of law presented in one Chamber or the other, and approved by the Chamber of origin during the ordinary sessions, will pass on to the reviewing Chamber, which must deal with it within the non-extendable term of three months. At the end of which, and after written communication from the President of the Chamber of origin to the reviewing Chamber, it will be considered [reputará] that this [Chamber] has provided [prestado] its favorable vote to it, passing it on to the Executive Power for its promulgation and publication. The indicated term will be interrupted from the twenty-first of December until the first of March. The reviewing Chamber may deal with the bill of law during the next period of ordinary sessions, as long as it does so within the remaining time for the expiration of the non-extendable time period of three months.

The Executive Power may withdraw from the Congress the bills of law that it had sent, or renounce them, unless they were approved by the Chamber of origin.

The law only obligates by virtue of its promulgation and its publication. If the Executive Power does not fulfill the duty of publishing the laws in the terms and in the conditions that this Constitution establishes, the President of the Congress, by default, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, will provide for its publication.

The formula to be used in the sanction of the laws is: “The Congress of the Paraguayan Nation sanctions with [the] force of law.” For the promulgation of the same, the formula is: “To be regarded [Téngase] as law of the Republic, to be published [publíquese] and to be inserted [insértese] in the Registro Oficial [Official Gazette].”

Each Chamber, with the vote of the absolute majority, may delegate to commissions the treatment of bills of laws, of resolutions and of declarations. By a simple majority, it may withdraw them in any state prior to the approval, rejection or sanction by the commission.

The General Budget of the Nation, the codes, the international treaties, the bills of laws of taxes or military character, the ones concerning the organization of the powers of the State and those originating from the popular initiative[,] may not be the object of delegation.

The Executive Power will annually present the bill of law of the General Budget of the Nation, no later than the first of September, and its consideration by the Congress will have an absolute priority.

A bicameral commission will be integrated which, [once] the bill is received, will study it and present [a] resolution [dictamen] to its respective Chambers in a time period no greater than sixty consecutive days. [Once] the resolution is received, the Chamber of Deputies will address itself to the study of the bill in plenary sessions, and it must deal with it in a time period no greater than fifteen consecutive days. The Chamber of Senators will have at its disposal the equal time period to study the bill, with the modifications introduced by the Chamber of Deputies, and, if it approves them, the same will be sanctioned. In the opposite case, the bill will return with the objections to the other Chamber, which will decide [se expedirá] within the time period of ten consecutive days, exclusively on the points of discrepancy with the Senate, proceeding in the form specified in Article 208, paragraphs 1), 2), and 3), always within the time period of ten consecutive days.

All the time periods established in this Article are peremptory, and the failure [falta] to deal with of any of the bills will be understood as approval. The Chambers may totally reject the bill presented for their study by the Executive Power, only by absolute majority of the two-thirds of each one of them.

If the Executive Power, for any reason, does not present to the Legislative Power the draft of the General Budget of the Nation within the established time periods, or if the same was rejected in accordance with the previous Article, the Budget of the current fiscal exercise continues to be in force.

Fifteen days before entering into recess, each Chamber will designate by an absolute majority the Senators and the Deputies who, in the number of six and twelve as titular [members] and three and six as substitutes, respectively, will conform the Permanent Commission of the Congress, which will exercise its functions from the beginning of the recess period of the Congress until the resumption of the ordinary sessions.

The titular [members] of the Permanent Commission so meeting, will designate [a] President and other authorities, and written notice of that will be given to the other powers of the State.

[The following] are duties and attributions of the Permanent Commission of the Congress:

1. to see to the observance of this Constitution and of the laws:

2. to dictate its own regulations;

3. to convoke the [two] Chambers to preparatory sessions, with the object of effecting in opportune time the annual opening of the Congress;

4. to convoke and to organize the extraordinary sessions of both Chambers, in accordance with that established in this Constitution;

5. to authorize the President of the Republic, during the recess of the Congress, to temporarily absent himself from the national territory, in the cases specified in this Constitution, and

6. the other duties and attributions established by this Constitution.

The Permanent Commission, at the end of its activity [actuación], will provide [prestará] each Chamber a final report of the same, and will be responsible before them for the measures it may have adopted or authorized.

The Chamber of Deputies is the Chamber of departmental representation. It will be composed of eighty titular [members] at a minimum, and of an equal number of substitutes, elected directly by the People in departmental electoral colleges [colegios]. The City of Asunción will constitute an electoral college [colegio] with representation in this Chamber. The departments will be represented by at least one titular Deputy and one substitute; the Superior Tribunal of Electoral Justice, before each election and in accordance with the number of electors in each department, will establish the number of seats [bancas] that corresponds to each one of them. The law may increase the quantity of Deputies accordingly to the increment of the electors.

The natural Paraguayan nationality and to be already twenty-five years old are required to be elected Deputy[,] titular or substitute[,].

[The following] are exclusive attributions of the Chamber of Deputies:

1. to initiate the consideration of the bills of law relative to the departmental and municipal legislation;

2. to designate or to propose the magistrates and functionaries, in accordance with that established by this Constitution and the law;

3. to provide [prestar] [an] agreement for the intervention in the departmental and municipal governments, and

4. the other exclusive attributions established by this Constitution.

The Chamber of Senators will be composed of forty-five titular [members] at minimum, and of thirty substitutes, elected directly by the People in one sole national circumscription. The law may increase the quantity of Senators, accordingly to the increment of the electors.

The natural Paraguayan nationality and to be already thirty-five years old are required to be elected Senator[,] titular or substitute.

[The following] are exclusive attributions of the Chamber of Senators:

1. to initiate the consideration of the bills of law relative to the approval of international treaties and agreements;

2. to provide [prestar] [an] agreement for the promotions [ascensos] of the military and the National Police [personnel], from the rank of Colonel of the Army or its equivalent in the other armies [armas] and services, and from that of Head Commissioner [Comisario Principal] for the National Police;

3. to provide [prestar] [an] agreement for the designation of the Ambassadors plenipotentiary and Ministers abroad;

4. to designate or to propose the Magistrates and functionaries in accordance with that established by this Constitution;

5. to authorize sending the permanent military Paraguayan forces abroad, as well as the entry of foreign military troops into the country;

6. to provide [prestar] [an] agreement for the designation of the President and the directors of the Central Bank of the State;

7. to provide [prestar] [an] agreement for the designations of the Paraguayan directors of the bi-national entities [entes], and

8. the other exclusive attributions established by this Constitution.

The President of the Republic, the Vice President, the Ministers of the Executive Power, the Ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice, the Attorney General of the State, the Defender of the People, the Comptroller General of the Republic, the Sub-Comptroller and the members of the Superior Tribunal of Electoral Justice, may only be submitted to political trial for malfeasance [mal desempeño] of their functions, for crimes committed in the exercise of their offices or for common crimes.

The accusation will be formulated by the Chamber of Deputies, by a majority of two-thirds. It will correspond to the Chamber of Senators, by absolute majority of two-thirds, to judge in public trial those accused by the Chamber of Deputies and, in such case, to declare them guilty, for the sole purpose of removing them from their offices. In the cases of supposed commission [comisión] of crimes, the prior records [antecedentes] will be passed on to the ordinary justice.

The Executive Power is exercised by the President of the Republic.

There will be a Vice President of the Republic who, in case of impediment or temporary absence of the President or permanent vacancy of such office, will immediately substitute him, with all his attributions.

To be President of the Republic or Vice President, it is required:

1. to have natural Paraguayan nationality;

2. to be already thirty years old, and

3. to be in full exercise of their civil and political rights.

The President of the Republic and the Vice President will remain five non- extendable years in the exercise of their functions, counting from the fifteenth of August following the elections. They may not be reelected in any case. The Vice President may only be elected President for the next period if he had ceased in his office six months before the general elections. Whoever had exercised the presidency for more than twelve months may not be elected Vice President of the Republic.

The President of the Republic and the Vice President will be elected jointly and directly by the People, by simple majority of votes, in general elections realized between ninety and one hundred and twenty days before the expiration of the constitutional period in force.

In case that, at the date in which the President of the Republic and the Vice President must assume their functions, they have not been proclaimed in the form provided for by this Constitution, or the elections were nullified, the ceasing President [Presidente cesante] will deliver the mandate [el mando] to the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, who will exercise it until the transition is effected, his judicial functions remaining in suspense.

The President of the Republic and the Vice President will enter into possession of their offices before the Congress, taking the oath or the promise of fulfilling with fidelity and patriotism their constitutional functions. If on the specified day the Congress does not reach the quorum to meet, the ceremony will be fulfilled before the Supreme Court of Justice.

The President of the Republic, or whoever is substituting him in [his] office, may not be absent from the country without giving prior notice to the Congress and to the Supreme Court of Justice. If his absence is for more than five days, the authorization from the Chamber of Senators will be required. During the recess of the Chambers, the authorization will be granted by the Permanent Commission of the Congress.

In no case, may the President of the Republic and the Vice President be simultaneously absent from the national territory.

In case of impediment or absence of the President of the Republic, the Vice President will replace him, and in his default [falta] and in successive form, the President of the Senate, that of the Chamber of Deputies, and that of the Supreme Court of Justice.

The Vice President-elect will assume the presidency of the Republic if this should be vacant before or after the proclamation of the President, and will exercise it until the end of the constitutional period.

If the permanent vacancy of the Vice Presidency occurs [se produce] during the first three years of the constitutional period, elections will be convoked to cover it. If the same occurred during the last two years, the Congress, by an absolute majority of its members, will designate [the person] who must perform the office for the rest of the period.

[The following] are unable to be candidates for President of the Republic or Vice President:

1. the members of the Executive Power, the Vice Ministers or Sub-Secretaries and the functionaries of equivalent rank, the general directors of public offices [reparticiones públicas] and the Presidents of councils, directors, managers or general administrators of the decentralized, autarchic, autonomous, binational, or multinational entities [entes], and those of enterprises with a major participation of the State,

2. the judicial Magistrates and the members of the Public Ministry;

3. The Defender of the People, the Comptroller General of the Republic and the Sub-Comptroller, the Procurator General of the Republic, the members [integrantes] of the Council of the Magistrature and the members of the Superior Tribunal of Electoral Justice;

4. the representatives or mandatories [mandatarios] of national or foreign enterprises, corporations or entities [entidades], that are concessionaires of state services or of execution of works [obras] or supply of goods to the State;

5. the ministers of any religion or cult;

6. the municipal Mayors and the Governors;

7. the members in active service of the Armed Forces of the Nation and those of the National Police, unless they retire one year before, at least, the day of the general elections;

8. the owners or co-owners of the communications media, and

9. The spouse or the relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity, or second of affinity, of whoever finds himself in the exercise of the presidency at the moment of the election, or has performed it for any time during the year prior to the celebration of that [election].

In the cases specified in paragraphs 1), 2), 3) and 6), the affected [person] must resign and cease exercising their respective offices, at least six months before the day of the elections, except for the cases of permanent vacancy of the vice presidency.

The military heads or the civilian leaders [caudillos] of a coup d’état, armed revolution or similar movements that infringe the order established by this Constitution, and who as [a] consequence assume the power as President of the Republic, Vice President, Minister of the Executive Power or military command [mando] proper to general officers, are ineligible for the exercise of any public office for two consecutive constitutional periods, without prejudice to their respective civil and penal responsibilities.

The President of the Republic and the Vice President may not exercise public or private offices, remunerated or not, while in their functions. They may neither exercise commerce, industry or any professional activity[;] they must exclusively dedicate themselves to their functions.

[The following] are duties and attributions of whoever exercises the presidency of the Republic:

1. to represent the State and to direct the general administration of the country;

2. to fulfill and to have fulfilled this Constitution and the laws;

3. to participate in the formation of the laws, in accordance with this Constitution, to promulgate them and to publish them, to regulate them, and to control their fulfillment;

4. to veto, totally or partially, the laws sanctioned by the Congress, formulating the observations or objections that he considers appropriate;

5. to issue decrees that, for their validity, require the countersignature [refrendo] of the Minister of the branch [ramo],

6. to appoint and to remove by himself the ministers of the Executive Power, the Procurator General of the Republic and the functionaries of the Public Administration, whose designation and permanency in the offices are not otherwise regulated by this Constitution or by the law;

7. the management of the foreign relations of the Republic. In the case of foreign aggression, and prior authorization of the Congress, to declare the State of National Defense or to agree to peace; to negotiate and to sign international treaties; to receive the heads of the diplomatic missions from foreign countries and to admit their consuls and to designate ambassadors, with the agreement of the Senate;

8. to give account to the Congress, at the beginning of each annual period of sessions, on the management [gestiones] realized by the Executive Power, as well as to report on the general situation of the Republic and on the plans for the future;

9. to be commander in chief of the Armed Forces of the Nation, [a] responsibility [cargo] that is not delegable. In accordance with the law, he dictates the military regulations, he is provided with the Armed Forces, he organizes [them] and deploys [them]. By himself, [por sí] to appoint and to remove the commanders of the Public Force. He adopts the necessary measures for the national defense. He provides, by himself [por sí] the ranks in all the armies, up to that of lieutenant colonel [teniente coronel] or their equivalent and, with the agreement of the Senate, the superior ranks;

10. to pardon or to commute the penalties imposed by the judges and Tribunals of the Republic, in accordance with the law, and with [a] report of the Supreme Court of Justice;

11. to convoke the Congress to extraordinary sessions, either of the Chambers or both at the same time, [where] these must only treat those issues submitted to their respective consideration;

12. to propose to the Congress bills of law, which can be presented with [a] request of [an] urgent consideration, within the terms established in this Constitution;

13. to provide for the collection and investment of the revenues [rentas] of the Republic, in accordance with the National General Budget and with the laws, reporting back annually to the Congress on its execution;

14. to prepare and to present to the consideration of the two Chambers the annual bill of the National General Budget;

15. to have the provisions of the authorities created by this Constitution complied with, and

16. the other duties and attributions that this Constitution establishes.

[The following] are duties and attributions of whoever exercises the vice presidency of the Republic:

1. to substitute immediately [for] the President of the Republic, in the cases specified by this Constitution;

2. to represent the President of the Republic nationally and internationally, by designation of the same, with all the prerogatives that correspond to him [aquél], and

3. to participate in the deliberations of the Council of Ministers and to coordinate the relations between the Executive and the Legislative Powers.

The direction and the administration [gestión] of the public business are entrusted to the Ministers of the Executive Power, whose number and functions will be determined by the law. In the case of temporary absence of one of them, he will be substituted by one of the vice ministers of the branch [ramo].

To be a Minister the same requirements as for the office of Deputy are demanded. They also have, equal incompatibilities as that the established for the President of the Republic, except the exercise of teaching [docencia]. They may not be deprived of their liberty, except in the cases specified for the members of the Congress.

The Ministers are the heads of the administration of their respective ministerial areas [carteras], in which, under the direction of the President of the Republic they promote and execute the policy relative to the matters of their competence.

They are responsible in solidarity for the acts of government that they countersign.

Annually, they will present to the President of the Republic a report [memoria] of their management [gestiones], which will be brought to the cognizance of the Congress.

Convoked by the President of the Republic, the Ministers meet in Council in order to coordinate the executive tasks, to promote the policy of the government and to adopt collective decisions.

The Council is competent:

1. to deliberate on all the matters of public interest that the President of the Republic submits to its consideration, acting as a consultative body, as well as to consider the initiatives in legislative matters, and

2. to provide for the periodic publication of its resolutions.

The Office of the Procurator General of the Republic will be the responsibility of a Procurator General and the other functionaries that the law determines.

The Procurator General of the Republic must meet the same requirements demanded to be General Attorney of the State. He is appointed and removed by the President of the Republic. The incompatibilities will be established by the law.

[The following] are duties and attributions of the Procurator General of the Republic:

1. to represent and to defend, in [a] judicial or extra judicial [manner], the patrimonial interests of the Republic;

2. to decide in the cases and with the effects specified in the laws;

3. to advise in [a] juridical [manner] the Public Administration in the form that the law determines, and

4. the other duties and attributions that the law establishes.

The Judicial Power is the guardian of the Constitution. It interprets it, it complies with it and it has it complied with.

The administration of justice is the responsibility of the Judicial Power, exercised by the Supreme Court of Justice, by the tribunals and by the courts, in the form that this Constitution and the law establish.

The independence of the judicial power is guaranteed. Only this [power] may take cognizance of and decide on facts of a contentious [contencioso] character.

In no case may the members of the other powers, or other functionaries arrogate to themselves juridical attributions that are not expressly established in this Constitution, or revive dead processes, [or] paralyze the existing ones, or intervene in any manner in the trials. Acts of this nature result in [conllevan] irremediable nullity. All this without prejudice to the arbitral decisions within the scope [ámbito] of the private law, with the modalities that the law determines to assure the right to defense and [to] equitable solutions.

Those who infringe against the independence of the Judicial Power and that of its Magistrates, will be ineligible to exercise any public function for five consecutive years, in addition to the penalties established by the law.

The Judicial Power enjoys budgetary autonomy. In the General Budget of the Nation an amount will be allocate to it not inferior to three percent of the budget of the Central Administration.

The budget of the Judicial Power will be approved by the Congress, and the Comptroller General of the Republic will verify all its expenses and investments.

The Ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice will take the oath or promise before the Congress, at the entering of their offices. The members [integrantes] of the other tribunals and of the courts will do so before the Supreme Court of Justice.

The members of all the tribunals and courts of the Republic will be appointed by the Supreme Court of Justice, from a terna [list of three] proposed by the Council of the Magistrature.

The Magistrates are irremovable vis-à-vis the office, the seat [sede], or the rank during the term for which they have been appointed. They may not be transferred or promoted without their prior and express consent.

They are designated for periods of five years, counting from their appointment.

The Magistrates confirmed for two periods following that of their election, acquire the irremovability in the office until the limit of age established for the members of the Supreme Court of Justice.

The judicial Magistrates may only be tried and removed for committing crimes, or for malfeasance of their functions specified in the law, by the decision of a Jury of Prosecution [Enjuiciamiento] of Magistrates. It will be composed of two ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice, two members of the Council of the Magistrature, two Senators and two Deputies; these last four must be lawyers. The law will regulate the functioning of the Jury of Prosecution [Enjuiciamiento] of Magistrates.

The Magistrates may not exercise, while their functions last, another public or private office, remunerated or not, with the exception of part-time teaching or [of] scientific research. They may neither exercise commerce, industry or professional activity or policy whatsoever, nor perform offices in official or private organs [organismos], parties, political associations or movements.

No judicial Magistrate may be accused or interrogated in [a] judicial [manner] for the opinions emitted in the exercise of their functions. They may not be detained or arrested except in case of flagrante delicto that merits a physical penalty. If this occurs the intervening authority must put them under custody in their residence, communicate the fact immediately to the Supreme Court of Justice, and remit the prior records [antecedentes] to the competent judge.

The trials can be oral and public, in the form and in the measure that the law determines.

All judicial sentences must be founded on this Constitution and on the law. Criticism of the decisions [fallos] is permitted [libre].

The labor process will be oral and will be based on the principles of immediacy, economy, and concentration.

The organs of the State [are] subordinate to the dictates of the law, and the persons who exercise functions at the service of the same are obligated to provide [prestar] to the administration of justice all the cooperation that it requires for the fulfillment of its mandates.

The Supreme Court of Justice is integrated by nine members. They will organize themselves in chambers, one of which will be constitutional. It will elect its President, each year, from within [de su seno]. Its members will bear the title of Minister.

The requirements to integrate the Supreme Court of Justice are, to have natural Paraguayan nationality, to be already 35 years old, to possess a university degree of Doctor in Law and to enjoy noted honorability. Additionally, to have effectively exercised during the term of ten years, at least, the profession, the judicial magistrature or the university chair in juridical matter jointly, separately, or successively.

[The following] are duties and attributions of the Supreme Court of Justice:

1. to exercise the superintendence of all the organs [organismos] of the Judicial Power and to decide, in sole instance, the conflicts of jurisdiction and of competence, in accordance with the law;

2. to issue [dictar] its own internal regulations. To present annually, a report [memoria] on the management [gestiones] realized, the status, and the needs of national justice to the Legislative and Executive Powers;

3. to take cognizance [conocer] and to decide [resolver] on the ordinary recourses that the law determines;

4. to take cognizance [conocer] and to decide [resolver], in original instance, on habeas corpus, without prejudice to the competence of other judges or tribunals;

5. to take cognizance [conocer] and to decide [resolver] on unconstitutionality;

6. to take cognizance [conocer] and to decide [resolver] in the recourse of cassation, in the form and measure that the law establishes;

7. to preventively suspend by itself [por sí] or at the request of the Jury of Prosecution [Enjuiciamiento] of Magistrates by an absolute majority of votes of its members, in the exercise of its functions, the judicial Magistrates in prosecution [enjuiciados], until a final resolution of the case is issued;

8. to supervise the institutions [institutos] of detention and reclusion;

9. to decide [entender] in the disputes of competence between the Executive Power and the departmental governments and between these and the municipalities, and

10. the other duties and attributions that this Constitution and the laws establish.

[The following] are duties and attributions of the Constitutional Chamber:

1. to take cognizance [conocer] and to decide [resolver] on the unconstitutionality of the laws and of other normative instruments, declaring the inapplicability of the provisions contrary to this Constitution in each concrete case and in decision [fallo] that will only be effective in relation with that case, and

2. to decide on the unconstitutionality of the definitive or interlocutory sentences, declaring the nullity of those that result [as being] contrary to this Constitution.

The proceeding may be initiated by [an] action before the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, and by way [vía] of an excepción [pleadings of exception] in any instance, in which case the prior records [antecedentes] will rise [se elevarán] to the Court.

The Ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice may only be removed through [a] political trial. They will cease in the office at the age of seventy-five years.

The Council of the Magistrature is composed by:

1. a member of the Supreme Court of Justice, designated by it;

2. a representative of the Executive Power;

3. a Senator and a Deputy, both appointed by their respective Chambers;

4. two registered [de la matrícula] lawyers, appointed by their peers in [a] direct election;

5. a professor of the Faculty of Law of the National University, chosen by his peers, and

6. a professor of the Faculty of Law with no less than twenty years of functioning, of the private Universities, chosen by his peers.

The law will regulate the pertinent systems of elections.

The members of the Council of the Magistrature must meet the following requirements:

• To be of Paraguayan nationality, to be already 35 years old, to possess a university degree of lawyer, and, during the term of ten years at least, to have effectively exercised the profession, or to perform functions in the judicial magistrature, or exercise [a] university chair in juridical matters, jointly, separately, or alternatively.

• They will lasts three years in their functions and they will enjoy equal immunities as the Ministers from the Supreme Court of Justice. They will have the incompatibilities that the law establishes.

[The following] are duties and attributions of the Council of the Magistrature:

1. to propose the terna [list of three] of candidates to integrate the Supreme Court of Justice, [the] selection subject to [and] based on suitability, with consideration of merits and aptitudes, and send [elevarlas] them to the Chamber of Senators for it to designate them, with the agreement of the Executive Power;

2. to propose in ternas to the Supreme Court of Justice, with the same criteria of selection and evaluation, the names of candidates for the offices of members of the inferior tribunals, those of the judges and those of the state attorneys [agentes fiscales];

3. to elaborate its own regulations, and

4. the other duties and attributions that this Constitution and the laws establish.

The Tribunal of Accounts is established. The law will determine its composition and its competence.

The structure and the functions of the other judicial magistratures and auxiliary organs [organismos], as well as that of the judicial school, will be determined by the law.

The Public Ministry represents the society before the jurisdictional organs [organismos] of the State, enjoying functional and administrative autonomy in the fulfillment of its duties and attributions. It is exercised by the Attorney General of the State and the state attorneys, in the form determined by the law.

To be Attorney General of the State it is required to have Paraguayan nationality; to be already thirty-five years old; to poses a university degree of lawyer, to have effectively exercised the profession or functions [of] the judicial magistrature, or the university chair in juridical matters during five years at least, jointly, separately, or alternatively. They have the same incompatibilities and immunities as those established for the Magistrates of the Judicial Power.

[The following] are duties and attributions of the Public Ministry:

1. to see to the respect for the constitutional rights and guarantees;

2. to promote public penal action to defend the public and social patrimony, the environment and other various [difusos] interests, as well as the rights of the Indigenous Peoples;

3. to exercise penal action in the cases in which, to initiate it or to continue it, the request from the parties was necessary, without prejudice to the judge or the Tribunal proceeding ex officio, when the law so determines;

4. to collect information from the public functionaries for the better fulfillment of its functions, and

5. the other duties and attributions that the law establishes.

The General Attorney of the state is irremovable. He remains five years in his functions and he may be reelected. He is appointed by the Executive Power, with the agreement of the Senate, from a terna of the Council of the Magistrature.

The state attorneys are designated, in the same form that this Constitution establishes for the judges. They remain in their functions and are removed by the same procedures. Additionally, they have the same incompatibilities and immunities as those determined for the members of the Judicial Power.

The Attorney General of the State takes an oath or a promise before the Senate, while the state attorneys do so before the Supreme Court of Justice.

The law may create a judicial police, dependent of the Judicial Power, in order to collaborate directly with the Public Ministry.

The convocation, the judgment, the organization, the direction, the supervision and the surveillance of the acts and issues [cuestiones] derived from the general, departmental and municipal elections as well as of the rights and of the titles of those who are [resulten] elected, correspond exclusively to the Electoral Justice.

The issues originating from any type of popular consultation, as well as that relative to the elections and to the functioning of the political parties and movements are equally of its competence.

The Electoral Justice is integrated by a Superior Electoral Tribunal, by the tribunals, by the courts, by the offices of the Attorney [fiscalia] and by the other organs [organismos] to be specified by the law, which will determine its organization and its functions.

The Superior Tribunal of Electoral Justice will be composed of three members, who will be elected and removed in the form established for the Ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice.

The members of the Superior Tribunal of Electoral Justice must meet the following requirements: to be of Paraguayan nationality, to be already thirty-five years old, to possess a university degree of lawyer, and, during the term of ten years, at least, to have effectively exercised the profession or performed functions in the judicial magistrature, or exercised [a] university chair in juridical matters, jointly, separately, or alternatively.

The laws will establish in which cases its resolutions will be subject to recourse [recurribles] before the Supreme Court of Justice, which will decide [resolverá] in summary proceeding.

The Defender of the People is a parliamentary commissioner whose functions are the defense of the human rights, the channeling of popular complaints and the protection of the community interests. In no case will he have judicial function or executive competence.

The Public Defender will enjoy autonomy and irremovability. He is appointed by a majority of two-thirds of the Chamber of Deputies, from a terna [list of three] proposed by the Senate, and he will remain five years in his functions, which will coincide with the period of the Congress. He may be reelected. Additionally, he may be removed for malfeasance of his functions, with the procedure of the political trial established in this Constitution.

The Defender of the People must meet the same requirements demanded of the Deputies, and he has the same incompatibilities and immunities as those of the judicial Magistrates. During his mandate he may not be a part of any power of the State or exercise any party [partidaria] political activity.

[The following] are duties and attributions of the Defender of the People:

1. to receive and to investigate denunciations, complaints and claims against violations of the human rights and other acts that this Constitution and the law establish;

2. to request from the authorities at their various levels, including those of the police organs and those of security in general, information for the better exercise of his functions[;] he may not be opposed by any reserve. He may have access to the places where the commission of such acts are denounced. It is also of his competence to act ex officio;

3. to issue [emitir] [a] public censure for acts or behaviors contrary to the human rights;

4. to annually report concerning his management [gestiones] to the Chambers of the Congress;

5. to prepare and to divulge reports on the situation of human rights that, in his opinion, require prompt public attention, and

6. the other duties and attributions that the law establishes.

The functions of the Defender of the People will be regulated by the law[;] in order to assure his efficiency, departmental or municipal defenders may be appointed.

The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic is the organ of control of the economic and financial activities of the State, of the departments and of the municipalities, in the form determined by this Constitution and by the law. It will enjoy functional and administrative autonomy.

It is composed of a Comptroller and a Sub-Comptroller, who must be of Paraguayan nationality, already thirty years old, graduated in Law or in Economic Sciences, Administrative or Accounting. Each one of them will be designated by the Chamber of Deputies, by an absolute majority, both from [sendas] ternas [lists of three] of candidates proposed by the Chamber of Senators, with an identical majority.

They remain five years in their functions, which will not coincide with those of the presidential mandate. They may be confirmed in the office only for one more period, subjected to the same process. During such time period they will enjoy irremovability[;] they may not be removed except for having committed crimes or for bad performance of their functions.

The President of the Republic, in his character of head [titular] of the administration of the State, will send to the Office of the Comptroller [Contraloría] the liquidation of the budget of the previous year, within the four months of the next [budget]. Within the next four months, the Office of the Comptroller [Contraloría] must send [elevar] [a] report and resolution [dictamen] to the Congress, to be considered by each one of the Chambers.

[The following] are duties and attributions of the Comptroller General of the Republic:

1. the control, the surveillance and the supervision [fiscalización] of the public assets and of the patrimony of the State, those of the regional or departmental entities [entidades], those of the municipalities, those of the Central Bank and those of the other banks of the State or mixed, those of the autonomous, autarchic or decentralized entities [entidades], as well as those of the enterprises of the State or mixed;

2. the control of the execution and the liquidation of the General Budget of the Nation;

3. the control of the execution and the liquidation of the budgets of all of the allocations [reparticiones] mentioned in paragraph 1), as well as the examination of their accounts, funds and inventories;

4. the supervision [fiscalización] of the national accounts of the multinational enterprises or entities [entidades], in whose capital the State participates in [a] direct or indirect form, in the terms of the respective treaties;

5. the requirement of reports on the fiscal and patrimonial management [gestión] to all persons or public, mixed or private entities [entidad] that administrates funds, public services or assets of the State, to the regional or departmental entities [entidades], and to the municipalities, all of which must make available to him [poner a su disposición] the documentation and the receipts [comprobantes] required for the better fulfillment of his functions;

6. the reception of the sworn declarations of the assets of the public functionaries, as well as the formation of a registry of the same, and the production of resolutions [dictámenes] on the correspondence between such declarations, provided [prestadas] at the assumption of the respective offices, and those that the functionaries referred to [aludidos] formulate when ceasing in them;

7. the denunciation to the ordinary justice and to the Executive Power of all crimes of which he has cognizance as a reason of his specific functions, being responsible in solidarity, for omission or for deviation, with the organs submitted to his control, when these [have] acted with deficiency or negligence, and

8. the other duties and attributions that this Constitution and the laws establish.

The Comptroller and the Sub-Comptroller will have the same immunities and incompatibilities prescribed for the judicial Magistrates. As to their removal, the procedure established for political trial will be followed.

A Central Bank of the State, with character of [a] technical organ [organismo] is established. It has the exclusivity of the emission of the currency, and in accordance with the objectives of the economic policy of the National Government, it participates with the other technical organs [organismos] of the State, in the formulation of the monetary, credit and exchange policies, being responsible for their execution and development, and preserving monetary stability.

[The following] is prohibited to the Central Bank of the State:

1. to grant credits, directly or indirectly, to finance the public expenses on the margin of the budget, except:

I. the short-term advances of tax resources budgeted for the respective year, and

II. in the case of [a] national emergency, with a substantiated resolution of the Executive Power and agreement of the Chamber of Senators.

2. to adopt any agreement that establishes, directly or indirectly, norms or requirements different or discriminatory and relative to persons, institutions or entities [entidades] that make operations of the same nature effective, and

3. to operate with persons or entities [entidades] not integrated into the monetary or financial national system, except for international organs [organismos].

The law will regulate the organization and the functioning of the Central Bank of the State, within the limitations specified in this Constitution.

The Central Bank of the State will render account [rendirá cuentas] to the Executive Power and to the National Congress for the execution of the policies of its responsibility.