Sao Tome and Principe 1975 (rev. 2003)

Article 15. Principles of Equality

1. Equality regardless of race, Equality regardless of religion, Equality regardless of political party, Equality regardless of creed or belief, Equality regardless of social status
   All citizens are equal before the law, enjoy the same rights and are subject to the same obligations without distinction as to social or racial origin, sex, political tendency, religious belief or philosophical conviction.
2. Woman is equal to man in rights and obligations, being guaranteed to her full participation in political, economic, social and cultural life.

Article 16. The Citizen Overseas

1. Every Sao Tomean citizen who resides or finds himself overseas enjoys the same rights and is subject to the same obligations as the other citizens, except for that which would be incompatible with absence from the country.
2. Sao Tomean citizens resident overseas enjoy the care and protection of the State.

Article 17. Foreigners in São Tomé and Príncipe

1. The foreigners and displaced persons who reside or find themselves in São Tomé and Príncipe enjoy the same rights and are subject to the same obligations as the Sao Tomean citizen, except insofar as are concerned political rights, the exercise of public functions and other rights and obligations expressly reserved by law for the national citizen.
2. Restrictions on rights of groups, International law
   The exercise of public office only will be permitted to foreigners provided it has a predominantly technical nature, save the presence of an international agreement or convention.
3. Subject to reciprocal terms, the law may grant foreign citizens resident in the national territory active and passive electoral capacity for the election of the holders of the organs of local government.

Article 18. Scope and meaning of rights

1. The rights consecrated in this Constitution do not exclude any which might be foreseen in laws or in rules of International Law.
2. International human rights treaties
   The precepts relative to fundamental rights are interpreted and integrated in harmony with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Article 19. Restriction and Suspension

1. Emergency provisions
   The exercise of fundamental rights only can be restricted in cases foreseen in the Constitution and suspended during the validity of a state of siege or state of emergency declared in the terms of the Constitution and of the law.
2. No restriction or suspension of rights may be established for longer than strictly necessary.

Article 20. Access to the Courts

Article 21. Obligations and Limits to Rights

Article 22. Right to Life

1. Human life is inviolable.
2. Prohibition of capital punishment
   In no case, shall capital punishment exist.

Article 23. Right to Personal Integrity

1. The moral and physical integrity of the person is inviolable.
2. Prohibition of torture, Prohibition of cruel treatment
   No one may shall be submitted to torture or mistreatment or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 24. Right to Identity and Privacy

Article 25. Inviolability of the home and of correspondence

1. The home and the secrecy of correspondence and of private means of communication are inviolable.
2. Regulation of evidence collection
   Entrance into the home of citizens against their will only may be ordered by competent judicial authority, in the cases and by the manner prescribed by the law.

Article 26. Family, Marriage and Relationships

1. Provision for matrimonial equality, Regulation of marriage, Right to found a family
   All have the right to form a family and to enter into matrimony in conditions of full equality.
2. The law regulates the requirements and effects of marriage and of its dissolution, by death or divorce, independent from the form in which it was celebrated.
3. Provision for matrimonial equality, Rights or duties of parents
   Spouses have equal rights with respect to civil or political competency and to the maintenance and education of their children.
4. Rights of children
   Children born out of wedlock cannot, for that reason, be the object of any discrimination.
5. Rights or duties of parents
   Parents have the right and duty of educating and maintaining their children.

Article 27. Freedom of conscience, religion and worship

1. Freedom of conscience, religion and worship is inviolable.
2. No one may be persecuted, deprived of right or exempted from civic obligations or duties because of his convictions or practice of religion.
3. No one may be questioned by any authority about his convictions or religious practices except for the collection of statistical data not individually identifiable nor be prejudiced for refusing to answer.
4. Religious confessions are free in worship, in education and in their organization.

Article 28. Freedom of cultural creation

Article 29. Freedom of expression and information

1. All have the right to freely express and divulge their thinking by word, by image or by any other means.
2. Infractions committed in the exercise of this right remain subject to the general principles of criminal law, their appreciation being within the competence of the courts.

Article 30. Freedom of the press

1. Freedom of the press is guaranteed in the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, within the terms of the law.
2. State operation of the media
   The State guarantees a public service press independent of the interests of economic and political groups.

Article 31. The right to learn and the freedom to teach

1. The right to learn and the freedom to teach are guaranteed.
2. The State may not reserve for itself the right to plan education and culture according to any philosophical, political, ideological or religious policies.

Article 32. Freedom to choose profession

Article 33. Right of relocation and immigration

1. To all citizens the right is guaranteed to freely relocate and establish themselves in any part of the national territory.
2. To all is guaranteed the right to emigrate or to leave the national territory and the right to return.

Article 34. Right to meet and to demonstrate

1. All citizens have the right to meet, peacefully and without arms, even in places open to the public.
2. The right to demonstrate is recognized for all citizens, within the terms of the law.

Article 35. Freedom of association

1. The citizens have the right to, freely and without dependence on any authorization, form associations, so long as they are not contrary to the penal law or do not question the Constitution and national independence.
2. Associations pursue their ends freely.
3. No one can be obliged to take part in an association nor be compelled by any means to remain in one.

Article 36. Personal freedom and security

1. All have the right to personal freedom and to personal security.
2. Principle of no punishment without law, Protection from unjustified restraint
   No one may be deprived of freedom, except in cases provided for in the law and always by decision or with the review of the appropriate court.

Article 37. Application of the Penal Law

1. Principle of no punishment without law
   No one may be sentenced criminally except by virtue of prior law which declares punishable the action or omission nor suffer security measures whose purposes are not fixed in prior law.
2. However, penal laws are applied retroactively when their content is more favorable to the accused or to the sentenced.

Article 38. Limits of sentences and of security measures

1. There may be no punishments nor security measures which deprive or restrict liberty which are of a perpetual, unlimited duration or undefined nature.
2. Sentences are not subject to commutation.
3. No sentence presumes the loss of any civil, professional or political rights.

Article 39. Habeas Corpus

1. In case of imprisonment or illegal detention resulting from the abuse of power, the citizen has the right of recourse to the provision of habeas corpus.
2. The provision of habeas corpus is lodged before the Court and its procedure is fixed by the law.

Article 40. Guarantees of criminal procedure

1. Criminal procedure will assure all the defense guarantees.
2. Presumption of innocence in trials, Right to speedy trial
   Every accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, being tried in the shortest time compatible with defense guarantees.
3. Right to counsel
   The accused has the right to choose defense counsel and to be assisted by him in all the acts of the trial, the law specifying the instances and the aspects in which that assistance is obligatory.
4. Every instruction is within the competence of a Magistrate, who may, within the terms of the law, delegate to other entities the practice of instructional acts which do not directly affect fundamental rights.
5. Right to examine evidence/witnesses
   Criminal procedure has an accusatory structure with the hearing of the trial and the instructional acts subordinated to the principle of cross-examination.
6. Regulation of evidence collection, Telecommunications
   All evidence obtained through torture, coercion or offense to the physical or moral integrity of the person, abusive intromission into private life, in the home, in correspondence or in telecommunications are null.
7. No case may be removed from the court whose competence has been established in prior law.

Article 41. Extradition, expulsion and right of asylum

1. The extradition and the expulsion of Sao Tomean citizens from the National territory are not allowed.
2. Extradition for political motives is not permitted, nor for crimes which carry the death penalty according to the law of the petitioning State.
3. The expulsion of foreigners who have obtained a residence permit, only may be determined by judicial authority, the law assuring expeditious means of decision.
4. Protection of stateless persons
   Asylum is granted to foreigners persecuted or gravely threatened with persecution, in virtue of their activity in favor of democratic rights.

Article 42. Right to Work

1. Right to work
   All have the right to work.
2. Duty to work
   The obligation to work is inseparable from the right to work.
3. It is incumbent upon the State to ensure equality of opportunity in the choice of profession or type of work and conditions do that access to any position, work or professional category are not blocked.
4. The right to exercise professions is guaranteed in the conditions obtaining in the law.

Article 43. Rights of workers

Article 44. Social Security

1. State support for children, State support for the disabled
   The State guarantees to every citizen, through the social security system, the right to protection in illness, handicap, widowhood, orphanhood and other instances prescribed in the law;
2. The organization of the system of social security of the State does not prejudice the existence of private institutions, with the implementation in mind of the objectives of Social Security.

Article 45. Cooperatives

1. The right of free establishment of cooperatives is guaranteed.
2. The State stimulates, and supports the creation and the activity of cooperatives.

Article 46. Intellectual property

Article 47. Private property

1. Right to own property, Right to transfer property
   The right to private property and to its transfer in life or through death is guaranteed to all, in accordance with the law.
2. Protection from expropriation
   Requisition and expropriation for public use only may be effected as based on the law.

Article 48. Private enterprises

1. Right to establish a business
   The State oversees the respect for the law by private enterprises and protects the economically and socially viable small and medium enterprises.
2. The State may authorize foreign investment, provided it is useful to the economic and social development of the Country.

Article 49. Housing and environment

1. All have the right to housing and to an environment of human life and the duty to defend it.
2. It is incumbent upon the State to plan and execute a housing policy inserted in the plans for zoning of the territory.

Article 50. Right to health care

1. All have the right to health care and the duty to defend it.
2. In accordance with the National system of Health, it is incumbent upon the State to promote the Public Health which has as objectives the physical and mental well-being of the populations and their balanced fitting into the socio-ecological environment in which they live.
3. The exercise of private medical practice is permitted, in the conditions fixed by law.

Article 51. Family

1. As the fundamental element of the society, the family has the right to the protection of the society and of the State.
2. It is incumbent, especially, upon the State:
   1. To promote the social and economic independence of households;
   2. To promote the creation of a national network of maternal infant assistance;
   3. To cooperate with parents in the education of their children.

Article 52. Childhood

Article 53. Youth

Article 54. Senior citizens

Article 55. Education

1. Education, as a right recognized to all the citizens, strives for the whole formation of man and his active participation in the community.
2. It is the responsibility of the State to promote the elimination of illiteracy and permanent education, in accordance with a National system of instruction.
3. Compulsory education, Free education
   The State ensures basic compulsory and free education.
4. Access to higher education
   The State gradually promotes the possibility of equal access to the other levels of education.
5. Education is permitted through private Institutions, in the terms of the law.

Article 56. Culture and sports

1. Right to culture
   Conditions will be created so that all citizens may have access to culture are encouraged to participate actively in its creation and dissemination.
2. Right to culture
   The State preserves, defends and esteems the cultural patrimony of the Sao Tomean people.
3. It is incumbent upon the State to encourage and promote the practice and spreading of sports and of physical culture.

Article 57. Participation in public life

Article 58. Right to suffrage

Article 59. Right to access to public office

Article 60. Right of petition

Article 61. Right of indemnity

Article 62. Civic organizations

Article 63. Political Organizations

1. Right to form political parties
   Every citizen may form or participate in political organizations recognized by law which encompass the free and plural participation of the citizens in public life.
2. Restrictions on political parties
   Special law shall regulate the formation of political parties.

Article 64. National defense obligations

1. It is a privilege, honor and the supreme duty of a citizen to participate in the defense of the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the State.
2. Duty to serve in the military
   Every citizen has the duty of rendering military service under the terms of the law.
3. Treason to the Fatherland is a crime punishable by the most severe punishment.

Article 65. Taxes

1. Duty to pay taxes
   All citizens have a duty to contribute to public expenditure, under the law.
2. The taxes seek to satisfy the financial necessities of the State and a just distribution of income.

Article 66. Political participation of the citizens

Article 67. Organ of political power

1. The formation, the composition, the competence and the functioning of the organs of political power are those defined in the Constitution and in the law.
2. No organ of political power may delegate its powers to other organs, except in the instances and in the terms expressly foreseen in the Constitution and the law.

Article 68. Organs of Sovereignty

Article 69. The principle of the separation and interdependence of powers

1. Sovereign bodies shall observe the principles of separation and interdependence laid down in the Constitution.
2. No organ that exercises sovereignty and no organ of regional or local government may delegate its powers to other organs, except in the cases and under the circumstances expressly provided for in the Constitution and the law.

Article 70. Normative acts

1. Legislative acts are laws, decree-laws, decrees, regional decrees and regional executive decrees.
2. The laws and decree-laws are of equal value, subject to their subordination to the corresponding provisions of the published decree-laws in terms of the use of legislative authorization and the provisions that serve to develop the general basis for the legal regimes.
3. National vs subnational laws, Subsidiary unit government
   Regional decrees and regional executive decrees deal with matters of specific interest to the Autonomous Region of Príncipe which are not reserved to the National Assembly or to the Government, and they may not contain provisions contrary to the fundamental principles of the Republic’s general laws.
4. The decree-laws and decrees deal with matters concerning the organization and functioning of government.
5. The general laws of the Republic are those laws and decree-laws whose raison d’être involves unconditional application throughout the national territory.
6. No law can create other categories of legislative acts or grant other types of acts the power to, with external effectiveness, interpret, add to, modify, suspend or revoke any of their precepts.
7. The regulations shall specify the laws whose purpose it is to regulate or define the subjective and objective competence to their introduction.

Article 71. Referendum

1. Citizens with voting rights who are registered in the national territory, except as provided in paragraph 3 of Article 17, may be called upon to vote directly, with binding effect, in a referendum, by decree of the President of the Republic, on the proposal of the National Assembly or the government in matters for which they are competent, in the cases and in the terms contemplated in the Constitution and in the law.
2. International law
   The referendum can relate only to matters of national interest that should be decided by the National Assembly or by the Government through the adoption of an international convention or legislative act.
3. Specifically excluded from the scope of the referendum are amendments to the Constitution, the matters contemplated in Article 97 of the Constitution and questions and measures relating to the budget, tax and finance.
4. Each referendum shall only address one matter, and questions shall be formulated in terms of a yes or no, objectively, clearly and precisely worded, with a maximum number of questions to be fixed by law, which will also determine the other conditions for the drawing up and holding of referendums.
5. Municipal government, Subsidiary unit government
   The convening and holding of referendums between the date of convening and holding general elections for government bodies, members of the Regional Assembly of Príncipe and local government bodies is not permitted.
6. The President shall submit to mandatory prior review of the constitutionality and legality the proposed referendum that has been submitted by the National Assembly or by the Government.
7. The rules on the election of members to executive bodies shall apply, with the appropriate changes.
8. Referendum proposals that are rejected by the President of the Republic or are voted against by the electorate cannot be repeated in the same legislative session, unless a new National Assembly is elected, or until the Government is dismissed.

Article 72. Incompatibility

1. The functions of the President of the Republic are incompatible with any other public or private office.
2. Outside professions of legislators
   The functions of Deputy to the National Assembly, members of Government and of head of local power organs are subject to the incompatibilities established in the law.

Article 73. Oath of Office

Article 74. Control and Responsibility

1. The heads of organs of political power have the duty of maintaining the citizens and their organizations informed concerning public affairs, remaining subject to democratic control exercised through the forms of political participation established in the Constitution and the law.
2. Members of bodies with political power have political, civil and criminal liability for the actions and omissions committed in the exercise of their functions.

Article 75. Deliberations of collegial organs

Article 76. Publication of acts

1. The law determines the forms of publication of the laws and of the other acts of political power.
2. The lack of publication of the laws implies their legal inefficacy.

Article 77. Duties

Article 78. Election and assumption of office

1. Claim of universal suffrage, Head of state selection, Secret ballot
   The President of the Republic is elected by universal, free, direct and secret suffrage.
2. Minimum age of head of state, Eligibility for head of state
   Eligibility for election as President of the Republic is open only to Sao Tomean citizens of origin, the children of a Sao Tomean father or mother, who are over 35 years of age and have no other nationality, and who, in the three years immediately preceding the date of their candidature, have been permanently resident in the national territory.
3. The elected President of the Republic shall take office before the National Assembly on the last day of the term of the outgoing President or, in the case of an election resulting from the position having been vacated, on the eighth day following publication of the election results.

Article 79. Mandate

1. Head of state term length
   The President of the Republic is elected for five years.
2. Head of state replacement
   In the instance of vacancy, the election of the new President of the Republic will take place ninety days subsequent and he shall begin a new mandate.
3. Head of state term limits
   Re-election for a third consecutive term of office, or during the five-year period immediately following the end of the second consecutive mandate, is not permitted.
4. If the President of the Republic resigns, he cannot run in the next elections, nor can he run during the five-year period immediately following his resignation.

Article 80. Competences

Article 81. Competences in relation to other bodies

Article 82. Competence in international relations

Article 83. Promulgation and veto

1. The bills approved by the National Assembly and submitted to the President of the Republic must be promulgated by the latter, within a time limit of 15 days beginning on the day of its receipt.
2. Veto override procedure
   In case the promulgation is not confirmed, the bill will be reviewed by the National Assembly and if a favorable vote of the qualified majority of the deputies is obtained, the President must promulgate it within the space of eight days.
3. The normative acts of the Government referred to in subparagraphs c) and d) of Article 111 will be regarded as legally non-existent if, within twenty days of their receipt, they are not promulgated or signed by the President of the Republic.

Article 84. Decision-making

Article 85. Absence from the national territory

1. Standing committees
   The President of the Republic may not absent himself from the national territory without assent of the National Assembly or of its Permanent Commission, if the former is not in session.
2. Assent is dispensed with in the instances of travel not of official character not longer than five days, however the President must give prior advice of it to the National Assembly.
3. Failure to observe the provision of paragraph 1 will automatically result in the loss of office in accordance with the respective process, as defined by law.

Article 86. Criminal liability

1. For crimes committed in the exercise of his duties, the President of the Republic will be answerable to the Supreme Court.
2. The initiative for bringing criminal proceedings rests with the National Assembly on the proposal of one fifth of its Members and a resolution adopted by a two-thirds majority of its Members.
3. A criminal sentence shall result in removal from office and the impossibility of re-election.
4. For crimes committed outside the exercise of his duties the President of the Republic shall be answerable to an action brought before the common courts after ending his mandate.

Article 87. Interim substitution

1. During the temporary incapacitation of the President of the Republic, as well as during the vacancy of the office until the inauguration of the new President elect, the President of the National Assembly or should he be incapacitated, his substitute, shall assume the duties.
2. While exercising on an interim basis the duties of President of the Republic, the mandate as Deputy of the President of the National Assembly or of his substitute is suspended automatically.
3. The acting President cannot exercise the powers contemplated in subparagraph f) of Article 80 and subparagraph e) of Article 81.

Article 88. Definition and Composition

1. The Council of State is the political body that advises the President of the Republic.
2. The Council of State is presided over by the President of the Republic and is made up of the following members:
   1. The President of the National Assembly;
   2. The Prime Minister;
   3. The President of the Constitutional Court;
   4. The Attorney-General of the Republic;
   5. Subsidiary unit government
      The President of the Regional Government of Príncipe;
   6. Former Presidents of the Republic who have not been removed from office;
   7. Three citizens of recognized suitability and merit, appointed by the President of the Republic for the period corresponding to the duration of its mandate;
   8. Three citizens elected by the National Assembly, in accordance with the principle of proportional representation, for the period corresponding to the term of the legislature.

Article 89. Installation and term of office

1. The members of the Council of State are empowered by the President of the Republic.
2. The members of the Council of State contemplated in subparagraphs a) and e) of paragraph 2 of the preceding article retain their positions for as long as they exercise their respective duties and those contemplated in subparagraphs g) and h) remain in effect until their replacements assume the duties in question.

Article 90. Functioning and competence

1. Council of State meetings are not public.
2. The Council of State has the following duties:
   1. To draw up its regulations;
   2. Dismissal of the legislature
      To pronounce on the dissolution of the National Assembly;
   3. Cabinet removal, Head of government removal
      To pronounce on dismissal of the Government when this is necessary for ensuring the correct functioning of democratic institutions;
   4. Power to declare/approve war
      To pronounce on the declaration of war and the making of peace;
   5. Treaty ratification, International law, International organizations
      To pronounce on treaties that involve restrictions on sovereignty and the participation of the country in collective security or military international organizations;
   6. Designation of commander in chief
      To pronounce on the participation of the Armed Forces on operations abroad or the presence of foreign armed forces in national territory;
   7. To pronounce on other cases contemplated in the Constitution and, in general terms, to advise the President of the Republic in the exercise of his duties when requested to do so.
3. The deliberations of the Council of State are not of a binding nature.

Article 91. Form and publication of deliberations

1. The Council of State’s deliberations assume the nature of opinions.
2. The opinions of the Council of State contemplated in subparagraphs b) and e) of paragraph 2 of Article 90 are announced at the meeting convened for that purpose by the President of the Republic and are made public when the action to which they refer is undertaken.

Article 92. Role

Article 93. Composition and election

1. First chamber selection
   The National Assembly is composed of elected Deputies, within the terms of the law.
2. The Deputies represent all the people, and not just the electoral circles by which they are elected.
3. Size of first chamber
   The number of members of the National Assembly is fixed by the law.

Article 94. Powers of the Deputies

Article 95. Immunities

1. No Deputy may be inconvenienced, pursued, detained, imprisoned, judged or condemned for votes and opinions he may make during the exercise of his duties.
2. Standing committees
   Except in the instance of flagrante delicto and for a crime punishable by imprisonment and by consent of the National Assembly or of its Permanent Committee, Deputies may not be pursued or imprisoned for crimes committed outside their duties.

Article 96. Rights, prerogatives and duties

1. The rights, privileges and duties of Deputies are regulated by the law.
2. Removal of individual legislators
   The Deputy who is gravely missing his duties may be removed from the National Assembly, by secret vote, by a majority of two-thirds of the sitting Deputies.

Article 97. Competence

Article 98. Reservation of legislative competence

Article 99. Legislative and Parliamentary Procedure

1. Initiation of general legislation
   Legislative initiative is reserved to the Deputies and to the Government;
2. The deliberations of the National Assembly assume the form of laws, resolutions and motions.

Article 100. Legislative authorizations

1. The National Assembly may authorize the Government to legislate, by decree-law, on the matters contemplated in Article 98.
2. The legislative authorization must specify its purpose, its extent and its duration.
3. When the legislative term comes to an end and there is a change of Government, this marks the end of the legislative powers granted.

Article 101. Ratification of decrees-laws

Article 102. The Legislature

Article 103. Dissolution

1. The National Assembly may be dissolved in the event of severe institutional crisis that prevents its normal functioning, when this is necessary for the correct functioning of democratic institutions; for this purpose the act must first obtain a favorable opinion from the Council of State, otherwise it will not be valid.
2. Emergency provisions
   The National Assembly cannot be dissolved in the twelve months following its election, during the last six months of the mandate of the President of the Republic or while a state of siege or state of emergency is in force.
3. Failure to observe the provisions of the preceding point will result in the legal non-existence of the dissolution decree.
4. Standing committees
   Dissolution of the National Assembly does not adversely affect the mandate of its Members, nor the jurisdiction of the Permanent Committee, until the first meeting of the National Assembly following subsequent elections.

Article 104. Internal organization

1. Leader of first chamber
   The National Assembly approves its by-laws and elects, at the first meeting of each legislature, its President and the other members of its council.
2. Legislative committees
   The National Assembly creates permanent committees specialized by reason of subject matter and may institute contingent committees to occupy themselves with issues to be determined.

Article 105. Sessions

1. Budget bills, Legislative oversight of the executive
   The National Assembly meets in two ordinary sessions per year, one of which is dedicated specifically to evaluating the report of the activities of the Government and to the discussion and voting of the Budget of the State for the following fiscal year.
2. Extraordinary legislative sessions
   The National Assembly may meet extraordinarily in the instances prescribed in its By-laws or at the convocation of the President of the Republic.

Article 106. Presence of members of the Government

Article 107. Permanent Committee

1. The Permanent Committee of the National Assembly functions outside periods of effective functioning of the National Assembly, during the period in which it finds itself dissolved and in the remaining instances set forth in the Constitution.
2. The Permanent Committee is presided over by the President of the National Assembly and composed of the Vice Presidents and by Deputies prescribed in the By-laws.
3. The Permanent Committee is charged to:
   1. Follow the activity of the Government and of the Administration;
   2. Exercise the powers of the Assembly relative to the mandates of the Deputies;
   3. Promote the convocation of the Assembly whenever such be necessary;
   4. Prepare the opening of the Assembly sessions;
   5. Give assent to the absence of the President of the Republic from the national territory.

Article 108. Duties

Article 109. Composition

1. The Government is composed of the Prime Minister, of the Ministers and of the Secretaries of State.
2. The Prime Minister is the Head of Government, with responsibility for directing and coordinating its action and ensuring the execution of the laws.

Article 110. Designation

1. Head of government selection
   The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of the Republic, after consulting with the political parties represented in the National Assembly, in view of the election results.
2. Cabinet selection
   The Ministers and Secretaries of State are nominated by the President of the Republic, at the proposal of the Prime Minister.
3. Eligibility for head of government
   The appointment as Prime Minister is open only to citizens of Sao Tomean origin, the children of a Sao Tomean father or mother, and who have no other nationality.

Article 111. Competence

Article 112. The Council of Ministers

1. The Council of Ministers comprises the Prime Minister and the Ministers.
2. The Secretaries of State may be required to attend meetings of the Council of Ministers.
3. The duties of the Government contemplated in subparagraphs a), c), d), f), h), i), j), k), m) and n) of the preceding Article are exercised in the Council of Ministers.
4. There may be a Council of Ministers specializing in a given subject.

Article 113. Political responsibility

Article 114. Responsibility of the Members of Government

1. The Prime Minister is accountable to the President of the Republic and, in the context of the Government’s political responsibility, to the National Assembly.
2. The Ministers and Secretaries of State are accountable to the Prime Minister and, in the context of the Government’s political responsibility, to the National Assembly.

Article 115. Criminal liability of Members of the Government

1. A Member of Government who is definitively charged with a crime committed in the exercise of his duties punishable by a prison sentence of over two years is suspended so that the proceedings can take their course.
2. In the event of a definitive charge for a crime punishable by a prison sentence of up to two years, the National Assembly must decide whether or not the Member of Government is to be suspended for that same purpose.

Article 116. Consideration of the Government’s Program

Article 117. Dismissal of the Government

1. The following will result in dismissal of the Government:
   1. The beginning of a new legislature;
   2. Acceptance, by the President of the Republic, of a notice of resignation from the Prime Minister;
   3. The death or lasting physical incapacity of the Prime Minister;
   4. Rejection of the Government’s Program;
   5. Failure to obtain approval in a vote of confidence;
   6. Approval of a no-confidence motion by an absolute majority of the Deputies of the National Assembly in office.
2. Apart from the cases mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the President of the Republic may dismiss the Government when this is necessary to ensure the regular functioning of democratic institutions, after consulting the Council of State.

Article 118. Managing Government

1. If the Government is dismissed, it will continue to serve until the appointment and assumption of office by the Prime Minister of the new constitutional Government.
2. Before its Program is considered by the National Assembly, or after its dismissal, the Government’s activities will be limited to those actions that are strictly necessary for the ongoing management of public affairs and for ordinary administration.

Article 119. Ministerial solidarity

Article 120. Jurisdictional Function

1. The courts are sovereign organs with the power to administer justice on behalf of the People.
2. In the administration of justice it is incumbent upon the courts to assure the defense of the legally protected rights and interests of the citizens, to settle public and private conflicts of interest and to repress the violation of the laws.
3. The law may institutionalize non-judicial instruments and ways for settling conflicts.

Article 121. Independence

Article 122. Decisions of the courts

1. The decisions of the courts are founded upon the cases and in the terms prescribed in the law.
2. The decisions of the courts are obligatory for all public and private entities and prevail over those of any other authorities.

Article 123. Hearing of the courts

Article 124. Participation of the People

Article 125. Judges’ guarantees

1. Supreme/ordinary court judge removal
   Judges are unremovable and cannot be transferred, suspended, retired or dismissed except unless in situations provided by law.
2. Judges cannot be held responsible for their decisions, save for the exceptions prescribed in the law.

Article 126. Category of Courts

1. In addition to the Constitutional Court, there are the following categories of Courts:
   1. Structure of the courts
      The Supreme Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance, the Regional Court and the District Courts;
   2. The Court of Auditors;
2. Establishment of military courts
   There may also be military and arbitration courts.
3. Establishment of military courts
   The law determines the cases and the forms in which the courts contemplated in the preceding paragraphs may be established, organized and function.

Article 127. Supreme Court of Justice

Article 128. Criminal courts

1. The existence is prohibited of courts meant exclusively for adjudication of certain categories of crimes.
2. Establishment of military courts
   Excepting themselves from the provisions of the prior number are the military courts, with whom resides the judgment of essentially military crimes defined by law.

Article 129. Oversight of constitutionality

1. In the deeds submitted to judgment, the courts cannot apply norms which infringe upon what is provided in the Constitution or in the principles consecrated therein.
2. Constitutionality of legislation
   The question of unconstitutionality may be raised obligingly by the court, by the Justice Department or by any of the parties.
3. Constitutional interpretation
   Admitted a question of unconstitutionality, the case goes to the Constitutional Court, which will decide.
4. The decisions taken in the matter of unconstitutionality by the Constitutional Court shall have general binding force and shall be published in the Diário da República.

Article 130. Public Prosecutor’s Office

1. The Public Prosecutor’s Office oversees the rule of law, represents the public and social interest in the courts and is in charge of the penal system.
2. The Public Prosecutor’s Office is organized as a hierarchical structure under the direction of the Attorney-General of the Republic.

Article 131. Definition

1. The Constitutional Court is the court with specific competence for administer justice in matters of a constitutional-law nature.
2. The Constitutional Court meets whenever there is a matter requiring its judgment.

Article 132. Composition and Statutes of Judges

1. Constitutional court selection
   The Constitutional Court is composed of five Judges, appointed by the National Assembly.
2. Eligibility for const court judges
   Three of the appointed Judges must be chosen from among magistrates, and the others from among jurists.
3. Constitutional court term length
   The mandate of the Constitutional Court Judges is for a term of five years.
4. The President of the Constitutional court is elected by the respective Judges.
5. The Constitutional Court Judges enjoy the guarantees of independence, permanence, impartiality and freedom from liability.
6. The law establishes the immunities and other rules relating to the status of the Constitutional Court Judges.

Article 133. Competence

1. Constitutional interpretation
   The Constitutional Court has competence for assessing unconstitutionality and illegality, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 144 et sequitur.
2. The Constitutional Court also has competence for:
   1. Verifying the death and permanent physical incapacity of the President of the Republic, and to verify cases in which he is temporary prevented from exercising his functions;
   2. Head of state removal
      Verifying the removal from office of the President of the Republic, in the cases contemplated in paragraph 3 of Article 85 and paragraph 3 of Article 86;
   3. Pronouncing judgment in the last instance regarding the correctness and validity of actions performed in the election process, in accordance with the law;
   4. Verifying death and declaring incapacity to perform presidential duties on the part of any candidate for President of the Republic, for the purposes of paragraph 2 of Article 78;
   5. Regulation of political parties
      Verifying the legality of the setting up of political parties and their associations, assessing the legality of their names, signs and symbols, and ordering their respective disbandment, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the law;
   6. Referenda
      Verifying in advance the constitutionality and legality of national, regional and local referendums, including assessment of the requirements relating to the respective universe of electors;
   7. At the request of Members of the National Assembly , and in accordance with the provisions of law, judging appeals in response to dismissals and elections carried out in the National Assembly and in Regional and Local Assemblies;
   8. Judging actions brought to challenge elections and the deliberations of political parties against which the law permits appeals.
3. It is also the duty of the Constitutional Court to exercise other functions that are granted to it by the Constitution and the law.

Article 134. Organization and Operation

Article 135. General Principles

1. The Public Administration seeks the prosecution of the public interest, in the respect for the legally protected rights and interests of the citizens and by the constitutional institutions.
2. The Public Administration shall be structured so as to avoid bureaucratization, to bring the services to the populations and to ensure the participation of those interested in its effective management.
3. The law establishes the rights and guarantees of those managed, specifically against acts which harm their legally protected rights and interests.

Article 136. Duties

1. The organs of local power constitute the organized expression of the specific interests of the local communities where the Sao Tomean people dwell.
2. The organs of local power support themselves through the initiative and the creative capacity of the populations and act in close collaboration with the participatory organizations of the citizens.
3. The regional and local authority bodies have finances and assets of their own, in accordance with the law.

Article 137. Autonomous Region of Príncipe

1. The Island of Príncipe and the islets that surround it constitute an Autonomous Region, with political and administrative statutes of their own, taking their specific nature into account.
2. The Regional Assembly and the Regional Government are bodies of the Autonomous Region of Príncipe.

Article 138. Local governments

1. The Democratic Organization of the State comprehends the existence of local governments, such as Organs of Local Power, in accordance with the Law of Political-Administrative Division of the Country.
2. The local governments are collective territorial persons possessing representative organs which seek the pursuit of the particular interests of the respective populations without losing the participation of the State.

Article 139. District bodies

Article 140. Composition and election of District Assemblies

1. The number of members of each District Assembly is fixed by the law.
2. The members of the District Assemblies are elected by universal, direct and secret ballot of the resident citizens.

Article 141. Mandate

Article 142. District Council

1. The District Council, composed of a chairman and town councilors, is a district collegiate executive body elected from amongst the members of each District Assembly.
2. The District Council is politically accountable to the District Assembly and may be dissolved at any time, in accordance with the law.

Article 143. Competence of the regional and local authority bodies

1. In general terms the regional and local authority bodies have the following duties:
   1. To promote the fulfilment of basic needs in their respective communities;
   2. To implement development plans;
   3. To give impetus to the activities of all companies and other entities that exist in their respective context, with a view to increasing productivity and the economic, social and cultural progress of their people;
   4. To present to the political authority bodies of State all the suggestions and initiatives aimed at the harmonious development of the autonomous region and the districts.
2. The specific duties and modus operandi of these bodies are fixed by law.

Article 144. Positive unconstitutionality

1. Norms that contravene the provisions of the Constitution or the principles it enshrines are unconstitutional.
2. International law, Legal status of treaties
   The organic or formal unconstitutionality of duly ratified international treaties shall not prevent the application of their rules within the São Tomé and Principe legal order provided those rules are applied in the legal order of the other party, unless such unconstitutionality would result in the violation of a fundamental provision.

Article 145. Prior review of constitutionality

1. Constitutional court powers, International law, Head of government decree power
   The President may ask the Constitutional Court to undertake the prior review of the constitutionality of any norm in an international agreement or treaty that has been submitted for ratification, and any law or decree-law that it has been sent for promulgation.
2. The prior review of constitutionality must be requested within eight days from the date of receipt of the such provision.
3. In addition to the President of the Republic himself, the Prime Minister or one fifth of the Members of the National Assembly in office may ask the Constitutional Court to carry out a prior review of the constitutionality of any provision of law that has been sent to the President for promulgation as an organic law.
4. On the date that a provision to be promulgated as an organic law is sent to the President of the Republic, the President of the National Assembly shall inform the Prime Minister and the Parliamentary Groups of the National Assembly of this.
5. The prior review of the constitutionality referred to in paragraph 3 shall be requested within eight days of the date specified in the preceding paragraph.
6. Without prejudice to paragraph 1, the President is not permitted to enact the provisions referred to in paragraph 4 unless eight days have passed since their receipt, or before the Constitutional Court has pronounced thereon, when this intervention has been requested.
7. The Constitutional Court must pronounce within a time limit of twenty-five days which, in the case provided for in paragraph 1, may reduce be reduced by the President of the Republic on grounds of urgency.

Article 146. Effects of the decision

1. If the Constitutional Court rules for the unconstitutionality of a norm contained in any act or international agreement, the latter shall be vetoed by the President of the Republic and return it to the organ that passed it.
2. In the case referred to in paragraph 1, the provisions of law cannot be enacted unless the body that approved them expunges the norm ruled to be unconstitutional or, as the case may be, confirms the same by a two-thirds of the Members present, provided they represent an absolute majority of the Members in office.
3. If the provisions of law are reworded, the President of the Republic may call for a prior review of the constitutionality of any of its provisions.
4. If the Constitutional Court rules that the provision of an agreement or treaty are unconstitutional, it may only be ratified if the National Assembly approves it by two-thirds of the Members present, provided they represent an absolute majority of the Members in office.

Article 147. Abstract review of constitutionality and legality

1. The Constitutional Court may considerer and declare with generally binding force:
   1. Constitutional interpretation
      The unconstitutionality of any norm;
   2. The illegality of any norm contained in legislative acts on the grounds of the violation of a law with reinforced value;
   3. National vs subnational laws, Federal review of subnational legislation
      The illegality of any norms in regional acts as a result of violation of the Political Administrative Statute of the Autonomous Region of Príncipe or of the general legislation of the Republic;
   4. The illegality of any norm contained in provisions of law issued by bodies with sovereign power, as a result of violation of the law of the Autonomous Region of Príncipe as defined in its Statute.
2. Constitutionality of legislation
   The following may ask the Constitutional Court to declare unconstitutionality or illegality, with generally binding effect:
   1. The President of the Republic;
   2. The President of the National Assembly;
   3. The Prime Minister;
   4. The Attorney-General of the Republic;
   5. One tenth of the Members of the National Assembly;
   6. The Regional Legislative Assembly and the President of the Regional Government of Príncipe.
3. The Constitutional Court shall review and then declare, with generally binding effect, the unconstitutionality or illegality of any norm, provided it has found that norm to be unconstitutional or illegal in three specific cases.

Article 148. Unconstitutionality due to omission

1. At the request of the President of the Republic, or on the basis of infringement of the rights of the Autonomous Region of Príncipe, and of the President of the Regional Assembly, the Constitutional Court shall review and verify non-compliance with the Constitution due to omission of the legislative measures necessary for making constitutional norms enforceable.
2. When the Constitutional Court determines the existence of unconstitutionality due to omission, it shall notify the competent legislative body.

Article 149. Concrete review of constitutionality and legality

1. An appeal may be brought before the Constitutional Court against the decisions of courts:
   1. That refuse the application of any norm on the grounds of its unconstitutionality;
   2. That apply a norm whose unconstitutionality has been raised during the proceedings.
2. An appeal may also be brought before the Constitutional Court against the decisions of courts:
   1. That refuse the application of a norm in a legislative act on the grounds of its illegality in violating a reinforced law;
   2. That refuse the application of a rule in a regional act on the grounds of its illegality in violating the Political-Administrative Statute of the Autonomous Region of Príncipe or a general law of the Republic;
   3. That refuse the application of a norm in a provision of law issued by a body with sovereign power on the grounds of its illegality in violating the Political-Administrative Statute of the Autonomous Region of Príncipe;
   4. That apply a norm whose illegality has been raised during the proceedings on any of the grounds contemplated in subparagraphs a) , b) and c).
3. International law
   When the norm whose application has been refused is contained in an international convention, or in a legislative or regulatory act, the appeals provided for in subparagraph a) of paragraph 1 and paragraph a) of paragraph 2 of this Article are mandatory for the Justice Department.
4. The appeals provided for in subparagraphs b) and d) of paragraph 2 may be brought only by the party that has raised the question of unconstitutionality or illegality, and the law must regulate the procedures for the admission of such appeals.
5. An appeal may also be brought before the Constitutional Court, which is obligatory for the Justice Department, against court decisions applying a rule that the Constitutional Court itself has previously judged to be unconstitutional or illegal.
6. Appeals brought before the Constitutional Court are limited to questions of unconstitutionality or illegality, whichever applies.

Article 150. Effects of the declaration of unconstitutionality or illegality

1. The declaration of unconstitutionality or illegality has a generally binding effect from the entry into force of the rule declared unconstitutional or illegal and causes the revalidation of any norms that the said norm may have revoked.
2. However, in the case of unconstitutionality or illegality due to the infringement of a subsequent constitutional or statutory provision, the declaration takes effect only as of the date on which the latter comes into force.
3. Exceptions to this are cases on which judgment has been pronounced, save when the Constitutional Court decides to the contrary in relation to a norm that concerns criminal, disciplinary or offence-related matter and its content is less favorable for the accused.
4. When required for the purposes of legal certainty, reasons of fairness or an exceptional important public interest, which must be substantiated, the Constitutional Court may determine the effects of unconstitutionality or illegality in a narrower sense than that provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2.

Article 151. Initiative and time for revisions

1. The competence to initiative revisions pertains to Members of the National Assembly and the Parliamentary Groups.
2. The National Assembly may review the Constitution once five years have passed since the date of publication of the latest revision law.
3. Independent of any timeframe, the National Assembly may assume powers of constitutional revision by a three-fourths majority of Deputies in the full exercise of their office.
4. When a draft revision of the constitutional has been proposed, any other proposals must be presented within a time limit of thirty days.

Article 152. Approval and promulgation of amendments

1. Amendments to the Constitution are approved by a two-thirds majority of Members of the National Assembly in full exercise of their in office.
2. The Constitution shall be published, in its new text, together with the revision law.
3. The President of the Republic may not refuse promulgation of the revision law.

Article 153. New text of the Constitution

1. The amendments to the Constitution are inserted in their appropriate place by means of substitutions, deletions and the necessary additions.
2. After it has been revised, the new text of the Constitution shall be published together with the revision law.

Article 154. Material limits on revision

Article 155. Circumstantial limits on revision