CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF BENI= N
Adopted at the referendum of 2 December 1990
We, the Beninese people,
Reaffirm
our fundamental opposition to any political regime founded on arbitrariness,
dictatorship, injustice, corruption, misappropriation of public funds,
regionalism, nepotism, confiscation of power, and personal power;
Express our firm will to defend and safeguard our dignity in the e=
yes
of the world and to find again the place and role as pioneer of democracy a=
nd
of the defence of human rights which were formerly ours;
Solemnly affirm our determination by this present Constitution to
create a state of law and pluralistic democracy in which the fundamental hu=
man
rights, public liberties, the dignity of the human being, and justice shall=
be
guaranteed, protected and promoted as the condition necessary for the genui=
ne
harmonious development of each Beninese in his temporal and cultural dimens=
ion
as well as in his spiritual;
Reaffirm our atta=
chment
to the principles of democracy and human rights as they have been defined by
the Charter of the United Nations of 1945 and the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights of 1948, by the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
adopted in 1981 by the Organization of African Unity and ratified by Benin =
on
20 January 1986 and whose provisions make up an integral part of this prese=
nt
Constitution and of Beninese law and have a value superior to the internal =
law;
Affirm our will to co-operate in peace and friendship with all peo=
ples
who share our ideals of liberty, of justice, of human solidarity based on t=
he
principles of equality, of reciprocal interest and of mutual respect for
national sovereignty and for territorial integrity;
Proclaim our attachment to the cause of African unity and pledge
ourselves to leave no stone unturned in order to realise local and regional
integration;
Solemnly adopt the present Constitution which shall be the Supreme=
Law
of the state and to which we swear loyalty, fidelity and respect.
...
Article 2
The Republic of Benin shall be one - indivisible, secular, and
democratic. Its principle shall be: “Government of the people, by the
people, and for the people”.
Article 3
National sovereignty shall belong to the people. No portion of the
people, no community, no corporation, no party or political association, no
trade union organisation nor any individual shall be able to abrogate the
exercise of it. Sovereignty shall be exercised in accordance with the prese=
nt
Constitution which is the Supreme Law of the state. Any law, any statutory =
text
and any administrative act contrary to these provisions shall be null and v=
oid.
Consequently, any citizen shall have the right to appeal to the Constitutio=
nal
Court against the laws, texts, and acts presumed unconstitutional.
Article 4
The people shall exercise their sovereignty through their elected
representatives by means of the referendum.
...
Article 5
Political parties shall co-operate in the expression of suffrage. =
They
shall be formed and shall freely exercise their activities under conditions
determined by the Charter of Political Parties. They must respect the
principles of national sovereignty, of democracy, of territorial integrity =
and
of the secularity of the state.
Article 6
Suffrage shall be universal, equal and secret. The electors shall =
be,
under the conditions determined by law, all Beninese nationals of both sexes
over the age of eighteen and in full possession of their civil and political
rights.
Article 7
The rights and duties proclaimed and guaranteed=
by
the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights adopted in 1981 by the
Organization of African Unity and ratified by Benin on January 20, 1986 sha=
ll
be an integral part of the present Constitution and of Beninese law.
Article 8
The human person is sacred and inviolable. The state has the absol=
ute
obligation to respect it and protect it. It shall guarantee him a full
blossoming out. To that end, it shall assure to its citizens equal access t=
o health,
education, culture, information, vocational training, and employment.
Article 9
Every human being has a right to the development and full expansio=
n of
his person in his material, temporal and intellectual dimensions, provided =
that
he does not violate the rights of others nor infringe upon constitutional o=
rder
and good manners.
Article 10
Every person has a right to culture. The state has the duty to
safeguard and promote the national values of civilisations, as much materia=
l as
spiritual, as well as the cultural traditions.
Article 11
All communities comprising the Beninese nation shall enjoy the fre=
edom
to use their spoken and written languages and to develop their own culture
while respecting those of others. The state must promote the development of
national languages of intercommunication.
Article 12
The state and public authorities shall guarantee the education of
children and shall create conditions favourable to this end.
Article 13
The state shall provide for the education of the youth by public
schools. Primary education shall be obligatory. The state shall assure
progressively free public education.
Article 14
Religious institutions and communities shall be able to co-operate
equally in the education of the youth. Private schools, secular or parochia=
l,
may be opened with the authorisation and control of the state. The private
schools may benefit from state subsidies under conditions determined by law=
.
Article 15
Each individual has the right to life, liberty, security and the
integrity of his person.
Article 16
No one shall be arrested or accused except by virtue of a law
promulgated prior to the charges against him. No citizen shall be forced in=
to
exile.
Article 17
Any person accused of an unlawful act shall be presumed innocent u= ntil his culpability has been legally established in the course of a public laws= uit during which all guarantees necessary to his free defence shall have been assured to him. No one shall be condemned for actions or omissions which, at the moment when they were committed, did not constitute an infraction accor= ding to the national law. Likewise, he may not have a more severe penalty inflic= ted than that which was applicable at the time when the offence was committed.<= o:p>
Article 18
No one shall be submitted to torture, nor to maltreatment, nor to
cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment. No one shall have the right to prev=
ent
a detainee or an accused person from being examined by a doctor of his choi=
ce.
No one may be detained in a penal institution if he does not fall under the
provisions of a penal law in force. No one may be detained for a duration
greater than forty-eight hours except by a decision of the magistrate before
whom he must have been presented. This delay may be prolonged only in
circumstances exceptionally provided for by law and may not exceed a period
greater than eight days.
Article 19
Any individual or any agent of the state who shall be found
responsible for an act of torture or of maltreatment or of cruel, inhumane =
or
degrading treatment in the exercise of, or at the time of the exercise of h=
is
duties, whether of his own initiative or whether under instruction, shall be
punished in accordance with the law. Any individual or any agent of the sta=
te
shall be absolved of the duty of obedience when the order received shall
constitute a serious and manifest infringement with respect to human rights=
and
public liberties.
Article 20
The domicile shall be inviolable. House visits or searches may be
carried out only according to the forms and conditions provided by law.
Article 21
The secrecy of correspondence and of communications shall be
guaranteed by law.
Article 22
Every person has the right to his property. No one shall be depriv=
ed
of his property except for state-approved usefulness and in exchange for a =
just
and prerequisite compensation.
Article 23
Every person has the right to freedom of thought, of conscience, of
religion, of creed, of opinion and of expression with respect for the public
order established by law and regulations. The exercise of a creed and the
expression of beliefs shall take place with respect for the secularity of t=
he
state. The institutions and the religious or philosophical communities shall
have the right to develop without hindrances. They shall not be subject to =
the
guardianship of the state. They shall regulate and administer their affairs=
in
an autonomous manner.
Article 24
Freedom of the press shall be recognised and guaranteed by the sta=
te.
It shall be protected by the High Authority of Audio-Visuals and Communicat=
ions
under the conditions fixed by an organic law.
Article 25
The state shall recognise and guarantee, under conditions fixed by
law, the freedom to go and come, the freedom of association, of assembly, of
procession and of demonstration.
Article 26
The state shall assure to everyone equality before the law without
distinction of origin, race, sex, religion, political opinion or social
position. Men and women are equal under the law. The state shall protect the
family and particularly the mother and child. It shall take care of handica=
pped
and aged persons.
Article 27
Every person has the right to a healthy, satisfying and lasting
environment and has the duty to defend it. The state shall watch over the
protection of the environment.
Article 28
The storage, handling, and removal of toxic wastes or pollutants
originating from factories and other industrial or cottage industry units
installed in the national territory shall be regulated by law.
Article 29
The transportation, importation, storage, burying and the discharg=
ing
on the national territory of toxic wastes or foreign pollutants and any
agreement relating to it shall constitute a crime against the nation. The
applicable sanctions shall be defined by law.
Article 30
The state shall recognise for all citizens the right to work and s=
hall
strive to create conditions which shall make the enjoyment of this right
effective and shall guarantee to the worker just compensation for his servi=
ces
or for his production.
Article 31
The state shall recognise and guarantee the rig=
ht
to strike. Each worker may defend, under the conditions provided by law, his
rights and interests whether individually, whether collectively, or by trade
union action. The right to strike shall be exercised under conditions defin=
ed
by law.
Article 32
The defence of the nation and of the integrity of the territory of=
the
Republic is a sacred duty for every Beninese citizen. Military service shal=
l be
obligatory. The conditions for the accomplishment of this duty shall be
determined by law.
Article 33
All citizens of the Republic of Benin have the duty to work for the
common good, to fulfil all of their civic and professional obligations, and=
to
pay their fiscal contributions.
Article 34
Each Beninese citizen, civilian or military, has the sacred duty to
respect, in all circumstances, the Constitution and the established
constitutional order as well as the laws and regulations of the Republic.
Article 35
Citizens responsible for a public office or elected to a political
office have the duty to fulfil it with conscience, competence, probity,
devotion, and loyalty in the interest of the common good.
Article 36
Each Beninese has the duty to respect and to consider his own kin
without any discrimination; and to keep relations with others that shall pe=
rmit
the safeguarding, the reinforcement and promotion of respect, dialogue and
reciprocal tolerance with a view to peace and to national cohesion.
Article 37
Public property shall be sacred and inviolable. Each Beninese citi=
zen
must respect it scrupulously and protect it. Any act of sabotage, vandalism,
corruption, diversion, dilapidation or illegal enrichment shall be suppress=
ed
under conditions provided by law.
Article 38
The state shall protect the rights and legitimate interests of
Beninese citizens in a foreign country.
Article 39
Foreigners in the territory of the Republic of Benin shall have the
benefit of the same rights and liberties as the Beninese citizens, and this
under the conditions determined by law. They must conform to the Constituti=
on
and to the laws and regulations of the Republic.
Article 40
The state has the duty to assure the diffusion and the teaching of=
the
Constitution, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, of the
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights of 1981 as well as all of the
international instruments duly ratified and relative to human rights. The s=
tate
must integrate the rights of the individual into the programs of literacy a=
nd
of teaching in the various scholastic and university academic cycles and in=
to
all the educational programs of the Armed Forces, of the Public Security Fo=
rces
and of comparable categories. The state must equally assure the diffusion a=
nd
teaching of these same rights in the national languages by all the means of
mass communication, and particularly by radio and television.
TITLE III: EXECUTI= VE POWER
...
Article 58
The President of the Republic, after consultation with the Preside=
nt
of the National Assembly and the President of the Constitutional Court, sha=
ll
be able to take the initiative of the referendum on any question relative to
the promotion of and the reinforcement of human rights …
…
Article 66
In case of a coup
d’état, or a putsc=
h,
of aggression by mercenaries or of any action by force whatsoever, any memb=
er
of a constitutional agency shall have the right and the duty to make an app=
eal
by any means in order to re-establish the constitutional legitimacy, includ=
ing
recourse to existing agreements of military or defence co-operation. In the=
se
circumstances for any Beninese to disobey and organise himself to put a che=
ck
to the illegitimate authority shall constitute the most sacred of rights and
the most imperative of duties.
...
TITLE V: THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
Article 114
The Constitutional Court shall be the highest jurisdiction of the
state in constitutional matters. It shall be the judge of the constitutiona=
lity
of the law and it shall guarantee the fundamental human rights and the publ=
ic
liberties. It shall be the regulatory body for the functioning of instituti=
ons
and for the activity of public authorities.
...
Article 117
The Constitutional Court shall rule obligatorily on:
...
· The constitutionality of laws
and regulatory acts deemed to infringe on fundamental human rights and on
public liberties, and in general on the violation of the rights of the
individual;
...
Article 120=
The Constitutional Court must rule within a period of fifteen days
after it has been informed of a text of a bill or of a complaint of the
violation of human rights and of public liberties. However, at the demand of
the government, if there is an emergency, this period shall be reduced to e=
ight
days. In this case, the submission of the matter to the Constitutional Court
shall suspend the deadline for the promulgation of the law.
Article 121
The Constitutional Court, at the request of the President of the
Republic or of any member of the National Assembly, shall give its opinion =
on
the constitutionality of laws in advance of their promulgation. It shall gi=
ve
its opinion automatically on the constitutionality of laws and any regulato=
ry
text deemed to infringe on the fundamental human rights and on the public
liberties. It shall decide more generally on the violations of the rights of
the individual and its decision must be reached within a period of eight da=
ys.
Article 122
Any citizen may complain to the Constitutional Court about the
constitutionality of laws whether directly or whether by the procedure of t=
he
exception of unconstitutionality invoked in a matter which concerns him bef=
ore
a court of law. This must grant a stay until the decision of the Constituti=
onal
Court which must be reached within a period of thirty days.
Article 123
The organic laws in advance of their promulgation; the Rules of
Procedure of the National Assembly, of the High Authority of Audio-Visuals =
and
of Communications, and of the Economic and Social Council before their
enforcement must be submitted to the Constitutional Court which shall give =
its
decision on their conformity to the Constitution.
Article 124
A provision declared unconstitutional may not be
promulgated or enforced. The decision of the Constitutional Court shall not=
be
subject to any appeal. They shall be imperative for public authorities and =
for
all civil, military and jurisdictional authorities.
TITLE VI: JUDICIAL= POWER
Article 125
Judicial power shall be independent of the legislative power and of
the executive power.
...
TITLE IX: TREATIES AND INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
Article 144
The President of the Republic shall negotiate and ratify treaties =
and
international agreements.
...
Article 146
If the Constitutional Court, upon a submission by the President of=
the
Republic or by the President of the National Assembly, shall have decided t=
hat
an international obligation allows a clause contrary to the Constitution, t=
he
authorisation to ratify it may occur only after the revision of the
Constitution.
Article 147
Treaties or agreements lawfully ratified shall have, upon their
publication, an authority superior to that of laws, without prejudice for e=
ach
agreement or treaty in its application by the other party.
...
TITLE XI: REVISION=
Article 154
The initiative for the revision of the Constitution shall belong
concurrently to the President of the Republic, after a decision taken in the
Council of Ministers, and to the members of the National Assembly. In order=
to
be taken into consideration, the draft or proposal of revision must be vote=
d by
a three-fourths majority of the members composing the National Assembly.
Article 155
The revision shall be agreed to only after having been approved by
referendum, unless the draft or the proposal involved shall have been appro=
ved
by a four-fifths majority of the members composing the Assembly.
Article 156
No procedure for revision may be instituted or continued when it s=
hall
undermine the integrity of the territory. The republican form of government=
and
the secularity of the state may not be made the object of a revision.
...