| CAPE VERDE Republic of Cape Verde Republica de Cabo Verde Joined United Nations: 16 September 1975 Human Rights as assured by their constitution Updated 25 March 2013 |
PART II -- RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF CITIZENS
TITLE I -- GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Article 14 (Recognition of the inviolability of Rights, Liberties and Guarantees)
1. The State shall recognize the rights and liberties enshrined in the Constitution as being inviolable and shall guarantee their protection.
2. Any public authority shall have the duty to respect and guarantee the free exercise of the rights and liberties and the compliance with
the constitutional or legal duties.
Article 15 (Responsibility of the public entities)
1. The State and other public entities shall be liable for actions or omissions of their agents, that take place in the exercise of their public
functions or resulting therefrom and which, by any means, violate the rights, liberties and guarantees in detriment of the holder of such
rights, liberties and guarantees or of third parties.
2. The agents of the State or of any public entity shall be criminally and disciplinary responsible for actions or omissions which result in
violation of the rights, liberties and guarantees enshrined in the Constitution or established by law.
3. Everyone shall have the right to request compensation for the damages caused to him by the violation of his fundamental rights and
liberties.
Article 16 (Ambit and direction of rights, liberties and guarantees)
1. The laws and international conventions may establish rights, liberties and guarantees not established in the Constitution.
2. The ambit and the essential content of constitutional norms concerning rights, liberties and guarantees shall not be restrained through
interpretation.
3. The constitutional and legal norm concerning fundamental rights shall be interpreted and the gaps filled in conformity with the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
4. The rights, liberties and guarantees shall be limited by law only when expressly allowed by the Constitution.
5. The laws limiting rights, liberties and guarantees shall be necessarily of a general and abstract character and shall not have retroactive
effect, nor shall they diminish the ambit and the essential content of constitutional norms and they shall be strictly limited to the safeguard
of other constitutionally protected rights.
Article 17 (Legal force)
The constitutional norms concerning the rights, liberties and guarantees shall be binding on all public and private entities and shall be
directly applicable.
Article 18 (Right of Resistance)
Any citizen shall have the right not to obey any order that offends his right, liberties and guarantees and to resist by force any illegal
aggression, when the recourse to the public authority is not possible.
Article 19 (Protection of Rights, Liberties and Guarantees)
1. Every citizen shall have the right to request the Supreme Court of Justice, through the amparo appeal, the protection of his
constitutionally recognized fundamental rights, liberties and guarantees, in accordance with the law and pursuant to the following:
a) The amparo appeal shall only be filed against acts or omissions of public authorities, which are injurious of the fundamental rights,
liberties and guarantees, once all other means of ordinary appeal have been exhausted;
b) The amparo appeal shall be filed through a simple petition and have an urgent character and its procedure shall be based on the
summary principle.
2. Every citizen shall have the right to present, individually or collectively, to the public authority and to the representative organs of the
people, complaints or claims against acts or omissions of the public powers that offend or threaten to offend his rights, liberties and
guarantees.
Article 20 (Access to the Courts)
1. Every citizen shall have the right of access to judicial means, irrespective of his economic condition, and shall have the right to obtain,
in a reasonable period, the effective protection of his rights or legitimate interests from the courts.
2. Every citizen shall have the right of defense and counsel assistance, as well as the access to information and legal consultancy, in
accordance with the law.
Article 21 (Universality Principle)
1. Every citizen shall enjoy the rights, liberties and guarantees and be subject to the duties established in the Constitution.
2. Capeverdean citizens who reside or sojourn in a foreign country, shall enjoy the rights, liberties and guarantees and be subject to the
constitutionally established duties which are not incompatible with their absence from the national territory.
3. The law may establish restrictions to the exercise of the political rights and to the access to certain public functions or positions by
Capeverdean citizens who are not citizens by origin.
Article 22 (Principle of equality)
Every citizen shall have equal social dignity and be equal before the law. No one shall have privilege, benefit or be injured, deprived of any
right or exempted from any duty, on account of race, sex, ascendancy, language, origin, religion, social and economic conditions, or
political or ideological convictions.
Article 23 (Aliens and Stateless Persons)
1. The aliens and stateless persons who reside or sojourn in the national territory, shall enjoy the same rights, liberties and guarantees and
be subject to the same duties as the Capeverdean citizens, with exception of the political rights and the rights and duties reserved,
constitutionally or by law, to national citizens.
2. The aliens and stateless persons may exercise public functions of a predominantly technical character, in accordance with the law.
3. Rights not granted to aliens and stateless persons may be recognized to the citizens of the Portuguese speaking countries, except for
the access to being holders of the organs of sovereignty, the service in the Armed Forces and the diplomatic carrier.
4. The active and passive electoral capacity for the election of the holders of the organs of local administration may be granted by law to
aliens and stateless persons residing in the national territory.
Article 24 (Regime of rights, liberties, guarantees)
The principles set out under this title shall be applicable to the individual rights, liberties and guarantees, as well as to the fundamental
rights of analogous nature established in the Constitution, by law or in international convention.
Article 25 (Suspension of rights, liberties and guarantees)
The rights, liberties and guarantees shall only be suspended in case of the state of siege or emergency, in accordance with the provisions
of the Constitution.
TITLE II -- RIGHTS, LIBERTIES AND GUARANTEES
CHAPTER I -- INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS, LIBERTIES AND GUARANTEES
Article 26 (The right to life and to physical and moral integrity)
1. Human life and the physical and moral integrity of the human person shall be inviolable.
2. No one shall be submitted to torture, cruel, degrading or inhumane penalties and treatment and, in no circumstances, shall there be
death penalty.
Article 27 (The right to freedom)
1. The right to freedom shall be inviolable.
2. Freedom of thought, of expression, of association, of religion, of cult, of intellectual, artistic and cultural creation, of demonstration
and the remaining freedoms established in the Constitution, by law and in general or conventional international law, received in the internal
legal order, shall be guaranteed.
3. No one shall be obliged to declare his ideology, religion or cult, political or trade union affiliation. Article 28 (Right to freedom and
security of person)
1. Anyone shall have the right to freedom and security. No one shall be deprived, in part or in whole, of his freedom, save in case of a
condemnatory judicial sentence for the commission of acts punishable by law with imprisonment penalty or by judicial imposition of
security measures.
2. The preceding paragraph shall not apply to the deprivation of freedom for the time strictly necessary to the attainment of the objectives
set, in accordance with the conditions established by law, in one of the following cases:
a) Imprisonment "in flagrante delicto";
b) Strong evidence of the commission of voluntary crime punishable with imprisonment penalty, whose maximum limit is more than two
years and insufficiency or inappropriateness of measures of provisional liberty;
c) Non-compliance with the condition imposed on the indicted person under the regime of provisional liberty;
d) Detention or imprisonment to secure the obedience to judicial decision or the presence before the judicial authority competent for the
practice of or compliance with a judicial act;
e) Subjection to security measures, assistance and protection of minors or of senior persons who by law shall enjoy the same status as
the former;
f) Imprisonment or detention of persons against whom extradition or expulsion proceedings is underway;
g) Disciplinary imprisonment imposed on military and police agents with a guarantee of appeal to the competent court in accordance with
the law, after exhausting all the hierarchical means.
3. Any detained or imprisoned person shall be immediately informed, in an unequivocal and understandable manner, of the reasons for his
detention or his imprisonment and about his constitutional and legal rights and he shall be authorized to contact counsel directly or through
his family or person of his confidence.
4. The detained or imprisoned person shall not be obliged to make statements.
5. The detained or imprisoned person has the right to the disclosure of the identification of those responsible for his detention or
imprisonment or for his interrogation.
6. The detention or imprisonment of any person and the precise place where he is found shall be conveyed immediately to the family of
the detained or imprisoned person or to the person he indicates, with a summary description of the reasons which led to his detention or
imprisonment.
Article 29 (Preventive imprisonment)
1. Any person detained or imprisoned without being convicted shall be compulsory presented, in a period of not more than forty eight
hours to a competent judge who shall explain to him in clear terms the reasons for his detention or imprisonment, inform him about his
rights and duties, interrogate him in the presence of the defense counsel freely chosen by him, give him the opportunity to defend himself
and produce decisions, substantiating the reasons for the validation or the maintenance of his imprisonment.
2. Preventive imprisonment shall not be maintained whenever it can be substituted by security, bail or by any other more favorable
measure established by law.
3. The judicial decision of validation or maintenance of preventive imprisonment and the precise place where it will be carried out shall be
immediately conveyed to a family member of the detained or imprisoned person or to a person of his confidence that he indicates.
4. The preventive imprisonment with or without conviction is subject to the periods established by law and shall not be, in any case,
longer than thirty six months from the date of the detention or arrest, in accordance with the law.
Article 30 (Application of the Penal Law)
1. The penal responsibility shall be personal and intransmissible.
2. The retroactive application of the Penal Law shall be prohibited, except if the content of the most recent law is more favorable to the
indicted person.
3. The application of security measures the constituent elements of which are not established in the previous law shall be prohibited.
4. No penalty or security measures shall be applied unless they are expressly contemplated in a previous law.
5. No one shall be tried more than once for the commission of the same crime nor be punished with penalty not expressly established by
law or with penalty more severe than that established by law at the moment of the commission of the delinquent behavior.
6. The security measures that are restrictive of liberty based on serious mental abnormality which results in a dangerous situation may be
renewed successively, by judicial decision, for the time that the mental abnormality lasts and if the adoption of other measures that are not
restrictive of liberty is not clinically possible or advisable.
7. The provision of paragraph 2 does not impede the punishment, in accordance with domestic law, for action or omission which, at the
time they occurred, were considered criminal, pursuant to the principles and norms of general or common international law.
Article 31 (Prohibition of life imprisonment or imprisonment of an unlimited duration)
There shall not be, in any circumstances, penalty depriving of liberty, or security measure of a permanent character or with an unlimited
or indefinite duration.
Article 32 (Effects of penalties and security measures)
No penalty or security measure shall entail, as a necessary effect, the loss of civil, political or professional rights nor shall they deprive the
convicted person of his fundamental rights, except for the limitations inherent to the conviction and to the specific requirements for the
implementation of the condemnatory decision.
Article 33 (Principles of penal procedures)
1. Every indicted person shall be presume innocent until his conviction becomes "res judicata," and shall be tried in the shortest time
possible, compatible with the defense guarantees.
2. The indicted person shall have the right to choose freely his defense counsel to assist him in all procedural steps.
3. The indicted persons who, for economic reasons, are unable to hire defense counsel, shall have adequate judicial assistance to be
provided for by relevant institutes.
4. Criminal procedure shall be subject to the contradictory principle.
5. The right to a hearing and the right of defense in criminal procedure shall be inviolable and be guaranteed to every indicted person.
6. Any evidence obtained through torture, force, violation of the physical and moral integrity, abusive interference with correspondence
telecommunications, domicile or with private life or through other illicit means shall be null and void.
7. The hearings in criminal procedure shall be public, unless the preservation of personal, family or social intimacy require the exclusion
or the restriction of publicity.
8. No case shall be withheld from a court whose competence has been established in previous law.
9. The rights of the indicted persons to a hearing and defense in disciplinary process shall be secured, in accordance with the law.
10. The exercise of the right to a hearing and defense in processes of regulatory offences or in disciplinary processes, in which the
accused persons are military or police agents, shall be regulated by special law.
Article 34 (Habeas Corpus)
1. Any person detained or imprisoned illegally may apply for Habeas Corpus to the competent court.
2. Any citizen enjoying his political rights may apply for habeas corpus in favour of a person illegally detained or imprisoned.
3. The court, within a period of ten days, shall take a decision on the habeas corpus application.
4. The law will regulate the habeas corpus procedure.
Article 35 (Extradition and expulsion)
1. No Capeverdean citizen shall be extradited or expelled from his country.
2. Aliens or stateless persons shall not be extradited for political or religious reasons or on account of
offense of opinion.
3. The extradition for crimes punishable by the law of the requesting State with death penalty or life imprisonment or in situation in which
there is substantial reason to believe that the person to be extradited could be subjected to torture, inhumane, degrading or cruel treatment,
shall not be allowed.
4. The expulsion from the national territory of aliens and stateless persons authorized to reside in the country or that have requested
asylum shall only take place through judicial decision.
5. The extradition shall only be allowed in case where it is expressly provided for by law or by international convention.
Article 36 (The asylum right)
1. Aliens or stateless persons persecuted for political reasons or seriously threatened of persecution on account of their activity in favor of
national liberation, democracy or the respect for human rights, shall be granted the right of asylum in the national territory.
2. The law will define the statute of the political refugee.
Article 37 (The right to nationality)
No Capeverdean citizen by origin shall be deprived from nationality or from the prerogatives of citizenship.
Article 38 (The right to identity, good name and image)
1. The right to personal identity, civil capacity, good name, honor and reputation, to image and intimacy of personal and family life shall
be guaranteed.
2. Civil capacity shall only be limited through a judicial decision, in the cases and as provided or by law.
Article 39 (Right to choose profession and of access to civil service)
1. Every citizen shall have the right to choose freely his occupation, work or profession or to undertake his professional education, except
in cases of legal restrictions imposed on account of public interest or inherent to his own capacity or professional qualifications.
2. Every citizen shall have the right of access to civil service in conditions of equality, in accordance with the law.
3. No one shall be obliged to undertake a given work, except in compliance with a general public service that is equal for all or by virtue
of a judicial decision, in accordance with the law.
Article 40 (Inviolability of domicile)
1. The domicile shall be inviolable.
2. No one shall enter the domicile of any person or undertake therein search or seizure against the will of the latter, except when in
possession of judicial mandate issued in the cases of, and in conformity with, the form legally established or in case of flagrante delicto or
to assist in an emergency.
3. The law shall typify the cases in relation to which the competent judicial authority shall order the entry, search and seizure of valuables,
documents and other objects in the domicile.
4. In no circumstances the entry, search or seizure in the domicile during the night shall be allowed.
Article 41 (Inviolability of correspondence and telecommunications)
The secrecy of correspondence and telecommunications shall be guaranteed, except in cases in which, through judicial decision rendered
in accordance with the procedural criminal law, the interference with the correspondence and telecommunications by the public
authorities is allowed.
Article 42 (Utilization of computerized means)
1. The utilization of computerized means for registration and treatment of data that are individually identifiable, relative to political,
philosophical and ideological convictions or to religious faith, party or trade union affiliation and private life, shall be prohibited.
2. The law will regulate the protection of personal data stored in the computerized record, the conditions of access to the data banks, as
well as the establishment and the use, by public or private authorities, of such data banks or computerized software.
3. The access to the archives file, computerized records and data bases for information on personal data relative to third parties or the
transfer of personal data from one computerized file to another belonging to different services or institutions shall not be allowed, except
in cases laid out by law or by judicial decision.
4. In no circumstance shall there be a sole national number ascribed to Capeverdean citizens.
Article 43 (Habeas data)
1. Habeas data shall be granted to every citizen to secure his knowledge of information stored in files, archive or computerized records
concerning him, as well as to inform him of the objective of such information and to demand a correction or update of the data.
2. The law will regulate the habeas data procedure.
Article 44 (Marriage and filiation)
1. Everyone shall have the right to get married, in the civil or religious form.
2. The law will regulate the requirements and the civil effects of marriage and its dissolution, irrespective of the form of its celebration.
3. The spouses have equal civil and political rights and duties.
4. The children shall only be separated from their parents through judicial decision and always in cases provided for by law, should the
latter not comply with their fundamental duties towards the former.
5. The discrimination against children born out of wedlock or the use of any discriminatory designation concerning filiation shall not be
allowed.
6. Adoption shall be allowed and the law will regulate its forms and conditions.
Article 45 (Freedom of expression and information)
1. Everyone shall have the freedom to express and to disseminate his ideas through word, image and any other means and no one shall be
subjected to discomfort, on account of political, philosophical, religious and other opinion.
2. Everyone shall have the freedom to inform and to be informed, to search for, receive and disseminate information and ideas and in any
form, without limitations, discrimination or impediments.
3. The limitations in the exercise of these freedoms, by any type or form of censorship, shall be prohibited.
4. The freedom of expression and information shall have as its limits the right of every citizen to honor and to good name, to image and
intimacy of personal and family life, as well as to protection of the youth and the infancy.
5. The offences committed in the exercise of the freedom of expression and information shall entail civil, disciplinary and criminal
responsibility for the violator, in accordance with the law.
6. Every natural or juridical person shall have the right of reply and of correction, as well as the right of compensation for the damages
caused, as a result of offences committed in the exercise of the freedom of expression and information, in conditions of equality and
efficacy.
Article 46 (Freedom of the press)
1. The freedom of the press shall be guaranteed.
2. The provision of the previous article shall be applicable to the freedom of the press.
3. The freedom and the independence of the media in relation to the political and economic power and its non-subjection to censorship of
any type shall be guaranteed.
4. The expression and confrontation of ideas of different currents of opinion in the media owned by the public sector shall be guaranteed.
5. The State shall guarantee the impartiality of the media owned by the public sector, as well as the independence of its journalists in
relation to the Government, the Administration and to any other public entity.
6. The establishment of creation of newspapers and other publications shall not require administrative authorization nor shall they be
conditioned to prior deposit of security or any other guarantee.
7. The establishment or creation of radio or television stations shall require license to be granted through
public competition in accordance with the law.
8. The access to the sources of information shall be guaranteed to the journalists, in accordance with the law, and the protection of the
latter's professional independence and secrecy shall be ensured. No journalist shall be obliged to reveal his source of information.
9. The State shall ensure the existence and the functioning of a public service of radio and television.
10. The ownership and the financial means of the mass media shall be obligatory disclosed, in accordance with the law.
11. The seizure of newspapers and other publications shall only be allowed in cases of violation of the mass media law or whenever such
publications do not indicate the persons responsible for them.
Article 47 (Right of antenna, reply, and political argument)
1. The political parties shall have the right to:
a) A broadcasting time on public radio and television, in conformity with their representativeness and such other objective criteria as may
be defined by law;
b) Reply and political argument in relation to declarations of the government.
2. The right of broadcasting time may also be granted by law to the trade unions, enterprises and the religious institutions.
3. The right of reply shall be granted to all professional associations representative of the economic, social or cultural activities, as well as
to religious institutions.
4. During the electoral periods, the competitors shall have the right to a broadcasting time, on a regular and equitable manner, in all radio
and television stations, however their ambit or ownership may be, in accordance with the law.
5. The law will regulate the right of broadcasting time, reply and political argument established in this article.
Article 48 (Freedom of conscience, religion and cult)
1. The freedom of conscience, religion and cult shall be inviolable and everyone shall have the right, individually and collectively, to follow
a religion or not, to have a religious conviction of his own choice, to participate in the act of cult and freely express his faith and to
disseminate his doctrine or conviction, provided that he does not cause harm to the right of others or to the common good.
2. No one shall be discriminated against, persecuted, injured, deprived from his rights nor have any benefit or be exempted from his duties
on account of his religious faith, conviction or practice.
3. The churches and other religious communities shall be separated from the State and shall be independent and free in their organization
or in the exercise of their own activity, being them considered partners in the promotion of social and spiritual development of the
Capeverdean people.
4. The freedom of religious teaching shall be guaranteed.
5. The freedom of religious assistance in the hospital, assistance and prison establishments, as well as in the Armed Forces shall be
guaranteed in accordance with the law.
6. The right to use the mass media shall be recognized to churches in accordance with the law for the pursuit of their activities and goals.
7. The protection of the cult places, insignias and religious rites shall be guaranteed and their imitation or ridicule shall be prohibited.
8. The right to conscientious objection shall be guaranteed in accordance with the law.
Article 49 (Freedom to learn, educate and teach)
1. Everyone shall have the freedom to learn, educate and teach.
2. The freedom to learn, educate and teach encompasses the right:
a) To attend learning and education establishments and to teach therein without any discrimination, in accordance with the law;
b) To choose the field of education or programme;
c) To set up schools and educational establishments.
3. The fundamental right of the family to educate its children in conformity with the ethical and social principles, resulting from its
philosophical, religious, ideological, aesthetical, political and other convictions, shall be recognized.
4. The State shall not program education and culture in conformity with any philosophical, aesthetical, political, ideological or religious
directives.
5. Public education shall not be religious.
6. The State shall not monopolize teaching and education and the freedom to set up schools and educational establishments shall be
recognized to the communities, social groups and private individuals in general, in accordance with the law.
Article 50 (Freedom of movement and emigration)
1. Every citizen shall have the right to leave and to return freely to the national territory, as well as to emigrate.
2. The restrictions of the rights set out in the preceding paragraph shall only be imposed through judicial decision and shall always have a
temporary character.
Article 51 (Freedom of association)
1. The creation of associations shall be free and shall not require any administrative authorization.
2. The associations shall be free in the pursuit of their goals and shall not be subjected to the interference of the authorities.
3. The dissolution of the associations or the suspension of their activities shall only be deter-mined through judicial decision in accordance
with the law.
4. Armed associations or associations of a military or para- military type as well as those that aim at promoting violence, racism,
xenophobia or dictatorship or pursue goals contrary to criminal law shall be prohibited.
5. No one shall be obliged to be or to remain a member of an association.
Article 52 (Freedom of assembly and demonstration)
1. The freedom of assembly and peaceful demonstration and without arms shall be guaranteed to every citizen, including in places open to
the public, without the necessity for authorization.
2. The promoters of assembly or demonstration in places open to the public shall so inform the competent authority ahead of time.
Article 53 (Freedom of intellectual, artistic and cultural creation)
1. Intellectual, cultural and scientific creation, as well as the dissemination of literary, artistic and scientific work shall be free.
2. The law shall guarantee the protection of copyrights.
CHAPTER II -- RIGHTS, FREEDOMS AND GUARANTEES
OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
Article 54 (Participation in public life)
1. Every citizen shall have the right to participate in the political life, directly and through his freely elected representatives.
2. All citizens, with eighteen or more years of age shall have the right to be electors.
3. The voting right shall not be limited, unless by virtue of incapacity established by law.
Article 55 (Participation in the conduct of public affairs)
1. Every citizen shall have the right of access, in conditions of equality and liberty, to civil service and elected office, in accordance with
the law.
2. No one shall be harmed in his professional career, his employment or in the social benefits he is entitled to, on account of his holding of
public office or the exercise of his political rights.
3. The law shall guarantee the impartiality and the independence in the exercise of public office and shall establish the necessary
ineligibility criteria to that end.
Article 56 (Political Parties)
The establishment of political parties, as well as their merger, coalition or abolition shall be free, in accordance with the Constitution and
the law.
Article 57 (Right of petition, claim and complaint)
Every citizen shall have the right to present, in writing, individually or collectively, to the public authorities, petitions, complaints or claims
for the protection of his rights or against illegalities or abuse of power, in accordance with the law.
CHAPTER III -- RIGHTS, LIBERTIES AND GUARANTEES OF THE WORKERS
Article 58 (Right to work, social security, vacation and material assistance)
1. Work shall be a right of every citizen. The State shall have the duty to create the necessary conditions for the effective realization of
such right.
2. The right to adequate social security in case of illness, work accident, old age or involuntary unemployment, as well as to paid and
periodical vacation, rest, leisure and material assistance shall, progressively, be guaranteed to all workers, in accordance with the national
economic development.
Article 59 (Right to a pay and job security)
1. Everyone shall have the right to a pay proportionate to the quantity and the quality of work and to job security.
2. Layoffs for political or ideological motives shall be prohibited.
3. Layoffs without probable cause as established in law shall be illegal.
4. Every worker shall have also the right to the organization of work under dignifying conditions, to carry out his work duties under
hygienic and security conditions and to a maximum working day limit, as well as to a pause, leisure and to weekly rest.
5. Men and women alike shall get equal pay for equal work.
6. The law shall establish special protection for the minor's working conditions, for the disabled persons and women during their
pregnancy, as well as after the delivery and shall guarantee to women the working conditions that will allow them exercise their family
and maternal function.
Article 60 (National minimum wage and maximum working time limit)
The State shall determine, at the national level, the working time limits and shall create the conditions for the establishment of a national
minimum wage for the different sectors of activity.
Article 61 (Freedom of professional and trade union associations)
1. The freedom to establish trade union or professional associations shall be recognized to every work for the protection of his interests
and collective or individual rights.
2. The establishment of trade union or the professional associations shall not require administrative authorization.
3. Full organizational, functional and regulatory autonomy shall be guaranteed to the trade union associations and professional associations.
4. The trade union and the professional associations shall be bound by the principles of democratic organization and management, based
on the active participation of their members in all their activities and by the periodic election of their organs through secret ballot.
5. The trade union and the professional associations shall be independent from the employer, the State, the political parties, the Church or
religious communities.
6. The law will regulate the establishment, union, federation and the abolition of the trade union and professional associations and shall
guarantee their independence and autonomy from the State, employer, political parties and associations, the Church and religious
communities.
7. The law shall ensure the adequate protection of the workers' elected representatives against any limitations to the exercise of their
functions, persecution or threat against them in their working place.
Article 62 (Freedom of enrollment in trade unions)
No one shall be obliged to enroll in a trade union or professional association, nor remain trade-unionized or professionally associated, nor
pay contribution fees to trade union or professional associations in which he is not enrolled.
Article 63 (Right of trade unions and professional associations)
1. With a view to defending the workers rights, the trade unions shall have the right to participate, in accordance with the law:
a) in the organisms of social reconciliation;
b) in the definition of the policy of social security and other institutions aimed at protecting and defending the workers interests;
c) in the elaboration of the labor legislation.
2. The trade unions shall have the competence to conclude collective labor agreements.
Article 64 (The right to strike and prohibition of lock out)
1. The right to strike shall be guaranteed, and it shall depend on the workers to decide on the opportunity to exercise it and the interests
which they purport to protect with it.
2. The lock out shall be prohibited.
3. The law will regulate the exercise of the right to strike.
TITLE III -- ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES
Article 65 (Private economic initiative)
1. Everyone shall have the right to free private economic initiative, which shall be exercised in conformity with the Constitution and the
law.
2. Everyone shall have the right to set up enterprises and cooperatives, in accordance with the law.
Article 66 (Right to private property)
1. Everyone shall have the right to private property, as well as its transfer in life or as a result of death, in accordance with the
Constitution and the law.
2. The right to inheritance shall be guaranteed.
3. The requisition or expropriation for public reasons shall only take place in accordance with the law and always against the payment of a
just compensation.
Article 67 (The right to social security)
1. Everyone shall have the right to social security, in conformity with the national development, for his protection in the unemployment,
illness, disability, old age, or as an orphan and in all situations of lack or diminution of the means of subsistence or of the capacity to work.
2. The State shall ensure the gradual creation of the conditions that are indispensable to the exercise of these rights, namely through the
adoption of policies towards the setting up of a decentralized national system of social security and a national network of medical and
hospital services.
Article 68 (Health)
1. Everyone shall have the right to health and the duty to defend and promote it, irrespective of his economic condition.
2. The right to health shall be achieved through an adequate network of health services and the gradual creation of economic, social and
cultural conditions necessary to guarantee the improvement of quality of life of the populations.
3. With a view to guaranteeing the right to health, the State shall, namely:
a) Ensure, in conformity with the economic resources available, a national, universal and hierarchical health service, based on complete
coverage, priority being given to preventive activi ties.
b) Encourage the participation of the community in different levels of health services;
c) Coordinate and discipline public and private initiatives in the field of health;
d) Discipline and control the production, commercialization and the use of the chemical, biological, pharmaceutical and other means of
treatment, as well as the diagnoses.
Article 69 (Dwelling)
Everyone shall have the right to a dwelling which should have a minimum of dignity and, for this purpose, the State shall undertake to
promote, gradually and in conformity with the national economic development, the creation of the appropriate institutional, legal and
infrastructural conditions, foment and support the initiatives of the local communities and of the population and stimulate private housing
development and the access to privately owned housing.
Article 70 (Environment)
1. Everyone shall have the right to a healthy life and ecologically balanced environment and the duty to defend and conserve it.
2. The State and the municipalities, with the collaboration of the associations for environment protection, shall adopt policies for the
protection and conservation of the environment and shall ensure the rational utilization of all natural resources.
3. The State shall stimulate and support the creation of associations for the protection of the environment and natural resources.
Article 71 (Youth)
1. Every young person shall have the right to special protection from his family, the society and the State which should allow him to
develop his personality, his physical and intellectual capacity and integrate himself fully into the social, cultural, political and economic life.
2. The family, the society and the State shall promote the conditions for the free participation of young people in the political life and in the
economic and social development and for the realization of their social, cultural, political and economic rights.
3. The State and the society shall stimulate and support the creation of youth organizations aimed at pursuing cultural artistic, recreational,
sportive and educational goals.
4. Th State, in cooperation with the associations representing parents and education guardians, as well as the private institutions and the
youth organizations, shall adopt a national youth policy to promote and foment the professional education of young people, the access to
their first employment and the free intellectual and physical development of youth.
Article 72 (The right of the disabled and the elderly)
1. The disabled and the elderly shall have the right to special protection from their family, the society and the State, which should
guarantee to them priority in the public and private services attendance, special treatment and care, as well as the conditions necessary to
avoid their marginalization.
2. The State, in cooperation with the private entities and the disabled or the elderly associations, shall promote a national policy aimed at,
gradually:
a) guaranteeing the prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and integration of the disabled;
b) guaranteeing to the elderly and the disabled the economic, social and cultural conditions which should allow them to participate in the
social life;
c) sensitizing the community for the problems of the disabled and the elderly, as well as for the need to create the conditions aimed at
avoiding their isolation and social marginalization.
3. The State shall foment and support the special education and the creation of special schools for technical and professional education of
the disabled.
4. The State shall foment and support the creation of associations of the disabled and the elderly.
Article 73 (Education)
1. Everyone shall have the right to education.
2. The State shall ensure the elementary education, which shall be compulsory, universal and free of charge and whose duration shall be
established by law.
3. All the education shall be under State monitoring.
Article 74 (Education policy)
1. The State shall promote an education policy which should aim at the gradual elimination of analphabetism, the permanent education, the
creativity, the integration of the schools into the community and the civic education of the students.
2. The State shall guarantee to the students who have scarce economic resources the access to the various levels of education and
promote a policy of scholarships or economic aid based on the capacity and the personal merit of the student.
Article 75 (Public, private and cooperative education)
1. The State shall create a network of public education establishments aimed at satisfying the necessities of the population.
2. The State shall recognize the private and cooperative education and guarantee to the private entities or institutions, as well as to the
cooperatives the right to establish schools at different levels of education, in accordance with the law.
3. The State shall cooperate with the private schools or cooperatives with the aim of fomenting the widening of the education network,
the elimination of analphabetism, the permanent education, the quality of education, the training or the continued education of the teachers
and the remaining conditions necessary for the education improvement.
Article 76 (Participation in the education)
1. The teachers, parents, education guardians and students shall have the right to participate in the democratic management of the
schools, in accordance with the law.
2. The law will regulate the forms of participation of teachers, students and parents associations, as well as communities, institutions of a
scientific character and the professional and trade union associations in the formulation of the education policy.
Article 77 (Education and Culture)
1. Everyone shall have the right to education and culture.
2. Education should stimulate creativity, promote democratic participation of all in the national life, tolerance and solidarity and contribute
towards social progress and civil and moral education.
3. The State shall promote the democratization of the education and culture and shall, gradually, guarantee the access of everyone to the
enjoyment of cultural goods.
4. The State shall foment and support the creation of institutions and public or private associations which promote the education and
culture, as well as the protection of the cultural heritage.
5. The State shall support the dissemination of Capeverdean culture, namely in the midst of the Capeverdean communities spread out
around the world.
Article 78 (Physical education sport)
1. Everyone shall have the right to physical education and sport.
2. The State shall support and stimulate the establishment of sport associations or collectivities and, in collaboration with these
associations, shall promote the practice and the dissemination of physical education and sport.
Article 79 (Consumers)
The State shall support and foment the establishment of consumer associations and the law shall protect the consumer and guarantee the
protection of his rights.
TITLE I -- GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Article 14 (Recognition of the inviolability of Rights, Liberties and Guarantees)
1. The State shall recognize the rights and liberties enshrined in the Constitution as being inviolable and shall guarantee their protection.
2. Any public authority shall have the duty to respect and guarantee the free exercise of the rights and liberties and the compliance with
the constitutional or legal duties.
Article 15 (Responsibility of the public entities)
1. The State and other public entities shall be liable for actions or omissions of their agents, that take place in the exercise of their public
functions or resulting therefrom and which, by any means, violate the rights, liberties and guarantees in detriment of the holder of such
rights, liberties and guarantees or of third parties.
2. The agents of the State or of any public entity shall be criminally and disciplinary responsible for actions or omissions which result in
violation of the rights, liberties and guarantees enshrined in the Constitution or established by law.
3. Everyone shall have the right to request compensation for the damages caused to him by the violation of his fundamental rights and
liberties.
Article 16 (Ambit and direction of rights, liberties and guarantees)
1. The laws and international conventions may establish rights, liberties and guarantees not established in the Constitution.
2. The ambit and the essential content of constitutional norms concerning rights, liberties and guarantees shall not be restrained through
interpretation.
3. The constitutional and legal norm concerning fundamental rights shall be interpreted and the gaps filled in conformity with the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
4. The rights, liberties and guarantees shall be limited by law only when expressly allowed by the Constitution.
5. The laws limiting rights, liberties and guarantees shall be necessarily of a general and abstract character and shall not have retroactive
effect, nor shall they diminish the ambit and the essential content of constitutional norms and they shall be strictly limited to the safeguard
of other constitutionally protected rights.
Article 17 (Legal force)
The constitutional norms concerning the rights, liberties and guarantees shall be binding on all public and private entities and shall be
directly applicable.
Article 18 (Right of Resistance)
Any citizen shall have the right not to obey any order that offends his right, liberties and guarantees and to resist by force any illegal
aggression, when the recourse to the public authority is not possible.
Article 19 (Protection of Rights, Liberties and Guarantees)
1. Every citizen shall have the right to request the Supreme Court of Justice, through the amparo appeal, the protection of his
constitutionally recognized fundamental rights, liberties and guarantees, in accordance with the law and pursuant to the following:
a) The amparo appeal shall only be filed against acts or omissions of public authorities, which are injurious of the fundamental rights,
liberties and guarantees, once all other means of ordinary appeal have been exhausted;
b) The amparo appeal shall be filed through a simple petition and have an urgent character and its procedure shall be based on the
summary principle.
2. Every citizen shall have the right to present, individually or collectively, to the public authority and to the representative organs of the
people, complaints or claims against acts or omissions of the public powers that offend or threaten to offend his rights, liberties and
guarantees.
Article 20 (Access to the Courts)
1. Every citizen shall have the right of access to judicial means, irrespective of his economic condition, and shall have the right to obtain,
in a reasonable period, the effective protection of his rights or legitimate interests from the courts.
2. Every citizen shall have the right of defense and counsel assistance, as well as the access to information and legal consultancy, in
accordance with the law.
Article 21 (Universality Principle)
1. Every citizen shall enjoy the rights, liberties and guarantees and be subject to the duties established in the Constitution.
2. Capeverdean citizens who reside or sojourn in a foreign country, shall enjoy the rights, liberties and guarantees and be subject to the
constitutionally established duties which are not incompatible with their absence from the national territory.
3. The law may establish restrictions to the exercise of the political rights and to the access to certain public functions or positions by
Capeverdean citizens who are not citizens by origin.
Article 22 (Principle of equality)
Every citizen shall have equal social dignity and be equal before the law. No one shall have privilege, benefit or be injured, deprived of any
right or exempted from any duty, on account of race, sex, ascendancy, language, origin, religion, social and economic conditions, or
political or ideological convictions.
Article 23 (Aliens and Stateless Persons)
1. The aliens and stateless persons who reside or sojourn in the national territory, shall enjoy the same rights, liberties and guarantees and
be subject to the same duties as the Capeverdean citizens, with exception of the political rights and the rights and duties reserved,
constitutionally or by law, to national citizens.
2. The aliens and stateless persons may exercise public functions of a predominantly technical character, in accordance with the law.
3. Rights not granted to aliens and stateless persons may be recognized to the citizens of the Portuguese speaking countries, except for
the access to being holders of the organs of sovereignty, the service in the Armed Forces and the diplomatic carrier.
4. The active and passive electoral capacity for the election of the holders of the organs of local administration may be granted by law to
aliens and stateless persons residing in the national territory.
Article 24 (Regime of rights, liberties, guarantees)
The principles set out under this title shall be applicable to the individual rights, liberties and guarantees, as well as to the fundamental
rights of analogous nature established in the Constitution, by law or in international convention.
Article 25 (Suspension of rights, liberties and guarantees)
The rights, liberties and guarantees shall only be suspended in case of the state of siege or emergency, in accordance with the provisions
of the Constitution.
TITLE II -- RIGHTS, LIBERTIES AND GUARANTEES
CHAPTER I -- INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS, LIBERTIES AND GUARANTEES
Article 26 (The right to life and to physical and moral integrity)
1. Human life and the physical and moral integrity of the human person shall be inviolable.
2. No one shall be submitted to torture, cruel, degrading or inhumane penalties and treatment and, in no circumstances, shall there be
death penalty.
Article 27 (The right to freedom)
1. The right to freedom shall be inviolable.
2. Freedom of thought, of expression, of association, of religion, of cult, of intellectual, artistic and cultural creation, of demonstration
and the remaining freedoms established in the Constitution, by law and in general or conventional international law, received in the internal
legal order, shall be guaranteed.
3. No one shall be obliged to declare his ideology, religion or cult, political or trade union affiliation. Article 28 (Right to freedom and
security of person)
1. Anyone shall have the right to freedom and security. No one shall be deprived, in part or in whole, of his freedom, save in case of a
condemnatory judicial sentence for the commission of acts punishable by law with imprisonment penalty or by judicial imposition of
security measures.
2. The preceding paragraph shall not apply to the deprivation of freedom for the time strictly necessary to the attainment of the objectives
set, in accordance with the conditions established by law, in one of the following cases:
a) Imprisonment "in flagrante delicto";
b) Strong evidence of the commission of voluntary crime punishable with imprisonment penalty, whose maximum limit is more than two
years and insufficiency or inappropriateness of measures of provisional liberty;
c) Non-compliance with the condition imposed on the indicted person under the regime of provisional liberty;
d) Detention or imprisonment to secure the obedience to judicial decision or the presence before the judicial authority competent for the
practice of or compliance with a judicial act;
e) Subjection to security measures, assistance and protection of minors or of senior persons who by law shall enjoy the same status as
the former;
f) Imprisonment or detention of persons against whom extradition or expulsion proceedings is underway;
g) Disciplinary imprisonment imposed on military and police agents with a guarantee of appeal to the competent court in accordance with
the law, after exhausting all the hierarchical means.
3. Any detained or imprisoned person shall be immediately informed, in an unequivocal and understandable manner, of the reasons for his
detention or his imprisonment and about his constitutional and legal rights and he shall be authorized to contact counsel directly or through
his family or person of his confidence.
4. The detained or imprisoned person shall not be obliged to make statements.
5. The detained or imprisoned person has the right to the disclosure of the identification of those responsible for his detention or
imprisonment or for his interrogation.
6. The detention or imprisonment of any person and the precise place where he is found shall be conveyed immediately to the family of
the detained or imprisoned person or to the person he indicates, with a summary description of the reasons which led to his detention or
imprisonment.
Article 29 (Preventive imprisonment)
1. Any person detained or imprisoned without being convicted shall be compulsory presented, in a period of not more than forty eight
hours to a competent judge who shall explain to him in clear terms the reasons for his detention or imprisonment, inform him about his
rights and duties, interrogate him in the presence of the defense counsel freely chosen by him, give him the opportunity to defend himself
and produce decisions, substantiating the reasons for the validation or the maintenance of his imprisonment.
2. Preventive imprisonment shall not be maintained whenever it can be substituted by security, bail or by any other more favorable
measure established by law.
3. The judicial decision of validation or maintenance of preventive imprisonment and the precise place where it will be carried out shall be
immediately conveyed to a family member of the detained or imprisoned person or to a person of his confidence that he indicates.
4. The preventive imprisonment with or without conviction is subject to the periods established by law and shall not be, in any case,
longer than thirty six months from the date of the detention or arrest, in accordance with the law.
Article 30 (Application of the Penal Law)
1. The penal responsibility shall be personal and intransmissible.
2. The retroactive application of the Penal Law shall be prohibited, except if the content of the most recent law is more favorable to the
indicted person.
3. The application of security measures the constituent elements of which are not established in the previous law shall be prohibited.
4. No penalty or security measures shall be applied unless they are expressly contemplated in a previous law.
5. No one shall be tried more than once for the commission of the same crime nor be punished with penalty not expressly established by
law or with penalty more severe than that established by law at the moment of the commission of the delinquent behavior.
6. The security measures that are restrictive of liberty based on serious mental abnormality which results in a dangerous situation may be
renewed successively, by judicial decision, for the time that the mental abnormality lasts and if the adoption of other measures that are not
restrictive of liberty is not clinically possible or advisable.
7. The provision of paragraph 2 does not impede the punishment, in accordance with domestic law, for action or omission which, at the
time they occurred, were considered criminal, pursuant to the principles and norms of general or common international law.
Article 31 (Prohibition of life imprisonment or imprisonment of an unlimited duration)
There shall not be, in any circumstances, penalty depriving of liberty, or security measure of a permanent character or with an unlimited
or indefinite duration.
Article 32 (Effects of penalties and security measures)
No penalty or security measure shall entail, as a necessary effect, the loss of civil, political or professional rights nor shall they deprive the
convicted person of his fundamental rights, except for the limitations inherent to the conviction and to the specific requirements for the
implementation of the condemnatory decision.
Article 33 (Principles of penal procedures)
1. Every indicted person shall be presume innocent until his conviction becomes "res judicata," and shall be tried in the shortest time
possible, compatible with the defense guarantees.
2. The indicted person shall have the right to choose freely his defense counsel to assist him in all procedural steps.
3. The indicted persons who, for economic reasons, are unable to hire defense counsel, shall have adequate judicial assistance to be
provided for by relevant institutes.
4. Criminal procedure shall be subject to the contradictory principle.
5. The right to a hearing and the right of defense in criminal procedure shall be inviolable and be guaranteed to every indicted person.
6. Any evidence obtained through torture, force, violation of the physical and moral integrity, abusive interference with correspondence
telecommunications, domicile or with private life or through other illicit means shall be null and void.
7. The hearings in criminal procedure shall be public, unless the preservation of personal, family or social intimacy require the exclusion
or the restriction of publicity.
8. No case shall be withheld from a court whose competence has been established in previous law.
9. The rights of the indicted persons to a hearing and defense in disciplinary process shall be secured, in accordance with the law.
10. The exercise of the right to a hearing and defense in processes of regulatory offences or in disciplinary processes, in which the
accused persons are military or police agents, shall be regulated by special law.
Article 34 (Habeas Corpus)
1. Any person detained or imprisoned illegally may apply for Habeas Corpus to the competent court.
2. Any citizen enjoying his political rights may apply for habeas corpus in favour of a person illegally detained or imprisoned.
3. The court, within a period of ten days, shall take a decision on the habeas corpus application.
4. The law will regulate the habeas corpus procedure.
Article 35 (Extradition and expulsion)
1. No Capeverdean citizen shall be extradited or expelled from his country.
2. Aliens or stateless persons shall not be extradited for political or religious reasons or on account of
offense of opinion.
3. The extradition for crimes punishable by the law of the requesting State with death penalty or life imprisonment or in situation in which
there is substantial reason to believe that the person to be extradited could be subjected to torture, inhumane, degrading or cruel treatment,
shall not be allowed.
4. The expulsion from the national territory of aliens and stateless persons authorized to reside in the country or that have requested
asylum shall only take place through judicial decision.
5. The extradition shall only be allowed in case where it is expressly provided for by law or by international convention.
Article 36 (The asylum right)
1. Aliens or stateless persons persecuted for political reasons or seriously threatened of persecution on account of their activity in favor of
national liberation, democracy or the respect for human rights, shall be granted the right of asylum in the national territory.
2. The law will define the statute of the political refugee.
Article 37 (The right to nationality)
No Capeverdean citizen by origin shall be deprived from nationality or from the prerogatives of citizenship.
Article 38 (The right to identity, good name and image)
1. The right to personal identity, civil capacity, good name, honor and reputation, to image and intimacy of personal and family life shall
be guaranteed.
2. Civil capacity shall only be limited through a judicial decision, in the cases and as provided or by law.
Article 39 (Right to choose profession and of access to civil service)
1. Every citizen shall have the right to choose freely his occupation, work or profession or to undertake his professional education, except
in cases of legal restrictions imposed on account of public interest or inherent to his own capacity or professional qualifications.
2. Every citizen shall have the right of access to civil service in conditions of equality, in accordance with the law.
3. No one shall be obliged to undertake a given work, except in compliance with a general public service that is equal for all or by virtue
of a judicial decision, in accordance with the law.
Article 40 (Inviolability of domicile)
1. The domicile shall be inviolable.
2. No one shall enter the domicile of any person or undertake therein search or seizure against the will of the latter, except when in
possession of judicial mandate issued in the cases of, and in conformity with, the form legally established or in case of flagrante delicto or
to assist in an emergency.
3. The law shall typify the cases in relation to which the competent judicial authority shall order the entry, search and seizure of valuables,
documents and other objects in the domicile.
4. In no circumstances the entry, search or seizure in the domicile during the night shall be allowed.
Article 41 (Inviolability of correspondence and telecommunications)
The secrecy of correspondence and telecommunications shall be guaranteed, except in cases in which, through judicial decision rendered
in accordance with the procedural criminal law, the interference with the correspondence and telecommunications by the public
authorities is allowed.
Article 42 (Utilization of computerized means)
1. The utilization of computerized means for registration and treatment of data that are individually identifiable, relative to political,
philosophical and ideological convictions or to religious faith, party or trade union affiliation and private life, shall be prohibited.
2. The law will regulate the protection of personal data stored in the computerized record, the conditions of access to the data banks, as
well as the establishment and the use, by public or private authorities, of such data banks or computerized software.
3. The access to the archives file, computerized records and data bases for information on personal data relative to third parties or the
transfer of personal data from one computerized file to another belonging to different services or institutions shall not be allowed, except
in cases laid out by law or by judicial decision.
4. In no circumstance shall there be a sole national number ascribed to Capeverdean citizens.
Article 43 (Habeas data)
1. Habeas data shall be granted to every citizen to secure his knowledge of information stored in files, archive or computerized records
concerning him, as well as to inform him of the objective of such information and to demand a correction or update of the data.
2. The law will regulate the habeas data procedure.
Article 44 (Marriage and filiation)
1. Everyone shall have the right to get married, in the civil or religious form.
2. The law will regulate the requirements and the civil effects of marriage and its dissolution, irrespective of the form of its celebration.
3. The spouses have equal civil and political rights and duties.
4. The children shall only be separated from their parents through judicial decision and always in cases provided for by law, should the
latter not comply with their fundamental duties towards the former.
5. The discrimination against children born out of wedlock or the use of any discriminatory designation concerning filiation shall not be
allowed.
6. Adoption shall be allowed and the law will regulate its forms and conditions.
Article 45 (Freedom of expression and information)
1. Everyone shall have the freedom to express and to disseminate his ideas through word, image and any other means and no one shall be
subjected to discomfort, on account of political, philosophical, religious and other opinion.
2. Everyone shall have the freedom to inform and to be informed, to search for, receive and disseminate information and ideas and in any
form, without limitations, discrimination or impediments.
3. The limitations in the exercise of these freedoms, by any type or form of censorship, shall be prohibited.
4. The freedom of expression and information shall have as its limits the right of every citizen to honor and to good name, to image and
intimacy of personal and family life, as well as to protection of the youth and the infancy.
5. The offences committed in the exercise of the freedom of expression and information shall entail civil, disciplinary and criminal
responsibility for the violator, in accordance with the law.
6. Every natural or juridical person shall have the right of reply and of correction, as well as the right of compensation for the damages
caused, as a result of offences committed in the exercise of the freedom of expression and information, in conditions of equality and
efficacy.
Article 46 (Freedom of the press)
1. The freedom of the press shall be guaranteed.
2. The provision of the previous article shall be applicable to the freedom of the press.
3. The freedom and the independence of the media in relation to the political and economic power and its non-subjection to censorship of
any type shall be guaranteed.
4. The expression and confrontation of ideas of different currents of opinion in the media owned by the public sector shall be guaranteed.
5. The State shall guarantee the impartiality of the media owned by the public sector, as well as the independence of its journalists in
relation to the Government, the Administration and to any other public entity.
6. The establishment of creation of newspapers and other publications shall not require administrative authorization nor shall they be
conditioned to prior deposit of security or any other guarantee.
7. The establishment or creation of radio or television stations shall require license to be granted through
public competition in accordance with the law.
8. The access to the sources of information shall be guaranteed to the journalists, in accordance with the law, and the protection of the
latter's professional independence and secrecy shall be ensured. No journalist shall be obliged to reveal his source of information.
9. The State shall ensure the existence and the functioning of a public service of radio and television.
10. The ownership and the financial means of the mass media shall be obligatory disclosed, in accordance with the law.
11. The seizure of newspapers and other publications shall only be allowed in cases of violation of the mass media law or whenever such
publications do not indicate the persons responsible for them.
Article 47 (Right of antenna, reply, and political argument)
1. The political parties shall have the right to:
a) A broadcasting time on public radio and television, in conformity with their representativeness and such other objective criteria as may
be defined by law;
b) Reply and political argument in relation to declarations of the government.
2. The right of broadcasting time may also be granted by law to the trade unions, enterprises and the religious institutions.
3. The right of reply shall be granted to all professional associations representative of the economic, social or cultural activities, as well as
to religious institutions.
4. During the electoral periods, the competitors shall have the right to a broadcasting time, on a regular and equitable manner, in all radio
and television stations, however their ambit or ownership may be, in accordance with the law.
5. The law will regulate the right of broadcasting time, reply and political argument established in this article.
Article 48 (Freedom of conscience, religion and cult)
1. The freedom of conscience, religion and cult shall be inviolable and everyone shall have the right, individually and collectively, to follow
a religion or not, to have a religious conviction of his own choice, to participate in the act of cult and freely express his faith and to
disseminate his doctrine or conviction, provided that he does not cause harm to the right of others or to the common good.
2. No one shall be discriminated against, persecuted, injured, deprived from his rights nor have any benefit or be exempted from his duties
on account of his religious faith, conviction or practice.
3. The churches and other religious communities shall be separated from the State and shall be independent and free in their organization
or in the exercise of their own activity, being them considered partners in the promotion of social and spiritual development of the
Capeverdean people.
4. The freedom of religious teaching shall be guaranteed.
5. The freedom of religious assistance in the hospital, assistance and prison establishments, as well as in the Armed Forces shall be
guaranteed in accordance with the law.
6. The right to use the mass media shall be recognized to churches in accordance with the law for the pursuit of their activities and goals.
7. The protection of the cult places, insignias and religious rites shall be guaranteed and their imitation or ridicule shall be prohibited.
8. The right to conscientious objection shall be guaranteed in accordance with the law.
Article 49 (Freedom to learn, educate and teach)
1. Everyone shall have the freedom to learn, educate and teach.
2. The freedom to learn, educate and teach encompasses the right:
a) To attend learning and education establishments and to teach therein without any discrimination, in accordance with the law;
b) To choose the field of education or programme;
c) To set up schools and educational establishments.
3. The fundamental right of the family to educate its children in conformity with the ethical and social principles, resulting from its
philosophical, religious, ideological, aesthetical, political and other convictions, shall be recognized.
4. The State shall not program education and culture in conformity with any philosophical, aesthetical, political, ideological or religious
directives.
5. Public education shall not be religious.
6. The State shall not monopolize teaching and education and the freedom to set up schools and educational establishments shall be
recognized to the communities, social groups and private individuals in general, in accordance with the law.
Article 50 (Freedom of movement and emigration)
1. Every citizen shall have the right to leave and to return freely to the national territory, as well as to emigrate.
2. The restrictions of the rights set out in the preceding paragraph shall only be imposed through judicial decision and shall always have a
temporary character.
Article 51 (Freedom of association)
1. The creation of associations shall be free and shall not require any administrative authorization.
2. The associations shall be free in the pursuit of their goals and shall not be subjected to the interference of the authorities.
3. The dissolution of the associations or the suspension of their activities shall only be deter-mined through judicial decision in accordance
with the law.
4. Armed associations or associations of a military or para- military type as well as those that aim at promoting violence, racism,
xenophobia or dictatorship or pursue goals contrary to criminal law shall be prohibited.
5. No one shall be obliged to be or to remain a member of an association.
Article 52 (Freedom of assembly and demonstration)
1. The freedom of assembly and peaceful demonstration and without arms shall be guaranteed to every citizen, including in places open to
the public, without the necessity for authorization.
2. The promoters of assembly or demonstration in places open to the public shall so inform the competent authority ahead of time.
Article 53 (Freedom of intellectual, artistic and cultural creation)
1. Intellectual, cultural and scientific creation, as well as the dissemination of literary, artistic and scientific work shall be free.
2. The law shall guarantee the protection of copyrights.
CHAPTER II -- RIGHTS, FREEDOMS AND GUARANTEES
OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
Article 54 (Participation in public life)
1. Every citizen shall have the right to participate in the political life, directly and through his freely elected representatives.
2. All citizens, with eighteen or more years of age shall have the right to be electors.
3. The voting right shall not be limited, unless by virtue of incapacity established by law.
Article 55 (Participation in the conduct of public affairs)
1. Every citizen shall have the right of access, in conditions of equality and liberty, to civil service and elected office, in accordance with
the law.
2. No one shall be harmed in his professional career, his employment or in the social benefits he is entitled to, on account of his holding of
public office or the exercise of his political rights.
3. The law shall guarantee the impartiality and the independence in the exercise of public office and shall establish the necessary
ineligibility criteria to that end.
Article 56 (Political Parties)
The establishment of political parties, as well as their merger, coalition or abolition shall be free, in accordance with the Constitution and
the law.
Article 57 (Right of petition, claim and complaint)
Every citizen shall have the right to present, in writing, individually or collectively, to the public authorities, petitions, complaints or claims
for the protection of his rights or against illegalities or abuse of power, in accordance with the law.
CHAPTER III -- RIGHTS, LIBERTIES AND GUARANTEES OF THE WORKERS
Article 58 (Right to work, social security, vacation and material assistance)
1. Work shall be a right of every citizen. The State shall have the duty to create the necessary conditions for the effective realization of
such right.
2. The right to adequate social security in case of illness, work accident, old age or involuntary unemployment, as well as to paid and
periodical vacation, rest, leisure and material assistance shall, progressively, be guaranteed to all workers, in accordance with the national
economic development.
Article 59 (Right to a pay and job security)
1. Everyone shall have the right to a pay proportionate to the quantity and the quality of work and to job security.
2. Layoffs for political or ideological motives shall be prohibited.
3. Layoffs without probable cause as established in law shall be illegal.
4. Every worker shall have also the right to the organization of work under dignifying conditions, to carry out his work duties under
hygienic and security conditions and to a maximum working day limit, as well as to a pause, leisure and to weekly rest.
5. Men and women alike shall get equal pay for equal work.
6. The law shall establish special protection for the minor's working conditions, for the disabled persons and women during their
pregnancy, as well as after the delivery and shall guarantee to women the working conditions that will allow them exercise their family
and maternal function.
Article 60 (National minimum wage and maximum working time limit)
The State shall determine, at the national level, the working time limits and shall create the conditions for the establishment of a national
minimum wage for the different sectors of activity.
Article 61 (Freedom of professional and trade union associations)
1. The freedom to establish trade union or professional associations shall be recognized to every work for the protection of his interests
and collective or individual rights.
2. The establishment of trade union or the professional associations shall not require administrative authorization.
3. Full organizational, functional and regulatory autonomy shall be guaranteed to the trade union associations and professional associations.
4. The trade union and the professional associations shall be bound by the principles of democratic organization and management, based
on the active participation of their members in all their activities and by the periodic election of their organs through secret ballot.
5. The trade union and the professional associations shall be independent from the employer, the State, the political parties, the Church or
religious communities.
6. The law will regulate the establishment, union, federation and the abolition of the trade union and professional associations and shall
guarantee their independence and autonomy from the State, employer, political parties and associations, the Church and religious
communities.
7. The law shall ensure the adequate protection of the workers' elected representatives against any limitations to the exercise of their
functions, persecution or threat against them in their working place.
Article 62 (Freedom of enrollment in trade unions)
No one shall be obliged to enroll in a trade union or professional association, nor remain trade-unionized or professionally associated, nor
pay contribution fees to trade union or professional associations in which he is not enrolled.
Article 63 (Right of trade unions and professional associations)
1. With a view to defending the workers rights, the trade unions shall have the right to participate, in accordance with the law:
a) in the organisms of social reconciliation;
b) in the definition of the policy of social security and other institutions aimed at protecting and defending the workers interests;
c) in the elaboration of the labor legislation.
2. The trade unions shall have the competence to conclude collective labor agreements.
Article 64 (The right to strike and prohibition of lock out)
1. The right to strike shall be guaranteed, and it shall depend on the workers to decide on the opportunity to exercise it and the interests
which they purport to protect with it.
2. The lock out shall be prohibited.
3. The law will regulate the exercise of the right to strike.
TITLE III -- ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES
Article 65 (Private economic initiative)
1. Everyone shall have the right to free private economic initiative, which shall be exercised in conformity with the Constitution and the
law.
2. Everyone shall have the right to set up enterprises and cooperatives, in accordance with the law.
Article 66 (Right to private property)
1. Everyone shall have the right to private property, as well as its transfer in life or as a result of death, in accordance with the
Constitution and the law.
2. The right to inheritance shall be guaranteed.
3. The requisition or expropriation for public reasons shall only take place in accordance with the law and always against the payment of a
just compensation.
Article 67 (The right to social security)
1. Everyone shall have the right to social security, in conformity with the national development, for his protection in the unemployment,
illness, disability, old age, or as an orphan and in all situations of lack or diminution of the means of subsistence or of the capacity to work.
2. The State shall ensure the gradual creation of the conditions that are indispensable to the exercise of these rights, namely through the
adoption of policies towards the setting up of a decentralized national system of social security and a national network of medical and
hospital services.
Article 68 (Health)
1. Everyone shall have the right to health and the duty to defend and promote it, irrespective of his economic condition.
2. The right to health shall be achieved through an adequate network of health services and the gradual creation of economic, social and
cultural conditions necessary to guarantee the improvement of quality of life of the populations.
3. With a view to guaranteeing the right to health, the State shall, namely:
a) Ensure, in conformity with the economic resources available, a national, universal and hierarchical health service, based on complete
coverage, priority being given to preventive activi ties.
b) Encourage the participation of the community in different levels of health services;
c) Coordinate and discipline public and private initiatives in the field of health;
d) Discipline and control the production, commercialization and the use of the chemical, biological, pharmaceutical and other means of
treatment, as well as the diagnoses.
Article 69 (Dwelling)
Everyone shall have the right to a dwelling which should have a minimum of dignity and, for this purpose, the State shall undertake to
promote, gradually and in conformity with the national economic development, the creation of the appropriate institutional, legal and
infrastructural conditions, foment and support the initiatives of the local communities and of the population and stimulate private housing
development and the access to privately owned housing.
Article 70 (Environment)
1. Everyone shall have the right to a healthy life and ecologically balanced environment and the duty to defend and conserve it.
2. The State and the municipalities, with the collaboration of the associations for environment protection, shall adopt policies for the
protection and conservation of the environment and shall ensure the rational utilization of all natural resources.
3. The State shall stimulate and support the creation of associations for the protection of the environment and natural resources.
Article 71 (Youth)
1. Every young person shall have the right to special protection from his family, the society and the State which should allow him to
develop his personality, his physical and intellectual capacity and integrate himself fully into the social, cultural, political and economic life.
2. The family, the society and the State shall promote the conditions for the free participation of young people in the political life and in the
economic and social development and for the realization of their social, cultural, political and economic rights.
3. The State and the society shall stimulate and support the creation of youth organizations aimed at pursuing cultural artistic, recreational,
sportive and educational goals.
4. Th State, in cooperation with the associations representing parents and education guardians, as well as the private institutions and the
youth organizations, shall adopt a national youth policy to promote and foment the professional education of young people, the access to
their first employment and the free intellectual and physical development of youth.
Article 72 (The right of the disabled and the elderly)
1. The disabled and the elderly shall have the right to special protection from their family, the society and the State, which should
guarantee to them priority in the public and private services attendance, special treatment and care, as well as the conditions necessary to
avoid their marginalization.
2. The State, in cooperation with the private entities and the disabled or the elderly associations, shall promote a national policy aimed at,
gradually:
a) guaranteeing the prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and integration of the disabled;
b) guaranteeing to the elderly and the disabled the economic, social and cultural conditions which should allow them to participate in the
social life;
c) sensitizing the community for the problems of the disabled and the elderly, as well as for the need to create the conditions aimed at
avoiding their isolation and social marginalization.
3. The State shall foment and support the special education and the creation of special schools for technical and professional education of
the disabled.
4. The State shall foment and support the creation of associations of the disabled and the elderly.
Article 73 (Education)
1. Everyone shall have the right to education.
2. The State shall ensure the elementary education, which shall be compulsory, universal and free of charge and whose duration shall be
established by law.
3. All the education shall be under State monitoring.
Article 74 (Education policy)
1. The State shall promote an education policy which should aim at the gradual elimination of analphabetism, the permanent education, the
creativity, the integration of the schools into the community and the civic education of the students.
2. The State shall guarantee to the students who have scarce economic resources the access to the various levels of education and
promote a policy of scholarships or economic aid based on the capacity and the personal merit of the student.
Article 75 (Public, private and cooperative education)
1. The State shall create a network of public education establishments aimed at satisfying the necessities of the population.
2. The State shall recognize the private and cooperative education and guarantee to the private entities or institutions, as well as to the
cooperatives the right to establish schools at different levels of education, in accordance with the law.
3. The State shall cooperate with the private schools or cooperatives with the aim of fomenting the widening of the education network,
the elimination of analphabetism, the permanent education, the quality of education, the training or the continued education of the teachers
and the remaining conditions necessary for the education improvement.
Article 76 (Participation in the education)
1. The teachers, parents, education guardians and students shall have the right to participate in the democratic management of the
schools, in accordance with the law.
2. The law will regulate the forms of participation of teachers, students and parents associations, as well as communities, institutions of a
scientific character and the professional and trade union associations in the formulation of the education policy.
Article 77 (Education and Culture)
1. Everyone shall have the right to education and culture.
2. Education should stimulate creativity, promote democratic participation of all in the national life, tolerance and solidarity and contribute
towards social progress and civil and moral education.
3. The State shall promote the democratization of the education and culture and shall, gradually, guarantee the access of everyone to the
enjoyment of cultural goods.
4. The State shall foment and support the creation of institutions and public or private associations which promote the education and
culture, as well as the protection of the cultural heritage.
5. The State shall support the dissemination of Capeverdean culture, namely in the midst of the Capeverdean communities spread out
around the world.
Article 78 (Physical education sport)
1. Everyone shall have the right to physical education and sport.
2. The State shall support and stimulate the establishment of sport associations or collectivities and, in collaboration with these
associations, shall promote the practice and the dissemination of physical education and sport.
Article 79 (Consumers)
The State shall support and foment the establishment of consumer associations and the law shall protect the consumer and guarantee the
protection of his rights.
Though uninhabited, the Cape Verde Islands, originally referred to as The Gorgades by the
Greeks, have been known of since at least 42 CE. Though very likely visited by Arab Moors
or Wolof, Serer, or perhaps Lebu fishermen, the islands are believed to have been
uninhabited when rediscovered by the Portuguese in either 1456 or 1460 and permanently
settled in 1462. Salves and religious exiles were introduced to the island in the latter 15th
Century. Prosperity brought attacks by English pirates in the 16th century. The islands
suffered mass emigration to the United States in the early 19th century but developed
prominence as an ocean liner refueling station in the late 19th and early 20th centuries which
benefitted Portugal yet prompted ill treatment for the islanders fueling nationalist fervor. In
1951, Cape Verde was classified as a Portuguese overseas territory. While much of
Portuguese Africa had received its independence Portugal held on to Cape Verde fueling
one of the longest civil wars in Africa which culminated with Cape Verde's independence on
5 July 1975. Attempted to unite with Guinea-Bissau failed following a November 1980 coup in
Guinea-Bissau. The present constitution was adopted on 25 September 1992 which ended
one-party rule in Cape Verde. It was substantially amended in 1995 and 1999. Human rights
are enumerated beginning with Part II (Rights and Duties of Citizens), conform with the 1948
Universal Declaration of Human Rights of which Cape Verde is a signatory and are detailed
below. For a full English translation of Cape Verde's Constitution, click here.
Greeks, have been known of since at least 42 CE. Though very likely visited by Arab Moors
or Wolof, Serer, or perhaps Lebu fishermen, the islands are believed to have been
uninhabited when rediscovered by the Portuguese in either 1456 or 1460 and permanently
settled in 1462. Salves and religious exiles were introduced to the island in the latter 15th
Century. Prosperity brought attacks by English pirates in the 16th century. The islands
suffered mass emigration to the United States in the early 19th century but developed
prominence as an ocean liner refueling station in the late 19th and early 20th centuries which
benefitted Portugal yet prompted ill treatment for the islanders fueling nationalist fervor. In
1951, Cape Verde was classified as a Portuguese overseas territory. While much of
Portuguese Africa had received its independence Portugal held on to Cape Verde fueling
one of the longest civil wars in Africa which culminated with Cape Verde's independence on
5 July 1975. Attempted to unite with Guinea-Bissau failed following a November 1980 coup in
Guinea-Bissau. The present constitution was adopted on 25 September 1992 which ended
one-party rule in Cape Verde. It was substantially amended in 1995 and 1999. Human rights
are enumerated beginning with Part II (Rights and Duties of Citizens), conform with the 1948
Universal Declaration of Human Rights of which Cape Verde is a signatory and are detailed
below. For a full English translation of Cape Verde's Constitution, click here.