| PUERTO RICO Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (unincorporated, organized territory of the US with commonwealth status) Joined United Nations: 24 October 1945 Human Rights as assured by their constitution Updated 14 November 2012 |
ARTICLE II
BILL OF RIGHTS
Section 1. The dignity of the human being is inviolable. All men are equal before the law. No discrimination shall be made on account
of race, color, sex, birth, social origin or condition, or political or religious ideas. Both the laws and the system of public education
shall embody these principles of essential human equality.
Section 2. The laws shall guarantee the expression of the will of the people by means of equal, direct and secret universal suffrage and
shall protect the citizen against any coercion in the exercise of the electoral franchise.
Section 3. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. There shall be
complete separation of church and state.
Section 4. No law shall be made abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and
to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Section 5. Every person has the right to an education which shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to
the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. There shall be a system of free and wholly non-sectarian
public education. Instruction in the elementary and secondary schools shall be free and shall be compulsory in the elementary schools
to the extent permitted by the facilities of the state. No public property or public funds shall be used for the support of schools or
educational institutions other than those of the state. Nothing contained in this provision shall prevent the state from furnishing to any
child non-educational services established by law for the protection or welfare of children.*
* By Resolution number 34, approved by the Constitutional Convention and ratified in the Referendum held on November 4, 1952,
section 5 of article II was amended, adding to such section the following declaration: "Compulsory attendance at elementary public
schools to the extent permitted by the facilities of the state as herein provided shall not be construed as applicable to those who receive
elementary education in schools established under non-governmental auspices."
Section 6. Persons may join with each other and organize freely for any lawful purpose, except in military or quasi-military
organizations.
Section 7. The right to life, liberty and the enjoyment of property is recognized as a fundamental right of man. The death penalty shall
not exist. No person shall be deprived of his liberty or property without due process of law. No person in Puerto Rico shall be denied
the equal protection of the laws. No laws impairing the obligation of contracts shall be enacted. A minimum amount of property and
possessions shall be exempt from attachment as provided by law.
Section 8. Every person has the right to the protection of law against abusive attacks on his honor, reputation and private or family life.
Section 9. Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public use except upon payment of just compensation and in the manner
provided by law. No law shall be enacted authorizing condemnation of printing presses, machinery or material devoted to publications
of any kind. The buildings in which these objects are located may be condemned only after a judicial finding of public convenience and
necessity pursuant to procedure that shall be provided by law, and may be taken before such a judicial finding only when there is
placed at the disposition of the publication an adequate site in which it can be installed and continue to operate for a reasonable time.
Section 10. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and
seizures shall not be violated.
Wire-tapping is prohibited.
No warrant for arrest or search and seizure shall issue except by judicial authority and only upon probable cause supported by oath or
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons to be arrested or the things to be seized.
Evidence obtained in violation of this section shall be inadmissible in the courts.
Section 11. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to have a speedy and public trial, to be informed of the nature
and cause of the accusation and to have a copy thereof, to be confronted with the witnesses against him, to have assistance of
counsel, and to be presumed innocent.
In all prosecutions for a felony the accused shall have the right of trial by an impartial jury composed of twelve residents of the
district, who may render their verdict by a majority vote which in no case may be less than nine.
No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself and the failure of the accused to testify may be
neither taken into consideration nor commented upon against him.
No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same offense.
Before conviction every accused shall be entitled to be admitted to bail.
Incarceration prior to trial shall not exceed six months nor shall bail or fines be excessive. No person shall be imprisoned for debt.
Section 12. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist except in the latter case as a punishment for crime after the accused
has been duly convicted. Cruel and unusual punishments shall not be inflicted. Suspension of civil rights including the right to vote
shall cease upon service of the term of imprisonment imposed.
No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be passed.
Section 13. The writ of habeas corpus shall be granted without delay and free of costs. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus
shall not be suspended, unless the public safety requires it in case of rebellion, insurrection or invasion. Only the Legislative Assembly
shall have the power to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus and the laws regulating its issuance. The military authority
shall always be subordinate to civil authority.
Section 14. No titles of nobility or other hereditary honors shall be granted. No officer or employee of the Commonwealth shall accept
gifts, donations, decorations or offices from any foreign country or officer without prior authorization by the Legislative Assembly.
Section 15. The employment of children less than fourteen years of age in any occupation which is prejudicial to their health or morals
or which places them in jeopardy of life or limb is prohibited.
No child less than sixteen years of age shall be kept in custody in a jail or penitentiary.
Section 16. The right of every employee to choose his occupation freely and to resign therefrom is recognized, as is his right to equal
pay for equal work, to a reasonable minimum salary, to protection against risks to his health or person in his work or employment, and
to an ordinary-workday which shall not exceed eight hours. An employee may work in excess of this daily limit only if he is paid extra
compensation as provided by law, at a rate never less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which he is employed.
Section 17. Persons employed by private businesses, enterprises and individual employers and by agencies or instrumentalities of the
government operating as private businesses or enterprises, shall have the right to organize and to bargain collectively with their
employers through representatives of their own free choosing in order to promote their welfare.
Section 18. In order to assure their right to organize and to bargain collectively, persons employed by private businesses, enterprises
and individual employers and by agencies, enterprises and individual employers and by agencies or instrumentalities of the government
operating as private businesses or enterprises, in their direct relations with their own employers shall have the right to strike, to picket
and to engage in other legal concerted activities.
Nothing herein contained shall impair the authority of the Legislative Assembly to enact laws to deal with grave emergencies that
clearly imperil the public health or safety or essential public services.
Section 19. The foregoing enumeration of rights shall not be construed restrictively nor does it contemplate the exclusion of other
rights not specifically mentioned which belong to the people in a democracy. The power of the Legislative Assembly to enact laws for
the protection of the life, health and general welfare of the people shall likewise not be construed restrictively.
* Section 20. The Commonwealth also recognizes the existence of the following human rights:
The right of every person to receive free elementary and secondary education.
The right of every person to obtain work.
The right of every person to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, and especially to
food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services.
The right of every person to social protection in the event of unemployment, sickness, old age or disability.
The right of motherhood and childhood to special care and assistance.
The rights set forth in this section are closely connected with the progressive development of the economy of the Commonwealth and
require, for their full effectiveness, sufficient resources and an agricultural and industrial development not yet attained by the Puerto
Rican community.
In the light of their duty to achieve the full liberty of the citizen, the people and the government of Puerto Rico shall do everything in
their power to promote the greatest possible expansion of the system of production, to assure the fairest distribution of economic
output, and to obtain the maximum understanding between individual initiative and collective cooperation. The executive and judicial
branches shall bear in mind this duty and shall construe the laws that tend to fulfill it in the most favorable manner possible.
* By Resolution number 34, approved by the Constitutional Convention and ratified in the Referendum held on November 4, 1962,
section 20 of article II was eliminated.
BILL OF RIGHTS
Section 1. The dignity of the human being is inviolable. All men are equal before the law. No discrimination shall be made on account
of race, color, sex, birth, social origin or condition, or political or religious ideas. Both the laws and the system of public education
shall embody these principles of essential human equality.
Section 2. The laws shall guarantee the expression of the will of the people by means of equal, direct and secret universal suffrage and
shall protect the citizen against any coercion in the exercise of the electoral franchise.
Section 3. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. There shall be
complete separation of church and state.
Section 4. No law shall be made abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and
to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Section 5. Every person has the right to an education which shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to
the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. There shall be a system of free and wholly non-sectarian
public education. Instruction in the elementary and secondary schools shall be free and shall be compulsory in the elementary schools
to the extent permitted by the facilities of the state. No public property or public funds shall be used for the support of schools or
educational institutions other than those of the state. Nothing contained in this provision shall prevent the state from furnishing to any
child non-educational services established by law for the protection or welfare of children.*
* By Resolution number 34, approved by the Constitutional Convention and ratified in the Referendum held on November 4, 1952,
section 5 of article II was amended, adding to such section the following declaration: "Compulsory attendance at elementary public
schools to the extent permitted by the facilities of the state as herein provided shall not be construed as applicable to those who receive
elementary education in schools established under non-governmental auspices."
Section 6. Persons may join with each other and organize freely for any lawful purpose, except in military or quasi-military
organizations.
Section 7. The right to life, liberty and the enjoyment of property is recognized as a fundamental right of man. The death penalty shall
not exist. No person shall be deprived of his liberty or property without due process of law. No person in Puerto Rico shall be denied
the equal protection of the laws. No laws impairing the obligation of contracts shall be enacted. A minimum amount of property and
possessions shall be exempt from attachment as provided by law.
Section 8. Every person has the right to the protection of law against abusive attacks on his honor, reputation and private or family life.
Section 9. Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public use except upon payment of just compensation and in the manner
provided by law. No law shall be enacted authorizing condemnation of printing presses, machinery or material devoted to publications
of any kind. The buildings in which these objects are located may be condemned only after a judicial finding of public convenience and
necessity pursuant to procedure that shall be provided by law, and may be taken before such a judicial finding only when there is
placed at the disposition of the publication an adequate site in which it can be installed and continue to operate for a reasonable time.
Section 10. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and
seizures shall not be violated.
Wire-tapping is prohibited.
No warrant for arrest or search and seizure shall issue except by judicial authority and only upon probable cause supported by oath or
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons to be arrested or the things to be seized.
Evidence obtained in violation of this section shall be inadmissible in the courts.
Section 11. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to have a speedy and public trial, to be informed of the nature
and cause of the accusation and to have a copy thereof, to be confronted with the witnesses against him, to have assistance of
counsel, and to be presumed innocent.
In all prosecutions for a felony the accused shall have the right of trial by an impartial jury composed of twelve residents of the
district, who may render their verdict by a majority vote which in no case may be less than nine.
No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself and the failure of the accused to testify may be
neither taken into consideration nor commented upon against him.
No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same offense.
Before conviction every accused shall be entitled to be admitted to bail.
Incarceration prior to trial shall not exceed six months nor shall bail or fines be excessive. No person shall be imprisoned for debt.
Section 12. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist except in the latter case as a punishment for crime after the accused
has been duly convicted. Cruel and unusual punishments shall not be inflicted. Suspension of civil rights including the right to vote
shall cease upon service of the term of imprisonment imposed.
No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be passed.
Section 13. The writ of habeas corpus shall be granted without delay and free of costs. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus
shall not be suspended, unless the public safety requires it in case of rebellion, insurrection or invasion. Only the Legislative Assembly
shall have the power to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus and the laws regulating its issuance. The military authority
shall always be subordinate to civil authority.
Section 14. No titles of nobility or other hereditary honors shall be granted. No officer or employee of the Commonwealth shall accept
gifts, donations, decorations or offices from any foreign country or officer without prior authorization by the Legislative Assembly.
Section 15. The employment of children less than fourteen years of age in any occupation which is prejudicial to their health or morals
or which places them in jeopardy of life or limb is prohibited.
No child less than sixteen years of age shall be kept in custody in a jail or penitentiary.
Section 16. The right of every employee to choose his occupation freely and to resign therefrom is recognized, as is his right to equal
pay for equal work, to a reasonable minimum salary, to protection against risks to his health or person in his work or employment, and
to an ordinary-workday which shall not exceed eight hours. An employee may work in excess of this daily limit only if he is paid extra
compensation as provided by law, at a rate never less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which he is employed.
Section 17. Persons employed by private businesses, enterprises and individual employers and by agencies or instrumentalities of the
government operating as private businesses or enterprises, shall have the right to organize and to bargain collectively with their
employers through representatives of their own free choosing in order to promote their welfare.
Section 18. In order to assure their right to organize and to bargain collectively, persons employed by private businesses, enterprises
and individual employers and by agencies, enterprises and individual employers and by agencies or instrumentalities of the government
operating as private businesses or enterprises, in their direct relations with their own employers shall have the right to strike, to picket
and to engage in other legal concerted activities.
Nothing herein contained shall impair the authority of the Legislative Assembly to enact laws to deal with grave emergencies that
clearly imperil the public health or safety or essential public services.
Section 19. The foregoing enumeration of rights shall not be construed restrictively nor does it contemplate the exclusion of other
rights not specifically mentioned which belong to the people in a democracy. The power of the Legislative Assembly to enact laws for
the protection of the life, health and general welfare of the people shall likewise not be construed restrictively.
* Section 20. The Commonwealth also recognizes the existence of the following human rights:
The right of every person to receive free elementary and secondary education.
The right of every person to obtain work.
The right of every person to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, and especially to
food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services.
The right of every person to social protection in the event of unemployment, sickness, old age or disability.
The right of motherhood and childhood to special care and assistance.
The rights set forth in this section are closely connected with the progressive development of the economy of the Commonwealth and
require, for their full effectiveness, sufficient resources and an agricultural and industrial development not yet attained by the Puerto
Rican community.
In the light of their duty to achieve the full liberty of the citizen, the people and the government of Puerto Rico shall do everything in
their power to promote the greatest possible expansion of the system of production, to assure the fairest distribution of economic
output, and to obtain the maximum understanding between individual initiative and collective cooperation. The executive and judicial
branches shall bear in mind this duty and shall construe the laws that tend to fulfill it in the most favorable manner possible.
* By Resolution number 34, approved by the Constitutional Convention and ratified in the Referendum held on November 4, 1962,
section 20 of article II was eliminated.
Some scholars suggest that settlement of the island began about 4,000 years ago with the
Ortoiroid culture from the Orinoco region in South America. Various tribes jockeyed for
power over the centuries with the Taino culture achieving dominance by about 1,000 C.E.
On 19 November 1493, Columbus landed on the island during his second voyage and
named the island San Juan Bautista. The second settlement, Puerto Rico was preferred and
sometime in the 1520's the island assumed the name of the port. For 400 years, the great
powers of Europe launched invasions to contest for possession of the island. Throughout
the 19th century, pressure began to be put on Spain to grant independence or a greater
degree of autonomy. The struggle for autonomy came close to achieving its goal when on 25
November, 1897, the Carta Autonómica (Autonomic Charter), which conceded political and
administrative autonomy to the island, was approved in Spain. Independence was short
lived as the new government took power 9 February 1898 but was invaded by the United
States on 26 July 1898 with nine ships and 3,300 men from the U.S. Naval base at
Guantanamo. The island was ceded to the United States by Spain at the signing of the Treaty
of Paris on 10 December 1898. U.S. military rule dominated the island until the establishment
of a civil structure put into place on 2 April 1900. The Jones Act of 2 March 1917 established
Puerto Rico as a U.S. territory with citizenship granted and the promulgation of a Bill of
Rights. The right to elect their own governor was granted in 1946 and on 4 July 1950,
President Harry Truman signed Public Act 600, which allowed Puerto Ricans to draft their
own constitution establishing the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Over the last 57 years
various bids for both statehood and independence have been launched but thus far, no
plurality for either initiative has been achieved. The present constitution went into effect on
25 July 1952 and conforms to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights of which the
United States is a signatory. Those passages specifically relating to human rights are
detailed below. For a full English translation of Puerto Rico's Constitution, click here.
Ortoiroid culture from the Orinoco region in South America. Various tribes jockeyed for
power over the centuries with the Taino culture achieving dominance by about 1,000 C.E.
On 19 November 1493, Columbus landed on the island during his second voyage and
named the island San Juan Bautista. The second settlement, Puerto Rico was preferred and
sometime in the 1520's the island assumed the name of the port. For 400 years, the great
powers of Europe launched invasions to contest for possession of the island. Throughout
the 19th century, pressure began to be put on Spain to grant independence or a greater
degree of autonomy. The struggle for autonomy came close to achieving its goal when on 25
November, 1897, the Carta Autonómica (Autonomic Charter), which conceded political and
administrative autonomy to the island, was approved in Spain. Independence was short
lived as the new government took power 9 February 1898 but was invaded by the United
States on 26 July 1898 with nine ships and 3,300 men from the U.S. Naval base at
Guantanamo. The island was ceded to the United States by Spain at the signing of the Treaty
of Paris on 10 December 1898. U.S. military rule dominated the island until the establishment
of a civil structure put into place on 2 April 1900. The Jones Act of 2 March 1917 established
Puerto Rico as a U.S. territory with citizenship granted and the promulgation of a Bill of
Rights. The right to elect their own governor was granted in 1946 and on 4 July 1950,
President Harry Truman signed Public Act 600, which allowed Puerto Ricans to draft their
own constitution establishing the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Over the last 57 years
various bids for both statehood and independence have been launched but thus far, no
plurality for either initiative has been achieved. The present constitution went into effect on
25 July 1952 and conforms to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights of which the
United States is a signatory. Those passages specifically relating to human rights are
detailed below. For a full English translation of Puerto Rico's Constitution, click here.