Title V. Rights, Duties, and Guarantees
Chapter I. General Provisions
Article 40
Human dignity is the supreme value that underpins the recognition and exercise of the rights and duties enshrined in the Constitution, treaties, and laws.
Article 41
The Cuban State recognizes and guarantees to a person the non-renounceable, indivisible, and interdependent enjoyment and exercise of human rights, in correspondence with the principles of progressivity and nondiscrimination. Their respect and guarantee are obligatory for all.
Article 42
All people are equal before the law, receive the same protection and treatment from the authorities, and enjoy the same rights, liberties, and opportunities, without any discrimination for reasons of sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ethnic origin, skin color, religious belief, disability, national or territorial origin, or any other personal condition or circumstance that implies a distinction injurious to human dignity.
All people have the right to enjoy the same public spaces and service facilities.
Likewise, they receive equal salary for equal work, with no discrimination whatsoever.
The violation of this principle is proscribed and is sanctioned by law.
Article 43
Women and men have equal rights and responsibilities in the economic, political, cultural, occupational, social, and familial domains, as well as in any other domain. The State guarantees that both will be offered the same opportunities and possibilities.
The State encourages the holistic development of women and their full social participation. It ensures the exercise of their sexual and reproductive rights, protects them from gender-based violence in all of its forms and in all spaces, and creates the institutional and legal mechanisms to do so.
Article 44
The State creates the conditions necessary to guarantee the equality of its citizens. It educates all people from the earliest age possible in the respect of this principle.
The State effectuates this right with the implementation of public laws and policies to encourage social inclusion and the safeguard of the rights of people whose condition requires it.
Article 45
The exercise of these rights of the people are only limited by the rights of others, collective security, general well-being, respect for public order, the Constitution, and the laws.
Chapter II. Rights
Article 46
All citizens have the right to life, physical and moral integrity, justice, security, peace, health, education, culture, recreation, sports, and to their holistic development.
Article 47
The people have the right to the free development of their personality and must conduct themselves with respect, fraternity, and solidarity.
Article 48
All people have the right to personal and familiar privacy, to their own image and voice, their honor, and their personal identity.
Article 49
The home is an inviolable space. One may not enter in another dwelling without permission of the inhabitants, except through a warrant issued by a competent authority following the legal formalities and for a motive previously defined by the law.
Article 50
Correspondence and other forms of communication between persons are inviolable. They may only be intercepted or registered through a warrant issued by a competent authority in the cases and with the formalities established by the law.
Documents of information obtained in violation of this principle do not constitute evidence within any legal proceeding.
Article 51
People may not be subject to forced disappearance, torture, or cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 52
People have the right to enter, remain in, travel through, and exit from the national territory, or to change their residence or domicile without any limits other than those established by the law.
Article 53
All people have the right to request and receive information from the State that is true, objective, and timely, and to access the information generated by organs of the state and its entities, according to the established regulations.
Article 54
The State recognizes, respects, and guarantees people freedom of thought, conscience, and expression.
Conscientious objection may not be invoked with the intention of evading compliance with the law or impeding another from the exercise of their rights.
Article 55
People’s freedom of press is recognized. This right is exercised according to the law and for the good of society.
The fundamental means of social communication, in any of their forms, are the socialist property of all people or of political, social, and mass organizations, and may not be categorized as any other type of property.
The State establishes the principles of organization and operation for all means of social communication.
Article 56
The rights of assembly, demonstration, and association for legal and peaceful purposes are recognized by the State whenever they are exercised with respect to public order and in compliance with the precepts established by the law.
Article 57
Any person has the right to profess or not profess their religious beliefs, to change them, and to practice the religion of their choice with the required respect to other beliefs and in accordance with the law.
Article 58
All people have the right to enjoy their personal property. The State guarantees its use, enjoyment, and free disposal, in accordance with what is established in the law.
The expropriation of goods is solely authorized for the purpose of attending to reasons of public utility or social interest with the required indemnity.
The law establishes the means to determine their utility and necessity, the required guarantees, and the procedure for their expropriation and the form of indemnity.
Article 59
Confiscation of property may only be applied as a sanction issued by a competent authority in the cases and through the procedures determined by the law.
When the confiscation of property is ordered in an administrative procedure, a person is always guaranteed the ability to defend their right before the competent courts.
Article 60
Within its penitentiary policy, the State favors the social reintegration of persons deprived of liberty, guarantees the respect for their rights and the compliance with the norms established for their treatment within prison establishments.
Likewise, it is responsible for the assistance and social reintegration of persons who fulfill their criminal penalties or comply with other measures imposed by the courts.
Article 61
People have the right to direct complaints and petitions to the authorities, who are obligated to process and respond to them in a timely and pertinent manner that is based on the term and procedure established in the law.
Article 62
People’s intellectual property rights are recognized according to the law and to international treaties.
The rights acquired are exercised by the author and owners in compliance with the law and according to public policies.
Article 63
The State recognizes the right to succession in the case of death. The law regulates its content and scope.
Article 64
The State recognizes the right to work. Any person that is able to work has the right to obtain a dignified employment according to their choice, qualifications, aptitude, and the demands of the economy and society.
The State organizes institutions and services that facilitate the ability of working families to carry out their responsibilities.
Article 65
All people have the right for their work to be remunerated according to its quality and quantity, which expresses the socialist principle of distribution: “from each according to their ability, to each according to their labor.”
Article 66
Child labor, performed by children or adolescents, is prohibited.
The State grants special protection to adolescents who have graduated from vocational school or others who, in exceptional circumstances defined by the law, are permitted to work with the purpose of guaranteeing their training and holistic development.
Article 67
Workers have the right to a break, which is guaranteed through the eight-hour workday, a weekly break, and annual paid vacations.
The law defines other cases in which exceptions may be made to approve alternative workdays or working systems, with the necessary proportion of time devoted to work and breaks.
Article 68
People who work have a right to social security. The State, through the social security system, guarantees adequate protection when a person finds themselves unable to work due to age, maternity, paternity, disability, or illness.
Likewise, in accordance with the law, the State protects grandparents or other relatives of minors in their care and attention.
In the case of a worker’s death or retirement, the State grants similar protection to his or her family, in accordance with that which is established in the law.
Article 69
The State guarantees the right to safety and health at work through the adoption of suitable means to prevent work-related accidents or illnesses.
Any person who suffers an accident during their labor or contracts a work-related illness has the right to medical attention, subsidy, or pension in the case of a temporary or permanent incapacity to work, or to other forms of social security protection.
Article 70
The State, through social assistance, protects persons without resources or shelter, those who are unable to work, those without family members who are able to care for them, and the families that, due to low income, require it, according to the law.
Article 71
The State recognizes the right to adequate housing and a safe and healthy home for all people.
The State works to make this right effective through shelter construction programs, with the participation of entities and of the population, in correspondence with public policies, the norms of territorial and urban order, and the laws.
Article 72
Public health is a right of all people and it is the State’s responsibility to guarantee access to quality medical attention, protection, and recovery services, free of charge.
The State, in order to effectuate this right, institutes a healthcare system at all levels that is accessible to the population and develops prevention and education programs, in which the society and families contribute.
The law defines the mode in which health services are provided.
Article 73
Education is a right of all people and the responsibility of the State, which guarantees free, accessible, and quality education services to its citizens for their holistic development, from preschool until the postgraduate level.
The State, in order to effectuate this right, establishes a broad system of educational institutions of all types and education levels, which allows the possibility of attending school during any stage of life according to one’s aptitudes and the country’s social demands and socioeconomic development needs.
Society and families have the responsibility of education.
The law defines the scope of the obligatory nature of attending school; the basic general preparation that must be minimally acquired; the education of adults and those whose postgraduate or other complementary studies may extraordinarily be remunerated.
Article 74
People have the right to physical education, sports, and recreation as essential elements of their quality of life.
The national education system guarantees the inclusion of teaching and practicing physical education and sports as an integral part of childhood, adolescent, and teenage education.
The State works to guarantee the necessary resources dedicated to the promotion and practice of sports and recreation for all people, as well as for the preparation of, attention to, and development of athletic talent.
Article 75
All persons have the right to enjoy a natural environment that is healthy and stable.
The State protects the environment and the country’s natural resources. It recognizes their close linkage with the sustainable development of the economy and society to make human life more rational and to ensure the security of current and future generations.
Article 76
All people have the right to water.
The State works to guarantee access to potable water and to its sanitation, with the required compensation and rational use.
Article 77
All people have the right to a healthy and adequate diet. The State works to achieve the food security of the entire population.
Article 78
All people have the right to consume quality goods and services that are not counter to their health, the right to access truthful and adequate information about these items, and the right to receive a dignified and equitable treatment in accordance with the law.
Article 79
All people have the right to participate in the artistic and cultural life of the nation.
The State promotes culture and the distinct artistic formats in accordance with cultural policy and the law.
Article 80
Cuban citizens have the right to participate in the formation, exercise, and monitoring of the power of the State, for which purpose they may, in accordance with the laws:
- Be registered within the electoral registry;
- Propose and nominate candidates;
- Elect officials and be elected for office;
- Participate in elections, plebiscites, referendums, popular consultations, as well as other forms of democratic participation;
- Make pronouncements regarding the release of documents or information for the purposes of accountability that are provided by elected officials;
- Revoke the mandate of elected officials;
- Exercise the powers of the legislature as well as the power of constitutional reform;
- Perform public functions or roles, and
- Be informed of the management of the organs and authorities of the State.
Chapter III. Families
Article 81
All people have the right to start a family. The State recognizes and protects families, regardless of their structure, as the basic cell of society, and works to guarantee that the holistic achievement of their objectives.
They are formed by legal, de facto, or emotional ties, and are based on the equality of rights, duties, and opportunities of its members.
Legal protection of the diverse types of families is regulated by the law.
Article 82
Marriage is a social and legal institution. It is one of the organizational structures of families. It is based on free consent and on the equality of rights, obligations, and legal capacity of spouses.
The law determines how they are constituted and their effects.
Furthermore, it recognizes the stable and singular union with legal capacity that effectively forms a common life plan that, under the conditions and circumstances indicated in the law, generates the rights and obligations that the law provides.
Article 83
All children have equal rights.
All titles regarding the nature of one’s birth are prohibited.
The State guarantees, through suitable legal procedures, the determination and the recognition of maternity and paternity.
Article 84
Maternity and paternity are protected by the State.
Mothers and fathers have essential responsibilities and roles in the holistic education and upbringing them as citizens with moral, ethical, and civic values in correspondence with life within our socialist society.
Mothers and fathers or other relatives by blood or marriage who perform the roles of guardianship and caretakers have the duty to feed children and adolescents, respect and guarantee the full exercise of their rights, protect them from all types of violence, and contribute actively to the holistic development of their personality.
Children, in turn, are obligated to respect, care for, and protect their mothers, fathers, and other relatives, in accordance with that which is established by law.
Article 85
Violence within the family, in any of its manifestations, is considered destructive to the people involved, to families, and to society, and is punishable by law.
Article 86
The State, society, and families grant special protection to children and adolescents in order to guarantee their harmonic and holistic development, keeping their best interests in mind in the decisions and actions that concern them.
Children and adolescents are considered to have full possession of their rights and enjoy the rights that are recognized in this Constitution, in addition to the rights that are specific to their special condition as a developing person. They are protected from all types of violence.
Article 87
The State, society, and families recognize young people as active participants in society, for which they create the conditions for the full exercise of their rights and their holistic development.
Article 88
The State, society, and families, in their respective roles, have the obligation to protect, aid, and provide the conditions to satisfy the necessities and improve the quality of life of the elderly. Likewise, they are obligated to respect their self-determination, guarantee the full exercise of their rights, and promote their social integration and participation.
Article 89
The State, society, and families have the obligation to protect, foster, and ensure the full exercise of rights for disabled persons. The State guarantees the required conditions for their rehabilitation or the improvement of their quality of life, their personal autonomy, and their social inclusion and participation.
Chapter IV. Duties
Article 90
The exercise of the rights and liberties provided for in this Constitution implies responsibilities. They are duties of Cuban citizens, in addition to the other duties established by this Constitution and the laws, are:
- To serve and defend the homeland;
- To comply with the Constitution and other legal norms;
- To respect and protect the national symbols;
- To contribute to the public expenditures in the form established by the law;
- To demonstrate the required respect to the authorities and their agents;
- Perform military or social services according to the law;
- To respect the rights of others and to not abuse one’s own rights;
- To conserve, protect, and make rational use of the goods and resources that the State and society provide to the people;
- To comply with the requirements established for the protection of environmental health and hygiene;
- To protect the natural resources, flora, and fauna, and to safeguard the preservation of a clean environment, and
- To protect the country’s cultural and historic patrimony, and
- To act, in one’s relations with other people, according to the principle of human solidarity and with respect to the norms of a proper social coexistence.
Chapter V. The Rights and Duties of Foreigners
Article 91
Foreigners residing in the Republic are equal to Cubans:
- In the Protection of their person and property;
- In the obligation to observe the Constitution and the law;
- In the obligation to contribute to the public expenditures in the form and quantity established by the law;
- In their submission to the jurisdiction and rulings of the courts of justice as well as the authorities of the Republic, and
- In the enjoyment of the rights and compliance with the duties set forth within this Constitution under the conditions and within the limits established by the law.
The law establishes the cases and the form in which foreigners may be expelled from the national territory as well as the authorities empowered to decide in these cases.
Chapter VI. Guarantees of Rights
Article 92
The State guarantees, in accordance with the law, that people may access judicial bodies in order to obtain effective protection of their rights and legitimate interests. Fulfillment of judicial decisions is obligatory and disrespect of these decisions will result in liability for those who violate them.
Article 93
The State recognizes the right of people to settle their disputes using alternate methods of conflict resolution, in accordance with the Constitution and the legal norms that are established for such purposes.
Article 94
All people, as a guarantee of their legal protection, enjoy due process in the legal sphere as well as the administrative sphere and, consequently, enjoy the following rights:
- To enjoy equality of opportunities in all processes in which they participate;
- To receive legal assistance in order to exercise their rights in all processes in which they participate;
- To provide pertinent means of proof and request the exclusion of those that have been obtained in violation of established law;
- Access to a competent, independent, and impartial trial, when appropriate;
- To not be deprived of their rights except by the ruling of a competent authority or final judgement of a court;
- To bring a pertinent action or procedure against the judicial or administrative rulings, when appropriate;
- Proceedings without undue delay, and
- Redress for material and moral damages and compensation for resulting harm.
Article 95
Furthermore, in criminal proceedings, all people have the following guarantees:
- To not be deprived of liberty, unless by a competent authority and for the legally prescribed amount of time;
- To have access to legal assistance from the start of the proceedings;
- To the presumption of innocence until declared guilty through a final sentence of a court;
- To be treated with respect for their dignity and physical, mental, and moral integrity, and to not be a victim of violence and duress of any kind in order to coerce a testimony;
- To not testify against oneself, one’s spouse, civil partner, or relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity and second of affinity;
- To be informed of an accusation against them;
- To be judged by a legally pre-established court and in virtue of previous laws regarding the crime;
- To communicate with their relatives immediately, in the case they are arrested or detained. In the case of foreigners, a notification to their consulate will be made, and
- If they are the victim of a crime, to enjoy protection of the exercise of their rights.
Article 96
Anyone illegally deprived of liberty, of their own account or by a third party, has the right to submit a writ of Habeas Corpus to a competent court, according to the requirements established in the law.
Article 97
The State recognizes the right of all people to access their personal information in public registries, archives, or other databases, as well as request its non-disclosure or obtain a due correction, rectification, modification, update, or deletion.
The use and treatment of these data is performed according to that which is established in the law.
Article 98
All people who have suffered undue harm or prejudice by leaders, functionaries, or employees of the State while exercising the duties of their position have the right to issue a complaint and receive the corresponding redress or indemnity as established by the law.
Article 99
Anyone whose rights as enshrined in this Constitution are violated and who, as a consequence, has suffered harm or prejudice by organs of the State, its leaders, functionaries, or employees while exercising their duties of their position or by undue oversight of these duties, as well as by individuals or by non-State entities, has the right to issue a complaint with the court to obtain restitution of their rights and, in accordance with the law, the corresponding redress or indemnity.
The law establishes the rights protected under this guarantee, and the preferential, expedited, and reduced proceedings to comply with it.
Article 100
The legal system is governed by the principle of non-retroactivity of laws, except in penal matters when they are favorable to the accused or to the sanctioned person, and in the case of other laws, when they expressly permit it with regard to matters of social interest or public utility, which they must explicate in their content.
