Mongolia 1992 Constitution (reviewed 2001)

CHAPTER TWO. Human Rights and Freedoms

Article 14

1. All persons lawfully residing within Mongolia shall be equal before the law and the courts.
2. No person shall be discriminated against on the basis of ethnic origin, language, race, age, sex [gender], social origin and status, property and assets, employment occupation and official position, religion and conscience, conviction and opinion, and education. Every human being shall be a legal person.

Article 15

1. The grounds and procedure for citizenship of Mongolia, and the acquisition or loss of citizenship shall be exclusively determined by law.
2. The deprivation of the citizens of Mongolia from their citizenship, the exile from its motherland, and the extradition to other countries shall be prohibited.

Article 16

The citizens of Mongolia shall be guaranteed to exercise the following rights and freedoms:

1. The right to life. Deprivation of human life shall be strictly prohibited unless otherwise highest measure of punishment, as prescribed by the Criminal Code of Mongolia for the commission of most serious crimes, is sentenced by a final judgment of the court.
2. The right to a healthy and safe environment, and to be protected against environmental pollution and ecological imbalance.
3. The right to fair acquisition, possession and inheritance of movable and immovable property. Illegal confiscation and requisitioning of the private property of citizens shall be prohibited. If the State and its organs appropriate a private property on the basis of exclusive public need, then there shall be [fair] payment of compensation and cost.
4. The right to free choice of employment, to be provided with the enabling conditions for labor, to receive salary and remuneration, to rest and leisure, and to engage in private enterprise. No one shall be illegally forced to work.
5. The right to material and financial assistance in old age, disability, childbirth and childcare, and for other cases as prescribed by law.
6. The right to health protection and to obtain medical care. The procedure and conditions for free medical aid shall be determined by law.
7. The right to learn and education. The State shall provide universal general education free of charge. Citizens may establish and operate private schools, which meet the requirements of the State.
8. The right to conduct cultural, artistic and scientific activities, and to produce creative works and to benefits thereof. The right to author’s copyrights, new works and innovation patents shall be protected by law.
9. The right to participate in State management [public administration] affairs directly or through the organs of representation. Have the right to elect and to be elected to the State organs. The right to elect shall be exercised from the age of eighteen years, and the age qualification for being elected shall be determined by law, taking into consideration the requirements for the relevant State organs and official positions concerned.
10. The right to freedom of association in political parties or other public organizations on the basis of social and personal interests and conviction. The political parties and other mass organizations shall uphold the public order and State security, and respect and enforce the law. Discrimination and persecution of a person for joining a political party or other associations or for being their member shall be prohibited. Party membership of some categories of state employees may be suspended.
11. Men and women shall enjoy equal rights in political, economic, social, cultural fields and in marriage. The marriage shall be based on the equality and consensual relationship of the spouses who have attained the age determined by law. The State shall protect the interests of a family, motherhood and the child.
12. The right to submit petitions or complaints to the State organs and public officials, and get it resolved by those State organs. The State organs and public officials shall have an obligation to decide and resolve the petitions or complaints by citizens in accordance with law.
13. The right to personal liberty and safety. No one shall be searched, arrested, detained, persecuted or restricted of liberty, except on grounds and procedures prescribed by law. No one shall be subjected to torture, inhuman, cruel or degrading treatment. Whenever the person is arrested, his/her family and advocate (legal counsel) shall be notified within a period of time prescribed by law of the reasons for and grounds of such arrest. The privacy of citizens, their families, confidentiality of correspondence and communication, and the inviolability of home residence shall be protected by law.
14. The right to appeal to the court to protect such rights if he/she considers that the rights or freedoms as prescribed by the laws of Mongolia or by international treaties have been violated; and shall have the right to be compensated for damage illegally caused by others; right not to testify against oneself, his/her family, or parents and children; right to defense; right to receive legal aid; to have the documents of evidence examined; right to a fair trial; right to be tried in his/her own presence; right to appeal against court decisions, and right to request a pardon. It shall be prohibited to demand, compel or use the force to testify against himself/herself. Every person shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty by the court through the due process of law. The punishment and penalties imposed on the convicted shall not be applicable to his/her family members or relatives.
15. Freedom of conscience and religion.
16. Freedom of thought, opinion and expression, speech, press, and peaceful assembly. The rules of procedures for conduct of demonstrations and public meetings shall be determined by law.
17. The right to seek and receive information on any issues, except which the State and its organs are legitimately bound to specifically protect as relevant secret. In order to protect the human rights, dignity and reputation of persons, and to ensure national defense, security and the public order, the confidential state, corporate and individual information, that are not subject to disclosure, shall be classified and protected by law.
18. The right to freedom of movement and residence within the country, to travel and reside abroad and to return to their motherland. The right to travel and reside abroad may be limited exclusively by law for the purpose of ensuring the national and population security, and for protecting the public order.

Article 17

1. The citizens of Mongolia shall uphold justice and humanity, and shall discharge in good faith the following basic duties:
   1. Respect and abide by the Constitution and other laws;
   2. Respect the dignity, reputation, rights and legitimate interests of human beings;
   3. Pay official taxation levied by law;
   4. Defend his/her motherland and discharge military service according to law.
2. It is a sacred duty for every citizen to work, protect his/her health, raise and educate his/her children, as well as to protect the nature and environment.

Article 18

1. The rights and duties of foreign citizens, who are residing in Mongolia, shall be determined by the laws of Mongolia and by the agreements concluded with a country of whose nationality is such person concerned.
2. Mongolia shall adhere to the principle of reciprocity in determining the rights and duties of foreign nationals in the international agreements that are concluded with a country of concerned nationals.
3. The rights and duties of stateless persons, who are residing within the territory of Mongolia, shall be determined by law.
4. Foreign citizens or stateless persons persecuted for their conviction, political or other activities in pursuit of justice may be granted asylum in Mongolia on the basis of their well-grounded requests.
5. Mongolia may establish necessary restrictions upon the rights other than the inalienable rights defined in international instruments to which Mongolia is a Party, out of the consideration of ensuring the security and population, and the public order, in allowing the foreign nationals and stateless persons under the jurisdiction of Mongolia to exercise the fundamental rights and freedoms as prescribed in Article Sixteen of the Constitution.

Article 19

1. The State shall be accountable to the citizens for the creation of economic, social, legal and other guarantees for ensuring human rights and freedoms, and shall fight against the violations of human rights and freedoms, and shall restore such infringed rights.
2. In case of a state of emergency or war, the human rights and freedoms as prescribed in the Constitution and by other laws may be subject to limitation exclusively by law. Such law shall not affect the right to life, the freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as well as the legal provisions concerning the right to not to be subjected to torture, inhuman, degrading or cruel treatment.
3. In exercising his/her rights and freedoms, a person shall not breach national security, the rights and freedoms of others, or violate public order.