Myanmar 2008 Constitution (reviewed 2015)

Chapter I. Basic Principles of the Union

Part 1. The Republic of the Union of Myanmar

1. Myanmar is an independent sovereign Nation.
2. The State shall be known as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
3. The State is where multi-National races collectively reside.
4. The Sovereign power of the Union is derived from the citizens and is in force in the entire country.
5. The territory of the State shall be the land, sea, and airspace which constitutes its territory on the day this Constitution is adopted.

Part 2. Basic Principles

1. 1. The Union’s consistent objectives are:
      1. non-disintegration of the Union;
      2. non-disintegration of National solidarity;
      3. perpetuation of sovereignty;
      4. flourishing of a genuine, disciplined multi-party democratic system;
      5. enhancing the eternal principles of Justice, Liberty and Equality in the Union and;
      6. enabling the Defence Services to be able to participate in the National political leadership role of the State.
   2. The Union practises genuine, disciplined multi-party democratic system.
   3. The Union is constituted by the Union system.

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1. 1. 1. The existing seven Divisions are designated as seven Regions and the existing seven States are designated as seven States. Those seven Regions and seven States are of equal status.
      2. The names of those seven Regions and seven States are retained as they exist.
      3. If it is desired to change the name of a Region or a State, it shall be done so with the enactment of a law after ascertaining the desire of citizens residing in the Region or State concerned.
   2. No part of the territory constituted in the Union such as Regions, States, Union Territories and Self-Administered Areas shall ever secede from the Union.

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1. 1. 1. The three branches of sovereign power namely, legislative power, executive power and judicial power are separated, to the extent possible, and exert reciprocal control, check and balance among themselves.
      2. The three branches of sovereign power, so separated are shared among the Union, Regions, States and Self-Administered Areas.

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1. 1. 1. The legislative power of the Union is shared among the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, Region Hluttaws and State Hluttaws. Legislative power stipulated by this Constitution shall be shared to the Self-Administered Areas.
      2. The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw consisting of two Hluttaws, one Hluttaw elected on the basis of township as well as population, and the other on an equal number of representatives elected from Regions and States.
   2. There shall be a Region Hluttaw in each of the seven Regions, and a State Hluttaw in each of the seven States.
   3. The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the Region Hluttaws and the State Hluttaws include the Defence Services personnel as Hluttaw representatives nominated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services in numbers stipulated by this Constitution.
   4. For National races with suitable population, National races representatives are entitled to participate in legislature of Regions or States and Self-Administered Areas concerned.
   5. The Head of the Union and the Head of Executive of the Union is the President.

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1. 1. 1. The executive power of the Union is shared among the Pyidaungsu, Regions and States; Self-Administrative power shall be shared between Self-Administered Areas as prescribed by this Constitution.
      2. In the executive of the Union, Regions, States, Union Territory, Self-Administered Areas and districts, Defence Services personnel, nominated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services to undertake responsibilities of the defence, security, border administration, so forth, shall be included.
      3. For National races of which representatives are so permitted to participate in legislature of Regions, States or Self-Administered Areas in accord with Section 15, such representatives are to be permitted to participate, mainly, to undertake their National races affairs.

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1. 1. 1. The judicial power of the Union is shared among the Supreme Court of the Union, High Courts of the Regions, High Courts of the States and Courts of different levels including Courts of Self-Administered Areas.
      2. There shall be one Supreme Court of the Union. The Supreme Court of the Union is the highest Court of the Republic.
      3. The Supreme Court of the Union has powers to issue writs.
      4. A High Court of the Region or State is constituted in each Region or State.
   2. The following are prescribed as judicial principles:
      1. to administer justice independently according to law;
      2. to dispense justice in open court unless otherwise prohibited by law;
      3. to guarantee in all cases the right of defence and the right of appeal under law.

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1. 1. 1. The Defence Services is the sole patriotic defence force which is strong, competent and modern.
      2. The Defence Services has the right to independently administer and adjudicate all affairs of the armed forces.
      3. The Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services is the Supreme Commander of all armed forces.
      4. The Defence Services has the right to administer for participation of the entire people in Union security and defence.
      5. The Defence Services is mainly responsible for safeguarding the non-disintegration of the Union, the non-disintegration of National solidarity and the perpetuation of sovereignty.
      6. The Defence Services is mainly responsible for safeguarding the Constitution.

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1. 1. 1. Every citizen shall enjoy the right of equality, the right of liberty and the right of justice, as prescribed in this Constitution.
      2. No citizen shall be placed in custody for more than 24 hours without the permission of a Court.
      3. Every citizen is responsible for public peace and tranquility and prevalence of law and order.
      4. Necessary law shall be enacted to make citizens’ freedoms, rights, benefits, responsibilities and restrictions effective, steadfast and complete.
   2. The Union shall assist:
      1. to develop language, literature, fine arts and culture of the National races;
      2. to promote solidarity, mutual amity and respect and mutual assistance among the National races;
      3. to promote socio-economic development including education, health, economy, transport and communication, so forth, of less-developed National races.
   3. The Union shall:
      1. enact necessary laws to protect the rights of the peasants;
      2. assist peasants to obtain equitable value of their agricultural produce.
   4. The Union shall enact necessary laws to protect the rights of workers.
   5. The Union shall assist to promote the interests of the intellectuals and intelligentsia.

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1. 1. 1. Civil Services personnel shall be free from party politics.
      2. The Union shall enact necessary laws for Civil Services personnel to have security and sufficiency of food, clothing and shelter, to get maternity benefits for married women in service, and to ease livelihood for welfare of retired Service personnel.
   2. The Union shall assist development, consolidation and preservation of National culture.
   3. The Union shall:
      1. earnestly strive to improve education and health of the people;
      2. enact the necessary law to enable National people to participate in matters of their education and health;
      3. implement free, compulsory primary education system;
      4. implement a modern education system that will promote all-around correct thinking and a good moral character contributing towards the building of the Nation.
   4. The Union shall provide inputs, such as technology, investments, machinery, raw materials, so forth, to the extent possible for changeover from manual to mechanized agriculture.
   5. The Union shall provide inputs, such as technology, investments, machinery, raw materials, so forth, to the extent possible, for development of industries.
   6. The Union shall, to the extent possible, assist to reduce unemployment among the people.
   7. The Union shall:
      1. care for mothers and children, orphans, fallen Defence Services personnel’s children, the aged and the disabled;
      2. ensure disabled ex-Defence Services personnel a decent living and free vocational training.
   8. The Union shall strive for youth to have strong and dynamic patriotic spirit, the correct way of thinking and to develop the five noble strengths.
   9. Every citizen is equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess and practise religion subject to public order, morality or health and to the other provisions of this Constitution.
   10. The economic system of the Union is market economy system.
   11. The Union shall:
       1. permit all economic forces such as the State, regional organizations, cooperatives, joint-ventures, private individual, so forth, to take part in economic activities for the development of National economy;
       2. protect and prevent acts that injure public interests through monopolization or manipulation of prices by an individual or group with intent to endanger fair competition in economic activities;
       3. strive to improve the living standards of the people and development of investments;
       4. not nationalize economic enterprises;
       5. not demonetize the currency legally in circulation.
   12. The Union:
       1. is the ultimate owner of all lands and all natural resources above and below the ground, above and beneath the water and in the atmosphere in the Union;
       2. shall enact necessary law to supervise extraction and utilization of State-owned natural resources by economic forces;
       3. shall permit citizens right of private property, right of inheritance, right of private initiative and patent in accord with the law.

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1. 1. 1. Every citizen shall have the right to elect and be elected in accord with the law.
      2. Electorate concerned shall have the right to recall elected people’s representatives in accord with the provisions of this Constitution.
   2. The Union shall enact necessary law to systematically form political parties for flourishing of a genuine, disciplined multi-party democratic system.

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1. 1. 1. If there arises a state of emergency characterized by inability to perform executive functions in accord with the provisions of the Constitution in a Region or a State or a Self-Administered Area, the President is empowered to exercise executive power in that Region, State or Self-Administered Area and, if necessary in doing so, the President is empowered to exercise legislative powers concerning that Region, State or Self-Administered Area in accord with the provisions of this Constitution.
      2. If there arises or there is sufficient reason to arise a state of emergency endangering life and property of the people in a Region, State or Self-Administered Area, the Defence Services has the right, in accord with the provisions of this Constitution, to prevent that danger and provide protection.
      3. If there arises a state of emergency that could cause disintegration of the Union, disintegration of national solidarity and loss of sovereign power or attempts therefore by wrongful forcible means such as insurgency or violence, the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services has the right to take over and exercise State sovereign power in accord with the provisions of this Constitution.
   2. The Union practises independent, active and non-aligned foreign policy aimed at world peace and friendly relations with nations and upholds the principles of peaceful coexistence among nations.

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1. 1. The Union shall not commence aggression against any nation.
   2. No foreign troops shall be permitted to be deployed in the territory of the Union.
2. No Penal law shall be enacted to provide retrospective effect.
3. No penalty shall be prescribed that violates human dignity.
4. The Union shall protect and conserve natural environment.
5. A Constitutional Tribunal shall be set up to interpret the provisions of the Constitution, to scrutinize whether or not laws enacted by the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the Region Hluttaws and the State Hluttaws and functions of executive authorities of Pyidaungsu, Regions, States and Self-Administered Areas are in conformity with the Constitution, to decide on disputes relating to the Constitution between Pyidaungsu and Regions, between Pyidaungsu and States, among Regions, among States, and between Regions or States and Self-Administered Areas and among Self-Administered Areas themselves, and to perform other duties prescribed in this Constitution.
6. The Basic Principles set forth in this Chapter, and Chapter 8, Citizen, Fundamental Rights, and Duties of the Citizen, the term “Union” means person or body exercising the legislative or executive authority of the Union under this Constitution according as the context may require.
7. The Basic Principles of the Union shall be the guidance in enacting laws by legislature and in interpreting the provisions of this Constitution and other laws.