TITLE IV. RIGHTS, DUTIES AND GUARANTEES OF THE NICARAGUAN PEOPLE
Chapter I. Individual Rights
Article 23
The right to life is inviolable and inherent in the human person. In Nicaragua there is no death penalty.
Article 24
Everyone has duties to his/her family, the community, the homeland and humanity. The rights of every person are limited by the rights of others, the security of all and the reasonable requirements of the common good.
Article 25
Everyone has the right to:
- individual liberty;
- security;
- recognition of his/her legal personality and capacity.
Article 26
Everyone has the right to:
- Privacy in his/her life and that of his/her family.
- Respect of his/her honor and reputation.
- Know about any information which private or public entities may have on record about him/her as well as the right to know why and for what purpose they hold such information.
- Inviolability of his/her domicile, correspondence and communication of any kind.
A private home may be searched only with a warrant from a competent judge save in cases in which:
- Those who reside in the home tell the authorities that a crime is being committed there or call for help;
- A fire, flood, catastrophe or similar incident is threatening the life or property of the inhabitants;
- Strangers have been spotted in a dwelling in circumstances which strongly suggest that a crime is about to be committed;
- A hot pursuit of a criminal is under way;
- A hostage shall be liberated.
In all these cases, the search must take place in accordance with the law.
The law determines the conditions and procedures for the search of private documents, fiscal records and related documents where this is indispensable for the investigation of matters before the courts or for taxation purposes.
Letters, documents, and other private papers which have been unlawfully seized shall be null and void in judicial proceedings or elsewhere.
Article 27
All individuals are equal before the law and have the right to equal protection. There shall be no discrimination based on birth, nationality, political belief, race, gender, language, religion, opinion, origin, economic position or social condition.
Foreigners have the same rights and duties as Nicaraguans, with the exception of political rights and other rights established by law; they may not intervene in the political affairs of the country.
The State respects and guarantees the rights recognized in this Constitution to all persons who are in its territory and subject to its jurisdiction.
Article 28
Nicaraguans who are out of the country are entitled to amparo and the protection of the State, which is implemented through its diplomatic and consular representations.
Article 29
Everyone has the right to freedom of conscience and thought and to profess or not profess a religion. No one shall be the object of coercive measures which diminish these rights or be compelled to declare his/her creed, ideology or beliefs.
Article 30
Nicaraguans have the right to freely express their convictions in public or in private, individually or collectively, in oral, written or any other form.
Article 31
Nicaraguans have the right to circulate and to establish their residence in any part of the national territory, and to freely enter and exit the country.
Article 32
No person is obligated to do what is not mandated by law or barred from doing what is not prohibited by it.
Article 33
No one may be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned, or be deprived of liberty except in cases determined by law and in accordance with legal procedures. Therefore:
- An arrest may be made only on the basis of a warrant issued by a competent judge or by authorities specifically empowered by law, with the exception of an individual caught in the act of committing a crime (flagrante delicto);
- Any arrested person has the right:
- To be informed without delay in an idiom or language understandable to him and in detailed manner of the causes of his/her arrest and of the charges brought against him; to be informed of his/her arrest by the police and the same to be notified to his/her family or anyone considered appropriate; and also that he/she be treated with the respect due to the dignity inherent to him;
- To be released or brought before a competent authority within a 48 hour period subsequent to the arrest;
- Once a penalty has been served, no one should be held further after an order of release from prison by a competent authority;
- Any illegal detention causes civil and penal responsibility for the authority which orders or executes it;
- The competent organs shall strive to have those indicted and those sentenced imprisoned in different centers.
Article 34
Any accused has the right, under equal conditions, to a fair trial and effective judicial protection, which includes the following minimal guarantees:
- To enjoy the presumption of innocence as long as guilt is not proven according to law.
- To be tried without delay by a competent court established by law. No one is exempt from the ordinary criminal jurisdiction. Nobody may be removed from the jurisdiction of the competent court nor be made to appear before a special court.
- To be subjected to the verdict of juries in cases determined by law. The right to appeal (acción de revisión) is established.
- To have one’s participation and defense guaranteed from the very initiation of the legal process and to have the time and means adequate to one’s defense.
- To be granted a court appointed counsel when in the initial instance it has not been provided or when there has not been a prior warrant.The accused shall have the right to communicate freely and privately with one’s counsel.
- To be assisted free of charge by an interpreter if he/she does not understand or speak the language used by the court.
- Not to be obliged to testify against oneself or against a spouse or a partner in a stable de facto union or a family member within the fourth level of consanguinity or the second level of marital relations, or to confess guilt.
- To be sentenced by motivated and reasoned decision based on the law within the statutory period at each stage of the application, trial or process which take place, without exception, in accordance with the law.
- To appeal to a higher court so that one’s case may be reviewed should the accused be sentenced for any crime or contravention.
- Not to be tried again for the crime for which the accused was sentenced or acquitted by a final judgment.
- Not to be tried or sentenced for an act or omission which, at the time of committing it, had not been specified expressly or unequivocally in the law as a punishable offence, nor to be sanctioned with a penalty not provided by law. Dictating criminal laws which only apply to specific individuals (leyes proscriptivas) or applying demeaning penalties or treatment to the accused is prohibited.
The judicial process must be oral and public. Access by the press and the public in general may be restricted for moral and public order reasons.
The victim shall take part in judicial proceedings from their beginning and at every step.
The State shall protect crime victims and make sure that the damage suffered is compensated. The victims have a right to the protection of their safety, physical and psychological well-being, dignity and private life in conformity with the law.
The minimum guarantees of fair trial and effective judicial protection established in this Article are applicable to administrative and judicial proceedings.
Article 35
Minors cannot be subject to or [be] the object of judgment, nor can they be submitted to any legal proceeding. Transgressor minors cannot be taken to penal rehabilitation centers and they shall be attended to in centers under the responsibility of a specialized institution. A law shall regulate this matter.
Article 36
All persons shall have the right to have their physical, psychological and moral integrity respected. No one shall be subjected to torture, procedures, punishments, or inhumane, cruel or degrading treatment. Violation of this right constitutes a crime and shall be punished by law.
Article 37
The penalty shall not extend beyond the person convicted. There shall be no punishment or punishments which, in isolation (aisladamente) or together, total more than thirty years.
Article 38
The law has no retroactive effect except in penal matters that favor the accused.
Article 39
In Nicaragua, the Penitentiary System is humanitarian, and has as a fundamental objective the transformation of the interned in order to reintegrate [him or her] into society. With the progressive system it promotes family unity, health, educational and cultural advancement and productive occupation with financial compensation for the interned. Sentences have a re-educational character.
Convicted women shall serve in prison in different penal centers than men, and guards of the same sex shall be provided.
Article 40
No one shall be subjected to servitude. Slavery and slave trade in any form are prohibited.
Article 41
No one shall be detained for debts. This principle does not limit the mandates of competent legal authority for the non-fulfillment of alimony duties. It is the duty of all national or foreign citizens to pay their debts.
Article 42
Nicaragua recognizes and guarantees the right of refuge and of asylum. Refuge and asylum are to be granted only to those who are persecuted in their struggle for democracy, peace, justice, and human rights.
The law shall determine the status of an asylum seeker or political refugee in accordance with international agreements ratified by Nicaragua. In case the expulsion of the asylum is decided he/she may never be returned to the country where he/she had been persecuted.
Article 43
In Nicaragua there is no extradition for political crimes or common crimes committed in conjunction with them, according to Nicaraguan qualification. Extradition for common crimes is regulated by law and international treaties.
Nicaraguans shall not be objects of extradition from the national territory.
Article 44
The right of private ownership of movable and immovable property and of the instruments and means of production is guaranteed.
By virtue of the social function of property, for reason of public utility or social interest, this right is subject to the limits and obligations imposed by the laws regarding its exercise. Immovable property mentioned in the first paragraph may be the subject of expropriation in accordance with the law following the cash payment of fair compensation.
As regards the expropriation of uncultivated large landed estates in the interest of land reform, the law shall determine the form, computation, installment of payments and interests recognized as indemnification.
The confiscation of property is prohibited. Those officials who violate this provision shall respond with their property at all times for any damages they may have caused.
Article 45
Persons whose constitutional rights have been violated or are in danger of being violated have the right to present the writ of habeas corpus, of amparo, or of habeas data, depending on the circumstances of the case and in accordance with the Law on Constitutional Jurisdiction.
Article 46
All persons in the national territory shall enjoy State protection and recognition of the rights inherent to the human person, as well as unrestricted respect, promotion and protection of those human rights, and the full applicability of the rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man; in the International Pact of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; in the International Pact of Civil and Political Rights of the United Nations; and in the American Convention of Human Rights of the Organization of American States.
Chapter II. Political Rights
Article 47
All Nicaraguans who have reached 16 years of age are citizens.
Only citizens enjoy the political rights set forth in the Constitution and in the laws, without further limitations other than those established for reasons of age.
Rights of citizens shall be suspended by imposition of serious corporal or specific related punishments and by final judgment of civil injunction.
Article 48
Unconditional equality of all Nicaraguans in the enjoyment of their political rights, in the exercise of these rights, and in the fulfillment of their duties and responsibilities, is established; there exists absolute equality between men and women.
It is the obligation of the State to remove obstacles that impede the actual equality among Nicaraguans and their effective participation in the political, economic and social life of the country.
Article 49
In Nicaragua workers in the cities and countryside, women, youth, agricultural producers, artisans, professionals, technicians, intellectuals, artists, religious persons, the Communities of the Atlantic Coast and the population in general have the right to form organizations with the goal of realizing their aspirations according to their own interests, without discrimination, and to participate in the construction of a new society. Such organizations shall be formed according to the elective and participatory will of citizens, they shall have a social function and may or may not have a partisan character, according to their nature and objectives.
Article 50
Citizens have the right to participate under equal conditions in public affairs and in State management.
The participation of the individual, the family, and the community in the formulation, execution, evaluation, control and monitoring of public and social policies and of public services shall be guaranteed; the law shall guarantee their effective participation, nationally and locally.
Article 51
Citizens have the right to vote and be elected at periodic elections and to run for public office, except for the limitations provided in this Political Constitution.
It is the duty of citizens to be jurors and to perform other tasks of a civic nature, except for recognized excuse.
Article 52
Citizens have the right, individually or collectively, to petition, denounce irregularities and make constructive criticism to the Powers of the State or to any authority, to obtain a quick resolution or response and to have the result communicated in the time period established by the law.
Article 53
The right to peaceful gathering is recognized; the exercise of this right does not require prior permission.
Article 54
The right to public assembly, demonstration and mobilization in conformity with the law is recognized.
Article 55
Nicaraguan citizens have the right to establish or join political parties with the objective of participating in the exercise of or the contest for political power.
Chapter III. Social Rights
Article 56
The State shall give special attention in all its programs to the disabled and to the relatives of those killed or victimized by war in general.
Article 57
Nicaraguans have the right to work in accordance with their human nature.
Article 58
Nicaraguans have the right to education and culture.
Article 59
Every Nicaraguan has an equal right to health. The State shall establish the basic conditions for its promotion, protection, recuperation and rehabilitation.
The organization and direction of health programs, services and actions and the promotion of popular participation in support of it corresponds to the State.
Citizens are obligated to respect determined sanitary measures.
Article 60
Nicaraguans have the right to live in a healthy environment, as well as the obligation to maintain and preserve it. The supreme and universal common good, and a precondition for all other goods, is mother earth; she must be loved, cared for, and regenerated. The common good of the earth and of humanity requires us to understand the earth as a living entity and subject of dignity. She belongs to the community of all which inhabit her and to the totality of the ecosystems.
Earth forms together with humanity a unique complex identity; she lives and acts as a unique self-regulated system made up of physical, chemical, biological, and human components, which make it fit for the production and reproduction of life and which, for this reason, is our mother earth and our common home.
We must protect and restore the integrity of the ecosystems, with a special focus on biological diversity and all the natural processes which sustain life.
The Nicaraguan nation must adopt patterns of production and consumption which guarantee the vitality and integrity of mother earth, social equity among humans, a responsible consumption based on solidarity, and the good life of the community.
The State of Nicaragua adopts and makes its own in this Political Constitution the integral text of the Universal Declaration on the Common Good of the Earth and of Humanity.
Article 61
The State guarantees Nicaraguans the right to social security for their integral protection against the social contingencies of life and work in the manner and conditions determined by law.
Article 62
The State shall strive to establish programs benefiting the handicapped people, for their physical, psychosocial and professional rehabilitation, and for their job placement.
Article 63
It is the right of Nicaraguans to be protected against hunger. The State shall promote programs, which ensure adequate availability of food and its equitable distribution.
Article 64
Nicaraguans have the right to decent, comfortable and safe housing that guarantees familial privacy. The State shall promote the fulfillment of this right.
Article 65
Nicaraguans have the right to sports, physical education, recreation and relaxation. As part of the integral development of Nicaraguans, the State shall promote the practice of sports and physical education, through the organized and mass participation of the people. This shall be accomplished through special programs and projects.
Article 66
Nicaraguans have the right to truthful information. This right comprises the freedom to seek, receive and disseminate information and ideas, be they spoken or written, in graphic or by any other chosen procedure.
Article 67
The right to inform is a social responsibility and shall be exercised with strict respect for the principles established in the Constitution. This right cannot be subject to censorship, but [may be subject] to subsequent responsibilities established by law.
Article 68
Within the framework of their social function, the mass communications media must contribute to the development of the nation.
Nicaraguans have the right of access to the social mass communications media and to explanations when their rights and guarantees may be affected.
The government shall see to it that the social mass communications media not be subjected to foreign interests or to the economic monopoly of any group. The law shall regulate this matter.
The import of paper, machinery, and equipment, and upkeep accessories for the mass communications media whether printed, broadcast, or televised as well as the import, circulation, and sale of books, brochures, magazines, instructional school and scientific materials, newspapers, and other publications shall be exempt from all types of municipal, regional, and fiscal levies. The tax laws shall regulate the matter.
The public, corporate, or private mass communications media may not be subjected to prior censorship. In no case may their printing presses or accessories nor any other means or equipment used for the dissemination of ideas be seized as evidence of wrongdoing.
Article 69
All persons, either individually or in a group, have the right to manifest their religious beliefs in public or private, through worship, practices and teachings.
No one may evade obedience to the law or impede others from exercising their rights and fulfilling their duties by invoking religious beliefs or dispositions.
Chapter IV. Rights of the Family
Article 70
The family is the fundamental nucleus of society and has the right to protection by the latter and the State. The individual, the family, and the community are the major elements of the human development plan of the Nation.
Article 71
Nicaraguans have the right to establish families. Family inheritance, which is not subject to seizure and exempt from all public levies, is guaranteed. The law shall regulate and protect those rights.
Childhood enjoys special protection and all the rights that this status may require; for that reason, the International Convention on Rights of Children is fully applicable in Nicaragua.
Article 72
Marriage and stable de facto unions are protected by the State; they rest on the voluntary agreement between a man and a woman, and may be dissolved by mutual consent or by the shall of one of the parties. The law shall regulate this matter.
Article 73
Family relations rest on the respect, solidarity and absolute equality of rights and responsibilities between the man and woman.
Parents must attend to the maintenance of the home and the integral development of children through joint efforts, with equal rights and responsibilities. Children are, as well, obligated to respect and assist their parents. These duties and rights shall be fulfilled in accordance with the legislation on this matter.
Article 74
The State grants special protection to the process of human reproduction.
Women shall have special protection during pregnancy and shall be granted maternity leave with pay and all appropriate social security benefits.
No one may deny employment to women for reasons of pregnancy nor dismiss them during pregnancy or the post-natal period; all in conformity with the law.
Article 75
All children have equal rights. There shall be no discriminatory designations due to matters of filiation. In ordinary legislation, no dispositions or classifications that reduce or deny equality among children have any value.
Article 76
The State shall create programs and develop special centers for the care of minors; minors have the right to measures of prevention, protection and education from their family, society and the State, as required by their condition.
Article 77
The elderly have the right to protective measures from their family, society and the State.
Article 78
The State protects responsible paternity and maternity. The right to investigate paternity and maternity is established.
Article 79
The right to adoption for the exclusive interest of the integral development of the minor is established. The law shall regulate this matter.
Chapter V. Labor Rights
Article 80
Work is a right and a social responsibility.
The labor of Nicaraguans is the fundamental means to satisfy the needs of society and of persons, and is the source of the wealth and prosperity of the nation. The State shall strive for full and productive employment of all Nicaraguans under conditions that guarantee the fundamental rights of the person.
Article 81
Workers have the right to participate in the management of their enterprises, through their organizations and in conformity with the law.
Article 82
Workers have the right to working conditions that specifically ensure them:
- Equal pay for equal work under identical conditions, suitable to their social responsibility, without discrimination for political, religious, racial, gender or any other reasons, which ensure a well-being compatible with human dignity;
- Being paid in legal tender currency in their work place;
- The exemption from seizure of the minimum wage and social benefits, except for the protection of their family and in the terms established by law;
- Work conditions that guarantee physical integrity, health, hygiene and the reduction of professional hazards to make effective the worker’s occupational security;
- An eight-hour work day, weekly rest, vacations, remuneration for national holidays and a thirteenth month salary, in conformity with the law;
- Work stability in conformity with the law and equal opportunity to be promoted, limited only by the factors of time, service, capacity, efficiency and responsibility;
- Social security for integral protection and means of subsistence in cases of incapacitation, old age, professional risks, illness or maternity; and for their relatives in cases of death, in the form and under conditions established by law.
Article 83
The right to strike is recognized.
Article 84
Child labor in tasks that can affect their normal development or their obligatory instruction cycle is prohibited. Children and adolescents shall be protected against any form of economic and social exploitation.
Article 85
Workers have the right to their cultural, scientific and technical development; the State shall facilitate this through special programs.
Article 86
All Nicaraguans have the right to freely elect and exercise their profession or trade and to choose their place of work with no other requisites than a school degree and that the work serve a social purpose.
Article 87
Full labor union freedom exists in Nicaragua. Workers shall organize themselves voluntarily in unions, which shall be constituted in conformity with that established by the law.
No worker is obliged to belong to a particular union or to resign from the one to which he/she belongs. The full autonomy of organized labor is recognized and the traditional rights (fuero) of the unions are respected.
Article 88
In defense of their individual or organizational interests, workers are guaranteed the inalienable right to negotiate the following with their employers:
- Individual contracts;
- Collective bargaining agreements.
Both in conformity with the law.
Chapter VI. Rights of the Communities of the Atlantic Coast
Article 89
The communities of the Atlantic Coast are indivisible parts of the Nicaraguan people, and as such they enjoy the same rights and have the same obligations.
The communities of the Atlantic Coast have the right to preserve and develop their cultural identities within the national unity, to provide themselves with their own forms of social organization, and to administer their local affairs according to their traditions.
The State recognizes communal forms of land ownership of the communities of the Atlantic Coast. Equally it recognizes their enjoyment, use and benefit of the waters and forests of their communal lands.
Article 90
The communities of the Atlantic Coast have the right to the free expression and preservation of their languages, art and culture. The development of their culture and their values enrich the national culture. The State shall create special programs to enhance the exercise of these rights.
Article 91
The State has the obligation to enact laws intended to promote actions to ensure that no Nicaraguan shall be the object of discrimination for reasons of language, culture or origin.
