Plurinational State of Bolivia 2009 Constitution - Page 5 of 21

Table of Contents

TITLE IV. JURISDICTIONAL GUARANTEES AND ACTIONS OF DEFENSE

CHAPTER I. Jurisdictional Guarantees

Article 109

All the rights recognized in the Constitution are directly applicable and enjoy equal guarantees of their protection.
The rights and guarantees may be regulated only by the law.

Article 110

Persons who violate constitutional rights are subject to the jurisdiction and competence of the Bolivian authorities.
The intellectual and material perpetrators of violations of constitutional rights are to be held responsible.
The immediate perpetrators of attacks against personal security are to be held liable, and are not excused from liability for having committed them under orders of superiors.

Article 111

The crimes of genocide, offenses against humanity, treason, and war crimes are not extinguishable.

Article 112

The crimes committed by public servants that are perpetrated against the patrimony of the State and cause serious economic harm, are not extinguishable, and no immunities are to be applied.

Article 113

Victims of violations of their rights are granted the right to timely indemnification, reparation and compensation for damages and prejudices.
In the event that a sentence requires the State to repair damages and prejudices, it shall interpose the same action against the authority or public servant responsible for the act or omission that caused the damage.

Article 114

All forms of torture, disappearances, confinement, coercion, exaction and any other form of physical and moral violence are prohibited. The public servants or officials, who apply, instigate or consent to them shall be dismissed and replaced, without prejudice to the sanctions determined by law.
The statements, actions or omissions which are obtained or undertaken through the employment of torture, coercion, exaction, or by any other form of violence, are null to the full extent of the law.

Article 115

Everyone shall be protected in the exercise of his or her rights and legitimate interests in a timely and effective manner by the judges and courts.
The State guarantees the right to due process and defense, and to plural, prompt, appropriate, free, and transparent justice without delays.

Article 116

The presumption of innocence is guaranteed. During the process, in the event of a doubt concerning the applicable norm, the one most favorable to the accused or the defendant shall govern.
Every sanction must be based on a law existing prior to the commission of the punishable act.

Article 117

No one may be condemned without having been previously heard and tried pursuant to due process. No one shall be subject to a criminal sanction that has not been imposed by a competent judicial authority as a final judgment.
No one shall be tried or sentenced more than once for the same act. The rights that are restricted shall be immediately restored upon fulfillment of the sentence.
No sanction of deprivation of liberty may be imposed for debts or property obligations, except in the cases established by law.

Article 118

Dishonor, civil death and confinement are prohibited.
The maximum criminal sentence shall be thirty years of deprivation of liberty without the right to pardon.
The fulfillment of sentences of deprivation of liberty and the security measures imposed are directed toward the education, rehabilitation and reinsertion in society of the condemned persons, with respect for their rights.

Article 119

During the legal process, the parties in conflict enjoy equal opportunities to exercise the faculties and rights that may help them, whether in an ordinary process or by rural native indigenous process.
Everyone has the inviolable right to a defense. The State shall provide a defense lawyer free of charge to persons accused or denounced in the event that they do not have the necessary economic resources.

Article 120

Every person has the right to be heard by a competent, impartial and independent jurisdictional authority, and may not be tried by special commissions or submitted to other jurisdictional authorities other than those established prior to the time the facts of the case arose.
Every person submitted to legal process has the right to be tried in his or her language; in case of exception, the person must be assisted by a translator or interpreter.

Article 121

In criminal matters, no person can be forced to make a statement against him or herself, or against his or her blood relatives to the fourth degree or against non-blood relatives up to the second degree. The right to remain silent shall not be considered an indication of guilt.
The victim in a criminal process shall be able to intervene in accordance with the law, and shall have the right to be heard before each judicial decision. In the event that he or she does not have the necessary economic resources, he or she will be assisted free of charge by a lawyer appointed by the State.

Article 122

The acts of persons who usurp functions, which are not their responsibility, as well as the acts of those who exercise jurisdiction or power that does not emanate from the law, are null and void.

Article 123

The law stipulates only with respect to future acts and shall have no retroactive effect, except in the following cases: in labor matters when it expressly makes determinations in favor of workers; in criminal matters, when it benefits the accused; in corruption matters in order to investigate, process and sanction crimes committed by public servants against the interests of the State; and in the rest of the cases set forth by the Constitution.

Article 124

The Bolivian who engages in the following acts commits the crime of treason against the country:
1. Takes up arms against his or her country, puts him or herself at the service of participating foreign states, or enters into complicity with the enemy in the case of an international war against Bolivia.
2. Violates the constitutional regime of natural resources.
3. Attacks the unity of the country.
This crime shall deserve the maximum criminal sanction.

CHAPTER II. Actions of Defense

Section I. Action for Liberty

Article 125

Anyone who believes his or her life is in danger, that he or she is being illegally persecuted, unjustly tried or deprived of personal liberty, shall file a claim of Action for Liberty (Accion de Libertad) and present him or herself, either in writing or orally, on his or her own behalf or by anyone in his or her name, and without any formal procedure, before any judge or competent court in criminal matters, and shall request that his or her life be protected, that the unjustified persecution be halted, that the legal formalities be reestablished, or that his or her right to liberty be restored.

Article 126

The judicial authority shall immediately set the day and hour of the public hearing, which shall take place within twenty four hours of the filing of the claim, and shall stipulate that the claimant be brought into its presence, or it shall go to the place of detention. With said order, it shall execute the citation, in person or by service of process, to the authority or person accused, which order shall be obeyed, without excuse, both by the authority or person accused as well as by those in charge of the jails or places of detention, without their having the possibility, once served, of disobeying.
In no event may the hearing be suspended. In the absence of the defendant for failure to attend or abandonment, the process will continue in default.
With knowledge of the background and having heard the allegations, the judicial authority shall be obligated and have the responsibility to dictate the sentence at the same hearing. The sentence shall order the safeguarding of the claimant’s life, the restitution of the right to liberty, the correction of the legal defects, the cessation of the illegal persecution, or the remanding of the case to a competent judge. In every case, the parties shall be notified of the reading of the sentence.
The judicial decision shall be executed immediately. Without prejudice to it, the decision shall be taken on appeal, sua sponte, to the Pluri-National Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional Plurinacional), within the term of twenty four hours after its issuance.

Article 127

Public servants and individuals who resist compliance with the judicial decisions in the cases foreseen for this action shall be remanded by order of the authority that heard the case to the Public Ministry for criminal process for threatening constitutional guarantees.
The judicial authority that does not proceed pursuant to that stipulated by this article shall be subject to sanction, in accordance with the Constitution and the law.

Section II. Action of Constitutional Protection

Article 128

The Action for Constitutional Protection (Accion de Amparo Constitucional) shall take place against the illegal or unjustified acts or omissions of public servants or of individuals or collectives, who restrict, suppress or threaten to restrict or suppress rights recognized by the Constitution and the law.

Article 129

The Action for Constitutional Protection shall be presented by the person who believes him or herself affected, by another with sufficient power to act in his or her name, or by the corresponding authority pursuant to the Constitution, to any judge or competent court, provided that there is no other existing means or legal recourse for the immediate protection of the rights and guarantees that have been restricted, suppressed or threatened.
The Action for Constitutional Protection shall be filed within the maximum term of six months, computed from the commission of the alleged violation or the notification of last administrative or judicial decision.
The defendant authority or person shall be summoned in the manner set forth by the Action for Liberty, in order for the defendant to provide information or make a presentation in his case of the facts concerning the act complained of, in the maximum term of forty eight hours from the presentation of the Action.
The final resolution shall be announced in a public hearing immediately after receiving the information from the defendant authority or person and, in the absence of that information, it will be made on the basis of the proof offered by the plaintiff. The judicial authority shall examine the competence of the public servant or of the defendant and, in the event it finds the complaint to be certain and true, shall grant the protection requested. The decision that is pronounced shall be taken, sua sponte, for review before the Pluri-National Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional Plurinacional) in the term of twenty four hours following the issuance of the decision.
The final decision that grants the Action for Constitutional Protection shall be immediately executed and without comment. In the event of resistance, the case shall proceed pursuant to that set forth in the Action for Liberty. The judicial authority that does not proceed pursuant to that set forth in this article shall be subject to the sanctions set forth in the law.

Section III. Action for Protection of Privacy

Article 130

Every individual, or collective, that believes he or she to be unjustly or illegally impeded from knowing, objecting to, or achieving the elimination or correction of information registered by any physical electronic, magnetic or computerized form, in public or private files or data banks, or that might affect his or her fundamental right to intimacy and personal or family privacy, or his or her own image, honor and reputation, shall file a complaint of Action for Protection of Privacy.
The Action for Protection of Privacy (Accion de Protección de Privacidad) shall not proceed to uncover confidential material of the press.

Article 131

The Action for Protection of Privacy shall take place pursuant to the procedure set forth for the Action of Constitutional Protection.
If the competent court or judge admits the action, it shall order the revelation, elimination or correction of the data, the registration of which was challenged.
The decision shall be taken on appeal, sua sponte, to the Pluri-National Constitutional Court within the term of twenty four hours following the issuance of the decision, without suspension of its execution.
The final decision granted in the Action for Protection of Privacy shall be immediately executed and without comment. In the event of resistance, the procedure shall be pursuant to that set forth in the Action for Liberty. The judicial authority that does not proceed pursuant to that set forth in this article shall be subject to the sanctions set forth in the law.

Section IV. Action for Unconstitutionality

Article 132

Every person or collective affected by a juridical norm contrary to the Constitution shall have the right to present an Action for Unconstitutionality (Accion de Inconstitucionalidad), pursuant to the procedures established by law.

Article 133

The decision that declares a law, decree, or any other kind of nonjudicial resolution unconstitutional makes the challenged norm inapplicable and has full effect with respect to everyone.

Section V. Action for Compliance

Article 134

The Action for Compliance (Accion de Cumplimiento) shall apply to the case of non compliance with provisions of the constitutional or the law on the part of public servants, and has as its objective the guaranteeing of the execution of the norm.
The action shall be filed by the affected individual or collective, or by another with sufficient power in name of the affected party, before a competent judge or court, and shall be processed in the same manner as the Action for Constitutional Protection.
The final resolution shall be pronounced at a public hearing immediately after receiving the information from the defendant authority and, in the absence of that information, it shall be made on the basis of the proof offered by the plaintiff. The judicial authority shall examine the background and, if it finds the complaint to be true and certain, it shall admit the action and order immediate compliance with the omitted duty.
The decision shall be taken up on appeal, sua sponte, to the Pluri-National Constitutional Court within the term of twenty four hours following the issuance of the decision, without suspension of its execution.
The final decision granted in the Action for Compliance shall be immediately executed without comment. In the event of resistance, the procedure shall be pursuant to that set forth in the Action for Liberty. The judicial authority that does not proceed pursuant to that set forth in this article shall be subject to the sanctions set forth in the law.

Section VI. Popular Action

Article 135

The Popular Action (la Accion Popular) shall proceed against any act or omission by the authorities or individuals or collectives that violates or threatens to violate rights and collective interests related to public patrimony, space, security and health, the environment and other rights of a similar nature that are recognized by this Constitution.

Article 136

The Popular Action shall be filed during the period in which the violation or threat to the rights and collective interests continues. To file this action it is not necessary to exhaust the judicial or administrative processes that might exist.
Any person, in his or her individual name or on behalf of a collective, may file this action, and it shall be filed obligatorily by the Public Ministry and the Public Defender (Ministerio Público y el Defensor del Pueblo) when, in the exercise of their functions, they have knowledge of these acts. The procedure for the Action for Constitutional Protection shall be applied.

CHAPTER III. States of Emergency

Article 137

In the case of danger to the security of the State, external threat, internal disturbance or national disaster, the President of the State shall have the power to declare a state of emergency, wherever necessary in all or part of the territory. The declaration of the state of emergency shall not, in any case, suspend the guarantees of rights, nor the fundamental rights, the right of due process, the right to information and the rights of persons deprived of liberty.

Article 138

The validity of the declaration of the state of emergency shall depend on the subsequent approval of the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly, which shall take place as soon as circumstances permit, and in all cases, within seventy two hours following the declaration of the state of emergency. The approval of the declaration shall indicate the powers conferred, and it shall maintain strict relation and proportion to the case of necessity addressed by the state of emergency. In general, the rights consecrated in the Constitution shall not be suspended by the declaration of the state of emergency.
Once the state of emergency ends, no other state of emergency may be declared within one year following, except upon prior legislative authorization.

Article 139

The Executive shall report to the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly concerning the reasons for the declaration of the state of emergency, as well as the use that has been made of the powers conferred by the Constitution and the law.
Those persons who violate the rights established in this Constitution shall be subject to criminal process for violation of rights.
The states of emergency shall be regulated by law.

Article 140

Neither the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly, nor any other body or institution, nor association or popular group of any kind, shall grant to a body or person any extraordinary authorities different than those established in this Constitution.
Public Power may not be accumulated, nor may any body or person be granted supremacy over the rights and guarantees recognized in this Constitution.
The reform of the Constitution may not be initiated while there is a state of emergency in force.

TITLE V. NATIONALITY AND CITIZENSHIP

CHAPTER I. Nationality

Article 141

Bolivian nationality is acquired by birth or by naturalization. Persons who are born in the territory of Bolivia are Bolivians by birth, with the exception of children of foreign personnel on diplomatic mission; persons born abroad of a Bolivian mother or father are Bolivians by birth.

Article 142

Foreigners may acquire Bolivian nationality by naturalization if they are legally in the country for more than three years of uninterrupted residence under the supervision of the State, and they expressly manifest their desire to obtain Bolivian nationality and comply with the requisites established by law.
The time of residence shall be reduced to two years in the case of foreigners who are in one of the following situations:
1. They have a Bolivian spouse, a Bolivian child or children, or Bolivian adoptive parents. Foreign citizens who acquire citizenship by marriage with Bolivian citizens do not lose it in the case of widowhood or divorce.
2. They serve in the Bolivian military at the required age and pursuant to the law.
3. They obtain Bolivian nationality granted by the Pluri-National Legislative Assembly for their service to the country.
The time of residence for obtaining Bolivian nationality may be modified when there are reciprocal conventions with other states, first and foremost those of Latin America.

Article 143

Bolivians who marry foreign citizens shall not lose their nationality of origin. Nor shall Bolivian nationality be lost by acquiring foreign citizenship.
Foreigners who acquire Bolivian nationality shall not be obligated to renounce their nationality of origin.

CHAPTER II. Citizenship

Article 144

All Bolivians are citizens and exercise their citizenship rights from the age of 18, whatever may be their level of education, occupation or income.
Citizenship rights consist of:
1. Taking part as an elector or being eligible to be part of and exercise functions in the bodies of popular power, and
2. The right to exercise public functions without any requisites, except those established by law.
The rights of citizens are suspended for reasons and in the manner set forth in article 28 of this Constitution.