Portugal 1976 Constitution (reviewed 2005) - Page 3 of 7

Table of Contents

Part I. Fundamental rights and duties

Title I. General principles

Article 12. Principle of universality

Every citizen shall enjoy the rights and be subject to the duties enshrined in this Constitution.
Bodies corporate shall enjoy such rights and be subject to such duties as are compatible with their nature.

Article 13. Principle of equality

Every citizen shall possess the same social dignity and shall be equal before the law.
No one shall be privileged, favoured, prejudiced, deprived of any right or exempted from any duty on the basis of ancestry, sex, race, language, place of origin, religion, political or ideological beliefs, education, economic situation, social circumstances or sexual orientation.

Article 14. Portuguese abroad

Portuguese citizens who find themselves or who reside abroad shall enjoy the state’s protection in the exercise of such rights and shall be subject to such duties as are not incompatible with their absence from the country.

Article 15. Foreigners, stateless persons, European citizens

Foreigners and stateless persons who fund themselves or who reside in Portugal shall enjoy the same rights and be subject to the same duties as Portuguese citizens.
Political rights, the exercise of public offices that are not predominantly technical in nature, and the rights that this Constitution and the law reserve exclusively to Portuguese citizens shall be excepted from the provisions of the previous paragraph.
With the exceptions of appointment to the offices of President of the Republic, President of the Assembly of the Republic, Prime Minister and President of any of the supreme courts, and of service in the armed forces and the diplomatic corps, in accordance with the law and subject to reciprocity, such rights as are not otherwise granted to foreigners shall apply to citizens of Portuguese-speaking states who reside permanently in Portugal.
Subject to reciprocity, the law may grant foreigners who reside in Portugal the right to vote for and stand for election as local councillors.
Subject to reciprocity, the law may also grant citizens of European Union Member States who reside in Portugal the right to vote for and stand for election as Members of the European Parliament.

Article 16. Scope and interpretation of fundamental rights

The fundamental rights enshrined in this Constitution shall not exclude such other rights as may be laid down by law and in the applicable rules of international law.
The provisions of this Constitution and of laws concerning fundamental rights shall be interpreted and construed in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Article 17. Rules governing rights, freedoms and guarantees

The set of rules governing rights, freedoms and guarantees shall apply to those set out in Title II and to fundamental rights of a similar nature.

Article 18. Legal force

This Constitution’s provisions with regard to rights, freedoms and guarantees shall be directly applicable to and binding on public and private persons and bodies.
The law may only restrict rights, freedoms and guarantees in cases expressly provided for in this Constitution, and such restrictions shall be limited to those needed to safeguard other rights and interests protected by this Constitution.
Laws that restrict rights, freedoms and guarantees shall possess an abstract and general nature and shall not possess a retroactive effect or reduce the extent or scope of the essential content of the provisions of this Constitution.

Article 19. Suspension of the exercise of rights

Bodies that exercise sovereign power shall not jointly or separately suspend the exercise of rights, freedoms and guarantees, save in the case of a state of siege or a state of emergency declared in the form provided for in this Constitution.
A state of siege or a state of emergency may only be declared in part or all of Portuguese territory in cases of actual or imminent aggression by foreign forces, a serious threat to or disturbance of constitutional democratic order, or public disaster.
A state of emergency shall be declared when the preconditions referred to in the previous paragraph are less serious, and shall only cause the suspension of the some of the rights, freedoms and guarantees that are capable of being suspended.
Both the choice between a state of siege and a state of emergency and the declaration and implementation thereof shall respect the principle of proportionality and shall limit themselves, particularly as regards their extent and duration and the means employed, to that which is strictly necessary to promptly restore constitutional normality.
Declarations of a state of siege or a state of emergency shall set out adequate grounds therefore and shall specify the rights, freedoms and guarantees that are to be suspended. Without prejudice to the possibility of renewal subject to the same limits, neither may last for more than fifteen days, or, in the event that it results from a declaration of war, for more than the duration determined by law.
Under no circumstances shall a declaration of a state of siege or a state of emergency affect the rights to life, personal integrity, personal identity, civil capacity and citizenship, the non-retroactivity of the criminal law, defendants’ right to a defence, or freedom of conscience and religion.
Declarations of a state of siege or a state of emergency may only alter constitutional normality in the manner provided for in this Constitution and the law. In particular, they shall not affect the application of the constitutional rules concerning the responsibilities and functioning of the bodies that exercise sovereign power or of the self-government bodies of the autonomous regions, or the rights and immunities of the holders of such offices.
Declarations of a state of siege or a state of emergency shall grant the public authorities the power and responsibility to take the appropriate steps needed to promptly restore constitutional normality.

Article 20. Access to law and effective judicial protection

Everyone shall be guaranteed access to the law and the courts in order to defend those of his rights and interests that are protected by law, and justice shall not be denied to anyone due to lack of financial means.
Subject to the terms of the law, everyone shall possess the right to legal information and advice, to legal counsel and to be accompanied by a lawyer before any authority.
The law shall define and ensure adequate protection of the secrecy of legal proceedings.
Everyone shall possess the right to secure a ruling in any suit to which he is a party, within a reasonable period of time and by means of fair process.
For the purpose of safeguarding personal rights, freedoms and guarantees and in such a way as to secure effective and timely judicial protection against threats thereto or breaches thereof, the law shall ensure citizens judicial proceedings that are characterised by their swiftness and by the attachment of priority to them.

Article 21. Right of resistance

Everyone shall possess the right to resist any order that infringes their rights, freedoms or guarantees and, when it is not possible to resort to the public authorities, to use force to repel any aggression.

Article 22. Liability of public bodies

Jointly with their officeholders, staff and agents, the state and all other public bodies shall be civilly liable for such actions or omissions in the performance of their functions as result in a breach of rights, freedoms or guarantees or in any loss to others.

Article 23. Ombudsman

Citizens may submit complaints against actions or omissions by the public authorities to the Ombudsman, who shall assess them without the power to take decisions and shall send the competent bodies such recommendations as may be necessary in order to prevent or make good any injustices.
The Ombudsman’s work shall be independent of any acts of grace or legal remedies provided for in this Constitution or the law.
The Ombudsman’s office shall be an independent body and the Assembly of the Republic shall appoint the Ombudsman for such time as the law may determine.
The bodies and agents of the Public Administration shall cooperate with the Ombudsman in the fulfilment of his mission.

Title II. Rights, freedoms and guarantees

Chapter I. Personal rights, freedoms and guarantees

Article 24. Right to life

Human life shall be inviolable.
The death penalty shall not exist under any circumstances.

Article 25. Right to personal integrity

Every person’s moral and physical integrity shall be inviolable.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment or punishment.

Article 26. Other personal rights

Everyone shall possess the right to a personal identity, to the development of their personality, to civil capacity, to citizenship, to a good name and reputation, to their likeness, to speak out, to protect the privacy of their personal and family life, and to legal protection against any form of discrimination.
The law shall lay down effective guarantees against the procurement and misuse of information concerning persons and families and its use contrary to human dignity.
The law shall guarantee the personal dignity and genetic identity of the human person, particularly in the creation, development and use of technologies and in scientific experimentation.
Deprivation of citizenship and restrictions on civil capacity may only occur in such cases and under such terms as may be provided for by law, and shall not be based on political motives.

Article 27. Right to freedom and security

Everyone shall possess the right to freedom and security.
No one may be wholly or partially deprived of their freedom, except as a consequence of a judicial sentence imposed for the practise of an act that is punishable by law with a prison term or the imposition by a court of a security measure.
The following cases of deprivation of freedom for such time and under such conditions as the law may determine shall be exceptions to this principle:
1. Detention in flagrante delicto;
2. Detention or remand in custody where there is strong evidence of the commission of a serious crime punishable by imprisonment for a maximum term of more than three years;
3. The imposition of imprisonment, detention or any other coercive measure subject to judicial control, on a person who improperly entered or is improperly present in Portuguese territory, or who is currently the object of extradition or deportation proceedings;
4. The imposition of disciplinary imprisonment on military personnel. Such imprisonment shall be subject to appeal to the competent court;
5. The subjection of a minor to measures intended to protect, assist or educate him in a suitable establishment, when ordered by the competent court of law;
6. Detention under a court order for disobeying a court ruling or to ensure appearance before a competent judicial authority;
7. Detentions of suspects for identification purposes, in such cases and for such time as may be strictly necessary;
8. Committal of a person suffering from a psychic anomaly to an appropriate therapeutic establishment, when ordered or confirmed by a competent judicial authority.
Every person who is deprived of his freedom shall immediately be informed in an understandable manner of the reasons for his arrest, imprisonment or detention and of his rights.
Deprivation of freedom contrary to the provisions of this Constitution and the law shall place the state under a duty to compensate the aggrieved person in accordance with the law.

Article 28. Remand in custody

Within at most forty-eight hours, all detentions shall be submitted to judicial scrutiny with a view to either the detainee’s release or the imposition of an appropriate coercive measure. The judge shall become acquainted with the reasons for the detention and shall inform the detainee thereof, question him and give him the opportunity to present a defence.
Remand in custody shall be exceptional in nature and shall not be ordered or maintained whenever it is possible to grant bail or apply another, more favourable measure provided for by law.
Notification of any court order that institutes or maintains a measure entailing the deprivation of freedom shall immediately be given to such relative or other person of trust as the detainee may nominate.
Remand in custody shall be subject to the time limits laid down by law.

Article 29. Application of criminal law

No one shall be sentenced under the criminal law unless the action or omission in question is punishable under the terms of a pre-existing law, nor shall any person be the object of a security measure unless the prerequisites therefore are laid down by a pre-existing law.
The provisions of the previous paragraph shall not preclude the punishment up to the limits laid down by internal Portuguese law of an action or omission which was deemed criminal under the general principles of commonly recognised international law at the moment of its commission.
No sentence or security measure shall be applied unless it is expressly sanctioned in a pre-existing law.
No one shall be the object of a sentence or security measure that is more severe than those provided for at the moment of the conduct in question, or at that at which the prerequisites for the application of such a measure were fulfilled. However, criminal laws the content of which is more favourable to the defendant shall be applied retroactively.
No one shall be tried more than once for the same crime.
Citizens who are unjustly convicted shall possess the right to the review of their sentences and to compensation for such damages as they have suffered, as laid down by law.

Article 30. Limits on sentences and security measures

No sentence or security measure that deprives or restricts freedom shall be perpetual in nature or possess an unlimited or undefined duration.
In cases of danger based on serious psychic abnormality in which therapy in an open environment is impossible, security measures that deprive or restrict freedom may be successively extended for such time as the psychic state in question is maintained, but always by means of a judicial ruling.
Criminal liability shall not be transferable.
No sentence shall automatically result in the loss of any civil, professional or political right.
Convicted persons who are the object of a sentence or security measure that deprives them of their freedom shall retain their fundamental rights, subject only to such limitations as are inherent to their convictions and to the specific requirements imposed by the execution of the respective sentences.

Article 31. Habeas corpus

Habeas corpus shall be available to counter the misuse of power in the form of illegal arrest, imprisonment or detention. Application for it shall be made to the competent court.
Application for a habeas corpus order may be made by the person so arrested, imprisoned or detained, or by any citizen exercising his political rights.
Within eight days of an application for habeas corpus the judge shall rule thereon in a hearing that shall be subject to pleading and counter-pleading.

Article 32. Safeguards in criminal proceedings

Criminal proceedings shall ensure all necessary safeguards for the defence, including the right to appeal.
Every defendant shall be presumed innocent until his sentence has transited in rem judicatam, and shall be brought to trial as quickly as is compatible with the safeguards of the defence.
Defendants shall possess the right to choose counsel and to be assisted by him in relation to every procedural act. The law shall specify those cases and phases of proceedings in which the assistance of a lawyer shall be mandatory.
Preliminary investigations shall be conducted entirely under the responsibility of a judge, who may, subject to the terms of the law, delegate the practise of such investigative acts as do not directly concern fundamental rights to other persons or bodies.
Criminal proceedings shall possess an accusatorial structure, and trial hearings and such preliminary investigative acts as the law may require shall be subject to the principle of pleading and counter-pleading.
The law shall define the cases in which, subject to the safeguarding of the rights of the defence, the presence of the defendant or the accused at procedural acts, including trial hearings, may be dispensed with.
Victims shall possess the right to take part in proceedings, as laid down by law.
All evidence obtained by torture, coercion, infringement of personal physical or moral integrity, improper intromission into personal life, the home, correspondence or telecommunications shall be deemed null and void.
No case shall be withdrawn from a court that already had jurisdiction under an earlier law.
Defendants in proceedings concerning administrative offences or in any proceedings in which penalties may be imposed shall possess the right to be heard and to a defence.

Article 33. Deportation, extradition and right of asylum

Portuguese citizens shall not be deported from Portuguese territory.
Deportation of anyone who properly entered or is properly present in Portuguese territory, has been granted a residence permit, or has submitted a request for asylum that has not been refused may only be ordered by a judicial authority. The law shall ensure expedite forms of ruling in such cases.
The extradition of Portuguese citizens from Portuguese territory shall only be permissible where an international agreement has established reciprocal extradition arrangements, or in cases of terrorism or international organised crime, and on condition that the applicant state’s legal system enshrines guarantees of a just and fair trial.
Extradition for crimes that are punishable under the applicant state’s law by a sentence or security measure which deprives or restricts freedom in perpetuity or for an undefined duration, shall only be permissible in the event that the applicant state is a party to an international agreement in this domain to which Portugal is bound, and offers guarantees that such a sentence or security measure will not be applied or executed.
The provisions of the previous paragraphs shall not prejudice the application of such rules governing judicial cooperation in the criminal field as may be laid down under the aegis of the European Union.
No one shall be extradited or handed over under any circumstances for political reasons, or for crimes which are punishable under the applicant state’s law by death or by any other sentence that results in irreversible damage to a person’s physical integrity.
Extradition shall only be ordered by a judicial authority.
The right of asylum shall be guaranteed to foreigners and stateless persons who are the object, or are under grave threat, of persecution as a result of their activities in favour of democracy, social and national liberation, peace among peoples, freedom or rights of the human person.
The law shall define the status of political refugee.

Article 34. Inviolability of home and correspondence

Personal homes and the secrecy of correspondence and other means of private communication shall be inviolable.
Entry into a citizen’s home may only be ordered by the competent judicial authority and then only in such cases and in compliance with such forms as may be laid down by law.
No one shall enter any person’s home at night without his consent, save in situations of flagrante delicto, or with judicial authorisation in cases of especially violent or highly organised crime, including terrorism and trafficking in persons, arms or narcotics, as laid down by law.
The public authorities shall be prohibited from interfering in any way with correspondence, telecommunications or other means of communication, save in such cases as the law may provide for in relation to criminal proceedings.

Article 35. Use of computers

Every citizen shall possess the right to access to all computerised data that concern him, to require that they be corrected and updated, and to be informed of the purpose for which they are intended, all as laid down by law.
The law shall define the concept of personal data, together with the terms and conditions applicable to its automatised treatment and its linkage, transmission and use, and shall guarantee its protection, particularly by means of an independent administrative body.
Computers shall not be used to treat data concerning philosophical or political convictions, party or trade union affiliations, religious beliefs, private life or ethnic origins, save with the express consent of the datasubject, with authorisation provided for by law and with guarantees of nondiscrimination, or for the purpose of processing statistical data that cannot be individually identified.
Third-party access to personal data shall be prohibited, save in exceptional cases provided for by law.
The allocation of a single national number to any citizen shall be prohibited.
Everyone shall be guaranteed free access to public-use computer networks, and the law shall define both the rules that shall apply to cross-border data flows and the appropriate means for protecting personal data and such other data as may justifiably be safeguarded in the national interest.
Personal data contained in manual files shall enjoy the same protection as that provided for in the previous paragraphs, as laid down by law.

Article 36. Family, marriage and filiation

Everyone shall possess the right to found a family and to marry on terms of full equality.
The law shall regulate the requirements for and the effects of marriage and its dissolution by death or divorce, regardless of the form in which it was entered into.
Spouses shall possess equal rights and duties in relation to their civil and political capacity and to the maintenance and education of their children.
Children born outside wedlock shall not be the object of any discrimination for that reason, and neither the law, nor official departments or services may employ discriminatory terms in relation to their filiation.
Parents shall possess the right and the duty to educate and maintain their children.
Children shall not be separated from their parents, save when the latter do not fulfil their fundamental duties towards them, and then always by judicial order.
Adoption shall be regulated and protected by law, which shall lay down swift forms of completion of the necessary requirements.

Article 37. Freedom of expression and information

Everyone shall possess the right to freely express and publicise his thoughts in words, images or by any other means, as well as the right to inform others, inform himself and be informed without hindrance or discrimination.
Exercise of the said rights shall not be hindered or limited by any type or form of censorship.
Infractions committed in the exercise of the said rights shall be subject to the general principles of the criminal law or the law governing administrative offences, and shall be brought before the courts of law or an independent administrative body respectively, as laid down by law.
Every person and body corporate shall be equally and effectively guaranteed the right of reply and to make corrections, as well as the right to compensation for damages suffered.

Article 38. Freedom of the press and the media

The freedom of the press shall be guaranteed.
Freedom of the press shall mean:
1. Journalists and other staff’s freedom of expression and creativity, as well as journalists’ freedom to take part in determining the editorial policy of the media body in question, save when it is doctrinal or denominational in nature;
2. Journalists’ right, as laid down by law, to gain access to sources of information and to the protection of professional independence and secrecy, as well as their right to elect editorial boards;
3. The right to found newspapers and any other publications, regardless of any prior administrative authorisation, bond or qualification.
In generic terms, the law shall ensure that the names of the owners of media bodies and the means by which those bodies are financed are publicised.
The state shall ensure the media’s freedom and independence from political power and economic power by imposing the principle of specialisation on businesses that own general information media, treating and supporting them in a non-discriminatory manner and preventing their concentration, particularly by means of multiple or interlocking interests.
The state shall ensure the existence and operation of a public radio and television service.
The structure and operation of public sector media shall safeguard their independence from the Government, the Public Administration and the other public authorities, and shall ensure that all the different currents of opinion are able to express themselves and to confront one another.
Radio and television broadcasting stations shall only operate with licenses that are granted under public calls for tender, as laid down by law.

Article 39. Regulation of the media

An independent administrative body shall be responsible for ensuring the following in the media:
1. The right to information and the freedom of the press;
2. The non-concentration of ownership of the media;
3. Independence from political power and economic power;
4. Respect for personal rights, freedoms and guarantees;
5. Respect for the statutes and rules that regulate the work of the media;
6. That all different currents of opinion are able to express themselves and confront one another;
7. Exercise of the rights to broadcasting time, of reply and of political response.
The law shall define the composition, responsibilities, organisation and modus operandi of the body referred to in the previous paragraph, together with the status and role of its members, who shall be appointed by the Assembly of the Republic and co-opted by those so appointed.

Article 40. Right to broadcasting time, of reply and of political response

Political parties, trade unions, professional and business organisations and other organisations with a national scope shall, in accordance with their size and representativity and with objective criteria that shall be defined by law, possess the right to broadcasting time on the public radio and television service.
Political parties that hold one or more seats in the Assembly of the Republic and do not form part of the Government shall, as laid down by law, possess the right to broadcasting time on the public radio and television service, which shall be apportioned in accordance with each party’s proportional share of the seats in the Assembly, as well as to reply or respond politically to the Government’s political statements. Such times shall be of the same duration and prominence as those given over to the Government’s broadcasts and statements. Parties with seats in the Legislative Assemblies of the autonomous regions shall enjoy the same rights within the ambit of the region in question.
During elections and as laid down by law, candidates shall possess the right to regular and equitable broadcasting time on radio and television stations with a national or regional scope.

Article 41. Freedom of conscience, religion and worship

Freedom of conscience, religion and worship shall be inviolable.
No one shall be persecuted, deprived of rights or exempted from civic obligations or duties because of his convictions or religious observance.
No authority shall question anyone in relation to his convictions or religious observance, save in order to gather statistical data that cannot be individually identified, nor shall anyone be prejudiced in any way for refusing to answer.
Churches and other religious communities shall be separate from the state and free to organise themselves and to perform their ceremonies and their worship.
Freedom to teach any religion within the denomination in question and to use appropriate media for the pursuit of its activities shall be guaranteed.
The right to be a conscientious objector, as laid down by law, shall be guaranteed.

Article 42. Freedom of cultural creation

Intellectual, artistic and scientific creation shall not be restricted.
This freedom shall comprise the right to invent, produce and publicise scientific, literary and artistic works and shall include the protection of copyright by law.

Article 43. Freedom to learn and to teach

The freedom to learn and to teach shall be guaranteed.
The state shall not lay down educational and cultural programmes in accordance with any philosophical, aesthetic, political, ideological or religious directives.
Public education shall not be denominational.
The right to create private and cooperative schools shall be guaranteed.

Article 44. Right to travel and to emigrate

Every citizen shall be guaranteed the right to travel and settle freely anywhere in Portuguese territory.
Every citizen shall be guaranteed the right to emigrate or to leave Portuguese territory and the right to return thereto.

Article 45. Right to meet and to demonstrate

Citizens shall possess the right to meet peacefully and without arms, even in places that are open to the public, without the need for any authorisation.
The right of every citizen to demonstrate shall be recognised.

Article 46. Freedom of association

Citizens shall possess the right to freely associate with one another without requiring any authorisation, on condition that such associations are not intended to promote violence and their purposes are not contrary to the criminal law.
Associations shall pursue their purposes freely and without interference from the public authorities and shall not be dissolved by the state or have their activities suspended, except in such cases as the law may provide for and then only by judicial order.
No one shall be obliged to belong to an association, or be coerced to remain therein by any means.
Armed associations, military, militarised or paramilitary-type associations and organisations that are racist or display a fascist ideology shall not be permitted.

Article 47. Freedom to choose a profession and to join the Public Administration

Everyone shall possess the right to freely choose a profession or type of work, subject only to such restrictions as the law may impose in the collective interest, or as are inherent to his own capabilities.
Every citizen shall possess the equal and free right to apply to join the Public Administration, as a general rule by means of a competitive recruitment process.

Chapter II. Rights, freedoms and guarantees concerning participation in politics

Article 48. Participation in public life

Every citizen shall possess the right to take part in political life and the direction of the country’s public affairs, either directly or via freely elected representatives.
Every citizen shall possess the right to be given objective clarifications about the actions of the state and of other public bodies and to be informed by the Government and other authorities about the management of public affairs.

Article 49. Right to vote

Every citizen who has attained the age of eighteen years shall possess the right to vote, save such incapacities as may be provided for in the general law.
The right to vote shall be exercised personally and shall constitute a civic duty.

Article 50. Right to stand for public office

Every citizen shall possess the free and equal right to stand for any public office.
No one shall be prejudiced in his appointments, job or professional career or the social benefits to which he is entitled, due to the exercise of political rights or the holding of public office.
In governing the right to stand for elected office, the law shall only determine such ineligibilities as are needed to guarantee both the electors’ freedom of choice, and independence and absence of bias in the exercise of the offices in question.

Article 51. Political associations and parties

Freedom of association shall include the right to form or take part in political associations and parties and through them to work jointly and democratically towards the formation of the popular will and the organisation of political power.
No one shall be simultaneously registered as a member of more than one political party, and no one shall be deprived of the exercise of any right because he is or ceases to be registered as a member of any legally constituted party.
Without prejudice to the philosophy or ideology that underlies their manifestoes, political parties shall not employ names that contain expressions which are directly related to any religion or church, or emblems that can be confused with national or religious symbols.
No party shall be formed with a name or manifesto that possesses a regional nature or scope.
Political parties shall be governed by the principles of transparency, democratic organisation and management, and participation by all their members.
The law shall lay down the rules governing the financing of political parties, particularly as regards the requirements for and limits on public funding, as well as the requirements to publicise their assets and accounts.

Article 52. Right to petition and right to popular action

Every citizen shall possess the right to individually, or jointly with others, submit petitions, representations, claims or complaints in defence of their rights, this Constitution, the laws or the general interest to bodies that exercise sovereign power, the autonomous regions’ self-government bodies or any authority, as well as the right to be informed of the result of the consideration thereof within a reasonable period of time.
The law shall lay down the terms under which joint petitions to the Assembly of the Republic and the Legislative Assemblies of the autonomous regions are considered in plenary sitting.
Everyone shall be granted the right of actio popularis, to include the right to apply for the appropriate compensation for an aggrieved party or parties, in such cases and under such terms as the law may determine, either personally or via associations that purport to defend the interests in question. The said right shall particularly be exercised in order to:
1. Promote the prevention, cessation or judicial prosecution of offences against public health, consumer rights, the quality of life or the preservation of the environment and the cultural heritage;
2. Safeguard the property of the state, the autonomous regions and local authorities.

Chapter III. Workers’ rights, freedoms and guarantees

Article 53. Job security

Workers shall be guaranteed job security, and dismissal without fair cause or for political or ideological reasons shall be prohibited.

Article 54. Workers’ committees

Workers shall possess the right to form workers’ committees to defend their interests and democratically intervene in company life.
Decisions to form workers’ committees shall be taken by the workers in question, who shall approve the committees’ by-laws and shall elect their members by direct, secret ballot.
Coordinating committees may be created with a view to improving intervention in economic restructuring and to guaranteeing workers’ interests.
Committee members shall enjoy the legal protection accorded to trade union delegates.
Workers’ committees shall possess the right:
1. To receive all the information needed to perform their tasks;
2. To monitor the management of businesses;
3. To participate in corporate restructuring processes, especially in relation to training actions or when working conditions are altered;
4. To take part in drawing up labour legislation and economic and social plans that address their sector;
5. To manage, or participate in the management of, businesses’ social activities;
6. To promote the election of workers’ representatives to the management bodies of businesses that belong to the state or other public bodies, as laid down by law.

Article 55. Freedoms concerning trade unions

Workers shall be free to form and operate trade unions as a condition and guarantee of the building of their unity in defence of their rights and interests.
In exercising their freedom to form and operate trade unions, workers shall particularly be guaranteed the following, without any discrimination:
1. Freedom to form trade unions at every level;
2. Freedom of membership. No worker shall be obliged to pay dues to a union to which he does not belong;
3. Freedom to determine the organisation and internal regulations of trade unions;
4. The right to engage in trade union activities in businesses;
5. The right to political views, in the forms laid down in the respective by-laws.
Trade unions shall be governed by the principles of democratic organisation and management, to be based on periodic elections of their managing bodies by secret ballot, without the need for any authorisation or homologation, and shall be founded on active worker participation in every aspect of trade union activity.
Trade unions shall be independent of employers, the state, religious denominations, and parties and other political associations, and the law shall lay down such guarantees as may be appropriate to that independence, which is fundamental to the unity of the working classes.
Trade unions shall possess the right to establish relations with or join international trade union organisations.
Workers’ elected representatives shall enjoy the right to be informed and consulted, as well as to adequate legal protection against any form of subjection to conditions, constraints or limitations in the legitimate exercise of their functions.

Article 56. Trade union rights and collective agreements

Trade unions shall be responsible for defending and promoting the defence of the rights and interests of the workers they represent.
Trade unions shall possess the right:
1. To take part in drawing up labour legislation;
2. To take part in the management of social security institutions and other organisations that seek to fulfil workers’ interests;
3. To give their opinion on economic and social plans and supervise their implementation;
4. To be represented on social conciliation bodies, as laid down by law;
5. To take part in corporate restructuring processes, especially in relation to training actions or when working conditions are altered.
Trade unions shall be responsible for the exercise of the right to enter into collective agreements, which shall be guaranteed as laid down by law.
The law shall lay down the rules governing the legitimacy to enter into collective labour agreements and the validity of their provisions.

Article 57. Right to strike and prohibition of lock-outs

The right to strike shall be guaranteed.
Workers shall be responsible for defining the scope of the interests that are to be defended by a strike and the law shall not limit that scope.
The law shall define the conditions under which such services as are needed to ensure the safety and maintenance of equipment and facilities and such minimum services as are indispensable to the fulfilment of essential social needs are provided during strikes.
Lock-outs shall be prohibited.

Title III. Economic, social and cultural rights and duties

Chapter I. Economic rights and duties

Article 58. Right to work

Everyone shall possess the right to work.
In order to ensure the right to work, the state shall be charged with promoting:
1. The implementation of full-employment policies;
2. Equal opportunities in the choice of profession or type of work, and the conditions needed to avoid the gender-based preclusion or limitation of access to any position, work or professional category;
3. Cultural and technical training and vocational development for workers.

Article 59. Workers’ rights

Regardless of age, sex, race, citizenship, place of origin, religion and political and ideological convictions, every worker shall possess the right:
1. To the remuneration of his work in accordance with its volume, nature and quality, with respect for the principle of equal pay for equal work and in such a way as to guarantee a proper living;
2. That work be organised in keeping with social dignity and in such a way as to provide personal fulfilment and to make it possible to reconcile professional and family life;
3. To work in conditions that are hygienic, safe and healthy;
4. To rest and leisure time, a maximum limit on the working day, a weekly rest period and periodic paid holidays;
5. To material assistance when he involuntarily finds himself unemployed;
6. To assistance and fair reparation when he is the victim of a work-related accident or occupational illness.
The state shall be charged with ensuring the working, remuneratory and rest-related conditions to which workers are entitled, particularly by:
1. Setting and updating a national minimum wage which, among other factors, shall have particular regard to workers’ needs, increases in the cost of living, the level to which the sectors of production have developed, the requirements imposed by economic and financial stability, and the accumulation of capital for development purposes;
2. Setting national limits on working hours;
3. Ensuring special work-related protection for women during pregnancy and following childbirth, as well as for minors, the disabled and those whose occupations are particularly strenuous or take place in unhealthy, toxic or dangerous conditions;
4. In cooperation with social organisations, ensuring the systematic development of a network of rest and holiday centres;
5. Protecting emigrant workers’ working conditions and guaranteeing their social benefits;
6. Protecting student workers’ working conditions.
Salaries shall enjoy special guarantees, as laid down by law.

Article 60. Consumer rights

Consumers shall possess the right to the good quality of the goods and services consumed, to training and information, to the protection of health, safety and their economic interests, and to reparation for damages.
Advertising shall be regulated by law and all forms of concealed, indirect or fraudulent advertising shall be prohibited.
Consumers’ associations and consumer cooperatives shall possess the right, as laid down by law, to receive support from the state and to be heard in relation to consumer-protection issues, and shall possess legitimatio ad causam in defence of their members or of any collective or general interests.

Article 61. Private enterprise, cooperatives and worker management

Private economic enterprise shall be undertaken freely within the overall frameworks laid down by this Constitution and the law and with regard for the general interest.
Everyone shall possess the right to freely form cooperatives, subject to compliance with cooperative principles.
Cooperatives shall pursue their activities freely within the overall framework laid down by law and may group themselves together in unions, federations and confederations and other forms of organisation provided for by law.
The law shall lay down the specific organisational requirements for cooperatives in which the state or any public body possesses an interest.
There shall be the right to worker management, as laid down by law.

Article 62. Right to private property

Everyone shall be guaranteed the right to private property and to the transmission thereof in life or upon death, as laid down by this Constitution.
Requisitions and expropriations in the public interest shall only occur on a legal basis and upon payment of just compensation.

Chapter II. Social rights and duties

Article 63. Social security and solidarity

Everyone shall have the right to social security.
The state shall be charged with organising, coordinating and subsidising a unified and decentralised social security system, with the participation of the trade unions, other organisations that represent workers and associations that represent any other beneficiaries.
The social security system shall protect citizens in illness and old age and when they are disabled, widowed or orphaned, as well as when they are unemployed or in any other situation that entails a lack of or reduction in means of subsistence or ability to work.
All periods of work shall, as laid down by law, contribute to the calculation of old age and disability pensions, regardless of the sector of activity in which they were performed.
With a view to the pursuit of the social solidarity objectives that are particularly enshrined in this Article and in Articles 67(2)b, 69, 70(1)e, 71 and 72, the state shall, as laid down by law, support and inspect the activities and operation of private charitable institutions and other non-profit institutions that are recognised to be in the public interest.

Article 64. Health

Everyone shall possess the right to health protection and the duty to defend and promote health.
The right to health protection shall be fulfilled:
1. By means of a national health service that shall be universal and general and, with particular regard to the economic and social conditions of the citizens who use it, shall tend to be free of charge;
2. By creating economic, social, cultural and environmental conditions that particularly guarantee the protection of childhood, youth and old age; by systematically improving living and working conditions and also promoting physical fitness and sport at school and among the people; and by developing both the people’s health and hygiene education and healthy living practises.
In order to ensure enjoyment of the right to the protection of health, the state shall be under a primary duty:
1. To guarantee access by every citizen, regardless of his economic situation, to preventive, curative and rehabilitative medical care;
2. To guarantee a rational and efficient nationwide coverage in terms of healthcare units and human resources;
3. To work towards the public funding of the costs of medical care and medicines;
4. To regulate and inspect corporate and private forms of medicine and articulate them with the national health service, in such a way as to ensure adequate standards of efficiency and quality in both public and private healthcare institutions;
5. To regulate and control the production, distribution, marketing, sale and use of chemical, biological and pharmaceutical products and other means of treatment and diagnosis;
6. To establish policies for the prevention and treatment of drug abuse.
The national health service shall possess a decentralised and participatory management system.

Article 65. Housing and urban planning

Everyone shall possess the right for themselves and their family to have an adequately sized dwelling that provides them with hygienic and comfortable conditions and preserves personal and family privacy.
In order to ensure enjoyment of the right to housing, the state shall be charged with:
1. Planning and implementing a housing policy that is embodied in general town and country planning documents and supported by urban planning documents that guarantee the existence of an adequate network of transport and social facilities;
2. In cooperation with the autonomous regions and local authorities, promoting the construction of low-cost and social housing;
3. Stimulating private construction, subject to the general interest, and access to owned or rented housing;
4. Encouraging and supporting local community initiatives that work towards the resolution of their housing problems and foster the formation of housing and self-building cooperatives.
The state shall undertake a policy that works towards the establishment of a rental system which is compatible with family incomes and access to individual housing.
The state, the autonomous regions and local authorities shall lay down the rules governing the occupancy, use and transformation of urban land, particularly by means of planning instruments and within the overall framework of the laws concerning town and country planning and urban planning, and shall expropriate such land as may be necessary to the fulfilment of the purposes of public-use urban planning.
Interested parties shall be entitled to participate in the drawing up of urban planning instruments and any other physical town and country planning instruments.

Article 66. Environment and quality of life

Everyone shall possess the right to a healthy and ecologically balanced human living environment and the duty to defend it.
In order to ensure enjoyment of the right to the environment within an overall framework of sustainable development, acting via appropriate bodies and with the involvement and participation of citizens, the state shall be charged with:
1. Preventing and controlling pollution and its effects and the harmful forms of erosion;
2. Conducting and promoting town and country planning with a view to a correct location of activities, balanced social and economic development and the enhancement of the landscape;
3. Creating and developing natural and recreational reserves and parks and classifying and protecting landscapes and places, in such a way as to guarantee the conservation of nature and the preservation of cultural values and assets that are of historic or artistic interest;
4. Promoting the rational use of natural resources, while safeguarding their ability to renew themselves and maintain ecological stability, with respect for the principle of inter-generational solidarity;
5. Acting in cooperation with local authorities, promoting the environmental quality of rural settlements and urban life, particularly on the architectural level and as regards the protection of historic zones;
6. Promoting the integration of environmental objectives into the various policies of a sectoral nature;
7. Promoting environmental education and respect for environmental values;
8. Ensuring that fiscal policy renders development compatible with the protection of the environment and the quality of life.

Article 67. Family

As a fundamental element in society, the family shall possess the right to protection by society and the state and to the effective implementation of all the conditions needed to enable family members to achieve personal fulfilment.
In order to protect the family, the state shall particularly be charged with:
1. Promoting the social and economic independence of family units;
2. Promoting the creation of, and guaranteeing access to, a national network of crèches and other social facilities designed to support the family, together with a policy for the elderly;
3. Cooperating with parents in relation to their children’s education;
4. With respect for individual freedom, guaranteeing the right to family planning by promoting the information and access to the methods and means required therefore, and organising such legal and technical arrangements as are needed for motherhood and fatherhood to be consciously planned;
5. Regulating assisted conception in such a way as to safeguard the dignity of the human person;
6. Regulating taxes and social benefits in line with family costs;
7. After first consulting the associations that represent the family, drawing up and implementing a global and integrated family policy;
8. By concerting the various sectoral policies, promoting the reconciliation of professional and family life.

Article 68. Fatherhood and motherhood

In performing their irreplaceable role in relation to their children, particularly as regards the children’s education, fathers and mothers shall possess the right to protection by society and the state, together with the guarantee of their own professional fulfilment and participation in civic life.
Motherhood and fatherhood shall constitute eminent social values.
Women shall possess the right to special protection during pregnancy and following childbirth, and female workers shall also possess the right to an adequate period of leave from work without loss of remuneration or any privileges.
The law shall regulate the grant to mothers and fathers of an adequate period of leave from work, in accordance with the interests of the child and the needs of the family unit.

Article 69. Childhood

With a view to their integral development, children shall possess the right to protection by society and the state, especially from all forms of abandonment, discrimination and oppression and from the abusive exercise of authority in the family or any other institution.
The state shall ensure special protection for children who are orphaned, abandoned or deprived of a normal family environment in any way.
Labour by minors of school age shall be prohibited as laid down by law.

Article 70. Youth

In order to ensure the effective enjoyment of their economic, social and cultural rights, young people shall receive special protection, particularly:
1. In education, vocational training and culture;
2. In access to their first job, at work and in relation to social security;
3. In access to housing;
4. In physical education and sport;
5. In the use of their free time.
The priority objectives of the youth policy shall be the development of young people’s personality, the creation of the conditions needed for their effective integration into the active life, a love of free creativity and a sense of community service.
Acting in cooperation with families, schools, businesses, residents’ organisations, cultural associations and foundations and cultural and recreational groups, the state shall foster and support youth organisations in the pursuit of the said objectives, as well as international youth exchanges.

Article 71. Disabled citizens

Citizens with physical or mental disabilities shall fully enjoy the rights and shall be subject to the duties enshrined in this Constitution, save the exercise or fulfilment of those for which their condition renders them unfit.
The state shall undertake a national policy for the prevention of disability and the treatment, rehabilitation and integration of disabled citizens and the provision of support to their families, shall educate society and make it aware of the duties of respect and solidarity towards such citizens, and shall ensure that they effectively enjoy their rights, without prejudice to the rights and duties of their parents or guardians.
The state shall support disabled citizens’ organisations.

Article 72. The elderly

The elderly shall possess the right to economic security and to conditions in terms of housing and family and community life that respect their personal autonomy and avoid and overcome isolation or social marginalisation.
The policy for the elderly shall include measures of an economic, social and cultural nature that tend to provide elderly people with opportunities for personal fulfilment by means of an active participation in community life.

Chapter III. Cultural rights and duties

Article 73. Education, culture and science

Everyone shall possess the right to education and culture.
The state shall promote the democratisation of education and the other conditions needed for an education conducted at school and via other means of training to contribute to equal opportunities, the overcoming of economic, social and cultural inequalities, the development of the personality and the spirit of tolerance, mutual understanding, solidarity and responsibility, to social progress and to democratic participation in public life.
Acting in cooperation with the media, cultural associations and foundations, cultural and recreational groups, cultural heritage associations, residents’ associations and other cultural agents, the state shall promote the democratisation of culture by encouraging and ensuring access by all citizens to cultural enjoyment and creation.
The state shall stimulate and support scientific research and creation and technological innovation, in such a way as to ensure their freedom and autonomy, reinforce competitivity and ensure cooperation between scientific institutions and businesses.

Article 74. Education

Everyone shall possess the right to education, and the right to equal opportunities and to access to and success in schooling shall be guaranteed.
In implementing the education policy, the state shall be charged with:
1. Ensuring universal, compulsory and free basic education;
2. Creating a public, and developing the general, preschool system;
3. Guaranteeing permanent education and eliminating illiteracy;
4. In accordance with his capabilities, guaranteeing every citizen access to the highest levels of education, scientific research and artistic creation;
5. Progressively making all levels of education free of charge;
6. Inserting schools into the communities they serve and establishing links between education and economic, social and cultural activities;
7. Promoting and supporting disabled citizens’ access to education and supporting special education when necessary;
8. Protecting and developing Portuguese sign language, as an expression of culture and an instrument for access to education and equal opportunities;
9. Ensuring that emigrants’ children are taught the Portuguese language and enjoy access to Portuguese culture;
10. Ensuring that immigrants’ children receive adequate support in order to enable them to effectively enjoy the right to education.

Article 75. Public, private and cooperative education

The state shall create a network of public education establishments that covers the needs of the whole population.
The state shall recognise and inspect private and cooperative education, as laid down by law.

Article 76. University and access to higher education

The rules governing access to university and other higher education institutions shall guarantee equal opportunities in and the democratisation of the education system, and shall have due regard for the country’s needs for qualified staff and to raising its educational, cultural and scientific level.
As laid down by law and without prejudice to an adequate assessment of the quality of education, universities shall autonomously draw up their own by-laws and shall enjoy scientific, pedagogical, administrative and financial autonomy.

Article 77. Democratic participation in education

Teachers and students shall possess the right to take part in the democratic management of schools, as laid down by law.
The law shall regulate the forms in which teachers’, students’ and parents’ associations, communities and scientific institutions participate in drawing up the education policy.

Article 78. Cultural enjoyment and creation

Everyone shall possess the right to cultural enjoyment and creation, together with the duty to preserve, defend and enhance the cultural heritage.
Acting in cooperation with all cultural agents, the state shall be charged with:
1. Encouraging and ensuring access by all citizens to the means and instruments required for cultural activities, and correcting the country’s existing asymmetries in this respect;
2. Supporting initiatives that stimulate individual and joint creation in all its many forms and expressions, and that stimulate more travel by high quality cultural works and items;
3. Promoting the safeguarding and enhancement of the cultural heritage and making it an element that inspires a common cultural identity;
4. Developing cultural relations with all peoples, especially those that speak Portuguese, and ensuring the defence and promotion of Portuguese culture abroad;
5. Coordinating the cultural policy with the other sectoral policies.

Article 79. Physical education and sport

Everyone shall possess the right to physical education and sport.
Acting in cooperation with schools and sporting associations and groups, the state shall be charged with promoting, stimulating, guiding and supporting the practise and dissemination of physical education and sport, and preventing violence in sport.