Title Two. Rights and Freedoms
Article 21
All citizens, male and female, have equal rights and duties, and are equal before the law without any discrimination.
The state guarantees freedoms and individual and collective rights to all citizens, and provides all citizens the conditions for a dignified life.
Article 22
The right to life is sacred and cannot be prejudiced except in exceptional cases regulated by law.
Article 23
The state protects human dignity and physical integrity, and prohibits mental and physical torture. Crimes of torture are not subject to any statute of limitations.
Article 24
The state protects the right to privacy and the inviolability of the home, and the confidentiality of correspondence, communications, and personal information.
Every citizen has the right to choose their place of residence, to free movement within the country, and the right to leave the country.
Article 25
No citizen shall be deprived of their nationality, exiled, extradited or prevented from returning to their country.
Article 26
The right to political asylum shall be guaranteed as prescribed by law. It is prohibited to surrender persons who have been granted political asylum.
Article 27
A defendant shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a fair trial in which he/she is granted all guarantees necessary for his/her defence throughout all the phases of prosecution and trial.
Article 28
Punishments are individual and are not to be imposed unless by virtue of a legal provision issued prior to the occurrence of the punishable act, except in the case of a provision more favourable to the defendant.
Article 29
No person may be arrested or detained unless apprehended during the commission of a crime or on the basis of a judicial order.
The detained person must be immediately informed of their rights and the charges under which they are being held. The detainee has the right to be represented by a lawyer. The periods of arrest and detention are to be defined by law.
Article 30
Every prisoner shall have the right to humane treatment that preserves their dignity.
In carrying out a punishment involving the deprivation of liberty, the state shall take into account the interests of the family and shall seek the rehabilitation and re-integration of the prisoner into society.
Article 31
Freedom of opinion, thought, expression, information and publication shall be guaranteed.
These freedoms shall not be subject to prior censorship.
Article 32
The state guarantees the right to information and the right of access to information and communication networks.
Article 33
Academic freedoms and freedom of scientific research shall be guaranteed.
The state shall provide the necessary resources for the development of scientific and technological research.
Article 34
The rights to election, voting, and candidacy are guaranteed, in accordance with the law. The state seeks to guarantee women’s representation in elected bodies.
Article 35
The freedom to establish political parties, unions, and associations is guaranteed.
In their internal charters and activities, political parties, unions and associations must respect the provisions of the Constitution, the law, financial transparency and the rejection of violence.
Article 36
The right to join and form unions is guaranteed, including the right to strike.
This right does not apply to the national army.
The right to strike does not apply to the forces of internal security and to customs officers.
Article 37
The right to assembly and peaceful demonstration is guaranteed.
Article 38
Health is a right for every human being.
The state shall guarantee preventative health care and treatment for every citizen and provide the means necessary to ensure the safety and quality of health services.
The state shall ensure free health care for those without means and those with limited income. It shall guarantee the right to social assistance in accordance with the law.
Article 39
Education shall be mandatory up to the age of sixteen years.
The state guarantees the right to free public education at all levels and ensures provisions of the necessary resources to achieve a high quality of education, teaching, and training. It shall also work to consolidate the Arab-Muslim identity and national belonging in the young generations, and to strengthen, promote and generalize the use of the Arabic language and to openness to foreign languages, human civilizations and diffusion of the culture of human rights.
Article 40
Work is a right for every citizen, male and female. The state shall take the necessary measures to guarantee work on the basis of competence and fairness.
All citizens, male and female, shall have the right to decent working conditions and to a fair wage.
Article 41
The right to property shall be guaranteed, and it shall not be interfered with except in accordance with circumstances and with protections established by the law.
Intellectual property is guaranteed.
Article 42
The right to culture is guaranteed.
The freedom of creative expression is guaranteed. The state encourages cultural creativity and supports the strengthening of national culture, its diversity and renewal, in promoting the values of tolerance, rejection of violence, openness to different cultures and dialogue between civilizations.
The state shall protect cultural heritage and guarantees it for future generations.
Article 43
The state shall promote sports and shall work to provide the facilities necessary for the exercise of physical and leisure activities.
Article 44
The right to water shall be guaranteed.
The conservation and rational use of water is a duty of the state and of society.
Article 45
The state guarantees the right to a healthy and balanced environment and the right to participate in the protection of the climate.
The state shall provide the necessary means to eradicate pollution of the environment.
Article 46
The state commits to protect women’s accrued rights and work to strengthen and develop those rights.
The state guarantees the equality of opportunities between women and men to have access to all levels of responsibility in all domains.
The state works to attain parity between women and men in elected Assemblies.
The state shall take all necessary measures in order to eradicate violence against women.
Article 47
Children are guaranteed the rights to dignity, health, care and education from their parents and the state.
The state must provide all types of protection to all children without discrimination and in accordance with their best interest.
Article 48
The state shall protect persons with disabilities from all forms of discrimination.
Every disabled citizen shall have the right to benefit, according to the nature of the disability, from all measures that will ensure their full integration into society, and the state shall take all necessary measures to achieve this.
Article 49
The limitations that can be imposed on the exercise of the rights and freedoms guaranteed in this Constitution will be established by law, without compromising their essence. Any such limitations can only be put in place for reasons necessary to a civil and democratic state and with the aim of protecting the rights of others, or based on the requirements of public order, national defence, public health or public morals, and provided there is proportionality between these restrictions and the objective sought.
Judicial authorities ensure that rights and freedoms are protected from all violations.
No amendment may undermine the human rights and freedoms guaranteed in this Constitution.
