Constitution of the Portuguese Republic (2005)

CONSTITUTION OF THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC
SEVENTH REVISION [2005]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREAMBLE

Fundamental principles

Art. 1 – (Portuguese Republic)
Art. 2 – (Democratic state based on the rule of law)
Art. 3 – (Sovereignty and legality)
Art. 4 – (Portuguese citizenship)
Art. 5 – (Territory)
Art. 6 – (Unitary state)
Art. 7 – (International relations)
Art. 8 – (International law)
Art. 9 – (Fundamental tasks of the state)
Art. 10 – (Universal suffrage and political parties)
Art. 11 – (National symbols and official language)

PART I – Fundamental rights and duties

TITLE I – General principles

Art. 12 – (Principle of universality)
Art. 13 – (Principle of equality)
Art. 14 – (Portuguese abroad)
Art. 15 – (Foreigners, stateless persons, European citizens)
Art. 16 – (Scope and interpretation of fundamental rights)
Art. 17 – (Regime governing rights, freedoms and guarantees)
Art. 18 – (Legal force)
Art. 19 – (Suspension of the exercise of rights)
Art. 20 – (Access to law and effective judicial protection)
Art. 21 – (Right of resistance)
Art. 22 – (Liability of public entities)
Art. 23 – (Ombudsman)

TITLE II – Rights, freedoms and guarantees

CHAPTER I – Personal rights, freedoms and guarantees
Art. 24 – (Right to life)
Art. 25 – (Right to personal integrity)
Art. 26 – (Other personal rights)
Art. 27 – (Right to freedom and security)
Art. 28 – (Remand in custody)
Art. 29 – (Application of criminal law)
Art. 30 – (Limits on sentences and security measures)
Art. 31 – (Habeas corpus)
Art. 32 – (Safeguards in criminal procedure)
Art. 33 – (Deportation, extradition and right of asylum)
Art. 34 – (Inviolability of home and correspondence)
Art. 35 – (Use of information technology)
Art. 36 – (Family, marriage and filiation)
Art. 37 – (Freedom of expression and information)
Art. 38 – (Freedom of the press and the media)

Art. 39 – (Regulation of the media)
Art. 40 – (Right to broadcasting time, of reply and of political response)
Art. 41 – (Freedom of conscience, of religion and of form of worship)
Art. 42 – (Freedom of cultural creation)
Art. 43 – (Freedom to learn and to teach)
Art. 44 – (Right to travel and to emigrate)
Art. 45 – (Right to meet and to demonstrate)
Art. 46 – (Freedom of association)
Art. 47 – (Freedom to choose a profession and of access to the public service)
CHAPTER II – Rights, freedoms and guarantees concerning participation in politics
Art. 48 – (Participation in public life)
Art. 49 – (Right to vote)
Art. 50 – (Right of access to public office)
Art. 51 – (Political associations and parties)
Art. 52 – (Right to petition and right of actio popularis)
CHAPTER III – Workers’ rights, freedoms and guarantees
Art. 53 – (Job security)
Art. 54 – (Workers’ committees)
Art. 55 – (Freedoms concerning trade unions)
Art. 56 – (Trade union rights and collective agreements)
Art. 57 – (Right to strike and prohibition of lock–outs)

TITLE III – Economic, social and cultural rights and duties

CHAPTER I – Economic rights and duties
Art. 58 – (Right to work)
Art. 59 – (Workers’ rights)
Art. 60 – (Consumer rights)
Art. 61 – (Private enterprise, cooperatives and worker management)
Art. 62 – (Right to private property)
CHAPTER II – Social rights and duties
Art. 63 – (Social security and solidarity)
Art. 64 – (Health)
Art. 65 – (Housing and urbanism)
Art. 66 – (Environment and quality of life)
Art. 67 – (Family)
Art. 68 – (Fatherhood and motherhood)
Art. 69 – (Childhood)
Art. 70 – (Youth)
Art. 71 – (Disabled citizens)
Art. 72 – (The elderly)
CHAPTER III – Cultural rights and duties
Art. 73 – (Education, culture and science)
Art. 74 – (Education)
Art. 75 – (Public, private and cooperative education)
Art. 76 – (University and access to higher education)
Art. 77 – (Democratic participation in education)
Art. 78 – (Cultural enjoyment and creation)
Art. 79 – (Physical education and sport)

PART II – Organisation of the economy

TITLE I – General principles

Art. 80 – (Fundamental principles)
Art. 81 – (Priority duties of the state)
Art. 82 – (Sectors of ownership of the means of production)
Art. 83 – (Requisites for compulsory purchase)
Art. 84 – (Public domain)
Art. 85 – (Cooperatives and worker–management experiments)
Art. 86 – (Private enterprises)
Art. 87 – (Foreign economic activity and investment)
Art. 88 – (Abandoned means of production)
Art. 89 – (Worker participation in management)

TITLE II – Plans
Art. 90 – (Objectives of plans)
Art. 91 – (Drawing up and implementation of plans)
Art. 92 – (Economic and Social Council)

TITLE III – Agricultural, commercial and industrial policies
Art. 93 – (Agricultural policy objectives)
Art. 94 – (Elimination of very large estates)
Art. 95 – (Resizing of small farms)
Art. 96 – (Forms of use of non–owned land)
Art. 97 – (State assistance)
Art. 98 – (Participation in defining the agricultural policy)
Art. 99 – (Commercial policy objectives)
Art. 100 – (Industrial policy objectives)

TITLE IV – Financial and fiscal system

Art. 101 – (Financial system)
Art. 102 – (Bank of Portugal)
Art. 103 – (Fiscal system)
Art. 104 – (Taxes)
Art. 105 – (Budget)
Art. 106 – (Drawing up the Budget)
Art. 107 – (Scrutiny)

PART III – Organisation of political power

TITLE I – General principles
Art. 108 – (Source and exercise of power)
Art. 109 – (Citizens’ participation in politics)
Art. 110 – (Entities that exercise sovereignty)
Art. 111 – (Separation and interdependence)
Art. 112 – (Normative acts)
Art. 113 – (General principles of electoral law)
Art. 114 – (Political parties and right of opposition)
Art. 115 – (Referenda)
Art. 116 – (Collegial organs)
Art. 117 – (Statutes governing political officeholders)
Art. 118 – (Renewal principle)
Art. 119 – (Publicising of acts)

TITLE II – President of the Republic

CHAPTER I – Status, role and election
Art. 120 – (Definition)
Art. 121 – (Election)
Art. 122 – (Eligibility for election)
Art. 123 – (Eligibility for re–election)
Art. 124 – (Nominations)
Art. 125 – (Date of election)
Art. 126 – (Electoral system)
Art. 127 – (Installation and swearing in)
Art. 128 – (Term of office)
Art. 129 – (Absence from Portuguese territory)
Art. 130 – (Criminal liability)
Art. 131 – (Resignation)
Art. 132 – (Acting President)
CHAPTER II – Competences
Art. 133 – (Competences in relation to other entities)
Art. 134 – (Personal competences)
Art. 135 – (Competences in international relations)
Art. 136 – (Enactment and veto)
Art. 137 – (Failure to enact or sign)
Art. 138 – (Declaration of a state of siege or of a state of emergency)
Art. 139 – (Acts of an acting President of the Republic)
Art. 140 – (Ministerial counter–signature)
CHAPTER III – Council of State
Art. 141 – (Definition)
Art. 142 – (Composition)
Art. 143 – (Installation and term of office)
Art. 144 – (Organisation and modus operandi)
Art. 145 – (Competences)
Art. 146 – (Issue of opinions)
TITLE III – Assembly of the Republic
CHAPTER I – Status, role and election
Art. 147 – (Definition)
Art. 148 – (Composition)
Art. 149 – (Constituencies)
Art. 150 – (Eligibility)
Art. 151 – (Nominations)
Art. 152 – (Political representation)
Art. 153 – (Beginning and end of term of office)
Art. 154 – (Incompatibilities and disqualifications)
Art. 155 – (Exercise of the function of Member of the Assembly of the Republic)
Art. 156 – (Powers of Members of the Assembly of the Republic)
Art. 157 – (Immunities)
Art. 158 – (Rights and privileges)
Art. 159 – (Duties)
Art. 160 – (Loss and resignation of seat)
CHAPTER II – Competences
Art. 161 – (Political and legislative competences)
Art. 162 – (Competence to scrutinise)
Art. 163 – (Competences in relation to other entities and organs)

Art. 164 – (Exclusive legislative competence)
Art. 165 – (Partially exclusive legislative competence)
Art. 166 – (Form of acts)
Art. 167 – (Initiative in relation to laws and referenda)
Art. 168 – (Discussion and voting)
Art. 169 – (Parliamentary consideration of legislative acts)
Art. 170 – (Urgent proceedings)
CHAPTER III – Organisation and modus operandi
Art. 171 – (Legislature)
Art. 172 – (Dissolution)
Art. 173 – (Sitting following elections)
Art. 174 – (Legislative sessions, full sessions and calling)
Art. 175 – (The Assembly’s internal competences)
Art. 176 – (Order of business of plenary sittings)
Art. 177 – (Attendance by members of the Government)
Art. 178 – (Committees)
Art. 179 – (Standing Committee)
Art. 180 – (Parliamentary groups)
Art. 181 – (Assembly staff and specialists)
TITLE IV – Government
CHAPTER I – Function and structure
Art. 182 – (Definition)
Art. 183 – (Composition)
Art. 184 – (Council of Ministers)
Art. 185 – (Substitution of members of the Government)
Art. 186 – (Beginning and end of functions)
CHAPTER II – Formation and accountability
Art. 187 – (Formation)
Art. 188 – (The Government’s Programme)
Art. 189 – (Collective responsibility)
Art. 190 – (Government accountability)
Art. 191 – (Accountability of members of the Government)
Art. 192 – (Consideration of the Government’s Programme)
Art. 193 – (Request for confidence motion)
Art. 194 – (Motions of no confidence)
Art. 195 – (Resignation or removal of the Government)
Art. 196 – (Implementation of criminal liability of members of the Government)
CHAPTER III – Competences
Art. 197 – (Political competences)
Art. 198 – (Legislative competence)
Art. 199 – (Administrative competences)
Art. 200 – (Competences of the Council of Ministers)
Art. 201 – (Competences of members of the Government)
TITLE V – Courts
CHAPTER I – General principles
Art. 202 – (Jurisdictional function)
Art. 203 – (Independence)
Art. 204 – (Compliance with the Constitution)

Art. 205 – (Court decisions)
Art. 206 – (Court hearings)
Art. 207 – (Juries, public participation and technical advice)
Art. 208 – (Legal representation)
CHAPTER II – Organisation of the courts
Art. 209 – (Categories of court)
Art. 210 – (Supreme Court of Justice and instances)
Art. 211 – (Competence and specialisation of courts of law)
Art. 212 – (Administrative and tax courts)
Art. 213 – (Courts martial)
Art. 214 – (Court of Auditors)
CHAPTER III – Status and role of judges
Art. 215 – (Judges of the courts of law)
Art. 216 – (Guarantees and incompatibilities)
Art. 217 – (Appointment, assignment, transfer and promotion of judges)
Art. 218 – (High Council for the Judiciary)
CHAPTER IV – Public Prosecution Service
Art. 219 – (Functions and statute)
Art. 220 – (Prosecutor General’s Office)
TITLE VI – Constitutional Court
Art. 221 – (Definition)
Art. 222 – (Composition and status and role of Justices)
Art. 223 – (Competence)
Art. 224 – (Organisation and modus operandi)
TITLE VII – Autonomous regions
Art. 225 – (Political and administrative system of the Azores and Madeira)
Art. 226 – (Statutes and electoral laws)
Art. 227 – (Powers of autonomous regions)
Art. 228 – (Legislative autonomy)
Art. 229 – (Cooperation between entities that exercise sovereignty and regional organs)
Art. 230 – (Representatives of the Republic)
Art. 231 – (Self–government organs of autonomous regions)
Art. 232 – (Competences of Legislative Assemblies of autonomous regions)
Art. 233 – (Signature and veto of Representatives of the Republic)
Art. 234 – (Dissolution and removal of self–government organs)
TITLE VIII – Local government
CHAPTER I – General principles
Art. 235 – (Local authorities)
Art. 236 – (Categories of local authority and administrative division)
Art. 237 – (Administrative decentralisation)
Art. 238 – (Local assets and finances)
Art. 239 – (Decision–making and executive organs)
Art. 240 – (Local referenda)
Art. 241 – (Regulatory power)
Art. 242 – (Administrative oversight)
Art. 243 – (Local authority staff)
CHAPTER II – Parishes

Art. 244 – (Parish organs)
Art. 245 – (Parish assemblies)
Art. 246 – (Parish councils)
Art. 247 – (Associations)
Art. 248 – (Delegation of tasks)
CHAPTER III – Municipalities
Art. 249 – (Changes to municipalities)
Art. 250 – (Municipal organs)
Art. 251 – (Municipal assemblies)
Art. 252 – (Municipal councils)
Art. 253 – (Associations and federations)
Art. 254 – (Share in revenue from direct taxes)
CHAPTER IV – Administrative regions
Art. 255 – (Creation by law)
Art. 256 – (De facto institution)
Art. 257 – (Responsibilities)
Art. 258 – (Planning)
Art. 259 – (Regional organs)
Art. 260 – (Regional assemblies)
Art. 261 – (Regional councils)
Art. 262 – (Government representatives)
CHAPTER V – Residents’ organisations
Art. 263 – (Formation and area)
Art. 264 – (Structure)
Art. 265 – (Rights and competences)
TITLE IX – Public Administration
Art. 266 – (Fundamental principles)
Art. 267 – (Structure of the Administration)
Art. 268 – (Citizens’ rights and guarantees)
Art. 269 – (Regime governing the public service)
Art. 270 – (Restrictions on exercise of rights)
Art. 271 – (Liability of public sector staff and agents)
Art. 272 – (Police)
TITLE X – National defence
Art. 273 – (National defence)
Art. 274 – (Supreme National Defence Council)
Art. 275 – (Armed Forces)
Art. 276 – (Defence of the nation, military service and civic service)
PART IV – Guaranteeing and revision of the Constitution
TITLE I – Review of constitutionality
Art. 277 – (Positive unconstitutionality)
Art. 278 – (Prior review of constitutionality)
Art. 279 – (Effects of decision)
Art. 280 – (Concrete review of constitutionality and legality)
Art. 281 – (Abstract review of constitutionality and legality)
Art. 282 – (Effects of declaration of unconstitutionality or illegality)

Art. 283 – (Unconstitutionality by omission)

TITLE II – Revision of the Constitution

Art. 284 – (Competence and time for revisions)
Art. 285 – (Initiating revisions)
Art. 286 – (Passage and enactment)
Art. 287 – (New text of the Constitution)
Art. 288 – (Matters in which revision is restricted)
Art. 289 – (Circumstances in which revision is restricted)

Final and transitional provisions

Art. 290 – (Previous law)
Art. 291 – (Districts)
Art. 292 – (Criminalisation and trial of PIDE/DGS agents and officials)
Art. 293 – (Reprivatisation of property nationalised after 25 April 1974)
Art. 294 – (Regime applicable to local authority organs)
Art. 295 – (Referenda on European treaties)
Art. 296 – (Date and entry into force of the Constitution)

PREAMBLE

On the 25th of April 1974 the Armed Forces Movement crowned the long resistance and reflected the deepest feelings of the Portuguese people by overthrowing the fascist regime.

Freeing Portugal from dictatorship, oppression and colonialism represented a revolutionary change and the beginning of an historic turning point for Portuguese society.

The Revolution restored their fundamental rights and freedoms to the people of Portugal. In the exercise of those rights and freedoms, the people’s legitimate representatives are gathered to draw up a Constitution that matches the country’s aspirations.

The Constituent Assembly affirms the Portuguese people’s decision to defend national independence, guarantee citizens’ fundamental rights, establish the basic principles of democracy, ensure the primacy of a democratic state based on the rule of law and open up a path towards a socialist society, with respect for the will of the Portuguese people and with a view to the construction of a country that is freer, more just and more fraternal.

Meeting in plenary sitting on 2 April 1976, the Constituent Assembly does hereby pass and decree the following Constitution of the Portuguese Republic:

Fundamental principles

Article 1
(Portuguese Republic)
Portugal is a sovereign Republic, based on the dignity of the human person and the will of the people and committed to building a free, just and solidary society.

Article 2
(Democratic state based on the rule of law)
The Portuguese Republic is a democratic state based on the rule of law, the sovereignty of the people,
plural democratic expression and political organisation, respect for and the guarantee of the effective
implementation of the fundamental rights and freedoms, and the separation and interdependence of
powers, with a view to achieving economic, social and cultural democracy and deepening participatory
democracy.

Article 3
(Sovereignty and legality)

1. Sovereignty is single and indivisible and lies with the people, who exercise it in the forms provided for in the Constitution.
2. The state is subject to the Constitution and is based on democratic legality.
3. The validity of laws and other acts of the state, the autonomous regions, local government and any
other public entities is dependent on their conformity with the Constitution.

Article 4
(Portuguese citizenship)
All persons whom the law or an international convention considers to be Portuguese citizens are such
citizens.

Article 5
(Territory)
1. Portugal comprises the territory on the European mainland that is historically defined as Portuguese, and the Azores and Madeira archipelagos.
2. The law shall define the extent and limit of Portugal’s territorial waters, its exclusive economic zone
and its rights to the adjacent seabeds.
3. Without prejudice to the rectification of borders, the state shall not dispose of any part of Portuguese
territory or of the sovereign rights that it exercises thereover.

Article 6
(Unitary state)
1. The state is unitary and the way in which it is organised and functions shall respect the autonomous
island system of self–government and the principles of subsidiarity, the autonomy of local authorities and the democratic decentralisation of the Public Administration.
2. The Azores and Madeira archipelagos are autonomous regions with their own political and
administrative statutes and self–government institutions.

Article 9
(Fundamental tasks of the state)
The fundamental tasks of the state are:

a) To guarantee national independence and create the political, economic, social and cultural conditions that promote it;
b) To guarantee the fundamental rights and freedoms and respect for the principles of a democratic state based on the rule of law;
c) To defend political democracy and safeguard and encourage citizens’ democratic participation in the resolution of national problems;
d) To promote the people’s well–being and quality of life and real equality between the Portuguese, as
well as the effective implementation of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights by means of the transformation and modernisation of economic and social structures;
e) To protect and enhance the Portuguese people’s cultural heritage, defend nature and the environment,preserve natural resources and ensure correct town and country planning;
f) To ensure that the Portuguese language is taught and constantly valued, defend its use and promote its international dissemination;

g) To promote the harmonious development of the whole of Portuguese territory, with particular regard to the ultraperipheral nature of the Azores and Madeira archipelagos;
h) To promote equality between men and women.

Article 23
(Ombudsman)

1. 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
entities and organs the recommendations needed to prevent or make good any injustices.
2. The Ombudsman’s work is independent of any non–judicial or judicial remedies provided for in the
Constitution or the law.
3. The Ombudsman is an independent entity and the Assembly of the Republic shall appoint him for the period laid down by law.
4. The entities, organs and agents of the Public Administration shall cooperate with the Ombudsman in
the fulfilment of his mission.

Article 62
(Right to private property)

1. Everyone is guaranteed the right to private property and to the transmission thereof in life or upon
death, in accordance with the Constitution.
2. Requisitions and expropriations in the public interest may only be undertaken on a legal basis and upon payment of just compensation.

Article 68
(Fatherhood and motherhood)

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

Article 84
(Public domain)

1. The following belong to the public domain:

a) Territorial waters, together with their beds and the adjacent seabeds, and lakes, lagoons and watercourses that are suitable for navigation or flotation, together with their beds;
b) Airspace over Portuguese territory, above the recognised limit for proprietary or surface rights;
c) Mineral deposits, mineral and medicinal water sources and natural subterranean cavities below the
ground, save for rocks, ordinary earth and other materials that are habitually used for construction;
d) Roads;
e) National railway lines;
f) Other property that is classified as such by law.

2. The law shall define what property forms part of the public state domain, the public domain of the
autonomous regions and the public domain of local authorities, as well as the regime, terms and
conditions of use and limits governing it.

Article 102
(Bank of Portugal)

The Bank of Portugal is the national central bank and shall exercise its functions as laid down by law and in accordance with the international norms by which the Portuguese state is bound.

Article 103
(Fiscal system)

1. The fiscal system shall aim to satisfy the financial needs of the state and of other public entities and to ensure a just distribution of income and wealth.
2. Taxes shall be created by laws, which shall lay down their applicability and rate, fiscal benefits and the guarantees accorded to taxpayers.
3. No one shall be obliged to pay taxes that are not created in accordance with the Constitution, are
retroactive in nature, or are not charged and collected as laid down by law.

Article 112
(Normative acts)

1. Legislative acts comprise laws, executive laws and regional legislative decrees.
2. Without prejudice to the subordination of executive laws that are published under legislative
authorisation and of those that develop the general bases of legal regimes to the corresponding laws, laws and executive laws possess equal force.
3. Organic laws, laws which must be passed by a two–thirds majority, and laws which, under the
Constitution, are normative prerequisites for other laws or must be obeyed by other laws, possess superior legal force.
4. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 227(1)(b) and (c), legislative decrees possess a regional scope and address matters set out in the political and administrative statute of the respective autonomous region that are not the exclusive competence of entities that exercise sovereignty.
5. No law may create other categories of legislative act, or grant other types of act the power to interpret, complete, modify, suspend or repeal any of its precepts in a way that produces external effects.

CHAPTER III

Council of State
Article 141
(Definition)

The Council of State is the political organ that advises the President of the Republic.

Article 142
(Composition)
The Council of State is chaired by the President of the Republic and is also composed of the following
members:

a) The President of the Assembly of the Republic;
b) The Prime Minister;
c) The President of the Constitutional Court;
d) The Ombudsman;
e) The presidents of the regional governments;
f) Former Presidents of the Republic who were elected under the Constitution and were not removed from office;
g) Five citizens appointed by the President of the Republic for the period of his term of office;
h) Five citizens elected by the Assembly of the Republic in harmony with the principle of proportional
representation, for the period that corresponds to the duration of the legislature.