Part 1201

Article 133. Foreigners who settled in Belgium before the 1st of January 1814, and who have continued to reside in the country, are considered as Belgians by birth, on condition that they declare their intention to enjoy the benefit of this provision. The declaration must be made within six months, dating from the day when the present Constitution becomes obligatory, if they are of age, and in the year following their majority if they are under age. The declaration must be made before the provincial authority within whose jurisdiction they reside. It must be made in person or through a representative bearing a special and authentic power of attorney.

Article 134. Until otherwise provided for by a law, the Chamber of Representatives shall have a discretionary power to accuse a minister, and the Court of Cassation to judge him, characterizing the offense and determining the penalty. Nevertheless the penalty cannot exceed that of imprisonment, without prejudice to the cases expressly provided for by penal laws.

Article 135. The staff of courts and tribunals is maintained as it actually exists, until it shall have been provided for by law. Such law shall be enacted during the first legislative session.

Article 136. A law enacted in the same session shall determine the mode of the first appointment of members of the Court of Cassation.

Article 137. The fundamental law of the 24th of August 1815, is hereby repealed, as well as the provincial and local statutes; but the provincial and local authorities will exercise their powers until the law shall have otherwise provided.

Article 138. From the day on which this Constitution goes into effect, all laws, decrees, decisions, regulations, and other acts that are in conflict with it are abrogated.

Supplementary Provisions.

Article 139. The National Congress declares that it is necessary to provide by separate laws and with the least possible delay for the following objects: 1. The Press; 2. The organization of the jury; 3. The finances; 4. Provincial and communal organization; 5. The responsibility of ministers and other agents of authority; 6. The organization of the judiciary; 7. The revision of the pension list; 8. Proper measures for preventing the abuse of plurality of offices; 9. Revision of the laws of bankruptcy and suspension; 10. The organization of the army, the rights of promotion and retirement, and the military penal code; 11. Revision of the codes. The executive power is charged with the execution of the present decree.

CONSTITUTION OF BELGIUM: End--------

CONSTITUTION OF ITALY: Start--------

The kingdom of Italy is still governed under the constitution which was granted in 1848, by Charles Albert, to his Sardinian subjects. It remains unchanged in form, but in practice has been modified by legislation. The following translation of the instrument, made by S. M. Lindsay, Ph. D., and L. S. Howe, Ph. D., University of Pennsylvania, is borrowed, under permission, from the:

_"Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science," November, 1894, Supplement._

In their historical introduction to the instrument, the translators say: "The extension of this constitution to the various parts of the present Kingdom of Italy was effected by a series of Plebiscites:

Lombardy, December 7, 1859; Emilia by decree of March 18, 1860, and law of April 15, 1860; Neapolitan Provinces, December 17, 1860; Tuscany, decree March 22, and law April 15, 1860; Sicily, Marches and Umbria, December 17, 1860; Province of Venice, decree July 28, 1866; Roman Provinces, decree October 9 and law December 31, 1870. … Although no provision is to be found in this constitution for amendment, most Italian constitutional jurists have held that Parliament, with the approval of the King, has the power to make laws amending the constitution, for an immutable constitution is sure in time to hamper the development of a progressive people. It is hardly necessary to add that such an instrument is contrary to the true conception of an organic law. {3733} As a matter of fact several provisions have been either abrogated or rendered null and void through change of conditions. Thus the second clause of Article 28, requiring the previous consent of the bishop for the printing of Bibles, prayer books and catechisms, has been rendered of no effect through subsequent laws regulating the relations of Church and State. Article 76, which provides for the establishment of a communal militia, has been abrogated by the military law of June 14, 1874. The fact that no French-speaking provinces now form part of the kingdom has made Article 62 a dead-letter. So also Articles 53 and 55 are no longer strictly adhered to. At all events their observance has been suspended for the time being."

The translated text of the Constitution is as follows:

(Charles Albert, by the Grace of God, King of Sardinia, Cyprus and Jerusalem, Duke of Savoy, Genoa, Monferrato, Aosta, of the Chiablese, Genovese and of Piacenza; Prince of Piedmont and Oneglia; Marquis of Italy, Saluzzo, Ivrea, Susa, Ceva, of the Maro, of Oristano, of Cesana and Savona; Count of Moriana, Geneva, Nice, Trenda, Romonte, Asti, Alexandria, Goceano, Novara, Tortona, Vigevano and of Bobbio; Baron of Vaud and Faucigny; Lord of Vercelli, Pinerolo, Tarantasia, of the Lomellina and of the Valley of Sesia, etc., etc., etc.) With the fidelity of a king and the affection of a father, we are about to-day to fulfill all that we promised our most beloved subjects in our proclamation of the eighth of last February, whereby we desired to show, in the midst of the extraordinary events then transpiring throughout the country, how much our confidence in our subjects increased with the gravity of the situation, and how, consulting only the impulse of our heart, we had fully determined to make their condition conform to the spirit of the times and to the interests and dignity of the nation. We, believing that the broad and permanent representative institutions established by this fundamental statute are the surest means of cementing the bonds of indissoluble affection that bind to our crown a people that has so often given us ample proof of their faithfulness, obedience and love, have determined to sanction and promulgate this statute. We believe, further, that God will bless our good intentions, and that this free, strong and happy nation will ever show itself more deserving of its ancient fame and thus merit a glorious future. Therefore, we, with our full knowledge and royal authority and with the advice of our Council, have ordained and do hereby ordain and declare in force the fundamental perpetual and irrevocable statute and law of the monarchy as follows:

Article 1. The Catholic, Apostolic and Roman religion is the only religion of the State.

See Law of the Papal Guarantees, under PAPACY: A. D. 1870 (page 2478)].

Other cults now existing are tolerated conformably to the law.

Article 2. The State is governed by a representative monarchical government, and the throne is hereditary according to the Salic law.

Article 3. The legislative power shall be exercised collectively by the King and the two Chambers, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.

Article 4. The person of the King is sacred and inviolable.

Article 5. To the King alone belongs the executive power. He is the supreme head of the State; commands all land and naval forces; declares war; makes treaties of peace, alliance, commerce and other treaties, communicating them to the Chambers as soon as the interest and security of the State permits, accompanying such notice with opportune explanations; provided that treaties involving financial obligations or change of State territory shall not take effect until they have received the consent of the Chambers.

Article 6. The King appoints to all the offices of the State and makes the necessary decrees and regulations for the execution of the laws, provided that such decrees do not suspend or modify their observance.

Article 7. The King alone sanctions and promulgates the laws.

Article 8. The King may grant pardons and commute sentences.

Article 9. The King convokes the two Chambers each year. He may prorogue their sessions and dissolve the Chamber of Deputies, in which case he shall convoke a new Chamber within a period of four months.

Article 10. The initiative in legislation belongs both to the King and the two Houses. All bills, however, imposing taxes or relating to the budget shall first be presented to the Chamber of Deputies.

Article 11. The King shall attain his majority upon completion of his eighteenth year.

Article 12. During the King's minority, the Prince who is his nearest relative in the order of succession to the throne, shall be regent of the realm, provided he be twenty-one years of age.

Article 13. Should the Prince upon whom the regency devolves be still in his minority and this duty pass to a more distant relative, the regent who actually takes office shall continue in the same until the King becomes of age.

Article 14. In the absence of male relatives, the regency devolves upon the Queen-Mother.

Article 15. In the event of the prior decease of the Queen-Mother, the regent shall be elected by the legislative Chambers, convoked within ten days by the Ministers of the Crown.

Article 16. The preceding provisions in reference to the regency are also applicable in case the King has attained his majority, but is physically incapable of reigning. Under such circumstances, if the heir presumptive to the throne be eighteen years of age, be shall be regent of full right.

Article 17. The Queen-Mother has charge of the education of the King until he has completed his seventh year; from this time on his guardianship passes into the hands of the regent.

Article 18. All rights pertaining to the civil power in matters of ecclesiastical benefices and in the execution of all regulations whatsoever coming from foreign countries shall be exercised by the King.

Article 19. The civil list of the Crown shall remain, during the present reign, at an amount equal to the average of the same for the past ten years. The King shall continue to have the use of the royal palaces, villas, gardens and their appurtenances, and also of all chattels intended for the use of the Crown, of which a speedy inventory shall be made by a responsible ministerial department. In the future the prescribed dotation of the Crown shall be fixed for the duration of each reign by the first Legislature subsequent to the King s accession to the throne.

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Article 20. The property that the King possesses in his own right, shall form his private patrimony, together with that to which he may acquire title either for a consideration or gratuitously in the course of his reign. The King may dispose of his private patrimony either by deed or will exempt from the provisions of the civil law as to the amount thus disposable. In all other cases, the King's patrimony is subject to the laws that govern other property.

Article 21. The law shall provide an annual civil list for the heir apparent to the throne when he has attained his majority, and also earlier on occasion of his marriage; for the allowances of the Princes of the royal family and royal blood within the specified conditions; for the dowries of the Princesses and for the dowries of the Queens.

Article 22. Upon ascending the throne, the King shall take an oath in the presence of the two Chambers to observe faithfully the present constitution.

Article 23. The regent, before entering on the duties of that office, shall swear fidelity to the King and faithful observance of this constitution and of the laws of the State.

Article 24. All the inhabitants of the Kingdom, whatever their rank or title, shall enjoy equality before the law. All shall equally enjoy civil and political rights and be eligible to civil and military office, except as otherwise provided by law.

Article 25. All shall contribute without discrimination to the burdens of the State, in proportion to their possessions.

Article 26. Individual liberty is guaranteed. No one shall be arrested or brought to trial except in cases provided for and according to the forms prescribed by law.

Article 27. The domicile shall be inviolable. No house search shall take place except in the enforcement of law and in the manner prescribed by law.

Article 28. The press shall be free, but the law may suppress abuses of this freedom. Nevertheless, Bibles, catechisms, liturgical and prayer books shall not be printed without the previous consent of the bishop.

Article 29. Property of all kinds whatsoever shall be inviolable. In all cases, however, where the public welfare, legally ascertained, demands it, property may be condemned and transferred in whole or in part after a just indemnity has been paid according to law.

Article 30. No tax shall be levied or collected without the consent of the Chambers and the sanction of the King.

Article 31. The public debt is guaranteed. All obligations between the State and its creditors shall be inviolable.

Article 32. The right to peaceful assembly, without arms, is recognized, subject, however, to the laws that may regulate the exercise of this privilege in the interest of the public welfare. This privilege is not applicable, however, to meetings in public places or places open to the public, which shall remain entirely subject to police law and regulation.

Article 33. The Senate shall be composed of members, having attained the age of forty years, appointed for life by the King, without limit of numbers. They shall be selected from the following categories of citizens: 1. Archbishops and Bishops of the State. 2. The President of the Chamber of Deputies. 3. Deputies after having served in three Legislatures, or after six years of membership in the Chamber of Deputies. 4. Ministers of State. 5. Secretaries to Ministers of State. 6. Ambassadors. 7. Envoys Extraordinary after three years of such service. 8. The First Presidents of the Courts of Cassation and of the Chamber of Accounts. 9. The First Presidents of the Courts of Appeal. 10. The Attorney-General of the Courts of Cassation and the Prosecutor-General, after five years of service. 11. The Presidents of the Chambers of the Courts of Appeal after three years of service. 12. The Councillors of the Courts of Cassation and of the Chamber of Accounts after five years of service. 13. The Advocates-General and Fiscals-General of the Courts of Appeal after five years of service. 14. All military officers of the land and naval forces with title of general. Major-generals and rear-admirals after five years of active service in this capacity. 15. The Councillors of State after live years of service. 16. The members of the Councils of Division after three elections to their presidency. 17. The Provincial Governors (Intendenti generali) after seven years of service. 18. Members of the Royal Academy of Science of seven years standing. 19. Ordinary members of the Superior Council of Public Instruction after seven years of service. 20. Those who by their services or eminent merit have done honor to their country. 21. Persons who, for at least three years, have paid direct property or occupation taxes to the amount of 3,000 lire.

Article 34. The Princes of the Royal Family shall be members of the Senate. They shall take rank immediately after the President. They shall enter the Senate at the age of twenty-one and have a vote at twenty-five.

Article 35. The President and Vice-Presidents of the Senate shall be appointed by the King, but the Senate chooses from among its own members its secretaries.

Article 36. The Senate may be constituted a High Court of Justice by decree of the King for judging crimes of high treason and attempts upon the safety of the State, also for trying Ministers placed in accusation by the Chamber of Deputies. When acting in this capacity, the Senate is not a political body. It shall not then occupy itself with any other judicial matters than those for which it was convened; any other action is null and void.

Article 37. No Senator shall be arrested except by virtue of an order of the Senate, unless in cases of flagrant commission of crime. The Senate shall be the sole judge of the imputed misdemeanors of its members.

Article 38. Legal documents as to births, marriages and deaths in the Royal Family shall be presented to the Senate and deposited by that body among its archives.

Article 39. The elective Chamber is composed of deputies chosen by the electoral colleges as provided by law.

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["The election law long in force was that of December 17, 1860, which was subsequently modified in July, 1875, and in May, 1877. In January, 1882, a comprehensive electoral reform was inaugurated by which the electoral age qualification was reduced from twenty-five to twenty-one years, and the tax qualification to an annual payment of nineteen lire eighty centesimi as a minimum of direct taxes. This law introduced a new provision requiring of electors a knowledge of reading and writing. It is an elaborate law of 107 articles. The provisions relating to the elections by general ticket were further revised by law of May and decree of June, 1882, and the text of the whole law was co-ordinated with the preceding laws by Royal Decree of September 24, 1882. It was again modified May 5th, 1891, by the abolition of elections on general tickets and the creation of a Commission for the territorial division of the country into electoral colleges. The number of electoral colleges is at present fixed at 508, each electing one Deputy. Twelve articles of this law of 1882, as thus amended, have been again amended by a law dated June 28, 1892, prescribing further reforms in the control and supervision of elections, and by law of July 11, 1894, on the revision of electoral and registration lists."—Foot-note.]

Article 40. No person shall be a member of the Chamber who is not a subject of the King, thirty years of age, possessing all civil and political rights and the other qualifications required by law.

Article 41. Deputies shall represent the nation at large and not the several Provinces from which they are chosen. No binding instructions may therefore be given by the electors.

Article 42. Deputies shall be elected for a term of five years; their power ceases ipso jure at the expiration of this period.

Article 43. The President, Vice-presidents and Secretaries of the Chamber of Deputies shall be chosen from among its own members at the beginning of each session for the entire session.

Article 44. If a Deputy ceases for any reason whatsoever to perform his duties, the electoral college that chose him shall be convened at once to proceed with a new election.

Article 45. Deputies shall be privileged from arrest during the sessions, except in cases of flagrant commission of crime; but no Deputy may be brought to trial in criminal matters without the previous consent of the Chamber.

Article 46. No warrant of arrest for debts may be executed against a Deputy during the sessions of the Chamber, nor within a period of three weeks preceding or following the same.

["This article has been practically abolished by the Mancini law of December 6, 1877, doing away with personal arrest for debts."—Footnote.]

Article 47. The Chamber of Deputies shall have power to impeach Ministers of the Crown and to bring them to trial before the High Court of Justice.

Article 48: The sessions of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies shall begin and end at the same time, and every meeting of one Chamber, at a time when the other, is not in session, is illegal and its acts wholly null and void.

Article 49. Senators and Deputies before entering upon the duties of their office shall take an oath of fidelity to the King and swear to observe faithfully the Constitution and laws of the State and to perform their duties with the joint welfare of King and country as the sole end in view.

Article 50. The office of Senator or Deputy does not entitle to any compensation or remuneration.

Article 51. Senators and Deputies shall not be held responsible in any other place for opinions expressed or votes given in the Chambers.

Article 52. The sessions of the Chambers shall be public. Upon the written request of ten members secret sessions may be held.

Article 53. No session or vote of either Chamber shall be legal or valid unless an absolute majority of its members is present.

[This article is not observed in actual parliamentary practice.—Foot-note.]

Article 54. The action of either Chamber on any question shall be determined by a majority of the votes cast.

Article 55. All bills shall be submitted to committees elected by each House for preliminary examination. Any proposition discussed and approved by one Chamber shall be transmitted to the other for its consideration and approval; after passing both Chambers it shall be presented to the King for his sanction. Bills shall be discussed article by article.

Article 56. Any bill rejected by one of the three legislative powers cannot again be introduced during the same session.

Article 57. Every person who shall have attained his majority has the right to send petitions to the Chambers, which in turn must order them to be examined by a committee; on report of the committee each House shall decide whether they are to be taken into consideration, and if voted in the affirmative, they shall be referred to the competent Minister or shall be deposited with a Government Department for proper action.

Article 58. No petition may be presented in person to either Chamber. No persons except the constituted authorities shall have the right to submit petitions in their collective capacity.

Article 59. The Chambers shall not receive any deputation, nor give hearing to other than their own members and the Ministers and Commissioners of the Government.

Article 60. Each Chamber shall be sole judge of the qualifications and elections of its own members.

Article 61. The Senate as well as the Chamber of Deputies shall make its own rules and regulations respecting its methods of procedure in the performance of its respective duties.

Article 62. Italian shall be the official language of the Chambers. The use of French shall, however, be permitted to those members coming from French-speaking districts and to other members in replying to the same.