Constitution of the People's Republic of Benin
Publisher- National
Legislative Bodies
Author - Republic
of Benin
Publication Date - 11
December 1990
Reference - BEN-010
Cite as - Constitution
of the People's Republic of Benin [Benin],
11 December 1990, available at:
http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b57d4.html [accessed 20 April 2013]
Comments--
This is an unofficial translation. The Constitution was adopted by the Beninese people in the Constituent Referendum on 2 December 1990. It was promulgated by the President of the Republic as Law No. 9032 of 11 December 1990. Please note that the African Chapter on Human and Peoples' Rights in the Annex is not reproduced here.
Disclaimer-
This
is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it
necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the
author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United
Nations or its Member States.
The High Council of the Republic, in accordance with
the Constitutional Law of August 13, 1990 has proposed;
The Béninese people have adopted in the Constituent
referendum of December 2, 1990 the Constitution;
The President of the Republic promulgates the
Constitution whose contents follow:
PREAMBLE
Dahomey, proclaimed a Republic on December 4, 1958,
acceded to international sovereignty August 1, 1960. Having become the People's
Republic of Bénin on November 30, 1975, and then the Republic of Bénin on March
1, 1990, it has known a turbulent constitutional and political evolution since
its accession to independence. Only the option in favor of the Republic has
remained permanent.
The successive changes of political regimes and of
governments have not blunted the determination of the Béninese people to search
for, in their own spirit, the cultural, philosophical and spiritual values of
civilization which sustain the forms of their patriotism.
Thus, the National Conference of Active Forces of the
Nation, held in Cotonou from February 19 to 28, 1990, in giving back confidence
to the people, has permitted the national reconciliation and the advent of an
era of democratic revival.
On the day after this Conference,
WE, THE BÉNINESE PEOPLE
-Reaffirm our fundamental opposition to any
political regime founded on arbitrariness, dictatorship, injustice, corruption,
misappropriation of public funds, regionalism, nepotism, confiscation of power,
and personal power;
-Express our firm will to defend and safeguard our
dignity in the eyes of the world and to find again the place and role as
pioneer of democracy and of the defense of human rights which were formerly
ours;
-Solemnly affirm our determination by this present
Constitution to create a State of law and pluralistic democracy in which the
fundamental human rights, public liberties, the dignity of the human being, and
justice shall be guaranteed, protected and promoted as the condition necessary
for the genuine harmonious development of each Béninese in his temporal and
cultural dimension as well as in his spiritual;
-Reaffirm our attachment to the principles of
democracy and human rights as they have been defined by the Charter of the
United Nations of 1945 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, by
the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights adopted in 1981 by the
Organization of African Unity and ratified by Bénin on January 20, 1986 and
whose provisions make up an integral part of this present Constitution and of
Béninese law and have a value superior to the internal law;
-Affirm our will to cooperate in peace and
friendship with all peoples who share our ideals of liberty, of justice, of
human solidarity based on the principles of equality, of reciprocal interest
and of mutual respect for national sovereignty and for territorial integrity;
-Proclaim our attachment to the cause of African
unity and pledge ourselves to leave no stone unturned in order to realize local
and regional integration;
-Solemnly adopt the present Constitution which shall
be the Supreme Law of the State and to which we swear loyalty, fidelity and
respect.
TITLE I
THE STATE AND SOVEREIGNTY
ARTICLE 1.
The state of Bénin shall be an independent sovereign
republic.
The Capital of the Republic of Bénin shall be
PORTO-NOVO.
The national emblem shall be a tri-colored flag of
green, yellow and red. Next to the staff is a green band for the entire height
and two-fifths of the length, with two equal horizontal bands: the upper one
yellow and the lower one red.
The national anthem of the Republic shall be
"l'AUBE NOUVELLE."
The motto of the Republic shall be "FRATERNITÉ –
JUSTICE TRAVAIL."
The official language shall be French.
The State Seal shall consist of a disk 120
millimeters in diameter showing:
On the obverse side a pirogue loaded with six
five-pointed stars sailing over the waves, accompanied overhead by a bow with
one arrow in the shape of a palm supported by two crossed "recades,"
and below by a banderole bearing the motto
"FRATERNITÉ-JUSTICE-TRAVAIL" with the inscription "République du
Bénin" within the circle;
And on the reverse side a shield divided into two
equal parts –
the first part of sinople [green] and the second of gold [yellow] and of
gueules [red] which are the three colors of the flag. The shield is surrounded
by two native palm trees with their trunks crossed in the shape of an X.
The Coat of Arms of Bénin shall be as follows:
In the first quarter in gold, a Somba fortress;
In the second quarter in silver, the native star of
Bénin, that is to say, an eight-pointed azure saltire angled with rays of
silver and black in the background;
In the third quarter in silver, a green palm tree
loaded with red fruit;
In the fourth quarter in silver, a sable [black]
ship sailing on an azure sea with a losange in gueles [red] passing under the
line of the quarter.
The Supporters: two spotted panthers in gold;
The Postage Stamp: Two black cornucopias from which
come ears of corn;
The motto: "Fraternité-Justice-Travail" in
black letters on banderole.
ARTICLE 2.
The Republic of Bénin shall be one –
indivisible, secular and democratic.
Its principle shall be: Government of the People, by
the People, and for the People.
ARTICLE 3.
National sovereignty shall belong to the People. No
portion of the People, no community, no corporation, no party or political
association, no trade union organization nor any individual shall be able to
abrogate the exercise of it.
Sovereignty shall be exercised in accordance with
the present Constitution which is the Supreme Law of the State.
Any law, any statutory text and any administrative
act contrary to these provisions shall be null and void. Consequently, any
citizen shall have the right to appeal to the Constitutional Court against the
laws, texts, and acts presumed unconstitutional.
ARTICLE 4.
The people shall exercise their sovereignty through
their elected representatives by means of the referendum. The conditions of
recourse to the referendum shall be determined by the present Constitution and
by an organic law.
The Constitutional Court shall see to the regularity
of the referendum and shall proclaim its results.
ARTICLE 5.
Political parties shall cooperate in the expression
of suffrage. They shall be formed and shall freely exercise their activities
under conditions determined by the Charter of Political Parties. They must
respect the principles of national sovereignty, of democracy, of territorial
integrity and of the secularity of the State.
ARTICLE 6.
Suffrage shall be universal, equal and secret. The
electors shall be, under the conditions determined by law, all Béninese
nationals of both sexes over the age of eighteen and in full possession of
their civil and political rights.
TITLE II
RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE INDIVIDUAL
ARTICLE 7.
The rights and duties proclaimed and guaranteed by
the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights adopted in 1981 by the
Organization of African Unity and ratified by Bénin on January 20, 1986 shall
be an integral part of the present Constitution and of Béninese law.
ARTICLE 8.
The human person is sacred and inviolable.
The State has the absolute obligation to respect it
and protect it. It shall guarantee him a full blossoming out. To that end, it
shall assure to its citizens equal access to health, education, culture,
information, vocational training, and employment.
ARTICLE 9.
Every human being has a right to the development and
full expansion of his person in his material, temporal and intellectual
dimensions, provided that he does not violate the rights of others nor infringe
upon constitutional order and good manners.
ARTICLE 10.
Every person has a right to culture. The State has
the duty to safeguard and promote the national values of civilizations, as much
material as spiritual, as well as the cultural traditions.
ARTICLE 11.
All communities comprising the Béninese nation shall
enjoy the freedom to use their spoken and written languages and to develop
their own culture while respecting those of others.
The State must promote the development of national
languages of intercommunication.
ARTICLE 12.
The State and public authorities shall guarantee the
education of children and shall create conditions favorable to this end.
ARTICLE 13.
The State shall provide for the education of the
youth by public schools Primary education shall be obligatory. The State shall
assure progressively free public education.
ARTICLE 14.
Religious institutions and communities shall be able
to cooperate equally in the education of the youth. Private schools, secular or
parochial, may be opened with the authorizations and control of the State. The
private schools may benefit from state subsidies under conditions determined by
law.
ARTICLE 15.
Each individual has the right to life, liberty,
security and the integrity of his person.
ARTICLE 16.
No one shall be arrested or accused except by virtue
of a law promulgated prior to the charges against him.
No citizen shall be forced into exile.
ARTICLE 17.
Any person accused of an unlawful act shall be
presumed innocent until his culpability has been legally established in the course
of a public lawsuit during which all guarantees necessary to his free defense
shall have been assured to him.
No one shall be condemned for actions or omissions
which, at the moment when they were committed, did not constitute an infraction
according to the national law. Likewise, he may not have a more severe penalty
inflicted than that which was applicable at the time when the offense was
committed.
ARTICLE 18.
No one shall be submitted to torture, not to
maltreatment, nor to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment.
No one shall have the right to prevent a detainee or
an accused person from being examined by a doctor of his choice.
No one may be detained in a penal institution if he
does not fall under the provisions of a penal law in force.
No one may be detained for a duration greater than
forty-eight hours except by a decision of the magistrate before whom he must
have been presented. This delay may be prolonged only in circumstances
exceptionally provided for by law and may not exceed a period greater than
eight days.
ARTICLE 19.
Any individual or any agent of the State who shall
be found responsible for an act of torture or of maltreatment or of cruel,
inhumane or degrading treatment in the exercise of, or at the time of the
exercise of his duties, whether of his own initiative or whether under
instruction, shall be punished in accordance with the law.
Any individual or any agent of the State shall be
absolved of the duty of obedience when the order received shall constitute a
serious and manifest infringement with respect to human rights and public
liberties.
ARTICLE 20.
The domicile shall be inviolable. House visits or
searches may be carried out only according to the forms and conditions provided
by law.
ARTICLE 21.
The secrecy of correspondence and of communications
shall be guaranteed by law.
ARTICLE 22.
Every person has the right to his property. No one
shall be deprived of his property except for state-approved usefulness and in
exchange for a just and prerequisite compensation.
ARTICLE 23.
Every person has the right to freedom of thought, of
conscience, of religion, of creed, of opinion and of expression with respect
for the public order established by law and regulations. The exercise of a
creed and the expression of beliefs shall take place with respect for the
secularity of the State.
The institutions and the religious or philosophical
communities shall have the right to develop without hindrances. They shall not
be subject to the guardianship of the State. They shall regulate and administer
their affairs in an autonomous manner.
ARTICLE 24.
Freedom of the press shall be recognized and
guaranteed by the State. It shall be protected by the High Authority of
Audio-Visuals and Communications under the conditions fixed by an organic law.
ARTICLE 25.
The State shall recognize and guarantee, under
conditions fixed by law, the freedom to go and come, the freedom of
association, of assembly, of procession and of demonstration.
ARTICLE 26.
The State shall assure to everyone equality before
the law without distinction of origin, of race, of sex, of religion, of
political opinion or of social position.
Men and women are equal under the law. The State
shall protect the family and particularly the mother and child. It shall take
care of handicapped and aged persons.
ARTICLE 27.
Every person has the right to a healthy, satisfying
and lasting environment and has the duty to defend it. The State shall watch
over the protection of the environment.
ARTICLE 28.
The storage, handling, and removal of toxic wastes
or pollutants originating from factories and other industrial or cottage
industry units installed in the national territory shall regulated by law.
ARTICLE 29.
The transportation, importation, storage, burying
and the discharging on the national territory of toxic wastes or foreign
pollutants and any agreement relating to it shall constitute a crime against
the Nation. The applicable sanctions shall be defined by law.
ARTICLE 30.
The State shall recognize for all citizens the right
to work and shall strive to create conditions which shall make the enjoyment of
this right effective and shall guarantee to the worker just compensation for
his services or for his production.
ARTICLE 31.
The State shall recognize and guarantee the right to
strike. Each worker may defend, under the conditions provided by law, his
rights and interests whether individually, whether collectively, or by trade
union action. The right to strike shall be exercised under conditions defined
by law.
ARTICLE 32.
The defense of the Nation and of the integrity of
the territory of the Republic is a sacred duty for every Béninese citizen.
Military service shall be obligatory. The conditions
for the accomplishment of this duty shall be determined by law.
ARTICLE 33.
All citizens of the Republic of Bénin have the duty
to work for the common good, to fulfill all of their civic and professional
obligations, and to pay their fiscal contributions.
ARTICLE 34.
Each Béninese citizen, civilian or military, has the
sacred duty to respect, in all circumstances, the Constitution and the
established constitutional order as well as the laws and regulations of the
Republic.
ARTICLE 35.
Citizens responsible for a public office or elected
to a political office have the duty to fulfil it with conscience, competence,
probity, devotion, and loyalty in the interest of the common good.
ARTICLE 36.
Each Béninese has the duty to respect and to
consider his own kin without any discrimination; and to keep relations with
others that shall permit the safeguarding, the reinforcement and promotion of
respect, dialog and reciprocal tolerance with a view to peace and to national
cohesion.
ARTICLE 37.
Public property shall be sacred and inviolate. Each
Béninese citizen must respect it scrupulously and protect it. Any act of
sabotage, vandalism, corruption, diversion, dilapidation or illegal enrichment
shall be suppressed under conditions provided by law.
ARTICLE 38.
The State shall protect the rights and legitimate
interests of Béninese citizens in a foreign country.
ARTICLE 39.
Foreigners in the territory of the Republic of Bénin
shall have the benefit of the same rights and liberties as the Béninese
citizens, and this under the conditions determined by law. They must conform to
the Constitution and to the laws and regulations of the Republic.
ARTICLE 40.
The State has the duty to assure the diffusion and
the teaching of the Constitution, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
of 1948, of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights of 1981 as well as
all of the international instruments duly ratified and relative to Human
Rights.
The State must integrate the rights of the
individual into the programs of literacy and of teaching in the various
scholastic and university academic cycles and into all the educational programs
of the Armed Forces, of the Public Security Forces and of comparable
categories.
The State must equally assure the diffusion and
teaching of these same rights in the national languages by all the means of
mass communication, and particularly by radio and television.
TITLE III
EXECUTIVE POWER
ARTICLE 41.
The President of the Republic shall be the Chief of
State. He shall be elected by the Nation and shall embody the national unity.
He shall be the guarantor of national independence,
of territorial integrity, and of respect for the Constitution, treaties and
international agreements.
ARTICLE 42.
The President of the Republic shall be elected by
direct universal suffrage for a mandate of five years, renewable only one time.
In any case, no one shall be able to exercise more
than two presidential mandates.
ARTICLE 43.
The election of the President of the Republic shall
take place with uninominal majority ballot in two rounds.
ARTICLE 44.
No one may be a candidate for the office of
President of the Republic unless:
-He is of Béninese nationality at birth or shall
have acquired it for at least ten years;
-He is of good morality and of great honesty;
-He enjoys all his civil and political rights;
-He is at least 40 years old but not more than 70
years old at the date of the filing of his candidacy;
-He resides in the territory of the Republic of Bénin
at the time of the elections;
-He enjoys a satisfactory state of physical and
mental well-being duly verified by a collegiate board of three doctors sworn
and designated by the Constitutional Court.
ARTICLE 45.
The President of the Republic shall be elected by an
absolute majority of votes cast. If that shall not be obtained in the first
round of voting, it shall be followed, after a delay of fifteen days, by a
second round.
The only ones who may be presented in the second
round of balloting shall be the two candidates who shall have received the
greatest number of votes in the first round. In case of the withdrawal of one
or both of the two candidates, the next ones shall be presented in the order of
their filing after the first balloting.
The candidate having received the relative majority
of votes cast in the second round shall be declared elected.
ARTICLE 46.
The convocation of the electors shall be made by a
decree issued in the Council of Ministers.
ARTICLE 47.
The first round of balloting for the election of the
President of the Republic shall take place at least thirty days and at most
forty days before the expiration date of the powers of the President in office.
The mandate of the new President of the Republic
shall take effect by counting from the expiration date of the mandate of his
predecessor.
ARTICLE 48.
The law shall fix the conditions of eligibility, of
the presentation of the candidates, of the progress of the balloting, of the
counting of the votes and of the proclamation of the results of the election of
the President of the Republic.
The law shall fix the civil list of the President of
the Republic and shall determine the pension to be allocated to the former
Presidents of the Republic.
However, in order to be counted from the
promulgation of the present Constitution, only the constitutionally elected
Presidents of the Republic shall be able to benefit from the provisions of the
preceding paragraph.
ARTICLE 49.
The Constitutional Court shall watch over the
regularity of the balloting and shall verify its results.
The election of the President of the Republic shall
be made the subject of a provisional proclamation.
If any dispute relating to the regularity of the
electoral operations shall not have been filed in the Office of the Clerk of
the Court by one of the candidates within five days of the provisional
proclamation, the Court shall declare the President of the Republic definitely
elected.
In case of a dispute, the Court must decide within
ten days of the provisional proclamation; its decision shall convey the final
proclamation of or the annulment of the election.
If no dispute has been raised within the waiting
period of five days and if the Constitutional Court shall deem that the
election has not been tainted by any irregularity of a nature to bring about an
annulment, it shall proclaim the election of the President of the Republic
within the fifteen days following the balloting.
In case of annulment, a new round of balloting shall
proceed within fifteen days of the decision.
ARTICLE 50.
In case of vacancy of the Presidency of the Republic
by death, resignation or permanent impediment, the National Assembly shall
reconvene in order to rule on the case with an absolute majority of its
members. The President of the National Assembly shall refer the matter to the
Constitutional Court which shall certify it and declare the vacancy of the
Presidency of the Republic. The duties of President of the Republic, with the
exception of those mentioned in Articles 54 paragraph 3, 58 [typographical
error: "50" in French text below – ed.], 60, 101,
and 154 shall be temporarily exercised by the President of the National
Assembly.
The election of a new President of the Republic
shall take place thirty days at the least and forty days at most after the
declaration of the permanent nature of the vacancy.
In case of bringing an accusation of the President
of the Republic before the High Court of Justice, his interim shall be assumed
by the President of the Constitutional Court who shall exercise all the duties
of President of the Republic with the exception of those mentioned in Articles
54 paragraph 3, 58, 60, 101 and 154.
In case of absence from the territory, of illness
and of vacation of the President of the Republic, his interim shall be assumed
by a member of the Government whom he shall have designated and within the
limitation of powers that he shall have delegated to him.
ARTICLE 51.
The duties of the President of the Republic shall be
incompatible with the exercise of any other elected office, of all public
employment –
civil or military, and of all professional activity.
ARTICLE 52.
In the course of their duties, the President of the
Republic and the members of the Government may not by themselves, nor by an
intermediary, purchase or take a lease on anything that pertains to the domain
of the State without prior authorization of the Constitutional Court under
conditions fixed by law.
They shall be bound then, from their entry into
office and to the end of it, to make on their honor a written declaration of
their assets and inheritance addressed to the Committee of Accounts of the
Supreme Court.
They may not take part in the buying of supplies and
in the awarding of contracts for the administration or institutions within the
jurisdiction of the State or submitted to their control.
ARTICLE 53.
Before taking his office, the President of the
Republic shall take the following oath:
"Before God, the Manes [spirits] of the
ancestors, the Nation and before the Béninese People, the only holder of
sovereignty;
"I, President of the Republic, elected in
accordance with the laws of the Republic do solemnly swear
-To respect and defend the Constitution which the
Béninese People have freely given to themselves;
-To fulfil loyally the high office that the Nation
has entrusted to me;
-To allow myself to be guided only by the general
interest and the respect for human rights, to consecrate all my strength to the
research and the promotion of the common good, of peace and of national unity;
-To preserve the integrity of the national territory;
-To conduct myself everywhere as a faithful and
loyal servant of the people.
In case of perjury, that I shall submit to the
severity of the law."
This oath shall be received by the President of the
Constitutional Court before the National Assembly and the Supreme Court.
ARTICLE 54.
The President of the Republic shall be the holder of
executive power. He shall be the head of the Government, and with this title he
shall determine and conduct the politics of the Nation. He shall exercise
statutory power.
He shall have the Civil Service and the Armed Forces
at his disposal. He shall be responsible for the National Defense.
He shall appoint, after an advisory opinion of the
National Assembly, the members of the Government; he shall fix their prerogatives
and shall bring an end to their duties.
The members of the Government shall be responsible
to him.
The duties of the members of the Government shall be
incompatible with the exercise of any parliamentary mandate, with any public
employment –
civil or military, and with any professional activity.
The acts of the President of the Republic other than
those provided for in Articles 60 and 115 shall be countersigned by the
Ministers charged with their execution.
ARTICLE 55.
The President of the Republic shall preside over the
Council of Ministers.
The Council of Ministers shall deliberate
obligatorily on:
-Decisions determining the general policies of the
State:
-Government bills;
-Ordinances and regulatory decrees.
ARTICLE 56.
The President of the Republic shall appoint three of
the seven members of the Constitutional Court.
After advice from the President of the National
Assembly, he shall appoint from the Council of Ministers: the President of the
Supreme Court, the President of the High Authority of Audio-Visuals and
Communications, and the Grand Chancellor of the National Order.
He shall appoint likewise from the Council of
Ministers: members of the Supreme Court, Ambassadors, special envoys,
Magistrates, general and superior officials, and the high office-holders whose
list shall be fixed by an organic law.
ARTICLE 57.
The President of the Republic shall have the
initiative of laws concurrently with the members of the National Assembly.
He shall assure the promulgation of laws within the
fifteen days following their transmission to him by the President of the
National Assembly.
This time limit shall be reduced to five days in
case of an emergency declared by the National Assembly.
He shall be able, before the expiration of these
waiting periods, to demand of the National Assembly a second deliberation of
the law or of certain of its articles. This second deliberation may not be
refused.
If the National Assembly shall be at the end of the
session, this second deliberation shall take place automatically at the time of
the following regular session.
The vote for this second deliberation shall be
acquired by the absolute majority of members composing the National Assembly.
If, after this last vote, the President of the Republic shall refuse to
promulgate the law, the Constitutional Court upon a submission by the President
of the National Assembly shall declare the law enforceable if it is in
accordance with the Constitution.
The same procedure for implementation shall be followed
when, at the expiration of the deadline of fifteen days of promulgation
provided for in paragraph 2 of the present article, there is neither
promulgation nor demand for a second reading.
ARTICLE 58.
The President of the Republic, after consultation
with the President of the National Assembly and the President of the
Constitutional Court, shall be able to take the initiative of the referendum on
any question relative to the promotion of and the reinforcement of human
rights, to sub-regional or regional integration, and to the organization of
public authorities.
ARTICLE 59
The President of the Republic shall insure the
execution of the laws and shall guarantee that by judicial decisions.
ARTICLE 60.
The President of the Republic shall have the power
of pardon. He shall exercise this right under the conditions defined by Article
130.
ARTICLE 61.
The President of the Republic shall accredit the
ambassadors and special envoys to foreign powers; the ambassadors and special
envoys of the foreign powers shall be accredited to him.
ARTICLE 62.
The President of the Republic shall be the Supreme
Commander of the Armed Forces.
He shall appoint from the Council of Ministers the
members of the Superior Council of Defense and shall preside at the meetings of
the said Council.
The composition, the organization and the operation
of the Superior Council of Defense shall be fixed by a law.
ARTICLE 63.
The President of the Republic may, in addition to
the specialized functions of the defense of territorial integrity vested in the
Armed Forces, have them cooperate in the economic development of the Nation and
in any other tasks of public interest under the conditions defined by the law.
ARTICLE 64.
Any member of the Armed Forces or the Public
Security who shall desire to be a candidate for the office of President of the
Republic must first send in his resignation from the Armed Forces or the Public
Security.
In this case, the interested person will be able to
claim the benefits of the rights acquired in accordance with the regulations of
this corps.
ARTICLE 65.
Any attempt to overthrow the constitutional regime
by the personnel of the Armed Forces or of the Public Security shall be
considered as a breach of duty and a crime against the Nation and the State and
will be punished in accordance with the law.
ARTICLE 66.
In case of a coup d'Etat, of a putsch, of aggression
by mercenaries or of any action by force whatsoever, any member of a
constitutional agency shall have the right and the duty to make an appeal by
any means in order to re-establish the constitutional legitimacy, including
recourse to existing agreements of military or defense cooperation.
In these circumstances for any Béninese to disobey
and organize himself to put a check to the illegitimate authority shall
constitute the most sacred of rights and the most imperative of duties.
ARTICLE 67.
The President of the Republic may not make an appeal
to any foreign Armed Forces or Police to intervene in an internal conflict
except in the cases provided for in Article 66.
ARTICLE 68.
When the institutions of the Republic, the
independence of the Nation, the integrity of the national territory or the
execution of international commitments shall be threatened in a serious and
immediate manner, and when the regular operation of political and
constitutional powers shall be threatened or interrupted; the President of the
Republic, after consultation with the President of the National Assembly and
the President of the Constitutional Court, shall take within the Council of
Ministers the exceptional measures required by the circumstances without which
the rights of the citizens guaranteed by the Constitution would be suspended.
He shall inform the Nation of this by a message.
The National Assembly shall reconvene in full
session in an extraordinary session.
ARTICLE 69.
The measures taken ought to be inspired by the
intention to assure to the public and constitutional authorities the means to
accomplish their mission with the least delay.
The National Assembly shall fix the deadline for the
time limits beyond which the President of the Republic may not take exceptional
measures.
ARTICLE 70.
The President of the Republic may delegate to
Ministers certain of his powers except those provided for in Articles 54
paragraph 3, 60, 61, 101,115, 133 and 144.
ARTICLE 71.
The President of the Republic or any member of his
Government in the exercise of his governmental office may be interpellated by
the National Assembly.
The President of the Republic shall respond to these
interpellations in the presence of the National Assembly in person or by one of
his ministers that he shall especially delegate.
In that circumstance, the National Assembly may
bring a resolution in order to make recommendations to the Government.
ARTICLE 72.
The President of the Republic shall address a
message to the National Assembly on the state of the Nation once a year.
He may also, at any time, address messages to the
National Assembly. These massages shall not give way to any debate; however,
they may suggest tasks for the Assembly.
ARTICLE 73.
The personal responsibility of the President of the
Republic shall be pledged in case of high treason, of an insult to the Assembly
or of an insult to his honor and probity.
ARTICLE 74.
There shall be high treason when the President of
the Republic shall have violated his oath; shall be acknowledged as author,
co-author, or accomplice in grave violations characterized in the Rights or Man
[Droits de I'Homme] or of the transfer of a part of the national territory; or
of an act detrimental to the maintenance of a healthy, satisfying, lasting
environment favorable for development.
ARTICLE 75.
There shall be an attack on his honor and on his
probity notably when the personal behavior of the President of the Republic
shall be contrary to good manners or when he shall be acknowledged as author,
co-author or accomplice in embezzlement, corruption, or illegal enrichment.
ARTICLE 76.
There shall be an insult to the National Assembly
when, to questions posed by the National Assembly concerning governmental
activity, the President of the Republic shall not furnish any response within a
period of thirty days.
ARTICLE 77.
After this deadline, the President of the National
Assembly shall submit this grave shortcoming to the Constitutional Court for
constitutional action.
The Constitutional Court shall decide within three
days. The President of the Republic shall be required to furnish the responses
to the National Assembly within the shortest period of time, and in all cases before
the end of the current session.
At the expiration of this period, if there has been
no follow-up given by the President of the Republic to the decision of the
Court, the President of the Republic shall be impeached before the High Court
of Justice for insult to the National Assembly.
ARTICLE 78.
The acts anticipated in Articles 74 and 75 shall be
prosecuted and punished according to the provisions of Articles 136 to 138 of
the present Constitution.
TITLE IV
LEGISLATIVE POWER
I.The National Assembly
ARTICLE 79.
The Parliament shall be composed of a single
Assembly called the National Assembly whose members shall carry the title of
Deputy.
It shall exercise legislative power and shall
control the action of the Government.
ARTICLE 80.
The Deputies shall be elected by direct universal
suffrage. The duration of the mandate shall be four years. They may be
re-elected. Each Deputy shall be the representative of the entire nation and
any compulsory vote shall be void.
ARTICLE 81.
The law shall fix the number of members of the
National Assembly, the conditions of eligibility, the rules of
incompatibilities, and the conditions under which it shall provide for vacant
seats.
The Constitutional Court shall decide supremely on
the validity of the election of Deputies.
Any member of the Armed Forces or of the Public
Security who desires to be a candidate for the office of Deputy must first send
in his resignation from the Armed Forces or from the Public Security.
In this case, the interested party will be able to
claim the benefit of rights acquired in accordance with the regulations of his
organization.
ARTICLE 82.
The National Assembly shall be directed by a
President assisted by an Office Staff. They shall be elected for the duration of
the Legislature under conditions fixed by the Rules of Procedure of the said
Assembly.
When he shall assume the interim period of the
President of the Republic under the conditions provided for in Article 50 of
the present Constitution, the President of the National Assembly shall be
replaced in his duties in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the
Assembly.
ARTICLE 83.
In case of vacancy of the Presidency of the National
Assembly by death, resignation, or any other cause, the Assembly shall elect a
new President within the fifteen days following the vacancy if it is in
session; should it be otherwise, it shall reconvene in full session under the
conditions fixed by its Rules of Procedure.
In case of necessity, there shall be provision for
the replacement of other members of the Office Staff according to the
provisions of the Rules of Procedure of the said Assembly.
ARTICLE 84.
The President of the National Assembly must render
an account to the National Assembly of his management and of his activities and
must furnish to it any explanations that may be demanded of him.
Any Deputy may address to the President of the
Assembly written or oral questions on his activities and his management.
The National Assembly may establish a commission of
inquiry charged with making a detailed report to it.
According to the terms of this report, the National
Assembly may demand the resignation of its President by a two-thirds majority
of its members.
If this quorum shall be attained, the President of
the Assembly shall be automatically dismissed from his office, while keeping
his title of Deputy.
The National Assembly shall proceed within a period
of fifteen days with the election of a new President.
ARTICLE 85.
If, at the opening of a session, the quorum of one
half-plus one of the members composing the National Assembly shall not be
attained, the session shall be postponed to the third day which follows. The
deliberations shall then be valid whatever the quorum may be.
ARTICLE 86.
The sessions of the Assembly shall be valid only if
they occur in the usual place of the sessions, except in the case of an
unforeseeable event duly verified by the Constitutional Court.
The entire report of the debates of the National
Assembly shall be published in the Official Journal.
ARTICLE 87.
The Assembly shall convene in its own right in two
special sessions per year.
The first session shall open during the first
fortnight of the month of April.
The second session shall open during the second
fortnight of the month of October.
Each of the sessions may not exceed three months.
ARTICLE 88.
The National Assembly shall be convened in special
session by its President with a specific agenda at the request of the President
of the Republic or by the absolute majority of the Deputies.
The duration of an special session may not exceed
fifteen days. The National Assembly may break up as soon as the agenda has been
exhausted.
ARTICLE 89.
The proceedings of the National Assembly shall take
place following Rules of Procedure which it shall adopt in accordance with the
Constitution.
The Rules of Procedure shall determine:
-The composition, the rules for the operation of the
Office, as well as the powers and prerogatives of its President;
-The number, the method of designation, the
composition, the role and the competence of its permanent committees, as well
as those that shall be special and temporary;
-The creation of parliamentary committees of inquiry
within the framework of the control of governmental action;
-The organization of administrative services
directed by an Administrative Secretary General placed under the authority of
the President of the National Assembly;
-The rules of discipline of the Deputies during the
sessions of the Assembly;
-The different methods of voting, with the exclusion
of those expressly provided by the present Constitution.
ARTICLE 90.
The members of the National Assembly shall enjoy
parliamentary immunity. As a consequence, no Deputy may be followed, searched,
arrested, detained or judged for opinions or votes issued by him during the
exercise of his duties.
A Deputy may, during the duration of the sessions,
be followed or arrested in a criminal or correctional matter only with the
authorization of the National Assembly except in the case of a flagrant
offense.
A Deputy outside of the session may be arrested only
with the authorization of the Office of the National Assembly, except in the
case of a flagrant offense, of authorized legal actions or of final conviction.
The detention or pursuit of a Deputy shall be
suspended if the National Assembly should require it for a vote by a two-thirds
majority.
ARTICLE 91.
Deputies shall collect the parliamentary salaries
which shall be fixed by law.
ARTICLE 92.
Any Deputy appointed to a ministerial post shall
automatically lose his parliamentary mandate. The conditions for his
replacement shall be fixed by law.
ARTICLE 93.
The right to vote of the Deputies shall be personal.
The Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly may authorize in exceptional
cases the delegation of a vote. In this instance, no one may receive the
delegation for more than one term of office.
II.Relations Between the Assembly and the Government
ARTICLE 94.
The National Assembly shall inform the President of
the Republic of the agenda of its sessions and of those of its committees.
ARTICLE 95.
The members of the Government shall have access to
the sessions of the National Assembly. They shall be heard at the demand of a
Deputy, of a committee or at their own demand.
They may be assisted by experts.
ARTICLE 96.
The National Assembly shall pass the law and consent
to the taxes.
ARTICLE 97.
The law shall be passed by the National Assembly by
a simple majority. However, the bills on which the present Constitution shall
confer the character of organic laws shall be passed and modified under the
following conditions:
-The proposal or the draft shall be submitted for
the deliberation and vote of the Assembly only after the expiration of a period
of fifteen days after its deposit in the Office of the Assembly;
-The text may be adopted only by the majority of
members comprising the Assembly;
-The organic laws may be promulgated only after a
declaration by the Constitutional Court of their conformity to the
Constitution.
ARTICLE 98.
Under the domain of the law are the rules
concerning:
-Citizenship, civic rights and the fundamental
guarantees accorded to the citizens for the exercise of their public liberties;
the constraints imposed, in the interest of national defense and public
security, on the citizens in their person and on their property;
-Nationality, the state and the legal competence of
persons, the matrimonial property system, inheritance and gifts;
-The procedure according to which customary laws
shall be recorded and brought into harmony with the fundamental principles of
the Constitution;
-The determination of crimes and offenses as well as
the penalties which shall be applicable to them;
-Amnesty;
-The organization of courts of all classes and the
procedure followed before these courts; the creation of new classes of courts;
the regulation of the magistrature, of ministerial offices and of judicial
auxiliaries;
-The tax base, the rates and the methods of
collection of taxes of every nature;
-The system for the issuance of currency;
-The electoral system for the President of the
Republic, the members of the National Assembly and of the local Assemblies;
-The creation of categories of public establishments
[i. e. independent organs charged with public duties and regulated by public
law -supplied];
-The General Law of Public Office;
-The Law of Military Personnel, Public Security
Forces, and the Assimiles [i. e. non-combatants ranking with the combatants
-supplied];
-The general organization of the Administration;
-The territorial organization, the creation and the
modification of administrative Circonscriptions [i. e. districts] as well as
the apportionment of electoral districts;
-The state of siege and the state of emergency.
The law shall determine the fundamental principles:
-Of the organization of the national defense;
-Of the free administration of territorial units, of
their competences and of their resources;
-Of education and of scientific research;
-Of the system of property, of real estate laws and
of civil and commercial obligations;
-Of the nationalization and denationalization of
enterprises and of the transfer of the ownership of enterprises from the public
sector to the private sector;
-Of labor law, of social security, of the right to
organize trade unions and of the right to strike;
-Of the transfer of rights and of the management of
State property;
-Of the mutual insurance system and of the savings
and loans institutions;
-Of the organization of production;
-Of the protection of the environment and the
conservation of natural resources;
-Of the system of transportation and of
telecommunications;
-Of the penal system.
ARTICLE 99.
The financial laws shall determine the receipts and
expenditures of the State.
The laws of settlement shall control the execution
of the financial laws, with the reservation of further verification of the
accounts of the Nation by the Chambre des Comptes of the Supreme Court.
The laws to carry out a program shall fix the
objectives of the economic and social action of the State.
ARTICLE 100.
Matters other than those which are in the domain of
the law have a regulatory nature.
The texts of legislative procedures reached in these
matters prior to the entry into force of the present Constitution may be
modified by decree taken after an opinion from the Constitutional Court.
ARTICLE 101.
Declaration of war shall be authorized by the
National Assembly.
When, following exceptional circumstances, the
National Assembly cannot sit expediently, the decision of a declaration of war
shall be taken before the Council of Ministers by the President of the Republic
who shall immediately inform the nation of it.
The state of siege and the state of emergency shall
be decreed in the Council of Ministers, after the advice of the National
Assembly.
The extension of a state of siege or of a state of
emergency beyond fifteen days may be authorized only by the National Assembly.
When the National Assembly has not been called on to
reach a decision, no state of siege or state of emergency may be decreed
without its authorization within the sixty days following the date of
enforcement of a previous state of siege or of emergency.
ARTICLE 102.
The Government may, for the execution of its
program, request the National Assembly to vote a statute authorizing it to
issue by edict, during a limited period of time, measures which are normally in
the domain of the statute. This authorization may be granted only by a two
thirds majority of the members of the National Assembly.
The edicts shall be issued in the Council of
Ministers, after the advice of the Constitutional Court. They shall enter into
force upon their publication, but they shall become null and void if the bill
of ratification has not been placed before the Assembly in advance of the date
fixed by the enabling act.
At the expiration of the period of time mentioned in
the first paragraph of the present article, the edicts may be modified only by
statute in their provisions which are in the legislative domain.
ARTICLE 103.
The Deputies shall have the right of amendment.
ARTICLE 104.
Resolutions, draft bills and amendments which are
not in the domain of the law shall be inadmissible.
The inadmissibility shall be pronounced by the
President of the National Assembly after due deliberation of the Office [of the
National Assembly].
If it appears that the proposal or the amendment
would be contrary to a delegation accorded by virtue of Article 102 of the
present Constitution, the Government may oppose the inadmissibility.
In case of a dispute about paragraphs 1 and 3 of the
present article, the Constitutional Court, upon the request of the President of
the National Assembly or the Government, shall decide within a period of eight
days.
ARTICLE 105.
The initiation of bills shall belong concurrently to
the President of the Republic and to the members of the National Assembly.
Government bills shall be deliberated in the Council
of Ministers, after an opinion substantiated by the Supreme Court, requested in
accordance with Article 132 of the present Constitution, and deposited in the
Office of the National Assembly.
The bills and draft bills shall be sent before
deliberation in plenary session to the suitable committee of the National
Assembly for examination.
The draft budget of the National Assembly may not be
examined in committee or in plenary session without having been previously
submitted to the Office of the said Assembly.
ARTICLE 106.
The discussion of draft bills shall focus on the
text presented by the committee. The latter, at the demand of the Government
must bring to the knowledge of the National Assembly the points on which there
is disagreement with the Government.
ARTICLE 107.
Resolutions and amendments made by the Deputies
shall not be admissible when their adoption would have as a consequence either
a diminution of public resources or the creation of, or the increase of a
public charge unless they shall be accompanied by a proposal for the increase
of receipts or of equivalent savings.
ARTICLE 108.
The Deputies may, by a three-fourths majority vote,
decide to submit any question to a referendum.
ARTICLE 109.
The National Assembly shall vote on the
appropriations bill under conditions determined by the law. The National
Assembly shall submit an appropriations bill at least one week before the
opening of the October session. The appropriations bill must provide for the
revenue necessary for the full coverage of the expenses.
ARTICLE 110.
The National Assembly shall vote a balanced budget.
If the National Assembly has not come to a decision by December 31, the
provisions of the appropriations bill may be enforced by edict.
The Government shall submit the matter for
ratification to the National Assembly called into extraordinary session within
a period of fifteen days.
If the National Assembly shall not vote the budget
at the end of this extraordinary session, the budget shall be established
permanently by edict.
ARTICLE 111.
If the appropriations bill cannot be promulgated
before the beginning of the budget year, the President of the Republic shall
demand immediately from the National Assembly the authorization to manage the
receipts and expenses of the State temporarily by "douziemes
provisoires".
ARTICLE 112.
The National Assembly shall regulate the accounts of
the nation according to the modalities provided by the organic financial law.
In this effort it shall be assisted by the Chambre
des Comptes of the Supreme Court which it shall charge with all inquiries and
studies relating to the management of receipts and public expenditures whether
of the management of the national treasury, of the territorial communities, or
of the administrations or institutions dependent on the State or submitted to
its control.
ARTICLE 113.
The Government shall be obliged to furnish to the
National Assembly all explanations which shall be demanded of it concerning its
management and its activities.
The means of information and of control of the
Nations Assembly on governmental action shall be:
-The interpellation in accordance with Article 71;
-The written question;
-The oral question with or without debate, and not
followed by a vote;
-The parliamentary committee of inquiry.
These means shall be exercised under the conditions
determined by the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly.
TITLE V
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
ARTICLE 114.
The Constitutional Court shall be the highest
jurisdiction of the State in constitutional matters. It shall be the judge of
the constitutionality of the law and it shall guarantee the fundamental human
rights and the public liberties. It shall be the regulatory body for the
functioning of institutions and for the activity of public authorities.
ARTICLE 115.
The Constitutional Court shall be composed of seven
members, four of whom shall be appointed by the Office of the National Assembly
and three by the President of the Republic for a term of five years renewable
only one time. No member of the Constitutional Court may sit for more than ten
years.
In order to be a member of the Constitutional Court,
besides the condition of professional competence, one must have good morals and
great honesty.
The Constitutional Court shall include:
-Three magistrates having at least fifteen years of
experience, two of whom shall be appointed by the Office of the National
Assembly and one by the President of the Republic;
-Two high level jurists, professors or practicing
lawyers having at least fifteen years of experience, one appointed by the
Office of the National Assembly and the other by the President of the Republic.
-Two persons of great professional reputation, one
appointed by the Office of the National Assembly and the other by the President
of the Republic.
The members of the Constitutional Court shall be
irremovable for the duration of their term of office. They may not be
prosecuted or arrested without the authorization of the Constitutional Court
and the Office of the Supreme Court sitting in joint session except in cases of
flagrant offence. In these cases the matter must be referred to the President
of the Constitutional Court and to the President of the Supreme Court
immediately and within forty-eight hours at the latest.
The duties of a member of the Constitutional Court
are incompatible with the position of a member of the Government, with the
exercise of any elective mandate, with all public employment –
civil or military, with any other professional activity as well as with any
office of national representation except in the situation provided for in
Article 50 paragraph 3.
An organic law shall determine the organization and
operation of the Constitutional Court, the procedure followed before it,
especially the periods of time for appeals to it as well as the immunities and
the disciplinary regulation of its members.
ARTICLE 116.
The President of the Constitutional Court shall be
elected by his peers among the magistrates and the jurists members of the Court
for a term of five years.
ARTICLE 117.
The Constitutional Court shall
Rule obligatorily on:
-The constitutionality of organic laws and of laws
in general in advance of their promulgation;
-The Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly, of
the High Authority of Audio-Visuals and Communications, and of the Economic and
Social Council in advance of their enforcement with regard to their conformity
to the Constitution;
-The constitutionality of laws and regulatory acts
deemed to infringe on fundamental human rights and on public liberties, and in
general on the violation of the rights of the individual;
-The conflicts of prerogatives between the institutions
of the State.
-Oversee the regularity of the election of the
President of the Republic; examine the objections; rule on the irregularities
that it may have found itself, and proclaim the results of the balloting; rule
on the regularity of the referendum and proclaim its results;
-Rule, in contested cases, on the regularity of
legislative elections;
-Make up the legal portion of the High Court of
Justice with the exception of its President.
ARTICLE 118.
It shall be equally competent to rule on the
situations provided for in Articles 50, 52, 57, 77, 86, 100, 102, 104 and 147.
ARTICLE 119.
The President of the Constitutional Court shall be
competent to:
-Hear the oath of the President of the Republic in the
situations provided for in Articles 58 and 68;
-Stabilize the interim period of the President of
the Republic in the situation provided for in Article 50 paragraph 3.
ARTICLE 120.
The Constitutional Court must rule within a period
of fifteen days after it has been made cognizant of a text of a bill or of a
complaint of the violation of human rights and of public liberties. However, at
the demand of the Government, if there is an emergency, this period shall be
reduced to eight days. In this case, the submission of the matter to the
Constitutional Court shall suspend the deadline for the promulgation of the
law.
ARTICLE 121.
The Constitutional Court, at the request of the
President of the Republic or of any member of the National Assembly, shall give
its opinion on the constitutionality of laws in advance of their promulgation.
It shall give its opinion automatically on the
constitutionality of laws and of any regulatory text deemed to infringe on the
fundamental human rights and on the public liberties. It shall decide more
generally on the violations of the rights of the individual and its decision
must be reached within a period of eight days.
ARTICLE 122.
Any citizen may complain to the Constitutional Court
about the constitutionality of laws whether directly or whether by the
procedure of the exception of unconstitutionality invoked in a matter which
concerns him before a court of law. This must grant a stay until the decision
of the Constitutional Court which must be reached within a period of thirty
days.
ARTICLE 123.
The organic laws in advance of their promulgation;
the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly, of the High Authority of
Audio-Visuals and of Communications, and of the Economic and Social Council
before their enforcement must be submitted to the Constitutional Court which
shall give its decision on their conformity to the Constitution.
ARTICLE 124.
A provision declared unconstitutional may not be
promulgated or enforced.
The decision of the Constitutional Court shall not
be subject to any appeal.
They shall be imperative for public authorities and
for all civil, military, and jurisdictional authorities.
TITLE VI
JUDICIAL POWER
ARTICLE 125.
Judicial power shall be independent of the
legislative power and of the executive power.
It shall be exercised by the Supreme Court, and
Courts and Tribunals created in accordance with the present Constitution.
ARTICLE 126.
Justice shall be rendered in the name of the
Béninese people.
The judges, in the exercise of their duties, shall
be subject only to the authority of the law. Sitting magistrates shall be
irremovable.
ARTICLE 127.
The President of the Republic shall be the guarantor
of the independence of justice.
He shall be assisted by the Superior Council of the
Magistrature.
ARTICLE 128.
The Superior Council of the Magistrature shall rule
as Disciplinary Council of the Magistrates.
The composition, prerogatives, organization and
functioning of the Superior Council of the Magistrature shall be fixed by an
organic law.
ARTICLE 129.
The Magistrates shall be appointed by the President
of the Republic upon the motion of the Guard of the Seals, the Minister of
Justice, after the advice of the Superior Council of the Magistrature.
ARTICLE 130.
The Superior Council of the Magistrature shall study
the documents for pardon and shall transmit them with its reasoned opinion to
the President of the Republic.
I.THE SUPREME COURT
ARTICLE 131.
The Supreme Court shall be the highest court of law
of the State in administrative and judicial matters and the management of the
accounts of the State.
It shall be equally competent in that which concerns
disputed matters in local elections.
The decisions of the Supreme Court shall not be
subject to any appeal.
They shall be imperative on executive power, on
legislative power, as well as on all court of law.
ARTICLE 132.
The Supreme Court shall be consulted by the
Government more generally in all administrative and jurisdictional matters.
It may, at the demand of the Chief of State, be
charged with the drafting and the modification of all legislative and
regulatory texts prior to their examination by the National Assembly.
ARTICLE 133.
The President of the Supreme Court shall be
appointed for a term of five years by the President of the Republic from among
the Magistrates and high level jurists having at least fifteen years of
professional experience upon the advice of the President of the National Assembly
and by decree taken in the Council of Ministers.
He shall be irremovable during the duration of his
mandate which shall be renewable only one time.
The functions of the President of the Supreme Court
shall be incompatible with the qualification of a member of the Government,
with the exercise of any elective mandate, with any public employment -civil or
military, with any other professional activity, as well as with any office of
national representation.
ARTICLE 134.
The Presidents of the Chamber and his Councilors
shall be appointed from among the Magistrates and high-level jurists having at
least fifteen years of professional experience by decree taken in the Council
of Ministers by the President of the Republic, on a motion of the President of the
Supreme Court and after the advice of the Superior Council of the Magistrature.
The law shall determine the status of the
Magistrates of the Supreme Court.
II.THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE.
ARTICLE 135.
The High Court of Justice shall be composed of
members of the Constitutional Court, with the exception of its President, and
of six Deputies elected by the National Assembly and by the President of the
Supreme Court.
The High Court shall elect from its midst its
President.
An organic law shall fix the rules of its
functioning as well as the procedure to be followed before it.
ARTICLE 136.
The High Court of Justice shall be competent to
judge the President of the Republic and the members of the Government by reason
of blatant charges of high treason, of infractions committed in the exercise of
or on the occasion of the exercise of their duties, as well as to judge their
accomplices in case of a plot against the security of the State.
The regular courts shall remain competent for
infractions perpetrated outside the exercise of their duties and for which they
shall be criminally responsible.
ARTICLE 137.
The High Court of Justice shall be bound by the
definition of the infractions and by the determination of penalties resulting
from the penal laws in force at the time of the acts.
The decision to prosecute taken after the indictment
of the President of the Republic and of the members of the Government shall be
voted by a two-thirds majority of the Deputies composing the National Assembly
according to the procedure provided by the Rules of Procedure of the National
Assembly. The investigation shall be conducted by the Magistrates of the
Chambre d'Accusation of the Court of Appeals having jurisdiction over the
location of the seat of the National Assembly.
ARTICLE 138.
The President of the Republic and the members of the
government shall be suspended from their duties in case of an indictment for
high treason, insult to the National Assembly, and any injury to honor and
honesty. In case of conviction, they shall forfeit their offices.
TITLE VII
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
ARTICLE 139.
The Economic and Social Council shall give its
opinion on Government bills, ordinances or decrees as well as on the private
bills which are submitted to it.
Government bills of a program with an economic or
social character shall be obligatorily submitted to it for advice.
The President of the Republic may consult the
Economic and Social Council on any problem of an economic, social, cultural,
scientific and technical nature.
The Economic and Social Council may, on its own
initiative in the form of a recommendation, draw the attention of the National
Assembly and of the Government to reforms of the economic and social order
which appear to it to be consistent with or contrary to the general interest.
Upon the demand of the Government, the Economic and
Social Council shall designate one of its members to set forth before the
Committees of the National Assembly the opinion of the Council on Government
bills or private bills which have been submitted to it.
ARTICLE 140.
The Economic and Social Council shall elect from its
midst its President and the members of its Office.
The composition, organization and the functioning of
the Economic and Social Council shall be fixed by an organic law.
ARTICLE 141.
The members of the Economic and Social Council shall
collect compensation for the session and travel allowances.
The amount of this compensation shall be fixed by a
decree taken in the Council of Ministers.
TITLE VIII
THE HIGH AUTHORITY OF AUDIO-VISUALS AND
COMMUNICATIONS.
ARTICLE 142.
The High Commission of Audio-Visuals and
communications shall have as its mission to guarantee and assure the freedom
and the protection of the press, as well as all of the means of mass
communication with respect to the law.
It shall keep watch in respect to the deontology
[ethics] in the matter of information and of the equitable access of political
parties, of associations and of citizens to official means of news and
communication.
ARTICLE 143.
The President of the High Authority of Audio-Visuals
and Communication shall be appointed, after consultation of the President of
the National Assembly, by decree taken in the Council of Ministers.
The composition, prerogatives, organization and
functioning of the High Authority of Audio-Visuals and Communications shall be
fixed by an organic law.
TITLE IX
TREATIES AND INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
ARTICLE 144.
The President of the Republic shall negotiate and
ratify treaties and international agreements.
ARTICLE 145.
Peace treaties, treaties or agreements relating to
international organization, those which involve the finances of the State,
those which modify the internal laws of the State, those which allow transfer,
exchange or addition of territory may be ratified only in accordance with a
law.
No transfer, no exchange, nor addition of territory
shall be valid without the consent of the interested populations.
ARTICLE 146.
If the Constitutional Court, upon a submission by
the President of the Republic or by the President of the National Assembly,
shall have decided that an international obligation allows a clause contrary to
the Constitution, the authorization to ratify it may occur only after the
revision of the Constitution.
ARTICLE 147.
Treaties or agreements lawfully ratified shall have,
upon their publication, an authority superior to that of laws, without
prejudice for each agreement or treaty in its application by the other party.
ARTICLE 148.
The Republic of Bénin may conclude with other States
agreements of cooperation or of association based on the principles of
equality, of mutual respect for sovereignty, of reciprocal advantages and of
national dignity.
ARTICLE 149.
The Republic of Bénin, anxious to realize African
unity, may conclude any agreement of sub-regional or regional integration in
accordance with Article 145.
TITLE X
TERRITORIAL UNITS
ARTICLE 150.
Territorial units of the Republic shall be created
by law.
ARTICLE 151.
These units shall administer themselves freely by
elected councils and under conditions provided by the law.
ARTICLE 152.
No expenditure for the sovereignty of the State will
be charged to their budget.
ARTICLE 153.
The State shall watch over the harmonious
development of the all the territorial units based on national solidarity,
regional potentialities, and inter-regional equilibrium.
TITLE XI
REVISION
ARTICLE 154.
The initiative for the revision of the Constitution
shall belong concurrently to the President of the Republic, after a decision
taken in the Council of Ministers, and to the members of the National Assembly.
In order to be taken into consideration, the draft
or proposal of revision must be voted by a three-fourths majority of the
members composing the National Assembly.
ARTICLE 155.
The revision shall be agreed to only after having
been approved by referendum, unless the draft or the proposal involved shall
have been approved by a four-fifths majority of the members composing the
Assembly.
ARTICLE 156.
No procedure for revision may be instituted or
continued when it shall undermine the integrity of the territory.
The republican form of government and the secularity
of the State may not be made the object of a revision.
TITLE XII
FINAL TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 157.
The present Constitution must be promulgated within
eight days after its adoption in the referendum.
The President of the Republic must take office; the
National Assembly must convene at the latest on April 1, 1991.
The High Council of the Republic and the
transitional Government shall continue to exercise their functions until the
new institutions are established.
The oath of office of the President of the Republic
shall be received by the President of the High Council of the Republic in
plenary Assembly.
The National Assembly shall be installed by the
President of the High Council of the Republic in the presence of the members of
the said Council.
ARTICLE 158.
The legislation in force in Bénin until the setting
in place of the new institutions shall remain applicable except for the
intervention of new texts in which there is nothing contrary to this present
Constitution.
ARTICLE 159.
The present Constitution shall be submitted to a
referendum.
The necessary arrangements for its application shall
be the objective, whether by laws voted by the High Council of the Republic, or
whether by decrees issued by the Council of Ministers. The prerogatives passed
on by the present Constitution to the Constitutional Court shall be exercised
by the High Court of the Republic until the installation of the new
institutions.
ARTICLE 160.
The present law shall be enforced as the Constitution
of the Republic of Bénin.
Done at Cotonou, December 11, 1990
By the President of the Republic,
Chief of State, Mathieu Kerekou
The Prime Minister
Head of Government
Nicephore Soglo
The Minister of Justice
and of the Legislation
Yves Yehoussi
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