National Constitutional provisions – Venezuela

The Constitution of Venezuela 1999

EDUCATION

Title III - Duties, human rights and guarantees

Chapter III - Civil rights

Art.59

 (…) The father and the mother have a right that their children receive the religious education which is in accordance with their convictions.

Chapter VI - Cultural and educational rights

 Art.102

Education is a human right and a fundamental social duty, it is democratic, free of charge and obligatory. The State will adopt it as an indeclinable function of the highest interest in all its levels and modalities, and as an instrument of scientific, humanistic and technologic knowledge in the service of society. Education is a public service (…).

 Art.103

Every person has a right to integral, quality, permanent education with equal conditions and opportunities, with no other limitations than those derived from his aptitude, vocation and aspiration.

Education is obligatory in all its levels, from the maternal level up to the intermediate diversified level.

That imparted in the institutions of the State is free of charge up to the university pre-grade. For that purpose, the State will make a priority investment, in conformity with the recommendations of the Organization of the United Nations.

The State will create and support institutions and services sufficiently endowed in order to ensure access, permanence and culmination in the educational system.

The law will guarantee equal attention to the persons with special needs or with disabilities and to those who are deprived of their freedom or who lack the basic conditions for their incorporation and permanence in the educational system.

 Art.104

Education will be the charge of persons of recognized morality and proved academic fitness. The State will (…) guarantee to them stability in the exercise of the teaching career, be it public or private, (…), in a regime of work and quality of life in accord with their elevated mission.

 Art.106

Every person, (…) with prior demonstration of his capacity, when he meets in a permanent manner the ethical, academic, economic, scientific, infrastructure and other requirements that the law establishes, may found and maintain private educational institutions under the strict inspection and oversight of the State (…).

 Art.107

Environmental education is obligatory in the levels and modalities of the educational system, as well as also in non-formal civic education. (…)

 Art.109

The State will recognize university autonomy as a principle (…).

 Art.111

All persons have the right to sports and recreation as activities which benefit the quality of individual and collective life. The State will adopt sports and recreation as a policy of education and public health and will guarantee the resources for their promotion 

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EQUALITY

Article 21

Al persons are equal before the law, and, consequently:

1.- No discrimination based on race, sex, creed or social standing shall be permitted, nor, in general, any discrimination with the intent or effect of nullifying or encroaching upon the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on equal terms, of the rights and liberties of every individual.

2.- The law shall guarantee legal and administrative conditions such as to make equality before the law real and effective manner; shall adopt affirmative measures for the benefit of any group that is discriminated against, marginalized or vulnerable; shall protect in particular those persons who, because of any of the aforementioned circumstances, are in a manifestly weak position; and shall punish those who abuse or mistreat such persons.

3.- People will only be officially addressed as Citizens, except for diplomatic forms.

4.- No titles of nobility or hereditary distinctions shall be recognized.

MINORITIES

See Chapter III Rights of Native People (very extensive).

CITIZENSHIP

See Chapter II (very extensive).

GENDER

Article 76

Motherhood and fatherhood are fully protected, whatever the marital status of the mother or father. Couples have the right to decide freely and responsibly how many children they wish to conceive, and are entitled to access to the information and means necessary to guarantee the exercise of this right. The State guarantees overall assistance and protection for motherhood, in general, from the moment of conception, throughout pregnancy, delivery and the puerperal period, and guarantees full family planning services based on ethical and scientific values.

The father and mother have the shared and inescapable obligation of raising, training, educating, maintaining and caring for their children, and the latter have the duty to provide care when the former are unable to do so by themselves. The necessary and proper measures to guarantee the enforceability of the obligation to provide alimony shall be established by law.

Article 77

Marriage, which is based on free consent and absolute equality of rights and obligations of the spouses, is protected. A stable de facto union between a man and a woman which meets the requirements established by law shall have the same effects as marriage.

Article 88

The State guarantees the equality and equitable treatment of men and women in the exercise of the right to work. The state recognizes work at home as an economic activity that creates added value and produces social welfare and wealth. Housewives are entitled to Social Security in accordance with law.

CHILDREN

Article 75

[…] Children and adolescents have the right to live, be raised and develop in the bosom of their original family. When this is impossible or contrary to their best interests, they shall have the right to a substitute family, in accordance with law. Adoption has effects similar to those of parenthood, and is established in all cases for the benefit of the adoptee, in accordance with law. International adoption shall be subordinated to domestic adoption.

Article 78

Children and adolescents are full legal persons and shall be protected by specialized courts, organs and legislation, which shall respect, guarantee and develop the contents of this Constitution, the law, the Convention on Children’s Rights and any other international treaty that may have been executed and ratified by the Republic in this field. The State, families and society shall guarantee full protection as an absolute priority, taking into account their best interest in actions and decisions concerning them. The State shall promote their progressive incorporation into active citizenship, and shall create a national guidance system for the overall protection of children and adolescents.

Article 79

Young people have the right and duty to be active participants in the development process. The State, with the joint participation of families and society, shall create opportunities to stimulate their productive transition into adult life, including in particular training for and access to their first employment, in accordance with law.

DISABILITIES

Article 81

Any person with disability or special needs has the right to the full and autonomous exercise of his or her abilities and to its integration into the family and community. The State, with the solidarity participation of families and society, guarantees them respect for their human dignity, equality of opportunity and satisfactory working conditions, and shall promote their training, education and access to employment appropriate to their condition, in accordance with law. It is recognized that deaf persons have the right to express themselves and communicate through the Venezuelan sign language.

Article 86

All persons are entitled to Social Security as a nonprofit public service to guarantee health and protection in contingencies of maternity, fatherhood, illness, invalidity, catastrophic illness, disability, special needs, occupational risks, loss of employment, unemployment, old age, widowhood, loss of parents, housing, burdens deriving from family life, and any other social welfare circumstances. The State has the obligation and responsibility of ensuring the efficacy of this right, creating a universal and complete Social Security system, with joint, unitary, efficient and participatory financing from direct and indirect contributions. The lack of ability to contribute shall not be ground for excluding persons from protection by the system.

Social Security financial resources shall not be used for other purposes.

The mandatory assessments paid by employees to cover medical and health care services and other Social Security benefits shall be administered only for social purposes, under the guidance of the State.

Any net remaining balances of capital allocated to health, education and Social Security shall be accumulated for distribution and contribution to those services. The Social Security system shall be ruled by a special organic law.

LANGUAGE

Article 9

Spanish is the official language. The use of native languages also has official status for native peoples, and must be respected throughout the territory of the Republic, as constituting part of the cultural heritage of the Nation and humanity.

RELIGION

Article 59

The State guarantees the freedom of cult and religion.

All persons have the right to profess their religious faith and cults, and express their beliefs in private or in public, by teaching and other practices, provided such beliefs are not contrary to moral, good customs and public order. The autonomy and independence of religious confessions and churches is likewise guaranteed, subject only to such limitations as may derive from this Constitution and the law. Father and Mother are entitled to have their sons and daughters receive religious education in accordance with their convictions.

No one shall invoke religious beliefs or discipline as a means of evading compliance with law or preventing another person from exercising his or her rights.

PARENTS

Article 75

The State shall protect families as a natural association in society, and as the fundamental space for the overall development of persons. Family relationships are based on equality of rights and duties, solidarity, common effort, mutual understanding and reciprocal respect among family members. The State guarantees protection to the mother, father or other person acting as head of a household.[…].

HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

Article 19        

The State shall guarantee to every individual, in accordance with the progressive principle and without discrimination of any kind, not renounceable, indivisible and interdependent enjoyment and exercise of human rights. Respect for and the guaranteeing of these rights is obligatory for the organs of Public Power, in accordance with the Constitution, the human rights treaties signed and ratified by the Republic and any laws developing the same.

Article 23

The treaties, pacts and conventions relating human rights which have been executed and ratified by Venezuela have a constitutional rank, and prevail over internal legislation, insofar as they contain provisions concerning the enjoyment and exercise of such rights that are more favorable than those established by this Constitution arid the laws of the Republic, and shall be immediately and directly applied by the courts and other organs of the Public Power.

Article 25

Any act on the part of the Public Power that violates or encroaches upon the rights guaranteed by this Constitution and by law is null and void, and the public employees* ordering or implementing the same shall incur criminal, civil and administrative liability, as applicable in each case, with no defense on grounds of having followed the orders of a superior.

Article 29

The State is obliged to investigate and legally punish offenses against human rights committed by its authorities.

Actions to punish the offense of violating humanity rights, serious violations of human rights and war crimes shall not be subject to statute of limitation. Human rights violations and the offense of violating humanity rights shall be investigated and adjudicated by the courts of ordinary competence. These offenses are excluded from any benefit that might render the offenders immune from punishment, including pardons and amnesty.

Article 30

The State has the obligation to make full reparations to the victims of human rights violations for which it may be held responsible, and to the legal successors to such victims, including payment of damages.

The State shall adopt the necessary legislative measures and measures of other nature to implement the reparations and damage compensation provided for under this article.

The State shall protect the victims of ordinary crimes and endeavor to make the guilty parties provide reparations for the inflicted damages.

Article 285

The following are functions of the Office of Public Prosecutions:

(1) In judicial proceedings, to guarantee respect for constitutional rights and guarantees, as well as those deriving from international treaties, agreements and conventions signed by the Republic.

(2) To guarantee the speedy trail of the judicial process, the right to previous trial and a due process.

(3) To order and direct criminal investigation of the perpetration of punishable acts, with a view to establishing that the same were committed, with all circumstances that may be relevant to stating the offense and establishing the responsibility of the perpetrators and other participants, as well as to secure custody of the objects actively and passively concerned with the perpetration of the offense.

(4) To conduct on behalf of the State criminal prosecutions in those cases in which no initiative on the part of a party is required in order to initiate or continue such prosecution, with the exceptions established by law.

(5) To file any appropriate actions to hold liable public officials who have incurred civil, labor, military, criminal, administrative or disciplinary liability the course of their official duties.

(6) Any other functions that may be assigned to this office by the Constitution and by law.

These attributions do not discredit the exercise of any rights or actions to which private parties or other officials may be entitled in accordance with this Constitution and the law.