Constitution of El Salvador
| Constitution of El Salvador | |
|---|---|
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| Created | 15 December 1983 |
| Date effective | 20 December 1983 |
| Location | Hall of Sessions of the Constituent Assembly |
| Author(s) | Deputies of the Constituent assembly |
| Signatories | 60 Deputies of the Constituent assembly |
The current constitution of El Salvador was enacted in 1983 and amended in 2003. The 1983 constitution is similar to that of 1962, often incorporating verbatim passages from the earlier document. The constitution consists of 11 titles, subdivided into 274 articles.
Some provisions shared by the two charters include: the establishment of a five-year presidential term with no reelection; the right of the people to resort to "insurrection" to redress a transgression of the constitutional order; the affirmation (however neglected in practice) of the apolitical nature of the Salvadoran armed forces; the support of the state for the protection and promotion of private enterprise; the recognition of the right to private property; the right of laborers to a minimum wage and a six-day work week; the right of workers to strike and of owners to a lockout, and the traditional commitment to the reestablishment of the Republic of Central America.
Title One enumerates the rights of the individual, among them: the right to free expression that "does not subvert the public order"; the right of free association and peaceful assembly for any legal purpose; the legal presumption of innocence; the legal inadmissibility of forced confession, and the right to the free exercise of religion—again, with the stipulation that such exercise remain within the bounds of "morality and public order".
Title One also specifies the conditions under which constitutional guarantees may be suspended, and the procedures for such suspension. Grounds for such action include war, invasion, rebellion, sedition, catastrophe (natural disasters), epidemic or "grave disturbances of the public order". The declaration of the requisite circumstances may be issued by either the legislative or the executive branch of government. The suspension of constitutional guarantees lasts for a maximum of 30 days, at which point it may be extended for an additional 30 days by legislative decree. The declaration of suspension of guarantees grants jurisdiction over cases involving "crimes against the existence and organization of the state" to special military courts. The military courts which functioned from February 1984 until early 1987 under a suspension of guarantees (or state of siege) were commonly known as "Decree 50 courts", after the legislative decree which established them.
According to the constitution, all Salvadorans over 18 years of age are considered citizens. As such, they have political rights and political obligations. Rights of the citizen include the exercise of suffrage and the formation of political parties "in accordance with the law", or the right to join an existing party. The exercise of suffrage is listed as an obligation as well as a right, making voting mandatory. Failure to vote has technically been subject to a small fine (a penalty rarely invoked in practice).
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