| Constitution of Cadiz of 1812 (18 of March 1812) DON FERNANDO SEVENTH, by the grace of God and the Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy, King of Spain, and in their absence and captivity the Regency of the kingdom, named by general and extraordinary Cortes, to all those that the presents will see and understand, you know: That the same Cuts have decreed and sanctioned the following POLITICAL CONSTITUTION OF the SPANISH MONARCHY. In the name of all-powerful God, Father, Son and Spirit Santo author and supreme legislator of the society. General and extraordinary of the Spanish Nation, or convinced Cortes, after the most stopped examination and mature deliberation, of which the old fundamental laws of this Monarchy, accompanied by the opportune providencias and precautions, that assure a stable and permanent way their whole fulfillment, will be able to fill the great object properly to promote the glory, the prosperity and or of all the National, decrees to the following political Constitution for the good government and straight line administration of the State. Title I. Of the Spanish Nation and the Spaniards Chapter I. Of the Spanish Nation Article 1. - The Spanish Nation is the meeting of all the Spaniards of both hemispheres. Article 2. - The Spanish Nation is free and independent, and it is neither can be patrimony of no family nor person. Article 3. - The sovereignty resides essentially in the Nation, and by the same the right belongs to this one exclusively to establish its fundamental laws. Article 4. - The Nation is forced to conserve and to protect by wise and right laws the civil freedom, the property and the other legitimate rights of all the individuals that compose it. Chapter II Of the Spaniards Article 5. - They are Spanish: First. All the free men born and domiciled in the dominions of Spain, and the children of these. Second. The foreigners who have obtained from Cortes naturalization paper. Third. Those that without her have been ten years of vicinity, won according to the law in any town of the Monarchy. Quarter. The libertos since they acquire the freedom in Spain. Article 6. - The love of the Mother country is one of the main obligations of all the Spaniards and, also, the being right and beneficial. Article 7. - All Spanish is forced to be faithful the Constitution, to obey the laws and to respect the settled down authorities. Article 8. - Also all Spanish is forced, without distinction some, to contribute in proportion of his salaries for the expenses of the State. Article 9. - Also all Spanish is forced to defend the Mother country with the arms, when he is called by the law. Title II Of the territory of Spain, its religion and government and of the Spanish citizens Chapter I. Of the territory of Spain Article 10. - The Spanish territory includes/understands in the Peninsula with its possessions and adjacent islands: Aragón, Asturias, Castile the Old one, Castile the New one, Catalonia, Cordova, Extremadura, Galicia, Granada, Jaén, Leon, Basque Molina, Murcia, Navarre, Provinces, Seville and Valencia, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands with the other possessions of Africa. In northern America: The new Spain with the New-Galicia and the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, internal provinces of East, internal provinces of the West, island of Cuba with the two Flowery ones, the Spanish part of the island of Santo Domingo and the island of Puerto Rico with the other adjacent ones to these and the continent in both sea. In southern America, New Granada, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, the adjacent provinces of the River of the Silver, and all islands in the sea Pacific and the Atlantic. In Asia, the Philippine islands, and those that depend on their government. Article 11. - A more advisable division will become one more of the Spanish territory by a constitutional law, as soon as the political circumstances of the Nation allow it. Chapter II Of the religion Article 12. - The religion of the Spanish Nation is and will be perpetually apostolic, Roman, unique the catholic, true. The Nation protects it by wise and right laws and prohibits the exercise of any other. Chapter III Of The Government Article 13. - The object of the Government is the happiness of the Nation, since the aim of all political society is not other that the well-being of the individuals that compose it. Article 14. - The Government of the Spanish Nation is a hereditary moderate Monarchy. Article 15. - The power to make the laws resides in Cortes with the King. Article 16. - The power to make execute the laws resides in the King. Article 17. - The power to apply the laws in the civil lawsuits and criminal resides in the courts established by the law. Chapter IV Of the Spanish citizens Article 18. - Those Spaniards are citizen who by both lines bring their origin of the Spanish dominions of both hemispheres and are domiciled in any town of such dominions. Article 19. - The foreigner is also citizen who enjoying the Spanish rights already, will obtain from Cortes special letter of citizen. Article 20. - So that the foreigner can obtain from Cortes this letter, he must be married with Spanish, and have brought or have fixed to Spain some invention or appreciable industry, or have acquired real estate by which a direct contribution pays, or establecídose in the commerce with an equity capital and considerable in opinion of the same Cuts, or fact services indicated in good and national defense. Article 21. - They are, also, citizens the legitimate children of the foreigners domiciled in Spain, that being been born in the Spanish dominions, has never left outside without license of the Government, and having twenty and years fulfilled, has domiciled in a town of such dominions, exerting in him some profession, office or useful industry. Article 22. - To the Spaniards who by any line are had and reputed by original of Africa, they it has left open the door of the virtue and merit to be citizen: in their consequence Cortes will grant letter of citizen to which they will be in service described to the Mother country, or to which they are distinguished by his talent, application and conduct, with the condition of which they are children of legitimate marriage of ingenuous parents; of which they are married with ingenuous woman, and they are domiciled in the dominions of Spain, and of which they exert some profession, office or useful industry with an equity capital. Article 23. - Only those that are citizen will be able to obtain municipal uses, and to choose for them in the cases indicated by the law. Article 24. - The quality of Spanish citizen is lost: First. To acquire nature in foreign country. Second. To admit use of another Government. Third. By sentence in which distressing or infamantes pains prevail, if rehabilitation is not obtained. Quarter. By to have resided five years consecutive outside the Spanish territory without commission or license of the Government. Article 25. - The exercise of such right is suspended: First. By virtue of judicial interdiction by physical or moral incapacity. Second. By the state of indebted fraction, or indebted to the public assets. Third. By the state of domestic crew member. Quarter. Not to have use, office or way to live well-known. Fifth. To be criminay processed. Sixth. From the year of thousands eight hundred thirty will have to know how to read and to write those that enter the exercise of the citizen rights again. Article 26. - Only by the causes indicated in preceding articles the citizen rights can be lost or both be suspended, and not by others. Title III Of Cortes Chapter I. Of the way to form Cortes Article 27. - Cortes is the meeting of all the deputies who represent the Nation, named by the citizens in the form that will be said. Article 28. - The base for the national representation is the same one in both hemispheres. Article 29. - This base is the population composed of natural which by both lines they are original of the Spanish dominions, and of which they have obtained in Cortes citizen letter, like also of the included/understood ones in article 21. Article 30. - For the calculation of the population of the European dominions seven hundred ninety will be used the last census as the year of thousands and seven, until new one can become another, and the corresponding one for the calculation of the population of the overseas ones will form, in the meantime serving the most authentic censuses between lately formed. Article 31. - By each seventy thousand souls of the population, composed as it is left saying in article 29, there will be a deputy of Cuts. Article 32. - Distributed the population by the different provinces, if the excess of more than thirty and five thousand souls were in some, a deputy will choose itself more, as if the number reached seventy thousands, and if the leftover did not exceed thirty and five thousands, it will not be had him. Article 33. - If there were some province whose population does not arrive at seventy thousand souls, but that does not lower of sixty thousands, a deputy will choose by himself; and if he lowered of this I number, he will be united to the immediate one to complete the one of seventy thousands required. Exceptúase of this rule the island of Santo Domingo, that deputy will name, whatever it is his population. Chapter II Of the appointment of deputies of Cuts Article 34. - For the election of the deputies of Cuts electoral meetings of parish will be held, of party and province. Chapter III Of the electoral Meetings of parish Article 35. - The electoral Meetings of parish will be made up of all the citizens domiciled and resident in the territory of the respective parish, between which the secular ecclesiastics understand themselves. Article 36. - These meetings will always hold in the peninsula and adjacent islands and possessions, the first Sunday of the month of October of the year previous to the one of the celebration of Cortes. Article 37. - In the overseas provinces they will be celebrated the first Sunday of the month of December, fifteen months before the celebration of Cortes, with warning that stops and others have to give justice early. Article 38. - In the parish meetings a parochial voter will name by each two hundred neighbors. Article 39. - If the number of neighbors of the parish exceeded three hundred, although it does not reach four hundred, will name two voters; if it exceeded five hundred, although it does not reach six hundred, three will name, and thus progressively. Article 40. - In the parishes, whose number of neighbors does not reach two hundred, provided one hundred fifty have, will name or a voter, and in those in which there is not east number will meet the neighbors to those of another immediate one to name the voter or voters who correspond to them. Article 41. - The parochial meeting will choose eleven compromisarios by simple majority, so that these name the voter parochial. Article 42. - If in the parochial meeting two voters will have to name parochial, twenty and compromisarios will be chosen, and if three, thirty and one; without in no case it is possible to be exceeded this number of compromisarios, in order to avoid confusion. Article 43. - In order to consult the greater comfort of the small populations, it will be observed that that parish that will get to have twenty neighbors, will choose a compromisario; the one that it will get to have from thirty to forty, it will choose two; the one that it will have from fifty to sixty, three, and thus progressively. The parishes that they will have less than twenty neighbors, will be united with immediate choosing compromisario. Article 44. - The compromisarios of the parishes of the small populations, thus chosen, will be joined more in the town to intention, and in composing the number of eleven, or at least of nine, they will name a voter parochial; if twenty and one will compose the number of, or at least of ten and seven, they will name two voters parochial and if they will be thirty and one and five meet at least twenty and, they will name three voters, or those that correspond. Article 45. - To be named electing parochial it is required to be citizen, greater of twenty and five years, neighbor and resident in the parish. Article 46. - The parish meetings will be presided over by the political head, or the mayor of the city, villa or village in which they will be congregated, with attendance of the priest parish priest for greater solemnity of the act; and if in a same town for reason of the number of their parishes the two or most together ones will be had, the one political head will preside over or the mayor, another one the other mayor and the regidores luckily will preside over the others. Article 47. - Arrival the hour of the meeting, that will become in the consistorial houses or the place where they have it customary, being together the citizens that have concurred, they will happen to the parish with his president, and in her will celebrate a solemn mass of Spirit Santo by the priest parish priest, who will make a speech corresponding to the circumstances. Article 48. - Concluded the mass, they will return to the place from where sallo rum, and in him will occur to principle to the meeting, naming two escrutadores and a secretary of between the citizen presents, everything to open door. Article 49. - Immediately the president will ask if some citizen must expose some complaint relative to bribe or bribe so that the election falls to certain person; y' if there will be it will have to become public and verbal justification in the same act. Being certain the accusation, will be private of active voice and passive those that will have committed the crime. The slanderer ones will undergo the same pain; and of this judgment resource will not be admitted some. Article 50. - If doubts on if were provoked in some of the presents the required qualities concur to be able to vote, the same meeting will decide in the act which seems to him; and what will decide it will execute without resource some by this time and for this single effect. Article 51. - It will be come immediately to the appointment from the compromisarios; what it will be done designating to each citizen an equal number of people to the one of the compromisarios, for which it will approach the table where are the president, the escrutadores and the secretary; and this one will write them in a list to its presence; and in this one and the other acts of election nobody will be able to vow to itself, under the pain to lose the right to vote. Article 52. - Concluded east act, the president, escrutadores, and secretary will recognize the lists, and that one will publish in high voice the names of the citizens who have been chosen compromisarios by to have reunited greater number of votes. Article 53. - The named compromisarios will retire to a separated place before dissolving the meeting, and conferenciando to each other, they will come to name to the voter or voters of that parish, and will be left to the person or people chosen who reunite more than half of votes. Immediately the appointment will be published in the meeting. Article 54. - The secretary will extend the act, that with him the president and the compromisarios will sign, and will such give copy of her signed by to the person or chosen people, to point out his appointment. Article 55. - No citizen will be able to excuse of these orders by reason nor pretext some. Article 56. - In the parochial meeting no citizen will appear with arms. Article 57. - Verified the appointment of voters, the meeting will dissolve immediately, and any other act in which it tries to mix itself will be null. Article 58. - The citizens who have composed the meeting will transfer to the parish, where You will sing itself solemn "Deum", taking to the voter or voters between the president, the escrutadores and the secretary. Chapter IV Of the Meetings of party Article 59. - The electoral Meetings of party will be made up of the parochial voters who will congregate themselves in the head of each party, in order to name the voter or voters who are to concur to the capital of the province to choose the deputies of Cuts. Article 60. - These Meetings will be always held, in the adjacent Peninsula and Islands and possessions, the first Sunday of the month of November of the year previous to in that is to be celebrated Cortes. Article 61. - In the overseas provinces they will be celebrated the first Sunday of the month of following January next to the one of December in that the parish meetings will have been held. Article 62. - In order to come in knowledge of the number of voters whom there are to name each party, presents will have the following rules. Article 63. - The number of party voters will be triple to the one of the deputies who have themselves to choose. Article 64. - If the number of parties of the province will be greater than the one of the voters who require themselves by the preceding article for the appointment of the deputies who correspond to him, she will name, nevertheless, a voter by each party. Article 65. - If the number of parties were minor who the one of the voters who must name, each party chooses one, two or more, until completing the number that is required; but if it still lacked a voter, it will name the party him of greater population; if still it lacked another one, it will so on name the one him that is followed in greater population, and. Article 66. - Reason why it is established in articles 31, 32 and 33, and in three preceding articles, the census determines how many deputies correspond to each province, and how many electing to each one of its parties. Article 67. - The electoral meetings of party will be presided over by the political head, or the mayor first of the town head of party, to that the parochial voters with the document will appear that credits its election, so that their names in the book are written down in which are to extend the acts of the meeting. Article 68. - In the indicated day the voters of parish with the president in the consistorial rooms to opened door joined themselves, and will begin to name a secretary and two escrutadores of between such electing. Article 69. - Immediately the certifications of their appointment will present/display the voters to be examined by the secretary and escrutadores, that will have on the following day to inform if they are or nonneat. The certifications of the secretary and escrutadores will be examined by a commission of three individuals of the meeting, that will name to the effect, so that it also informs in the following day on them. Article 70. - In this day, congregated the parochial voters, the information will be ***reflxed mng on the certifications, and if will have been repairs that to oppose to some of them, or to the voters by defect of some of the required qualities, the Meeting will solve and continuing act definitively what it seems to him, and what will solve, will be executed without resource. Article 71. - Concluded east act, they will pass the parochial voters with its president to the greater church, in where a solemn mass of Spirit will be sung Santo by the ecclesiastic of greater dignity, the one than will make a speech own of the circumstances. Article 72. - After this religious act they will be restituted to the consistorial houses, and occupying the voters its seats without preference some, will read the east secretary chapter of the Constitution, and immediately the same question will make the president that is contained in article 49, and all whatever in him will be observed is prepared. Article 73. - Immediately later the voter appointment of or voter of party will come themselves to, choosing them one by one, and by secret scrutiny, by means of certificates in which the name of the person is written who each one chooses. Article 74. - Concluded the voting, the president, secretary and escrutadores they will make the regulation of the votes, and will be left chosen the one that has reunited at least half of the votes, and one more, publishing the president each election. If no will have had the absolute plurality of votes, both that they have had the greater number will enter second scrutiny, and will be left chosen the one that reunites greater number of votes. In case of tie it will decide the luck. Article 75. - To be electing of party one requires to be citizen that is in the exercise of its rights, greater of twenty and five years, and neighbor and resident in the party, or of the state to seglar or the secular ecclesiastic, being able to fall the election to the citizens that compose the meeting, or to those of outside her. Article 75. - To be electing of party one requires to be citizen that is in the exercise of its rights, greater of twenty and five years, and neighbor and resident in the party, or of the state to seglar or the secular ecclesiastic, being able to fall the election to the citizens that compose the meeting, or to those of outside her. Article 76. - The secretary will extend the act, that with him the president and escrutadores will sign; and copy of her signed by to the person or chosen people such will be given, to point out its appointment. The president of this meeting will send another copy signed by him and the secretary to the president of the province meeting, where the election in the papers will become well-known public. Article 77. - In the electoral meetings of party everything will be observed what it is prepared for the electoral meetings of parish in articles 55, 56, 57 and 58. Chapter V. Of the electoral Meetings of province Article 78. - Meetings electoral of province will compose of voters of all parties of her, which they will be congregated in the capital in order to name the deputies who correspond to him to attend Cortes, like representatives of the Nation. Article 79. - These meetings will always hold in the Peninsula and adjacent Islands the first Sunday of the month of December of the year previous to Cortes. Article 80. - In the overseas provinces they will be celebrated in the Sunday second of the month of March of the same year in which the party meetings will be held. Article 81. - These meetings by the political head of the capital of the province will be presided over, to that the voters of party with the document of their election will appear, so that their names are written down in the book in which are to extend the acts of the meeting. Article 82. - In the indicated day the voters of party with the president in the consistorial houses, or the building that are had by more to intention for a so solemn act, to open door will join themselves; and they will begin by simple majority to name a secretary and two escrutadores of between such electing. Article 83. - If to a province he will not fit to him more than a deputy, will concur at least five voters for their appointment; distributing this number between the parties in which he will be divided, or forming started off for this single effect. Article 84. - The four chapters of this Constitution will be ***reflxed mng that deal with the elections. Later the certifications of acts of the elections done in the party heads will be ***reflxed mng, sent by the respective presidents and, also, the certifications of their appointment will present/display the voters, to be examined by the secretary and escrutadores, that will have on the following day to inform if they are or nonneat. The certifications of the secretary and escrutadores will be examined by a commission of three individuals of the meeting, that will name to the effect, so that they also inform on them in the following day. Article 85. - Together in him the party voters, will ***reflx mng the information on the certifications; and if will have been repairs that to oppose to some of them, or to the voters by defect of some of the required qualities, the meeting will solve and continuing act definitively what it seems to him; and what will solve it will execute without resource. Article 86. - Immediately the cathedral or greater church will go to the voters of party with their president to, in where a solemn mass of Spirit will be sung Santo, and the bishop, or in his defect the ecclesiastic of greater dignity, will make a speech own of the circumstances. Article 87. - Concluded east religious act, they will return to the place from where they left; and to opened door, occupying the voters its seats, without preference some, will make the president the same question that is contained in article 49, and all whatever in him will be observed is prepared. Article 88. - It will be come immediately by the voters, who are presents, to the election of the deputy or deputies, and they will be chosen one by one, approaching the table where they are the president, the escrutadores and secretary, and this one will write in a list to its presence the name of the person who each one chooses. The secretary and the escrutadores will be first that vote. Article 89. - Concluded the voting, the president, secretary and escrutadores they will make the regulation of the votes, and will be left chosen that that has reunited at least half of the votes, and one more. If no had reunited the absolute plurality of votes, both that they have had the greater number will enter second scrutiny, and will be left chosen the one that reunites the plurality. In case of tie it will decide the luck; and made the election of each one, it will publish the president. Article 90. - After the election of deputies it will be come to the one from substitutes by the same method and forms, and its number will be in each province the third part of the deputies who correspond to him. If to some province she will not be called on to him to choose more than one or two deputies, will choose, nevertheless, a substitute deputy. These will concur to Cortes, whenever the death of the proprietor is verified, or their impossibility in opinion of the same ones, at any time that one or another accident is verified after the election. Article 91. - To be delegated of Cuts it is required to be citizen that are in the exercise of their rights, greater of twenty-five years, and that have been born in the province or are domiciled in her with residence at least of seven years, or is of the state to seglar, or the secular ecclesiastic; being able to fall the election to the citizens who compose the meeting, or to those of outside her. Article 92. - It is required in addition, to be chosen deputy of Cuts, to have proportionate an annual rent, coming from separate properties of husband and wife. Article 93. - Suspéndese the disposition of the preceding article until Cortes that in ahead has to be celebrated, declares already to have arrived the time from which it can have effect, indicating the quota of the rent, and the quality of the goods from which there are to come; and what then they will solve will be had by constitutionalist, as if here one was expressed. Article 94. - If it will happen that a same person is chosen by the province of their nature and by in which is domiciled, the election because of the vicinity, and by the province of its nature will subsist it will come to Cortes the substitute to whom corresponds. Article 95. - The secretaries of the office, the advisors of State, and those that serve uses as the Real House, could not be chosen deputies of Cuts. Article 96. - Any foreigner could not either be chosen deputy of Cuts, although he has obtained from Cortes citizen letter. Article 97. - No public employee named by the Government, could be chosen deputy of Cuts by the province in which he exerts his position. Article 98. - The secretary will extend the act of the elections, that with him will sign the president and all the voters. Article 99. - Immediately all the voters without excuse some to all and each one of the deputies will grant ample powers, according to the following formula, giving to each deputy their corresponding one to be able to appear in Cortes. Article 100. - The powers will be conceived in these terms: "In the city of......... days of the month of........ of the year of......., in the rooms of.........., being congregated the gentlemen (the names of the president and the voters of party will be put here that forms the electoral meeting of the province), the infrascrito notary public and summoned witnesses said before me to the effect, that being itself come, in accordance with the political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy, to the appointment of the parochial voters and of party with all the solemnities prescribed by the same Constitution, as he consisted of the certifications which original they built in the file, reunited the electing expressed ones of the parties of the province of in the day of of the month of of the present year, they had made the appointment of the deputies who in name and representation of this province have to concur to Cortes, and who were elect by deputies for them by this province gentlemen N. N. N., as she is from the act extended and signed by N. N.: that in his consequence they grant ample powers to them to all together ones, and each one of by himself, fulfilling and carrying out augustas functions of his order, and so that with the other deputies of Cuts, like representatives of the Spanish Nation, they can decide and to solve whatever they will understand conducive to or the general one of her in use of the faculties that the Constitution determines, and within the limits that the same one prescribes, without being able to countermand, to alter or to vary in way some no of his articles under no pretext, and that the otorgantes are commited by themselves and to name of all the neighbors of this province by virtue of the faculties that are granted to them like voters named for this act, to have by valid, and to obey and to fulfill whatever as such deputies of Cuts do, and will be solved by these in accordance with the Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy. Thus they expressed it and they granted, being present like witnesses N. N. N., that with the otorgantes gentlemen signed it: of which I give faith." |
| Spanish Constitution of 1812 (loose English version) (Articles 1-100 - out of 384) |