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The Constitution of the Argentine Nation ( es, Constitución de la Nación Argentina) is the basic governing document of
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
, and the primary source of existing law in Argentina. Its first version was written in 1853 by a constitutional assembly which gathered in Santa Fe; the doctrinal basis was taken in part from the
United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...
. It was then reformed in 1860, 1866, 1898, 1949, 1957 (which mainly repealed the 1949 reform), and the current version is the reformed text of 1994. The Argentine Constitution consists of a preamble and two normative parts: * Preamble * First part: Declarations, Rights and Guarantees (arts. 1-43) * Second part: Authorities of the Nation (arts. 44-129). The following international human rights instruments —treaties and declarations— also have constitutional status by virtue of article 75 paragraph 22: * American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man *
Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt ...
*
American Convention on Human Rights The American Convention on Human Rights, also known as the Pact of San José, is an international human rights instrument. It was adopted by many countries in the Western Hemisphere in San José, Costa Rica, on 22 November 1969. It came into for ...
*
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (GA) on 16 December 1966 through GA. Resolution 2200A (XXI), and came in force from 3 January 197 ...
*
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, fre ...
* Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights *
Genocide Convention The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG), or the Genocide Convention, is an international treaty that criminalizes genocide and obligates state parties to pursue the enforcement of its prohibition. It wa ...
*
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) is a United Nations convention. A third -generation human rights instrument, the Convention commits its members to the elimination of racial discri ...
* Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women *
United Nations Convention against Torture The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (commonly known as the United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT)) is an international human rights treaty under the review of the United Nation ...
* Convention on the Rights of the Child * Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons *
Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity The Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by United Nations General Assembly resolution 2391 (XXIII) of 26 November 1 ...
*
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Parties to the convention are required to promote, ...


History

The first attempt to divide political power in
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
was during the government created after the
May Revolution The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terri ...
(Spanish: Revolución de Mayo): the Primera Junta could not create new taxes without the ''Cabildos authorization. Many revolutionary leaders, led by
Mariano Moreno Mariano Moreno (; September 23, 1778March 4, 1811) was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, and politician. He played a decisive role in the Primera Junta, the first national government of Argentina, created after the May Revolution. Moreno was ...
, wanted to declare independence immediately and create a constitution in order to build an independent state. In October 1811, the
Junta Grande Junta Grande (), or Junta Provisional Gubernativa de Buenos Aires, is the most common name for the executive government of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (modern-day Argentina), that followed the incorporation of provincial represent ...
, which succeeded the Primera Junta, enacted the Regulation for the Division of Power, but it was not accepted by the
executive power The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems b ...
. Nevertheless, the
freedom of press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerc ...
and the Decree on Individual Security were accepted by November. In 1813, the General Constitutional Assembly was intended to declare a constitution but it could only declare the freedom for slaves' sons. In 1819 and 1826 were declared two constitutions that eventually failed because of the disagreement between Federalists and Unitarians. Many other ''constitutional'' pacts existed between 1820 and 1853 (when the current Argentine Constitution was enacted). The most important of them are: the Treaty of Pilar (1820), the Treaty of the ''Cuadrilátero'' (1822), the Federal Pact (1831), the Palermo Protocol (1852), and the Treaty of San Nicolás (1852). The Federal Pact urged all the provinces to call a General Federal Congress, however this would have limited
Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rosas (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confederation. Although ...
's power who was the most powerful province governor, so the Congress was never called. When Rosas was defeated, in 1852, the Treaty of San Nicolás finally called the Constitutional Congress that, in Santa Fe, on May 1, 1853, swore to make effective the federal Constitution. Consequently, the Province of Buenos Aires left the
Argentine Confederation The Argentine Confederation (Spanish: ''Confederación Argentina'') was the last predecessor state of modern Argentina; its name is still one of the official names of the country according to the Argentine Constitution, Article 35. It was the name ...
until 1859.


Reforms to the 1853 Constitution

The first constitutional amendment to the original 1853 text occurred in 1860 after Buenos Aires rejoined the Argentine Confederation. It consisted of changes to many of the original articles. One of the major changes was the renaming of the state: according to the reform, the country would be officially named ''República Argentina'' ("Argentine Republic") and, for legal purposes, ''Nación Argentina'' ("Argentine Nation"), replacing the older "Argentine Confederation" in all articles of the constitution. Another important inclusion was the constitutional recognition of Buenos Aires' exclusive rights guaranteed by the Treaty of San Nicolás. The next reform occurred in 1866 and established that exportation and importation taxes would be destined to the National Treasury indefinitely, no longer until 1866 as the 1860 reform had established. In 1898, another minor constitutional amendment was approved. It allowed a more flexible ratio for proportional apportionment in the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
and set the number of ministries to eight. During
Juan Domingo Perón ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, ...
's government, the
Argentine Constitution of 1949 The Argentine Constitutional Reforms of 1949 were approved during Juan Domingo Perón's government. This new constitution was a major revision of the Constitution of Argentina. Its goal was to modernize and adapt the text to the twentieth century's ...
was successfully passed, which constituted a major revision. Its goal was to modernize and adapt the text to the twentieth century's concepts of democracy, for example, adding a list of ''social rights'' which included better working conditions for the working class, the right to good education, etc. This also was included in the principles stated in the preamble. It also permitted the indefinite reelection of the president. During the military regime known as the ''
Revolución Libertadora ''Revolución Libertadora'' (; ''Liberating Revolution'') was the coup d'état that ended the second presidential term of Juan Perón in Argentina, on 16 September 1955. Background President Perón was first elected in 1946. In 1949, a ...
'' that had deposed Perón's government in 1955, in 1957 and before the elections that was to be held in 1958, a Constitutional Convention was elected to reform the constitution. This reform does not include 1949's, implicitly annulling it so the text was based on the 1898 one. The only changes done were to include a summary of Perón's social articles known as ''article 14 bis'' (existing currently) and to establish the necessity to have a Labour and Social Security Code. In 1972, a "Constitutional Amendment" carried out by the military government led by General Alejandro A. Lanusse reformed the 1957 text. This had to last until 1977 but its application could be extended until 1981 if no Constitutional Convention in 1976 decided either to accept it or reject it definitively. This amendment was not fully applied by the democratic government of Perón in his third term nor by his wife
Isabel Perón Isabel Martínez de Perón (, born María Estela Martínez Cartas, 4 February 1931), also known as Isabelita, is an Argentine politician who served as President of Argentina from 1974 to 1976. She was one of the first female republican heads ...
acting as President after his death. Some changes were related to the size of Senate and one-term reelection of president and vice-president. It also reduced presidential, senatorial and deputies' terms all to four years. The last (and current) version of the Argentine Constitution was carried out by
Carlos Saúl Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. He ...
in 1994. It included many of the modifications from the 1972 "amendment" as the growth of the Senate size (three per Province), one-term consecutive presidential reelection and reduction of its term to four years. It also made
Buenos Aires City Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
an
autonomous entity An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy— ...
with its own authorities. Other changes were done to ensure a softer presidentialist regime, the inclusion of a new chapter into the Bill of Rights related to politics, health and environment, and also the adoption of a much faster legislative procedure for creating laws. In addition, the requirement that the President or Vice President of the Republic belong to the Roman Catholic faith was also abolished.


Divisions

The Argentine Constitution has four major division types; Parts, Titles, Divisions and Chapters, though these need not be present all the time. For example, the First Part is divided into Chapters but not into Titles nor Sections. The scheme of the Constitution is the following: *Preamble *First Part (43 sections) **First Chapter ''Declarations, rights and guarantees'' (35 sections) **Second Chapter ''New rights and guarantees'' (8 sections) *Second Part ''Authorities of the Nation'' (86 sections) **First Title ''Federal Government'' (77 sections) ***First Division ''Of the Legislative Power'' (43 sections, 42 + 1 separated) ****First Chapter ''Of the Chamber of Deputies'' (9 sections) ****Second Chapter ''Of the Senate'' (9 sections) ****Third Chapter ''Common dispositions to both Chambers'' (12 sections) ****Fourth Chapter ''Attributions of the Congress'' (2 sections, of which one is sub-divided 32 times) ****Fifth Chapter ''Of the formation of Laws'' (8 sections) ****Sixth Chapter ''Of the General Audit of the Nation'' (1 section) ****Seventh Chapter ''Of the Ombudsman'' (1 section) ***Second Division ''Of the Executive Power'' (21 sections) ****First Chapter ''Of its nature and duration'' (7 sections) ****Second Chapter ''Of the way and time of the election of the President and ****Third Chapter ''Attributions of the Executive Power'' (1 section sub-divided 20 times) ****Fourth Chapter ''Of the ministers'' (8 sections, of which one is sub-divided 13 times) ***Third Division ''Of the Judicial Power'' (12 sections) ****First Chapter ''Of its nature and duration'' (8 sections) ****Second Chapter ''Attributions of the Judicial Power'' (4 sections) ***Fourth Section ''Of the Public Ministry'' (1 section) **Second Title ''Provincial Governments'' (9 sections) *Transitorial Provisions


Preamble

The Preamble of the Argentine Constitution states or implies, in short terms, a number of starting points for the conception of the nation, such as a representative government. It acknowledges previous agreements to create a constitution (in order to legitimize the gathering of the Assembly). Finally, it lays the foundations for the policy of support of
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...
, by asking "for the protection of God, source of all reason and justice" for all people who desire to inhabit Argentina.


Declarations, rights and guarantees

The Constitution establishes a Bill of Rights and Guarantees for all individuals, Argentine or foreign; the inviolability of the right of life, liberty, equality, security and property. The second chapter, added in 1994, deals with public ethics, political rights, environmental protection and consumer rights. Civil rights are recognized to all inhabitants with no distinction of nationality. This is a consequence of the traditional interest of Argentina in the affluence of foreigners and foreign investment. Labor rights are also acknowledged (this is part of the legacy of
Peronism Peronism, also called justicialism,. The Justicialist Party is the main Peronist party in Argentina, it derives its name from the concept of social justice., name=, group= is an Argentine political movement based on the ideas and legacy of A ...
, resulting in the 1949 and 1957 reforms). These include limited labor day, just salary, right of organization, social security benefits, etc. The constitution declares that no one can be deprived of property, except in case of judicial sentence based on previously enacted legislation, or through expropriation for reasons of public utility, dully qualified by law and previously indemnified. The person, its judicial defense, its domicile and correspondence are inviolable. What the law does not forbid is permitted. Individuals have complete freedom to do or refuse to do anything in private, except if that interferes with public order or morality, or causes damage to third parties. The 1994 reform introduces several new legal figures: ''amparo judicial'' (an
injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in p ...
), ''habeas corpus'' and ''habeas data''. Injunctions are destined to protect citizens from actual or imminent damage; habeas corpus (known for a long time to Argentine jurisprudence, and related to the
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, ...
of
Common Law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...
) is to protect the citizen's physical freedom; and ''
habeas data ''Habeas data'' is a writ and constitutional remedy available in certain nations. The literal translation from Latin of ''habeas data'' is “ e commandyou have the data,” or "you he data subjecthave the data." The remedy varies from country ...
'' is a person's right to access information about himself or herself, and request its confidentiality, a change or a suppression. The Argentine Constitution's rights are divided in four groups: Civil, patrimonial, politic and social.


Declarations

Declarations state the basis that hold the nation's politics and define it as an independent entity, for example, Article 1 states that the government is representative, republican and federal and Article 35 lists the Country's official names.


Guarantees

They are institutional methods to protect the exercise of fundamental rights. They are so important that it is possible to say that a right can be held as long as it has a guarantee to protect it. Most of Guarantees are in the sections 18 and 43, between these are: habeas corpus, the abolition of death penalty and torture.


Rights

The Argentine Constitution's rights are divided in four groups: Civil, patrimonial, politic and social. * Civil rights are related to the people as individuals. Some examples are: right to live, have honor, have a name, make associations and to express opinions. * Patrimonial rights protect men in relation to their goods. Some examples are: to own, to sell, to hire, and to build legal industries. * Politic rights allow people to take part in the government, by themselves or by electing representatives: this category includes the right to choose and be chosen for the government and to make or join a political party. * Social rights are related to people as part of society: these are (among many others) the rights to work, to have fair wages, to know, to learn, to teach. In
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
, Freedom is one of the most important rights. Section 19 says that private actions of men that don't harm the public order or another man can not be judged by authorities. Moreover, it holds the "principle of legality": ''No inhabitant of the Nation will be forced to do what the law doesn't order nor forbidden to do what the law doesn't forbid''. Equality is as important as freedom. Section 16 states that in the country there are no noble titles and "all its inhabitants are equal before the law"


Form of government

According to the Constitution, Argentina is a representative federal
republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...
, divided in
provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
,
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
, and the Autonomous City of
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
. Each province has the right and duty to dictate its own constitution, respecting the same principles as the national constitution.


Divisions of government powers

The Constitution mandates a strict separation of government powers, into three branches (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial) and the Public Ministry.


Executive

The Executive Branch is formed by the
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
, who is both head of state, as well as chief executive and head of government. (Art. 87). The Vice-President replaces the President in case of illness, absence from the capital, death, resignation, or removal. The Vice-President doesn't belong to the executive branch. Curiously, it belongs to the legislative branch since he is also the President of the Senate. (Art. 57) The President promulgates the laws sanctioned by Congress, and has veto power over them. The President directs international relations and is the Commander in Chief of the Army. In some cases, the President can issue emergency decrees. In the 1994 amendments to the 1853 Constitution, the post of the Chief of the Cabinet Ministers was created who would serve as chief operating officer and would run the day-to-day operations of the government and will be at the same time, be politically responsible to both Houses of the National Congress, the Senate and Chamber of Deputies and they can remove him or her via censure. The creation of the post was intended to reduce the presidentialist character of the country's presidential form of government.


Legislative

The Legislative Branch is composed of the Vice-President, a bicameral Congress, the General Auditing Office of the Nation and the Ombudsman. Congress is divided in two Houses: ''Cámara de Diputados'' (
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
, the Lower House) and ''Cámara de Senadores'' (
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, the Upper House). The Vice-President belongs in the Legislative Branch since he (or she) is also the President of the Senate Chamber. The General Auditing Office of the Nation is a technical advisory body of Congress with functional autonomy. The Ombudsman is an independent body which works without receiving instructions from any authority. The mission of the Ombudsman is the defense and protection of human rights, civil rights and guarantees, and the control of the Administration.


Judicial

The Judicial Branch is formed by the Supreme Court, and lower courts that Congress establishes in the territory of the Nation. The Supreme Justices and all judges hold their offices as long as they are not deposed for misbehavior and enjoy intangibility of remuneration.


Public Ministry

The Public Ministry is an independent body with functional autonomy and financial autarchy, with the function of promoting justice for the defense of legality, of the general interests of society, in coordination with the other authorities of the Republic. It is composed of a Prosecutor General of the Nation and a Defender General of the Nation, and such other members as the law may establish. Its members enjoy functional immunities and intangibility of remuneration. (Art. 120).


See also

* Argentine Constitution of 1853 *
Argentine Constitution of 1949 The Argentine Constitutional Reforms of 1949 were approved during Juan Domingo Perón's government. This new constitution was a major revision of the Constitution of Argentina. Its goal was to modernize and adapt the text to the twentieth century's ...
* Politics of Argentina * Law of Argentina *
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
*
Constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...
*
Constitutional economics Constitutional economics is a research program in economics and constitutionalism that has been described as explaining the choice "of alternative sets of legal-institutional-constitutional rules that constrain the choices and activities of econo ...
* Constitutionalism * Rule according to higher law


References


Bibliography

*


External links

* *  from the
Argentine Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies ( es, Cámara de Diputados de la Nación), officially the Honorable Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation, is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress ( es, Congreso de la Nación). It is made up of 257 ...
page. * {{Argentina topics Law of Argentina