Cape Verde 1980 Constitution (reviewed 1992) - Page 3 of 8

Table of Contents

PART II. RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF CITIZENS

TITLE I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Article 14. Recognition of the Inviobility of Rights, Liberties and Guarantees

The State recognizes as inviolable the rights and liberties granted by the Constitution and guarantees their protection.
All public authorities have the duty to respect and guarantee the free exercise of rights and liberties and the accomplishment of constitutional or legal duties.

Article 15. Responsibility of Public Entities

The State and other public entities shall be civilly responsible for acts or omissions of its agents in the exercise of their duties, or because of them, when they violate rights, liberties, or guarantees, causing damage to the rightful party or to a third party.
Agents of the State or any public entity shall be criminally and penally responsible for acts or omissions violating rights, liberties, and guarantees granted by the Constitution or by law.
The right, under law, to compensation for damages caused by violation of rights and fundamental liberties, shall be recognized to all.

Article 16. The Scope and Meaning of Rights, Liberties and Guarantees

Laws and international conventions may grant rights, liberties, and guarantees not provided for in the Constitution.
The extent and the essential content of constitutional norms regarding rights, liberties, and guarantees may not be restricted by means of interpretation.
Constitutional and legal norms regarding fundamental rights may be interpreted and integrated in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The law may restrict rights, liberties, and guarantees only in cases specifically provided for in the Constitution.
Laws restricting rights, liberties, and guarantees must be general and abstract, may not be retroactive, may not reduce the extent and essential content of constitutional norms, and must be limited to what is necessary for the safeguard of other constitutionally protected rights.

Article 17. Legal Enforcement

Constitutional norms regarding rights, liberties, and guarantees shall bind all public and private entities and shall be directly enforced.

Article 18. The Right to Resist

All citizens shall have the right to disobey any order which offends their rights, liberties, and guarantees, and to repel by force any illegal aggression when it is not possible to have recourse to public authority.

Article 19. Protection of Rights, Liberties and Guarantees

All citizens shall have the right to petition the Supreme Court of Justice, by means of the appeal process, for protection of their rights, liberties, and fundamental guarantees recognized in the Constitution, as provided by law, and observing the provisions of the following paragraphs:
1. The appeal process may be invoked against acts or omissions of public powers in violation of rights, liberties, and fundamental guarantees, after all means of ordinary recourse have been followed;
2. An appeal may be requested by simple petition, as an emergency matter, and it must be dealt with by a summary decision;
All citizens shall have the right to present, individually or collectively, to public authorities or other representative bodies, complaints or claims against acts or omissions of public powers which offend or threaten to offend their rights, liberties, and guarantees.

Article 20. Access to the Courts

Everyone shall be guaranteed access to justice, independently of their economic condition, and within a reasonable period of time, effective protection of their legitimate rights and interests before the courts.
Everyone shall be guaranteed by law the right to defense, to be represented, to have access to information, and to consultation.

Article 21. The Principle of Universality

All citizens shall enjoy the rights, liberties, and guarantees, and shall be subject to the duties established by this Constitution.
Cape Verdian citizens who reside or who are temporarily abroad shall enjoy the right, liberties, and guarantees, and be subject to constitutional duties which are not incompatible with their absence from national territory.
The law may establish restrictions on the exercise of political rights and access to certain offices or public responsibilities on Cape Verdian citizens who are not native-born.

Article 22. The Principle of Equality

All citizens shall have equal social status and shall be equal before the law, without privilege, benefit, or prejudice, and may not be deprived of any rights or exempt from any duty by reason of race, sex, ancestry, language, origin, religion, social and economic condition, or political or ideological conviction.

Article 23. Foreigners and Expatriates

With the exception of political rights and the rights and duties reserved constitutionally or legally to national citizens, foreigners residing or temporarily on national territory shall enjoy the same rights, liberties, and guarantees and be subject to the same duties as Cape Verdian citizens.
Foreigners and expatriates may exercise public duties of a technical nature as provided by law.
Rights may be granted to citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries which are not conferred on foreigners, except access to ministries, or service in the Armed Forces or diplomatic service.
Foreigners who are resident in the national territory may have the right by law to vote in local elections.

Article 24. Regulation of Rights, Liberties and Guarantees

The principles enunciated in this title shall apply to individual rights, liberties, and guarantees which are analogous to those established in the Constitution or consecrated by law or international convention.

Article 25. Suspension of Rights, Liberties and Guarantees

Rights, liberties, and guarantees may only be suspended in the event of a declaration of martial law or a state of emergency, under conditions provided for in the Constitution.

TITLE II. RIGHTS, LIBERTIES AND GUARANTEES

CHAPTER I. INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS, LIBERTIES AND GUARANTEES

Article 26. The Right to Life and to Physical and Mental Integrity

Human life and the physical and moral integrity of persons shall be inviolable.
No one may be subjected to torture, or to cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment or treatment; and in no case shall there be the death penalty.

Article 27. The Right to Liberty

The right to liberty shall be inviolable.
Freedom of thought and expression; association; religion; worship; intellectual, artistic and cultural creation; demonstration; and other liberties consecrated by the Constitution, by laws, and by International Law or convention shall be guaranteed.
No one may be forced to declare his ideology, religion, or political or union affiliation.

Article 28. The Right to Liberty and Personal Security

Everyone has the right to liberty and security. No one may be deprived partially or totally of his liberty except by virtue of a judicial sentence for acts punishable under law by prison or by the judicial application of security measures.
As exceptions to the principle established in the preceding paragraph, there may be deprivation of liberty, for the time necessary for the accomplishment of its purpose, under conditions established by law and in the following cases:
1. Flagrant offense;
2. Evidence of a crime whose maximum penalty is imprisonment for a term of more than two years, and insufficient or inadequate means of temporary liberty;
3. Failure of the accused to meet conditions imposed under temporary liberty;
4. Detention or imprisonment to assure obedience to a judicial decision or appearance before a competent judicial authority or accomplishment of a judicial act;
5. Necessity for security, assistance or protection of minors or of adults who by law are treated as such;
6. Imprisonment or detention of those whose trial for extradition or expulsion is in progress;
7. Imprisonment of military or police agents with a guarantee of appeal to a competent court under the provisions of the law, after exhausting the hierarchical system.
Everyone detained or imprisoned must be informed in clear, comprehensive form of the reasons for his detention or imprisonment, and his constitutional and legal rights, and shall be authorized to contact a lawyer directly or through his family or a person in his confidence.
The person detained or imprisoned may not be forced to testify.
The person detained or imprisoned has the right to have identified those responsible for his detention, imprisonment, or interrogation.
The detention or imprisonment of any person, and his precise location, shall be communicated immediately to the family of the detainee or prisoner, or the person whom he indicated, as well as a summary description of the motivating reasons.

Article 29. Preventive Detention

Any person detained or imprisoned without having been found guilty must be presented, within a period of not more than twenty-four hours, to the competent judge who must clearly explain the reasons for detention or imprisonment, inform him of his rights and duties, interrogate him in the presence of the defense lawyer freely chosen by him, give him the opportunity for defense, and furnish a decision to validate the imprisonment or to release the prisoner.
Preventive detention may not be supported where bail, or other legal means, may be substituted.
A judicial decision of validation or release from preventive imprisonment, and the location, must be immediately communicated to the family of the detainee or prisoner, or a person in his confidence whom he indicates.
Preventive imprisonment, with or without a finding of guilt, shall be subject to the time limits established by law, and may not exceed 36 months from the date of detention or capture.

Article 30. Application of Criminal Law

Criminal and personal responsibility shall not be transferable.
Retroactive application of criminal law shall be prohibited unless the subsequent law is more favorable to the accused.
Application of security measures whose provisions are not established by law shall be prohibited.
Penalties and security measures may not be applied unless they are expressly stated by law.
No one may be judged more than once for the same crime; no one may be punished with a penalty not expressly provided by law or with a more serious penalty than what was established by law at the time the crime was committed.
Security measures and detention based on serious mental illness presenting a danger may be extended by judicial decision while that state lasts and it is not medically possible or advisable to adopt other measures not restrictive of liberty.
The provisions of paragraph 2 shall not prevent punishment, within the limits of internal law, for actions or omissions which, at the time they were committed, were considered criminal according to the principles and norms of International Law.

Article 31. Prohibition of Perpetual or Unlimited Imprisonment

In no case shall imprisonment or security measures be perpetual or of unlimited or indefinite duration.

Article 32. Effects of Penalties and Security Measures

No penalty or security measure may lead to loss of civic, political, or professional rights nor deprivation of fundamental rights, except within the limits inherent in the sentence and the specific requirements of its execution.

Article 33. Principles of Penal Process

Every defendant shall be presumed innocent until found guilty, and judgment must be given in the shortest period of time compatible with guarantees of defense.
The defendant shall have the right freely to choose his counsel, to assist at all phases of the procedure.
Defendants who for economic reasons cannot obtain counsel shall be assured, through the proper agencies, of adequate judicial assistance.
Criminal procedure shall be subject to the adversarial principle.
The right to a hearing and the right to defense in criminal trials shall be inviolable and shall be assured to every defendant.
All evidence obtained by torture; coercion; assault on physical or moral integrity; illegal invasion of correspondence, telephone, domicile, or privacy; or other illicit means, shall be null and void.
Criminal hearings shall be public except when defense of personal, family, or social privacy establishes the need for exclusion or restriction of publicity.
No case may be removed from a court whose jurisdiction was previously established.
In disciplinary trials, defendants shall be assured of the right to a hearing and to defense, under conditions established by law.
The right to a trial and to defense in civil or disciplinary trials, where the defendants are military or police, shall be regulated by a special law.

Article 34. Habeas Corpus

Any person detained or imprisoned illegally may demand habeas corpus at the appropriate court.
Any person who enjoys political rights may demand habeas corpus on behalf of the person illegally detained or imprisoned.
The court, within ten days, must render a decision on the petition of habeas corpus.
The procedure for habeas corpus shall be established by law.

Article 35. Extradition and Expulsion

No Cape Verdian citizen may be extradited or expelled from the country.
No foreigner may be extradited for political or religious reasons or for opinions.
Extradition shall not be permitted to countries in which the particular crime carries the death penalty or a life sentence or where the accused would be subject to torture or inhuman, degrading or cruel treatment.
Expulsion of foreigners, permanent residents, or those who have requested asylum may only take place following a judicial decision.
Extradition may be granted only when expressly provided by law or international convention.

Article 36. The Right to Asylum

Foreigners persecuted for political reasons or seriously threatened with persecution by virtue of their activities on behalf of national liberation, democracy, or respect for Human Rights shall have the right to asylum in the national territory.
The status of political refugees shall be defined by law.

Article 37. The Right to Nationality

No native-born Cape Verdian may be deprived of nationality or the prerogatives of citizenship.

Article 38. The Right to Identity, to a Name, and Reputation

The right to personal identity, to civil rights, to a name, honor, and reputation, and to personal and family privacy shall be guaranteed.
Civil rights may not be limited except by judicial decision in the cases and conditions established by law.

Article 39. The Right to Choose A Profession and to Try for Public Office

Every citizen shall have the right to choose freely his work or profession or to have professional training except for legal restrictions imposed in the public interest or inherent in his own capacity or professional qualification.
All citizens shall have the right to public office, under conditions of equality, as provided by law.
No one may be compelled to do certain work except in the accomplishment of public service, common and equal for all, or a judicial decision as provided by law.

Article 40. Inviolability of the Domicile

The domicile shall be inviolable.
No one may enter any domicile for an involuntary search and seizure without a judicial warrant issued in the cases and according to forms legally provided, except in case of flagrante delicto or to give assistance.
The law shall set forth the cases in which the competent judicial authority may order entry, search and seizure of goods, documents, or other objects in a domicile.
In no case shall entry, search or seizure be permitted during the night.

Article 41. Inviolability of Correspondence and Telecommunications

Privacy of correspondence and telecommunication shall be guaranteed except in cases in which, by judicial decision rendered in accordance with the law in a criminal trial, interference with correspondence and telecommunication shall be permitted to public authorities.

Article 42. Utilization of Computer Records

Utilization of computer records and individual data regarding political, philosophical, or ideological convictions, religious faith, party or union affiliation, and private life shall be prohibited.
The law shall regulate the protection of personal computer data, conditions of access to databases, and utilization by public and private authorities of these databases and computers.
No one shall have access to archives, files, computer records, or databases to find out personal data regarding a third party, nor transfer personal data from one computer file to another belonging to various services or institutions except in cases provided by law or judicial decision.
There shall, in no case, be a national identification number for citizens.

Article 43. Access to Data

All citizens shall have the right to access to information, to be aware of computer files, archives, and records which relate to them, as well as the right to be informed of their purpose and use in order to request the correction or updating of the data.
The process of access to data shall be regulated by law.

Article 44. Marriage and Children

Everyone shall have the right to marry in civil or religious ceremony.
Requirements and the civic status of marriage and its dissolution, apart from the ceremony, shall be regulated by law.
Spouses shall have equal rights, civil duties, and responsibilities.
Children may only be separated from parents by judicial decision in cases provided by law, if the parents do not fulfill their fundamental duties toward the children.
There shall be no discrimination toward children born out of wedlock and no discriminatory designation as to their parentage.
Adoption shall be permitted under forms and conditions regulated by law.

Article 45. Freedom of Expression and Information

Everyone shall have freedom of expression by speech, image, or any other medium; no one shall be harassed because of political, philosophical, religious, or other opinions.
Everyone shall have the freedom to inform and to be informed, obtaining, receiving, and giving out information and ideas in any form without limitation, discrimination, or impediment.
Limitation of the exercise of these freedoms by any type or form of censorship shall be prohibited.
Freedom of expression and information shall be limited by the right of every citizen to honor, good reputation, image, and privacy in personal and family life, as well as the protection of youth and children.
Abuses committed in the exercise of freedom of expression and information shall entail civil, disciplinary, and criminal responsibility, as provided by law.
All individuals and corporations shall be assured, under conditions of equality, the right of response and of correction, as well as the right to compensation for damages suffered through abuses of freedom of expression and information.

Article 46. Freedom of the Press

Freedom of the press shall be guaranteed.
The provisions of the preceding article shall be applicable to freedom of the press.
The freedom and independence of the means of communication relative to political and economic powers shall be assured and may not be subjected to any sort of censorship.
The expression and confrontation of ideas and of different opinions shall be assured in the means of communication in the public sector.
The State shall guarantee immunity to the public media, as well as the independence of its journalists from Government, the Administration, and other public powers.
The creation or founding of newspapers or other publications does not require administrative authorization nor may a security deposit or any other guarantee be a condition.
The creation or founding of radio or television stations shall be through a license conferred by means of public competition as provided by law.
Journalists shall be guaranteed, under law, access to sources of information and shall be assured of independence and professional secrecy; no journalist shall be forced to reveal his sources of information.
The State shall assure the existence and functioning of public service radio and television.
The ownership and financing of communication media must be divulged, as provided by law.
Seizure of newspapers or other publications shall be permitted only for infractions of law and when those responsible for the publication are not indicated in it.

Article 47. The Right to Airtime, Response and Political Reply

Political parties shall have the following rights:
1. Airtime on public radio and television, in accordance with their size and other objective criteria defined by law;
2. Response and political reply to the Government’s declarations;
The right to airtime may also be granted by law to trade unions, companies, and religious institutions.
The right to reply shall be granted to all professional associations and representatives of economic, social, and cultural activities, as well as religious institutions.
During electoral campaigns, candidates shall have the right to regular, equal airtime on all radio and television stations, of whatever range and ownership, as provided by law.
The right to airtime, response, and reply established in this article shall be regulated by law.

Article 48. Freedom of Conscience, Religion and Worship

Freedom of conscience, religion, and worship shall be inviolable; everyone shall have the right, individually and collectively, to profess or not profess a religion, to have the religious conviction of their choice, to participate in worship and to express their faith freely, and to spread its doctrine or conviction, while not jeopardizing the rights of others or the common good.
No one may be discriminated against, persecuted, deprived of rights, or given special benefits or immunity because of their religious faith, conviction, or practices.
Churches and other religious communities shall be separate from the State and shall be independent and free in their organization and in the exercise of their own activities, as partners in the social and spiritual development of the Cape Verdian people.
Freedom of religious instruction shall be guaranteed.
Religious presence in hospitals and prisons, as well as the armed forces, shall be guaranteed, as provided by law.
Churches shall have the right to use the communications media to accomplish their activities and purposes, as provided by law.
Protection of places of worship, as well as symbols, emblems, and religious ceremonies shall be assured; imitation or mockery shall be prohibited.
The right to conscientious objection shall be guaranteed, as provided by law.

Article 49. Freedom to Learn, to Train, and to Teach

Everyone shall have the freedom to learn, to educate, and to teach.
Freedom of learning, education, and teaching shall include the following rights:
1. To frequent educational establishments and to teach without discrimination, as provided by law;
2. To choose subjects and courses;
3. To create schools and educational establishments.
Families have the fundamental right to educate their children according to the ethical and social principles resulting from their philosophical, religious, ideological, aesthetic, political, or other convictions.
The State may not program education and culture to follow any philosophical, aesthetic, political, ideological, or religious directives.
Public education shall not be religious.
The State does not possess the exclusive right to teaching and education, recognizing that communities, social groups, and individuals are free to create schools and educational establishments, as provided by law.

Article 50. Freedom to Leave the Nation and to Emigrate

All citizens shall have the right to leave the national territory and to return, as well as to emigrate.
Restrictions on the rights set forth above may only be imposed through judicial decision, and must always be temporary in nature.

Article 51. Freedom of Association

Associations shall be freely constituted, requiring no administrative authorization.
Associations may freely pursue their own purposes without interference by the authorities.
The dissolution of associations or the suspension of their activities may only be determined by judicial decision, as provided by law.
Armed, military, and paramilitary associations, and those which promote violence, racism, xenophobia, or dictatorship, or those whose purposes violate criminal law, shall be prohibited.
No one may be forced to join or to remain a member of an association.

Article 52. Freedom of Assembly and Demonstration

All citizens shall be guaranteed freedom of assembly and peaceful, unarmed demonstration, even in public places, with no necessity for authorization.
The promoters of meetings or manifestations in public places must give prior notice to the competent authorities.

Article 53. Freedom to Create Intellectual, Artistic and Cultural Works

Intellectual, cultural, and scientific creation shall be free, as well as the spread of literary, artistic and scientific works.
Protection of copyrights shall be guaranteed by law.

CHAPTER II. RIGHTS, LIBERTIES, AND GUARANTEES IN POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

Article 54. Participation in Public Life

All citizens shall have the right to participate in political life directly and through freely elected representatives.
All citizens at least 18 years of age shall be eligible voters.
The right to vote may not be restricted except by virtue of exclusions established by law.

Article 55. Participation in the Right to Aspire to Public Office

All citizens shall have the right to aspire, under conditions of equality and freedom, to public elective office, under conditions established by law.
No one may be jeopardized in his profession, employment, or in social benefits to which he is entitled, because of serving in public office or exercising his political rights.
The law shall guarantee immunity and independence in the exercise of public office and shall establish ineligibilities necessary for this purpose.

Article 56. Political Parties

The creation of political parties, as well as their merger, coalition, and disbanding, shall be free, as provided in the Constitution and in law.

Article 57. The Right to Petition, Complaints and Grievances

All citizens shall have the rights, individually or collectively, to present to public authorities written petitions, complaints or grievances in defense of their rights or in protest of illegal abuses of power, as provided by law.

CHAPTER III. RIGHTS, LIBERTIES, AND GUARANTEES OF WORKERS

Article 58. The Right to Work, to Welfare, to Holidays, and to Material Assistance

All citizens shall have the right to work, and the State has the duty to create the conditions necessary for this right to be effective.
Progressively and in accordance with national economic development, all workers shall be assured of adequate social welfare in the event of illness, industrial accident, old age, and unemployment; periodic paid holidays; rest; leisure; and material assistance.

Article 59. The Right to Compensation and to Security of Employment

Everyone shall have the right to compensation in proportion to the quantity and quality of work and to security of employment.
Dismissal for political or ideological reasons shall be prohibited.
Dismissal shall be illegal without legitimate cause enacted by law.
All workers shall have the right to dignified working conditions, to hygiene and security, to a limited working day, to rest, leisure, and weekly time off.
Men and women shall receive equal pay for equal work.
The law shall establish special protection for minors, for the handicapped, and for women during pregnancy and after childbirth, and shall guarantee to women working conditions which permit them to carry out their family and maternal duties.

Article 60. National Minimum Salary and Maximum Limit to Working Hours

The State shall set national standards regarding limiting the duration of work and shall create conditions for establishing a national minimum wage for various occupations.

Article 61. Freedom of Professional and Trade Associations

All workers shall be free to create trade unions or professional associations to defend their interests and their collective and individual rights.
The creation of trade unions and professional associations shall not require administrative authorization.
Trade unions and professional associations shall be guaranteed full organizational and functional autonomy and internal regulation.
Trade unions and professional associations must be governed by democratic principles of organization and management, based on the active participation of members in all activities and periodic election of its agencies by secret ballot.
Trade unions and professional associations shall be independent of management, of the State, of political parties, the church or religious organizations.
The law shall regulate the creation, coalition, federation, and disbanding of trade unions and professional associations, and shall guarantee independence and autonomy relative to the State, management, political parties, and associations, the church, and religious organizations.
The law shall assure adequate protection to workers’ elected representatives from any limitation in the exercise of their functions, from persecution and threats in the work place.

Article 62. Freedom of Membership in Trade Unions

No one may be forced to join a union or professional association, or to remain in a union or professional association, or to pay dues to a union or professional association of which they are not a member.

Article 63. Rights of Unions and of Professional Associations

To defend the rights and interests of workers, unions shall have the right, as provided by law, to participate in:
1. Arbitration agencies;
2. Policy-making institutions of social security and other institutions which promote the protection and defense of the interests of workers.
3. Drafting of labor legislation.
Unions shall have the authority to conclude collective labor contracts, as provided by law.

Article 64. The Right to Strike and Prohibition of Lock-Out

The right to strike shall be guaranteed; workers have the right to decide on the occasions to strike and the interests which the strike is intended to defend.
Lock-outs shall be prohibited.
The law shall regulate the exercise of the right to strike.

TITLE III. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES

Article 65. Private Economic Initiative

Everyone shall have the right to free, private economic initiative, which must be exercised with respect for the Constitution and the law.
Everyone shall have the right to create companies and cooperatives, as provided by law.

Article 66. The Right to Private Property

Everyone shall have the right to private property, and to transmit it while alive or at death.
The right to inheritance shall be guaranteed.
Seizure or expropriation for public use may be carried out based on law and with the payment of fair compensation.

Article 67. The Right to Social Security

Everyone shall be guaranteed, in accordance with national development, the right to social security as a protection in case of unemployment, illness, disability, old age, being orphaned, and all situations of need or loss of subsistence or capacity to work.
The State must assure the gradual realization of conditions indispensable to effect these rights, namely by adopting policies to create a national decentralized system of social security and a national network of medical and hospital services.

Article 68. Health

Everyone shall have the right to health and the duty to defend and promote it, independently of economic condition.
The right to health shall be realized through an adequate network of health services and by the gradual creation of the economic, social, and cultural conditions necessary to guarantee a better quality of life for the population.
To guarantee the right to health, the State has the following duties:
1. To assure, according to available economic resources, a national health service based on complete care, with priority to preventive activities;
2. To encourage the community’s participation in the various levels of health service;
3. To articulate and regulate public and private initiatives on the subject of health;
4. To regulate and control the production, commercialization, and use of chemical, biological, and pharmacological products and other means of treatment and diagnosis.

Article 69. Housing

Everyone shall have the right to proper housing; the State shall have the duty to achieve this by gradually promoting, according to national economic development, adequate institutional, regulatory, and infrastructural conditions to encourage and support initiatives of local communities to stimulate private construction and access to proper housing.

Article 70. Environment

Everyone shall have the right to a healthy, ecologically balanced environment, and the duty to defend and conserve it.
The State and Municipalities, with the cooperation of associations which defend the environment, shall adopt policies to defend and preserve the environment, and will assure the rational utilization of all natural resources.
The State shall stimulate and support the creation of associations to defend the environment and protect natural resources.

Article 71. Youth

All young people shall have the right to special protection by the family, the society, and the state, permitting the development of their personality, their physical and intellectual capacities, and their full integration in social, cultural, political and economic life.
The family, society, and State shall promote the free participation of young people in political life, economic and social development, and the exercise of social, cultural, political, and economic rights.
The State and society shall support the creation of organizations for youth for cultural, artistic, recreational, sports, and educational pursuits.
The State, in cooperation with parents’ associations and educational associations, private institutions and youth organizations, shall adopt a national youth policy to promote and encourage professional training, access to initial employment, and the free intellectual and physical development of youth.

Article 72. Rights of the Handicapped and the Elderly

The handicapped and the elderly shall have the right to special protection by the family, society, and the State, giving them priority in attention from public and private services, special treatment and care, as well as conditions necessary to avoid marginalization.
The State, cooperating with private agencies and with associations for the handicapped and the elderly, shall promote a national policy which may gradually:
1. Guarantee prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and integration of the handicapped;
2. Guarantee to the elderly and the handicapped economic, social, and cultural conditions permitting them to participate in social life;
3. Sensitize the community to the problems of the handicapped and elderly, as well as creating conditions to avoid their isolation and social marginalization.
The State shall promote and support special education and the creation of special schools for technical and professional training for the handicapped.
The State shall promote and support the creation of associations of the handicapped and the elderly.

TITLE IV. SOCIAL RIGHTS

Article 73. Education

Everyone shall have the right to education.
The State shall assure universal primary education, free and compulsory, the duration of which shall be established by law.
All education shall be supported by State taxation.

Article 74. Educational Policy

The State shall promote an educational policy which aims at the progressive elimination of illiteracy; at permanent education; creativity; integration of schools into the community; and the civic training of students.
The State shall guarantee to poor students access to the various levels of education and shall promote a policy of granting scholarships and financial aid based on the capacity and personal merit of the student.

Article 75. Public, Private and Cooperative Education

The State shall create a system of public schools able to meet the needs of the population.
The State shall recognize private and cooperative education and shall guarantee private entities and institutions and cooperatives the right to create schools of different levels, as provided by law.
The State shall cooperate with private or cooperative schools to promote and enlarge the educational system, to eliminate illiteracy, to promote permanent education, to improve the quality of education, to train and retrain teachers, and other conditions necessary for the improvement of education.

Article 76. Participation in Education

Teachers, parents, educators, and students shall have the right to participate in the democratic management of schools, as provided by law.
The law shall regulate the forms of participation by associations of teachers; parents and students, as well as communities, scientific institutions, and professional associations and unions, in defining educational policy.

Article 77. Education and Culture

Everyone shall have the right to education and culture.
Education must stimulate creativity; encourage democratic participation in national life; promote tolerance and solidarity; and contribute to social progress and civic and moral training.
The State shall encourage the democratization of education and culture and, progressively, shall guarantee access by everyone to cultural resources.
The State shall encourage and support the creation of institutions and public and private associations which promote education and the defense of national culture.
The State shall support the diffusion of Cape Verdian culture, especially within Cape Verdian communities throughout the world.

Article 78. Physical Education and Sports

Everyone shall have the right to physical education and sports.
The State shall support and stimulate the formation of sports associations and, in cooperation with these associations, shall promote the practice and diffusion of physical education and sports.

Article 79. Consumerism

The State shall encourage and support the creation of consumers’ associations; the law has the duty to protect consumers and guarantee the defense of their interests.

TITLE V. DUTIES

Article 80. General Duties

All individuals have duties toward the family, society, the State, and other legally recognized institutions.
All individuals shall have the duty to respect the rights and liberties of others; to respect morality and the common good.

Article 81. Duty not to Discriminate

All individuals shall have the duty to respect their fellow-citizens without discrimination of any type and to maintain relations which promote, safeguard, and reinforce mutual respect and tolerance.

Article 82. Duties to the Community

All individuals shall have the duty:

To serve the national community and to put at its service their physical and intellectual capacities;
To work, according to their possibilities and capacities;
To pay the taxes and levies established by law.
To strive, in their relations with the community, for the preservation and strengthening of cultural values, for a spirit of tolerance, for dialogue and cooperation and, in general, to contribute to the promotion of morality and civic education.
To defend and promote health;
To defend and conserve the environment.

Article 83. Duties to the State

All individuals shall have the duty to contribute to the defense of the nation.
All individuals shall also have the duty to obey all statutes and orders set forth by legitimate authorities, as provided in the Constitution, with respect to rights, liberties, and guarantees.

TITLE VI. THE FAMILY

Article 84. Protection by Society and by the State

The family is the fundamental element and the basis of all society.
The family must be protected by society and by the State to create conditions for the accomplishment of its social function and for the personal fulfillment of its members.
Everyone shall have the right to form a family.
The State and social institutions must create conditions to assure the unity and stability of the family.

Article 85. Obligations of the State

For the protection of the family, the State shall have the following duties:
1. To assist the family in its mission of guarding the social values recognized by the community;
2. To promote the social and economic independence of family units;
3. To cooperate with parents in the education of their children;
4. To define and execute, in consultation with associations representing families, a family policy of general, national scope.
The State shall also have the duty to assure the elimination of conditions which tend to discriminate against women and to assure the protection of women’s rights, as well as the rights of children.

Article 86. Paternity and Maternity

Fathers and mothers must give assistance to children born within or outside marriage, namely food, care, and education.
Fathers and mothers shall have the right to the protection of society and the State to accomplish these duties in regard to their children.
Fatherhood and motherhood constitute the highest social values.

Article 87. Childhood

All children shall have the right to the special protection of the family, society, and the State to guarantee conditions necessary for the whole development of their physical and intellectual capacities, and special care in case of orphans, abandoned children, or the emotionally deprived.
The family, society, and the State must guarantee the protection of children against any form of discrimination or oppression, as well as abusive authority from family, public or private institutions to whom they are entrusted, and also against exploitation through child labor.
Child labor shall be prohibited during the years of compulsory schooling.