Constitution

Djibouti 1992 Constitution (reviewed 2010)

Table of Contents

TITLE II. OF THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE HUMAN PERSON

Article 10

The human person is sacred. The State has the obligation to respect it and to protect it. All human beings are equal before the law.

No one may be condemned to the penalty of death.

Every individual has the right to life, to the liberty, to the security and to the integrity of his person.

No one may be prosecuted, arrested, inculpated or condemned except by virtue of a law promulgated prior to the acts of which he is accused.

All accused persons are presumed innocent until their culpability has been established by the competent jurisdiction.

The right to a defense, and including that of assistance by the attorney of one’s own choice, is guaranteed at all the stages of the procedure.

Any person made the object of a measure deprivative of his liberty has the right to be examined by a doctor of his choice.

No one may be detained in a penal establishment except on an order delivered by a magistrate of the judicial order.

Article 11

Every person has the right to the freedom of thought, of conscience, of religion, of worship and of opinion within respect for the order established by the law and the regulations.

Article 12

The right to property is guaranteed by this Constitution. It may not be infringed except in the case of public necessity legally established, under reserve of a just and prior indemnity.

The domicile is inviolable. It may only be subjected to intrusions or searches in the forms and conditions specified by the law. The measures infringing the inviolability of the domicile or circumventing it may only be taken to respond to a collective danger or to protect persons in peril of death.

Article 13

The secrecy of correspondence and of all other means of communication is inviolable. Restriction of this inviolability may only be ordered in application of the law.

Article 14

All the citizens of the Republic have the right to move themselves and to establish themselves freely on the entire extent of the Republic. This right may only be limited by the law.

No one may be submitted to preventative measures, except in the cases specified by the law.

Article 15

Each has the right to express and to disseminate freely their opinions by word, pen, and image. These rights may be limited by prescriptions in the law and in respect for the honor of others.

All the citizens have the right to constitute associations and trade unions freely, under reserve of conforming to the formalities ordered in the laws and regulations.

The right to strike is recognized. It is exercised within the framework of the laws which govern it. It may in no case infringe the freedom to work.

Article 16

No one may be submitted to torture, or to inhuman, cruel, degrading or humiliating actions or treatment.

Any individual, any agent of the State, or any public authority rendered culpable of such acts, either on their own initiative, or on instruction, shall be punished in accordance with the law.

Article 17

The defense of the Nation and of the integrity of the Republic is a sacred duty for every Djiboutian citizen.

Article 18

Any foreigner who is found regularly on the national territory enjoys, for his person and for his assets, the protection of the law.

Article 19

The State protects the legitimate rights and interests of the Djiboutian citizens abroad.

Article 20

The authority of the State is exercised by:

  • the President of the Republic and his Government,
    the National Assembly,

    the judicial power.