Page:British and Foreign State Papers, vol. 144 (1952).djvu/349

 Section 2.—The Supreme Court

172. The Supreme Court is composed of the Sections determined by law.

One of these Sections shall constitute the Court of Constitutional and Social Guarantees. When trying constitutional matters, it shall necessarily be presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and cannot be composed of less than 15 Justices. When dealing with social matters, it can not be composed of less than 9 Justices.

173. To be Chief Justice or Associate Justice of the Supreme Court it is required:

(a) To be a Cuban by birth.

(b) To be at least 40 years of age.

(c) To have full enjoyment of civil and political rights, and not to have been condemned to a major penalty for a common crime.

(d) Also to have one of the following qualifications:

To have practised law in Cuba during at least 10 years; or to have performed for a like period judicial functions or functions of the public prosecutor’s office; or to have held, during the same number of years, a chair of law in an official educational establishment.

For the purposes of the preceding paragraph, the periods of exercise of judicial functions, exercise of functions of the public prosecutor’s office, and the practice of law can be added together.

174. In addition to the other functions which this Constitution and the law specify for the Supreme Court, it shall have the following:—

(a) To try appeals for cassation.

(b) To decide questions of jurisdiction between courts immediately inferior to it, or which have no common superior, and those arising between judicial authorities and authorities of other branches of the Nation, the Provinces and the Municipalities.

(c) To try suits in which the Nation, the Provinces and the Municipalities, litigate among themselves.

(d) To decide on the constitutionality of laws, decree-laws, decrees, regulations, resolutions, orders, provisions and other acts of any body, authority or officer.