User:TheodoresTomfooleries/Constitution of the French State (1944)

The following is a translation of the draft constitution of 30 January 1944, first drafted in accordance with the Constitutional Act of 10 July 1940 and signed by Marshal Petain on January 30, 1944. The constitution was never promulgated Article 1. The liberty and dignity of the human person are supreme values and so are intangible. Safeguarding them requires order and justice from the state, and discipline from its citizens. For this purpose, the constitution defines the respective rights and duties of public authorities and citizens, establishing a state whose authority relies on the faithful support of the nation.

Article 2. The state recognizes and guarantees as fundamental freedoms: the freedom of conscience, the freedom of worship, the freedom of teaching, the freedom of movement, the freedom to express and publish one's thoughts, freedom of assembly and freedom of association. The exercise of these freedoms is regulated by the law, before which all citizens are equal.

Article 3. No one may be accused, arrested or detained except in cases determined by law and according to to the forms prescribed in law. No one may be punished, except by virtue of a law established and promulgated prior to the offence and legally applied.

Article 4. Acquired through hard work and maintained through family savings, property is an inviolable right, justified by the social function it confers on its holder; no one can be deprived of his property except in the public interest, in which he will be subject to fair compensation.

Article 5. The state recognizes the rights of spiritual, familial, professional and territorial communities, within which people develop a sense of social responsibility and find support in defending their liberties.

Article 6. Citizens freely elect their representatives to local and national assemblies, as well as to professional and corporate bodies. Except in cases of professional elections, an additional vote is allocated to the head of large families in recognition of their responsibilities and burdens.

Article 7. National representatives vote on laws, approve taxes, manage the budget and involve the nation in managing the common good.

Article 8. The purpose of organizing professions under the control of the state, as arbiter and guarantor of the general interest, is to make employers and employees mutually supportive of the enterprise, to put an end to antagonisms between classes, and to eliminate the proletarian condition. Through representation at all levels of the workplace, organized professions participate in the economic and social actions of the state.

Article 9. The duties of citizens in regards to the state are obedience to the law, equitable participation in public expenditure, and fulfillment of their civic obligations, even to the point of total sacrifice for the salvation of the fatherland.

'''Article 10. The head of state derives his powers from a congress made up of the nation's elected representatives and delegates from the local authorities that compose it. He personifies the nation, and is responsible for its destiny. As an arbiter of the country's higher interests, he ensures the functioning fo the institutions by maintaining - if necessary, by exercising the right of dissolution - the continuous cycle of trust between government and nation.

Article 11. The maintenance of rights, freedoms, and respect for the constitution are guaranteed by a Supreme Court of Justice, to which any citizen may appeal.

Article 12. The three functions of the state - governmental, legislative and judicial - are carried out by separate bodies.

CHAPTER I: THE FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT
Article 13. The functions of government are performed by the head of state, ministers and secretaries of state.

Article 14. The head of state is titled as the President of the Republic. He is elected for a ten-year term by the National Congress, before which he takes an oath of loyalty to the constitution. He is eligible for re-election.

Article 15. 1. The President of the Republic appoints the Prime Minister and, on the latter's recommendation, the ministers and secretaries of state, as well as dismisses them. He presides over the Council of Ministers. 2. The head of state initiates legislation, as do the members of both assemblies. Only he can introduce amnesty bills. He promulgates laws once they have been passed by both chambers, and ensures their execution. He communicates with the chambers of government via messages that are read out from the rostrum by a minister.

Article 16. 1. When no other method of appointment is provided by law, the President of the Republic may appoint personnel to all civil and military posts. 2. He has the right to pardon. 3. The envoys and ambassadors of foreign powers are accredited to him. 4. He negotiates and ratifies treaties. No cession, exchange or addition of territory can take place except by virtue of a law. Peace and trade treaties, treaties involving the state's finances, and treaties concerning the status of persons and the property rights of French nationals abroad shall not become final until they have been passed by both houses. 5. He commands the armed forces. 6. He can declare a state of war. 7. He may not declare war without the prior formal consent of both houses. 8. All acts of the head of state, except for the appointment or dismissal of the prime minister or ministers and secretaries of state, must be countersigned by the minister(s) or secretary(s) of state responsible for their execution.

Article 17. The President of the Republic may dissolve the Chamber of Deputies with the assent of the Senate, following the dispatch of a reasoned message. He may, at the request of the Prime Minister, and in the event of disagreement between the two Assemblies or between the government and oen of the assemblies, or in the event of a vote of no-confidence in the cabinet or a minister, pronounce dissolution without the advice of the Senate. Dissolution occurs automatically if the Chamber of Deputies votes no-confidence in three successive cabinets.

Article 18. 1. The Prime Minister and the ministers and secretaries of state are accountable to the head of state, both individually within the scope of their own responsibilities and collectively for the general policy of the cabinet. 2. Ministers and secretaries of state attend meetings when they consider it necessary, and they must be heard when they request.

Article 19. 1. The head of state is represented by a governor in each of the provinces defined by the law establishing them. 2. He appoints and dismisses the governor by decree, countersigned by the Prime Minister 3. The governor is assisted by a provincial council.

CHAPTER II: THE ROLES OF LEGISLATURE
Article 20. 1. The French people elect their representatives to the legislative assemblies of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. In the composition of the Senate, a place is reserved for elected representatives of professional and corporate institutions and the country's elite. 2. Whatever the origin of their mandate, assembly members have the same duties, prerogatives and the same rights. They are not bound by any commitment to those who have appointed them, and they act, in the exercise of their functions, only in accordance with their conscience and the good of the state.

§ SUFFRAGE §
Article 21. 1. French men and women born of French fathers, aged twenty-one and enjoying their civil and political rights, are eligible to vote in the National Assemblies. French nationals born of French fathers, aged twenty-five and enjoying their civil and political rights, are eligible for election to the same assemblies. 2. The law sets the other conditions of electorate and eligibility. It institutes family voting on the following basis: the father or, where applicable, the mother, the head of the family of three or more children, is entitled to double suffrage. 3. Voting is by secret ballot. 4. The above rules on electorate and eligibility apply to elections to provincial, departmental and municipal councils. French women, born of French fathers, aged twenty-five, that enjoy their civil and political rights, are eligible for election to these councils.

§ THE SENATE AND CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES §
Article 22. The Senate shall consist of: 1. Two hundred and fifty members, elected by departmental colleges comprising departmental councilors and delegates from municipal councils; 2. Thirty members, appointed by the head of state from among elected representatives of professional and corporate institutions; 3. Twenty members, appointed by the head of state from among the country's elite 4. Former Presidents of the Republic at the end of their term of office. Members in the first two categories are elected or appointed for nine years, renewable by three years every three years. Members in the third and fourth categories are senators for life. An organic law determines the conditions under which municipal council delegates are elected, the procedures for electing and designation of senators, and the numbers of senators per department. Members of the Senate must at least be forty years of age.

Article 23. 1. The Chamber of Deputies is made up of five hundred members, who are elected for six years by direct, universal suffrage, who are selected by majority vote in a single round. Each department must have at least two deputies. 2. Upon the dissolution of the Chamebr of Deputies, it must be renewed within two months and the Chamber must be reconvened within ten days of the closure of the electoral process.

Article 24. 1. Each assembly appoints its officers by secret ballot for one year, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the rules of procedure. 2. Each year, the assemblies must meet in two sessions lasting a total of at least four months and no more than six months. The two assemblies may be convened in extraordinary session by the President of the Republic whenever he sees fit. The first ordinary session opens automatically on the third Tuesday in January. The second, during which the draft budget is examined, opens on the first Tuesday after All Saints' Day. The session of one assembly begins and ends at the same time as that of the other. The head of state may, by decree, adjourn the Assemblies for a maximum of one month during a session. The closure of sessions is pronounced by the head of state. 3. Meetings of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies are open to the public. However, each chamber may set up a secret committee at the request of a certain number of its members in accordance with the rules of procedure.

Article 25. 1. The Assemblies vote on laws. Members may submit oral or written questions to ministers and secretaries of state, as well as interpellations. 2. Voting is a personal matter. 3. Any motion involving confidence or no-confidence in the cabinet or a minister is automatically subject to a public ballot. It may not be discussed until one full day after the date on which it was submitted.

Article 26. 1. Members of assemblies may propose laws or amendments to laws. Proposals or amendments involving the creation or increase of public expenditure, regardless of the ways and means they provide for, may only be put to a vote if the government agrees to their consideration. 2. Financial laws must first be presented before the Chamber of Deputies. 3. Each bill or proposed law is examined by a specially appointment committee in each assembly. The committee may propose amendments. However, the assembly must deliberate on the text of the draft or proposal before reviewing the amendments. 4. State employers who are not members of the assembly may not participate in the work of a committee.

Article 27. In case of the rejection or modification of a project or proposition, the government may request a second deliberation which must take place within a maximum of two months. Laws must be promulgated within one month of their final adoption by the assemblies. It must take place within three days for laws whose promulgation has been declared urgent by an expressed vote of either chamber, unless, within this period, the head of state requests a new deliberation, which cannot be refused.

Article 28. No member of either chamber may be prosecuted or wanted for opinions expressed or votes cast by him in the performance of his duties. No member of either chamber may, during the session, be prosecuted for a criminal or correctional offence, or arrested, without the authorization of the Supreme Court of Justice, except in case of flagrante delicto. If the assembly concerned so requests, the preventive detention or prosecution of a member of either chamber, arrested or prosecuted during the intersessional period, is suspended for the duration of the following session.

Article 29. Members of the assemblies receive a compensation equal to the salaries of councilors of state in ordinary service.

§ THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY §
Article 30. 1. The President of the Republic may, for the purposes of revising the constitution, convene the Senate and Chamber of Deputies into a singular National Assembly, either spontaneously or upon a vote taken by both chambers after separate deliberations by a two-thirds majority of the legal number of members. 2. The two chambers may also meet as the National Assembly upon a resolution passed by one of them by a two-thirds majority of the legal number of members, to rule on the impeachment of the head of state, ministers or secretaries of state. 3. Any convocation of the National Assembly must specify the points on which it will deliberate. The assembly is not, in any means, the master of its own agenda. Its decisions are taken by a two-thirds majority of the legal number of its members. 4. The officers of the National Assembly are the officers of the Senate.

CHAPTER III: THE NATIONAL CONGRESS
Article 31. 1. The National Congress is made up of the members of the two assemblies and the provincial councilors, or - until the later are appointed - the delegates of the department councils in equal numbers to the senators and deputies. 2. At least one month before the legal expiration of the powers of the President of the Republic, the National Congress must be convened to designate his successor. In the absence of a convocation, this meting would take place automatically on the fifteenth day before the expiry of his powers. In the event of a vacancy arising from death or any other cause, the National Congress can convene as its right within thtree days to elect a new head of state. Until he is sworn in, the powers of the President of the Republic are exercised by the Council of Ministers. In the event of the Chamber of Deputies being dissolved at the time of the vacancy, electoral colleges are to be immediately convened and the Senate to meet by right. 3. Elections take place by secret ballot. In the first two rounds, election requires an absolute majority of the legal number of Congress members. In the third round, a relative majority is sufficient. 4. The officers of the National Congress are the officers of the Senate.

CHAPTER IV: JUDICIAL FUNCTIONS
Article 32. Justice is rendered in the name of the French people. Judicial functions are carried out by judges whose independence is guaranteed by a specific statute. Judges are irremovable. They are appointed by the President of the Republic. Their promotion is decided by the latter on the assent of a court presided over by the first President of the Court of Cassation and made up of judges elected by the Court of Cassation and the Courts of Appeal. Similar provisions apply to judges of the Supreme Court.

§ THE SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE §
Article 33. The safeguarding of the constitution and the exercise of political justice are ensured by the Supreme Court of Justice.

Article 34. The Supreme Court of Justice has the following powers: 1. It rules on appeals for unconstitutionality of laws; 2. It has exclusive jurisdiction to try the head of state for impeachment by the National Assembly; 3. It judges ministers or secretaries of state upon impeachment by either the President of the Republic or the National Assembly; 4. It judges any person accused by the head of state for attacking the security of state; 5. It verifies electoral operations for the appointment of senators and deputies, and rules on requests for the waiver or forfeiture of immunity.

Article 35. 1. The Supreme Court of Justice is composed of fifteen councilors in ordinary service and six councilors in extraordinary service. 2. Twelve of the fifteen councilors are recruited as follows: three councilors of state, three councilors of the court of cassation, three professors of state law facilities, three presidents or former presidents of the bar association of the court of appeal or members of the bare association of the council of state and the court of cassation, chosen by the Supreme Court itself from nomination lists drawn up by the above bodies or associations and comprising three names for each seat to be filled. In addition, three seats are reserved for persons who do not belong to the bodies or orders mentioned, but who must be nominated by these bodies or orders at the rate of two names on each list for any vacancy in these three seats. The only conditions for presentation are the general conditions applicable to councilors in ordinary service, as set below in article 36. The first members of the Supreme Court of Justice in ordinary service will be appointed by the Head of State on the same nominations. 3. The six advisors in extraordinary service are appointed annually by the Senate from among its members, at the beginning of the ordinary session by an absolute majority. They sit on the Supreme Court of Justice when it is convened in the cases provided for in provisions 2, 3 and 4 of article 34 to judge the head of state, ministers or secretaries of state or any person accused by the President of the Republic for offences against state security.

Article 36. 1. Councilors in ordinary service elect from among their members the President and Vice-President of the Supreme Court of Justice. They are irremovable. They must be at least fifty years old on the day of their appointment. They remain in office until the age of seventy-five, unless disqualified or permanently unable to perform their duties. The examination and decision of such exceptional cases are the responsibility of the Court itself. The functions of advisors in ordinary service are incompatible with the mandate of senators or deputies and with the exercise of any profession. Advisors on ordinary service retain their salary for life, except in the event of forfeiture. This salary is equivalent to that of ministers. 2. The Supreme Court of Justice Public Prosecutor's Office is made up of an attorney general and two advocates general, chosen by the head of state at the beginning of each year from among the magistrates of the public prosecutor's office of the Court of Cassation or the Court of Appeal. However, when the Court meets to rule on an indictment by the National Assembly, it appoints three members from among its members to support the indictment.

Article 37. 1. A recourse for unconstitutionality is receivable only if it based on the violation of a provision of the constitution. It is filed by way of exception. 2. A plea of unconstitutionality may be raised before any court, but only at first instance, either by the public prosecutor, by the parties or, of its own motion, by the court hearing the case. 3. Once the objection of unconstitutionality has been raised, the main proceedings are suspended until the Supreme Court of Justice has ruled on the merits of the appeal. This judgement is binding on all courts having jurisdiction in the case in which it was handed down.

CHAPTER V: MUNICIPAL, DEPARTMNETAL AND PROVINCIAL COUNCILS
Article 38. 1. The municipal council is elected for a six-year term by direct universal suffrage on a list. 2. The mayor and deputy mayors are elected by the municipal council in communes with a population not exceeding ten thousand. The law determines how the mayor and deputy mayors are appointed in communes where the population exceeds this figure. 3. The law sets out of the conditions under which municipal councils can be dissolved and temporarily replaced by special delegations. 4. Established is a special municipal regime for Paris, Lyon, and Marseille.

Article 39. Departmental councils are elected for a six-year term by direct universal suffrage, on the basis of one councilor per canton.

Article 40. 1. The Provincial Council consists of: Two thirds of the members elected by the departmental councils; one third of the members appointed on the proposal of the governor, from among elected representatives of professional and corporate organizations and among the province's elite. 2. The term of office is six years. This mandate is incompatible with that of deputy or senator. 3. The number of provincial councilors for all provinces is equal to the number of senators and deputies.

CHAPTER VI: THE GOVERNANCE OF THE EMPIRE
Article 41. 1. The overseas territories over which, in various ways, the French state exercises its sovereignty or extends its protection, constitute the Empire. 2. In the Empire, the government exercises its authority through high-ranking officials responsible for the internal and external security of the territories they administer or control. 3. The Empire is governed by specific legislation.

Article 42. 1. A Council of the Empire is established under the President of the Republic to advise on matters concerning the French domain overseas. 2. In those parts of the Empire where social development and security permit, the head of state's representative is assisted by an advisory council. 3. The law sets the conditions under which the traditional participation of certain colonies in national representation is exercised.