Draft Amendments to
the Haitian Constitution
In view of articles 128 and D of the Constitution and on the advice
of the Council of Secretaries of State, the President has proposed
and the Council of State has adopted the following amendments to the
Constitution in force:
Article 1. The following articles of the
Constitution are modified:
First Amendment
Article 2 is modified as follows: “The territory of the Republic is
divided into departments. Each department is subdivided into arrondissements, and each arrondissement into communes. The number, the boundaries,
the organization and the functions of the administrative divisions
and subdivisions are determined by law.”
Second Amendment
Article 16 is modified as follows: “The liberty of the press is
guaranteed, under conditions determined by law.”
Third Amendment
Article 19 is modified as follows: “The jury is established for
criminal trials in the cases which will be determined by law.”
[Page 49]
Fourth Amendment
Article 37 is modified as follows: “The Senators represent the
departments. They are elected by universal and direct suffrage in
the primary assemblies of the several departments according to the
mode and conditions determined by law. The candidates shall be
elected who shall have obtained the greatest number of votes in the
departments. The Senate shall be renewed by thirds every two years,
under the conditions determined by law.”
Fifth Amendment
Article 67 is modified as follows: “Laws are dated from the day of
their definitive adoption by the two Chambers, but they become
effective only after promulgation which is made conformably to law.
The interpretation of the laws by authority belongs only to the
Legislative Power; it is given in the form of a law.”
Sixth Amendment
Article 72 is modified as follows: “The President of the Republic is
elected for six years. He takes office on May 15, except when
elected outside the term fixed in article 43, and in the latter case
the taking of the oath takes place on the day set by the National
Assembly in the week following the election. He is eligible for
reelection. A President who has been reelected and has exercised
Executive Power for at least ten years shall not be invested with a
third mandate until after a space of six years. A citizen who has
been elected President three times is no longer eligible for this
office.”
Seventh Amendment
Article 83 is modified as follows: “There are five Secretaries of
State. The President of the Republic may, when he deems necessary,
add to them Under Secretaries of State whose attributions shall be
determined by law. The Secretaries of State and the Under
Secretaries of State are assigned to the several ministerial
departments that the services of the State require. An arrête will fix this assignment conformably
to law.”
Eighth Amendment
Article 89 is modified as follows: “The Judicial Power is exercised
by a Court of Cassation and by inferior courts whose number,
organization, and jurisdiction are regulated by law. The President
of the Republic names the judges of all the courts. He appoints and
recalls the officers of the public ministry near the Court of
Cassation and the other courts, the justices of the peace and their
substitutes. [Page 50] The judges of
the Court of Cassation and those of the permanent courts other than
the justices of the peace are named for five years, under
reservation of causes determined by law susceptible of putting an
end to their functions. They may be reappointed indefinitely.”
Ninth Amendment
Article 107 is modified as follows: “The primary assemblies shall
meet at regular periods for the purposes and according to the mode
established by law.”
Tenth Amendment
Article 109 is modified as follows: “The taxes accruing to the State
and to the communes can be established only by a law.”
Eleventh Amendment
Article 118 is modified as follows: “A police force, under
regulations fixed by law, is established for the internal and
external security of the Republic, the guarantee of the rights of
the people, the maintenance of order and for police duty in the
cities and the rural districts. It is the only armed force of the
Republic.”
Twelfth Amendment
Article E is modified as follows: “Within a period of twelve months
from the publication of the present amendments the Executive Power
is authorized to proceed to make all changes in the present
personnel of the Courts that he deems necessary. The judges
retained, like the new judges, shall be furnished with a commission
the date of which shall be the date from which starts the five-year
term provided in article 89.”
- Article 2. Articles 90 to 99,
inclusive, of the Constitution are suppressed, and articles 103
to 106, inclusive.
- Article 3. The aforesaid amendments
shall be submitted to popular ratification at the next biennial
meeting of the primary assemblies.”
By the President:
[Here follow the spaces for the names of
the five Secretaries of State.]
