Fundamental Principles
I – Sovereignty is by eternal right
in the People. The People of the Roman State is constituted in
the Democratic Republic.
II –
The democratic regime has as its rule equality, freedom, fraternity.
It does not recognize titles of nobility, nor privileges of birth
or caste.
III – The Republic through laws
and institutions promotes the improvement of the moral and material
conditions of all citizens.
IV – The Republic regards all
peoples as brothers: it respects all nationalities: it advocates
the Italian one.
V – The Municipalities all
have equal rights: their independence is limited only by the laws
of general utility of the State.
VI
– The fairest
possible distribution of local interests, in harmony with the
political interest of the State is the rule of the territorial
division of the Republic.
VII – The exercise of civil
and political rights does not depend on religious belief.
VIII – The Head of the Catholic
Church will have from the Republic all the guarantees necessary
for the independent exercise of spiritual power.
Title I - On citizens' right and duties
Art.
1
– They are citizens
of the Republic
Those who originate from the Republic;
Those who have acquired citizenship as a result of the previous
laws;
The other Italians with six months' domicile;
Foreigners with ten-year domicile;
Naturalized by decree of the legislative power.
Art.
2 – Citizenship
is lost
By naturalization, or by staying in a foreign country with the
intention of never returning.
For leaving the homeland in the event of war, or when it is declared
in danger.
For acceptance of qualifications conferred by the foreigner.
For acceptance of ranks and positions, and for military service
to foreigners, without the authorization of the government of
the Republic. Authorization is always presumed when fighting for
the freedom of a People.
For judicial conviction.
Art.
3 – Persons
and properties are inviolable.
Art.
4
– No one can
be arrested except in flagrant crime, or by mandate of a Judge,
nor be deterred by his natural Judges.
No exceptional Court or Commission may be established under any
title or name.
Nobody can be jailed for debt.
Art.
5 – Death
penalty and confiscation are proscribed.
Art.
6 – The home
is sacred: it is not permitted to enter it except in the cases
and ways determined by law.
Art.
7 – The manifestation
of thought is free, the law punishes its abuse without any prior
censorship.
Art.
8 – Teaching
is free.
The conditions of morality and capacity, for those who intend
to profess it, are determined by the law.
Art.
9 – The secret
of the letters is inviolable.
Art.
10 – The
right to petition can be exercised individually and collectively.
Art.
11
– The association
without weapons and without the purpose of crime is free.
Art.
12 – All
citizens belong to the National Guard in the ways and with the
exceptions established by law.
Art.
13 – No one
can be forced to lose ownership of things, except in a public
cause, and subject to just indemnity.
Art.
14 – The
law determines the expenses of the Republic, and the way of contributing
to them.
No tax can be imposed except by law, nor collected for a time
longer than that determined by the law.
Title II - On the political order
Art. 15 – All power comes from the People. It is exercised by the Assembly, the Consulate, the Judicial Order.
Title III - On the Assembly
Art.
16 – The
Assembly is made up of Representatives of the People.
Art.
17 – Every
citizen who enjoys civil and political rights at 21 is an elector,
at 25 he is eligible.
Art.
18 – A public
official appointed by the Consuls or by Ministers cannot be the
People's Representative.
Art.
19 – The
number of Representatives is determined in the proportion of one
for every twenty thousand inhabitants.
Art.
20 – The
general electoral assemblies are kept every three years on April
21st.
The People elects its Representatives there by universal, direct
and public vote.
Art.
21 – The
Assembly meets on May 15th following the election.
It is renewed every three years.
Art.
22 – The
Assembly meets in Rome, unless it determines otherwise, and has
the armed force it determines.
Art.
23 – The
Assembly is indissoluble and permanent, except for the right to
be adjourned for the time it will establish.
During the interval it can be urgently called upon the invitation
of the President with the Secretaries, of thirty members, or of
the Consulate.
Art.
24
– It is not legal
if it does not bring together half, plus one, of the Representatives.
Any number of those present decrees the measures to recall the
absent.
Art.
25 – The
sessions of the Assembly are public.
It can form a secret committee.
Art.
26 – The
Representatives of the People are inviolable for the opinions
issued in the Assembly, any inquisition being prohibited.
Art.
27 – Any
arrest or inquisition against a Representative is prohibited,
without the permission of the Assembly, except in the case of
flagrant crime.
In the case of arrest in the act of crime, the Assembly, which
will be immediately informed, determines the continuation or termination
of the trial.
This provision applies to the case in which a prisoner citizen
is elected Representative.
Art.
28 – Each
Representative of the People receives compensation, which he cannot
renounce.
Art.
29 – The
Assembly has legislative power: it decides on peace, war, and
treaties.
Art.
30 – The
proposal of laws belongs to the Representatives and to the Consulate.
Art.
31 – No proposal
has the force of law, unless it is adopted with two resolutions
taken at an interval of no less than eight days, unless the Assembly
shortens it in case of emergency.
Art.
32 – The
laws adopted by the Assembly are promulgated without delay by
the Consulate in the name of God and the People. If the Consulate
lingers, the President of the Assembly makes the promulgation.
Title IV - On the Consulate and the Ministry
Art.
33 – There
are three Consuls. They are appointed by the Assembly with a two-thirds
majority of votes.
They must be citizens of the Republic and of at least 30 years
of age.
Art.
34 – The
office of the Consuls lasts three years. Each year one of the
Consuls leaves the office. The first two times the fate decides
among the first three elected.
No consul can be re-elected until three years have elapsed since
he left office.
Art.
35 – There
are seven ministers appointed by the Consulate:
1) Of Internal affairs.
2) Of Foreign affairs.
3) Of war and navy.
4) Of Finance.
5) Of grace and justice.
6) Of Agriculture, commerce, industry and public works.
7) Of worship, public education, fine arts and charity.
Art.
36 – The
Consuls are committed to the execution of laws and international
relations.
Art.
37 – The
Consuls are responsible for appointing and revoking those posts
that the law does not reserve for any other authority; but every
appointment and revocation must be made in the Council of Ministers.
Art.
38 – The
acts of the Consuls, until they are marked by the Minister in
charge of the execution, remain without effect. The signature
of the Consuls alone is sufficient for the appointment and revocation
of the ministers.
Art.
39 – Every
year, and at any request of the Assembly, the Consuls present
the state of affairs of the Republic.
Art.
40 – Ministers
have the right to speak to the Assembly on the affairs that concern
them.
Art.
41
– The Consuls
reside in the place where the Assembly is convened, nor can they
leave the territory of the Republic without a resolution of the
Assembly, under penalty of forfeiture.
Art.
42 – They
are housed at the expense of the Republic; and each receives an
appointment of three thousand six hundred scudos a year.
Art.
43 – The
Consuls and Ministers are responsible.
Art.
44 – The
Consuls and Ministers can be indicted by the Assembly on the proposal
of ten Representatives. The demand must be discussed as a law.
Art.
45 – Admitted
to the accusation, the Consul is suspended from his duties. If
acquitted, he returns to the exercise of his office; if convicted,
the Assembly passes to a new election.
Title V - On the Council of State
Art.
46 – There
is a Council of State, made up of fifteen Councilors appointed
by the Assembly.
Art.
47 – It must
be consulted by the Consuls and by the Ministers on the laws to
be proposed, on the regulations and on the executive orders; it
can be consulted on political relations.
Art.
48 – It issues
those regulations for which the Assembly has given it a special
delegation. The other functions are determined by a particular
law.
Title VI - On the judicial power
Art.
49 – Judges
in the exercise of their functions do not depend on any other
power of the State.
Art.
50 – Appointed
by the Consuls and in the Council of Ministers, they are irremovable;
they cannot be promoted or transferred except with their own consent;
nor suspended, degraded, or dismissed unless after a regular procedure
and sentence.
Art.
51 – For
civil disputes there is a Magistracy of Peace.
Art.
52 – Justice
is publicly administered in the name of the people; but the Tribunal,
because of morality, can order that the discussion be done behind
closed doors.
Art.
53 – In criminal
cases, the judgment of the fact belongs to the People, while the
application of the law belongs to the Courts. The establishment
of the Judges of the Fact is determined by relative law.
Art.
54 – There
is a Public prosecutor at the Courts of the Republic.
Art.
55 – A Supreme
Tribunal of Justice judges the Consuls and Ministers placed in
a state of indictment without any cause for burden. The Supreme
Court is made up of the President, four senior judges of the Cassation,
and judges of the Fact, drawn by lot from the annual lists, three
for each province.
The Assembly designates the Magistrate who must exercise the functions
of Public prosecutor at the Supreme Court.
He needs a two-thirds majority of votes for the sentence.
Title VII - On the public force
Art.
56 – The
amount of the salaried force of land and sea is determined by
a law, and only by law can it be increased or decreased.
Art.
57 – The
army is formed by voluntary enlistment, or in the way that the
law determines.
Art.
58 – No foreign
troops can be hired, nor introduced into the territory of the
Republic, without a decree of the Assembly.
Art.
59 – The
generals are appointed by the Assembly on the proposal of the
Consulate.
Art.
60 – The
distribution of the line corps and the strength of the internal
garrisons are determined by the Assembly, nor can they undergo
variation, or even temporary relocation, without its consent.
Art.
61 – In the
National Guard each rank is conferred by election.
Art.
62 – The
National Guard is mainly entrusted with the maintenance of internal
order and the Constitution.
Title VIII - The revision of the Constitution
Art.
63 – Any
reform of the Constitution can only be requested in the last year
of the Legislature by at least one third of the Representatives.
Art.
64 – The
Assembly deliberates twice on the request, at an interval of two
months. With the opinion of the Assembly for the reform by a two-thirds
majority, the General general electoral assemblies are convened
in order to elect the Representatives for the Constituent Assembly,
at the rate of one every fifteen thousand inhabitants.
Art.
65 – The
Review Assembly is still the Legislative Assembly for as long
as it sits, not to exceed three months.
Transitional provisions
Art.
66 – The
operations of the current Constituent Assembly will be especially
directed to the formation of the electoral law, and other organic
laws necessary for the fulfillment of the Constitution.
Art.
67 – With
the opening of the Legislative Assembly the mandate of the Constituent
Assembly ceases.
Art.
68 – Existing
laws and regulations remain in force, insofar as they are not
opposed to the Constitution, and until they are repealed.
Art.
69 – All
current employees need confirmation.
Voted unanimously
- From the Capitol July 1st,
1849
The President.
G. GALLETTI
The Vice-Presidents.
A. SALICETI,
E. ALLOCCATELLI
The Secretaries.
G. PENNACCHI
- G. COCCHI - A. FABRETTI - A. ZAMBIANCHI
Source: original poster of the Biblioteca di Storia moderna e contemporanea (Library Modern and Contemporary History) of Rome - Banca dati La Repubblica Romana del 1849 (Data bank on the Roman Republic of 1849) link
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created: April
20th, 2022 and last updated: April 20th, 2022