Rights, Duties and Guarantees of the Nicaraguan People
CHAPTER I
Article 23
The right to life is inviolable and inherent to all persons. There is no death penalty in Nicaragua.
Article 24
All persons have duties to their families, the community, the Homeland and humanity. The rights of each person are limited by the rights of others, the collective security and the just requirements of the common good.
Article 25
All persons have the rights to:
1. personal freedom;
2. security;
3. seek legal redress.
Article 26
All persons have the right to:
1. privacy and the privacy of their family;
2. the inviolability of their home, correspondence, and communications;
3. respect for their honor and reputation.
A private home may be searched only with a warrant from a competent judge or expressly authorized official to prevent a crime from being committed or to avoid damage to persons or goods, in accordance with the procedures established by law. The law shall determine the cases and the procedures for an examination of private documents, fiscal records and related documents, when such is indispensable for the investigation of matters before the Courts or for fiscal reasons. Illegally seized letters, documents and other private papers shall be null and void in legal proceedings or elsewhere.
Article 27
All persons are equal before the law and have the right to equal protection under the law. There shall be no discrimination for reasons of birth, nationality, political belief, race, gender, language, religion, opinion, national origin, economic position or social condition….
Article 29
All persons have the right to freedom of conscience and thought and to profess or not to profess a religion. No one shall be the object of coercive measures which diminish these rights, or be obligated to declare his or her creed, ideology or beliefs.
Article 30
Nicaraguans have the right to freely express their beliefs in public or private, individually or collectively, in oral, written or any other form.
Article 31
Nicaraguans have the right to travel and to establish their residence in any part of the nation and to freely enter and exit the country….
Article 33
No one may be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned, or be deprived of liberty except in cases established by law and in accordance with legal procedures…. Therefore:… [A]n individual may be detained only by a warrant issued from a competent Judge or an official expressly authorized by law, except when apprehended in the act of committing a crime…. [A]ll detained persons have the right to be:… informed in detail without delay of the reasons for their detention and the charges against them, in a language they understand; to have their family informed; and to be created with respect in accordance with the dignity inherent in human beings… brought before a competent legal authority within 72 hours….
Article 34
All those awaiting trial have equal rights to the following minimum guarantees:… To be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to the law… To be tried without undue delay by a competent court established by law…. To be guaranteed the right to a defense, to participate personally from the start of the proceedings and to adequate time and means to prepare their defense…. To be represented by a public defender when legal counsel has not been selected by the time of the first hearing, or in the event that no prior call was decreed. The accused shall have the right to communicate freely and in private with his or her legal counsel…. Not to be obligated to testify against themselves or against a spouse or a partner in a stable de facto union, or a fam ily member within the fourth level of consanguinity or the second of marital relations, or to admit their own guilt… To be found guilty or not guilty within the legal time period, by each of the relevant courts… To have the right to appeal to a superior court upon conviction of any crime and not to be retried for any crime for which a final judgment of conviction or acquittal has been issued… Not to be brought to trial or sentenced for acts or omissions which at the time committed had not been unequivocally established by Law as a punishable crime, and not to be given a sentence which has not been previously established by law.
Criminal proceedings are open to the public, but in some cases the press and the general public may be excluded for moral considerations or for… public order or national security….
Article 36
All persons shall have the rights to respect for their physical, psychological and moral integrity. No one shall be subjected to torture, nor inhumane, cruel or degrading treatment….
Article 38
The law is not retroactive except in penal matters that favor the accused….
Article 40
No one shall be subjected to involuntary servitude. Slavery and slave trade in any form are prohibited.
Article 41
No one shall be detained for indebtedness….
Article 42
Nicaragua guarantees asylum to those persecuted for their struggle for democracy, peace, justice and human rights….
Article 43
Extradition from Nicaragua will not be permitted for political crimes or common crimes committed in conjunction with them, at Nicaragua’s own discretion….
Article 44
Nicaraguans have the right to the personal property and necessary goods that is essential for the integral development of each person.
Article 45
Persons whose constitutional rights have been violated or are in danger of violation have the right to present writs of habeas corpus or amparo, according to the circumstances and the Law of Amparo (a legal procedure for the review of administrative acts).
Article 46
All persons in Nicaragua shall enjoy protection and recognition by the state of the rights inherent to human beings, as well as unrestricted respect, promotion and protection of human rights….
CHAPTER II
POLITICAL RIGHTS
Article 47
All Nicaraguans who have reached 16 years of age are full citizens….
Article 48
Unconditional equality among Nicaraguans in the enjoyment of political rights is established. In the exercise of these rights and in the fulfillment of these responsibilities and rights and in the fulfillment of these responsibilities and obligations, there exists absolute equality between men and women….
Article 52
Citizens have the right, individually or collectively, to petition, to denounce irregularities and to make constructive criticisms to the branches of government or to any authority, and to obtain a quick resolution or response and to have the result made known within the time period established by law.
Article 53
The right to peaceful assembly is recognized; the exercise of this right does not require prior permission.
Article 54
The right to public assembly, demonstration and mobilization in conformity with the law is recognized.
Article 55
Nicaraguan citizens have the right to organize or affiliate with political parties with the objective of participating in, exercising or vying for power….
CHAPTER III
SOCIAL RIGHTS
Article 58
Nicaraguans have the right to education and culture.
Article 59
Every Nicaraguan has an equal right to health care….
Article 60
Nicaraguans have the right to live in a healthy e nvironment and it is the obligation of the state to preserve, conserve and reclaim the environment and the natural resources of the country.
Article 61
The state guarantees Nicaraguans the right to social security for protection against the social contingencies of life and work, in the manner and conditions determined by law.
Article 62
The state shall strive to establish programs for the physical, psycho-social and professional rehabilitation of disabled people, and for their job placement.
Article 63
It is the right of all Nicaraguans to be protected against hunger….
Article 64
Nicaraguans have the right to decent, comfortable and safe housing that guarantees familial privacy….
Article 65
Nicaraguans have the right to sports, physical education, relaxation, and recreation….
Article 66
Nicaraguans have the right to accurate information. This right includes the freedom to seek, receive and disseminate information and ideas, be they spoken or written, in graphic or any other form.
Article 67
The right to provide information is a social responsibility and shall be exercised with strict respect for the principles established in the Constitution. This right cannot be subject to censorship, but may be subject to retroactive liability established by law.
Article 68
The mass media is at the service of national interests. The state shall promote the access of the public and its organizations to the means of communication, and shall prevent the media from responding to foreign interests or to any economic power monopoly. The existence and functioning of public, corporate or private means of communication shall not be the object of prior censorship. It shall be subject to the law.
Article 69
All persons, either individually or collectively, have the right to practice their religion in public or private, through worship, practice and teaching.
Article 70
No one may disobey the law or prevent others from exercising their rights and fulfilling their duties by invoking religious beliefs or inclination.
CHAPTER IV
FAMILY RIGHTS
Article 70
The family is the fundamental nucleus of society and has the right to protection by society and the state….
Article 72
Marriage and stable de facto unions are protected by the state; they rest on the voluntary agreement between a man and a woman, and may be dissolved by mutual consent or by the will of one of the parties, as provided by law.
Article 73
Family relations rest on respect, solidarity and absolute equality of rights and responsibilities between the man and woman…
Article 74
The state grants special protection to the process of human reproduction. Women shall have special protection during pregnancy and shall be granted maternity leave with pay and appropriate social security benefits. No one may deny employment to women for reasons of pregnancy nor dismiss them during pregnancy or the postnatal period, in conformity with the law.
Article 75
All children have equal rights. There shall be no discrimination for reasons of filial relations….
CHAPTER V
LABOR RIGHTS
Article 80
Work is a right and a social responsibility. The labor of Nicaraguans is the fundamental means to satisfy the needs of society and of the individual, and is the source of the wealth and prosperity of the nation….
Article 83
The right to strike is recognized.
Article 84
Child labor that can affect normal childhood development or interfere with the obligatory school year is prohibited. Children and adolescents shall be protected against any form of economic and social exploitation….
Article 87
Full labor union freedom exists in Nicaragua. Workers may organize voluntarily in unions, which shall be constituted in conformity with the law….