CHAPTER THREE#
RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE PEOPLE#
ARTICLE 37#
No one shall be denied the equal protection of the laws.
ARTICLE 38#
There shall be no discrimination among Ethiopian subjects with respect to the enjoyment of all civil rights.
ARTICLE 39#
The law shall determine the conditions of acquisition and loss of Ethiopian nationality and of Ethiopian citizenship.
ARTICLE 40#
There shall be no interference with the exercise, in accordance with the law, of the rites of any religion or creed by residents of the Empire, provided that such rites are not utilized for political purposes or prejudicial to public order or morality.
ARTICLE 41#
Freedom of speech and of the press is guaranteed throughout the Empire in accordance with the law.
ARTICLE 42#
Correspondence shall be subject to no censorship, except in time of declared national emergency.
ARTICLE 43#
No one within the Empire may be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.
ARTICLE 44#
Everyone has the right, within the limits of the law, to own and dispose of property. No one may be deprived of his property except upon a finding by ministerial order issues pursuant to the requirements of a special expropriation law enacted in accordance with the provisions of Article 88, 89 and 90 of the present Constitution, and except upon payment of just compensation determined in the absence of agreement, by judicial procedures established by law. Said ministerial order, to be effective, shall be approved by the Council of Ministers and published in the Negarit Gazeta.
ARTICLE 45#
Ethiopian subjects shall have the right in accordance with the conditions prescribed by law, to assemble peaceably and without arms.
ARTICLE 46#
Freedom of travel within the Empire and to change domicile therein is assured to all subjects of the Empire, in accordance with the law.
ARTICLE 47#
Every Ethiopian subjects has the right to engage in any occupation and to form or join occupational associations, in accordance with the law.
ARTICLE 48#
The Ethiopian family, as the source of the maintenance and development of the Empire and the primary basis of education and social harmony, is under special protection of the law.
ARTICLE 49#
No Ethiopian subject may be banished from the Empire.
ARTICLE 50#
No Ethiopian subject may be extradited to a foreign country. No other person shall be extradited except as provided by international agreement.
ARTICLE 51#
No one may be arrested without a warrant issued by a court, except in case of flagrant or serious violation of the law in force. Every arrested person shall be brought before the judicial authority within forty-eight hours of his arrest. However, if the arrest takes place in a locality which is removed from the court by a distance which can be traversed only on foot in not less than 48 hours, the court shall have discretion to extend the period of 48 hours. The period of detention shall be reckoned as a part of the term of imprisonment imposed by sentence. No one shall be held in prison awaiting trial on a criminal charge the sole penalty of which is a fine.
ARTICLE 52#
In all criminal prosecutions the accused, duly submitting to the court, shall have the right to a speedy trial and to be confronted with the witnesses against him, to have compulsory process is accordance with the law, for obtaining witnesses in his favor at the expense of the Government and to have the assistance of a counsel for his defense, who, if the accused is unable to obtain the same by his own funds, shall be assigned and provided to the accused by the court.
ARTICLE 53#
No person accused of and arrested for a crime shall be presumed guilty until so proved.
ARTICLE 54#
Punishment is personal. No one shall be punished except in accordance with law and after conviction of an offence committed by him.
ARTICLE 55#
No one shall be punished for any offence which has not been declared by law to be punishable before the commission of such offence, or shall suffer any punishment.
ARTICLE 56#
No one shall be punished twice for the same offence.
ARTICLE 57#
No one shall be subjected to cruel and inhuman punishment.
ARTICLE 58#
No one shall be imprisoned for debt, except in case of legally proved fraud or of refusal either, to pay moneys or property adjudged by the court to have been taken in violation of the law, or to pay a fine, or to fulfill legal obligations of maintenance; this provision shall not have the effect of absolving the debtor’s obligation.
ARTICLE 59#
No sentence of death shall be executed unless it be confirmed by the Emperor.
ARTICLE 60#
Confiscation of property as a penalty shall not be imposed except in cases of treason against the Emperor or the Empire as defined by law; sequestration of property as penalty shall not be imposed except in cases of property belonging to persons residing abroad and conspiring against or engaging in deliberately hostile acts against the Emperor or the Empire as defined by law. Attachment proceedings covering the whole or part of the property of a person made under judicial authority to cover payment of civil liability, or arising out of the commission of an offence or to meet taxes or fines, shall not be deemed a confiscation of property.
ARTICLE 61#
All persons and all private domiciles shall be exempt from unlawful searches and seizures.
ARTICLE 62#
(A) In accordance with tradition and the provisions of Article 4 of this Constitution no one shall have the right to bring suit against the Emperor.
(B) Any resident of the Empire may bring suit in the Courts of Ethiopia against the Government, or any Ministry, Department, Agency or instrumentality thereof, for wrongful acts resulting in substantial damage. In the event that the courts shall find that such suit has been brought maliciously or without foundation, the Government, or any Ministry, Department, Agency, instrumentality, or official thereof against whom or which such suit was brought, shall have a right of action against such resident for malicious or unfounded suit, and the court shall in such cases decree remedies or penalties in accordance with the law.
ARTICLE 63#
Everyone in the Empire shall have the right to present petitions to the Emperor in accordance with the law.
ARTICLE 64#
Everyone in the Empire has the duty to respect and obey the Constitution, laws, decrees, orders or regulations of the Empire. Ethiopian subjects, in addition, owe loyalty to the Emperor and the Empire, and have the duty of defending the Emperor and the Empire against all enemies, foreign and domestic; to perform public services, including military service, when called upon to do so; and to exercise the right of suffrage which is conferred upon them by the Constitution.
ARTICLE 65#
Respect for the rights and freedom of others and the requirements of public order and the general welfare shall alone justify any limitations upon the rights guaranteed in the foregoing articles of the present chapter.