Chapter I - Territorial Divisions and Decentralization

Chapter II - The Legislative Branch

Chapter IV - The Judiciary

Chapter V - The High Court of Justice

 

Section A - The President of the Republic

Section B - Duties of the President of the Republic

Section C - The Government

Section D - Powers of the Prime Minister

Section E - The Ministers and the Secretaries of State

ARTICLE 133:

The executive power is vested in:

a) The President of the Republic, who is the Head of State.

b) The Government, which is headed by the Prime Minister.

ARTICLE 134:

The President of the Republic is elected in direct universal suffrage by an absolute majority of votes. If that majority is not obtained in the first election, a second election is held.

Only the two (2) candidates who, if such be the case, after the withdrawal of more favored candidates, have received the largest number of votes in the first election may run in the second election.

ARTICLE 134-1:

The term of the President is five (5) years. This term begins and ends on the February 7 following the date of the elections.

ARTICLE 134-2:

Presidential elections shall take place the last Sunday of November in the fifth year of the President's term.

ARTICLE 134-3:

The President of the Republic may not be re-elected. He may serve an additional term only after an interval of five (5) years. He may in no case run for a third term.

ARTICLE 135:

To be elected President of the Republic of Haïti, a candidate must:

a) Be a native-born Haitian and never have renounced Haitian nationality;

b) Have attained thirty-five (35) years of age by the election day;

c) Enjoy civil and political rights and never have been sentenced to death, personal restraint or penal servitude or the loss of civil rights for a crime of ordinary law;

d) Be the owner in Haiti of at least one real property and have his habitual residence in the country;

e) Have resided in the country for five (5) consecutive years before the date of the elections;

f) Have been relieved of his responsibilities if he has been handling public funds.

ARTICLE 135-1:

Before taking office, the President of the Republic shall take the following oath before the National Assembly: "I swear before God and the Nation faithfully to observe and enforce the Constitution and the laws of the Republic, to respect and cause to be respected the rights of the Haitian people, to work for the greatness of the country, and to maintain the nation's independence and the integrity of its territory."

ARTICLE 136:

The President of the Republic, who is the Head of State, shall see to the respect for and enforcement of the Constitution and the stability of the institutions. He shall ensure the regular operations of the public authorities and the continuity of the State.

ARTICLE 137:

The President of the Republic shall choose a Prime Minister from among the members of the majority party of the Parliament. In the absence of such a majority, the President of the Republic shall choose his Prime Minister in consultation with the President of the Senate and the President of the House of Deputies.

In either case, the President's choice must be ratified by the Parliament.

ARTICLE 137-1:

The President of the Republic shall terminate the duties of the Prime Minister upon the latter's submission of the Government's resignation.

ARTICLE 138:

The President of the Republic is the guarantor of the nation's independence and the integrity of its territory.

ARTICLE 139:

He shall negotiate and sign all international treaties, conventions and agreements and submit them to the National Assembly for ratification.

ARTICLE 139-1:

He shall accredit ambassadors and special envoys to foreign powers, receive letters of accreditation from ambassadors of foreign powers and issue exequaturs to consuls.

ARTICLE 140:

He declares war, and negotiates and signs peace treaties with the approval of the National Assembly.

ARTICLE 141:

With the approval of the Senate, the President appoints, by a decree issued in the Council of Ministers, the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, the Commander-in-Chief of the police, ambassadors and consul generals.

ARTICLE 142:

By a decree issued in the Council of Ministers, the President of the Republic appoints the directors general of the civil service, and delegates and vice delegates of Departments and Arrondissements.

He also appoints, with the approval of the Senate, Administrative Councils of Autonomous Agencies.

ARTICLE 143:

The President of the Republic is the nominal head of the armed forces, but he never commands them in person.

ARTICLE 144:

He has the seal of the Republic affixed to all laws and promulgates them within the deadline stipulated by the Constitution. Before the expiration of that deadline, he may avail himself of his right of objection.

ARTICLE 145:

He sees to the enforcement of judicial decisions, pursuant to the law.

ARTICLE 146:

The President of the Republic has the right to perform and commute sentences in all res judicata cases, except for sentences handed down by the High Court of Justice as stipulated in this Constitution.

ARTICLE 147:

He may grant amnesty only for political matters as stipulated by law.

ARTICLE 148:

If the President finds it temporarily impossible to discharge his duties, the Executive Authority shall be vested in the Council of Ministers under the Presidency of the Prime Minister, so long as the disability continues.

ARTICLE 149:

Should the Office of the President of the Republic become vacant for any reason, the President of the Supreme Court of the Republic, or in his absence, the Vice President of that Court, or in his absence, the judge with the highest seniority and so on by order of seniority, shall be invested temporarily with the duties of the President of the Republic by the National Assembly duly convened by the Prime Minister. The election of a new President for a new five (5) year term shall be held at least forty-five (45) and no more than ninety (90) days after the vacancy occurs, pursuant to the Constitution and the Electoral Law.

ARTICLE 149-1:

The acting President may in no case be a candidate in the next Presidential election.

ARTICLE 150:

The President of the Republic shall have no powers other than those accorded to him by the Constitution.

ARTICLE 151:

At the opening of each annual session of the Legislature, the President of the Republic shall deliver a message to the Legislature on the State of the Nation. This message may not be debated.

ARTICLE 152:

The President of the Republic shall receive a monthly salary from the Public Treasury upon taking the oath of office.

ARTICLE 153:

The President of the Republic shall have his official residence in the National Palace, in the capital city, unless the seat of the Executive Branch is moved.

ARTICLE 154:

The President of the Republic presides over the Council of Ministers.

ARTICLE 155:

The Government is composed of the Prime Minister, the Ministers and Secretaries of State. The Prime Minister is the head of the Government..

ARTICLE 156:

The Government conducts the policy of the Nation. It is responsible before Parliament under the terms stipulated by the Constitution.

ARTICLE 157:

To be appointed Prime Minister, a person must:

1) Be a native-born Haitian, and never have renounced Haitian nationality;

2) Have attained thirty (30) years of age;

3) Enjoy civil and political rights and never have been sentenced to death, personal restraint or penal servitude or the loss of civil rights;

4) Own real property in Haïti and practice a profession there;

5) Have resided in the country for five (5) consecutive years;

6) Have been relieved of his responsibilities if he has been handling public funds.

ARTICLE 158:

With the approval of the President, the Prime Minister shall choose the members of his Cabinet of Ministers and shall go before Parliament to obtain a vote of confidence on his declaration of general policy. The vote shall be taken in open ballot, and an absolute majority of both Houses is required.

In the event of a vote of non-confidence by one of the two (2) Houses, the procedure shall be repeated.

ARTICLE 159:

The Prime Minister enforces the laws. In the event of the President of the Republic's absence or temporary inability to perform his duties, or at his request, the Prime Minister presides over the Council of Ministers. He has the power to issue rules and regulations but he can never suspend or interpret laws, acts or decrees, nor refrain from enforcing them.

ARTICLE 160:

The Prime Minister appoints and dismisses directly or by delegation Government officials, according to the provisions of the Constitution and the law on the general regulations for Government operations.

ARTICLE 161:

The Prime Minister and the Ministers may appear before the two (2) Houses to support bills and the objections of the President of the Republic and to reply to interpellations.

ARTICLE 162:

Acts of the Prime Minister are countersigned, if need be, by the Ministers responsible for enforcing them. The Prime Minister may be assigned a Ministerial portfolio.

ARTICLE 163:

The Prime Minister and the Ministers are jointly responsible for the acts of the President of the Republic and of their ministries that they countersign. They are also responsible for enforcement of the laws in the areas of their competence.

ARTICLE 164:

The duties of the Prime Minister and of a member of the Government are incompatible with membership in the Parliament. If such a case occurs, the member of Parliament must choose one duty or the other.

ARTICLE 165:

In the event of the Prime Minister's resignation, the Government remains in place until the appointment of a successor, in order to transact current business.

ARTICLE 166:

The President of the Republic presides over the Council of Ministers. The number of Ministers may be no fewer than ten (10).

When he deems it necessary, the Prime Minister may appoint Secretaries of State to the Ministers.

ARTICLE 167:

The number of Ministers is set by law.

ARTICLE 168:

Holding a ministerial post is incompatible with the exercise of all other public employment, except for higher education.

ARTICLE 169:

Ministers are responsible for the acts of the Prime Minister that they countersign. They are jointly responsible for enforcement of the laws.

ARTICLE 169-1:

In no case may an oral or written order of the President of the Republic or of the Prime Minister release Ministers from the responsibilities of their office.

ARTICLE 170:

The Prime Minister, the Ministers and the Secretaries of State receive monthly salaries established by the Budgetary Law.

ARTICLE 171:

Ministers appoint certain categories of Government employees by delegation of the Prime Minister, according to the conditions set by the law on Government operations.

ARTICLE 172:

When one of the two (2) Houses during an interpellation calls into question the responsibility of a Minister by a vote of censure passed by an absolute majority of its members, the Executive shall recall the Minister.