The_Revised_Constitution_of_The_Empire_of_Ethiopia-Chapter

Ba Beta Kristiyan Haile Selassie I

The Church of Haile Selassie I, Inc.

The Revised Constitution of The Empire of Ethiopia - 1955 Constitution

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Chapter I

ARTICAL 1

The Empire of Ethiopia comprises all the territories, including the
islands and the territorial waters, under the sovereignty of the
Ethiopian Crown. Its sovereignty and territory are indivisible. Its
territories and the sovereign rights therein are inalienable.

All Ethiopian subjects, whether living within or without the Empire,
constitute the Ethiopian People

ARTICAL 2

The Imperial diginity shall remain perpetually to the line of Haile
Sellassie I, descendant of King Sahle Sellassie, whose line descends
without interruption from the dynasty of Menelik I, son of the Queen of
Ethiopia, the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon of Jerusalem.

ARTICAL 3

The succession to the Throne and Crown of the Empire by the
descendants of the Emperor and the exercise of the powers of Regency
shall be determined as hereinafter provided.

ARTICAL 4

By virtue of His Imperial Blood, as well as by the anointing which He
has recieved, the person of the Emperor is sacred, His dignity is
inviolable and His power indisputable. He is, consequently, entitled to
all the honours due to Him in accordance with tradition and the
present Constitution. Any one so bold as to seek to injure the Emperor
will be punished.

ARTICAL 5

The order of succession shall be lineal, and only male, born of lawful
wedlock, may succeed male; the nearest line shall pass before the
more remote, and the elder in the line before the younger.

In conformity with the provisions of this Artical and the following
Articals 6 - 16, a special law shall determine the order of, and the
qualifications for the succession.

ARTICAL 6

Among those entitled to the succession shall be reckoned also the son
unborn, who shall immediately take his proper place in the line of
succession the moment he is born into the world.

ARTICAL 7

In the event that, at the time of His succession to the Throne and
Crown, the Emperor shall have attained the age of eighteen years, He
shall, on the day determined by Him, but in any event not later then
one year after His succession to the Crown, be anointed and crowned
as Emperor, the provisions and details of the coronation being
determined in the Coronation Ceremonial of the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church of 2nd November, 1930.

ARTICAL 8

Regency shall exist in the event that the Emperor is unable to exercise
the Imperial Office, whether by reason of minority, absence from
Empire, or by reason of illness as determined by the Crown Council. In
such cases, the Regency shall exercise, in the name of the Emperor, all
the powers and perogatives of the Crown, except that the Regency shall
shall have no power to grant the title of Prince, and shall caretake
powers only as regards the properties of the Crown and of the
Emperor. Regency shall automatically terminate upon cessation, as
regards the Emperor, of the conditions having given rise to the
Regency, in accordance with the provisions of the present artical.
Regency shall be exercised, respectively, in the situations as provided
for Articals 9 and 11, by the person or by the Council, as provided for
in Articals 10 and 11.

ARTICAL 9

In the event that the Emperor, or in the event that the Crown Prince or
the Heir Presumptive, in the situations provided for in Artical 11, shall
not have attained the age of eighteen years, the Regency shall be
exercised by the Council of Regency as provided for in Artical 11.

ARTICAL 10

The Council of Regency shall consist of the Empress Mother, the two
descendants of the line of Sahle Sellassie most nearly related to the
Emperor, as determined by the Crown Council, having reached the age
of eighteen and being of sound mind, the Archbishop, the Prime
Minister, The President of the Senate and the President of the
Chamber of Deputies. The President of the Council of Regency shall be
the Empress Mother, or, in Her absence, the Prime Minister. No
decisions of the Council of Regency shall be taken except by a majority
vote of two - thirds of the members thereof.

ARTICAL 11

Regency shall be exercised by the Crown Prince or the Heir
Presumptive, as the case may be, in case of the serious illness, or the
absence of the Emperor from the Empire. However, in the event that
the Crown Prince or the Heir Presumptive, as the case may be, himself
shall be subject to serious illness, or shall be absent from the Empire
or shall not have attained his eighteenth year, the Regency shall be
exercised by the Council of Regency, which shall automatically
relinquish its functions to the Crown Prince or the Heir Presumptive,
as the case may be, upon the cessation of any such disability of the
Crown Prince or the Heir Presumptive, as the case may be. Serious
illness of the Crown Prince or the Heir Presumptive, as the case may
be, shall be determined by the Crown Council.

ARTICAL 12

Upon the birth of the Crown Prince, the Emperor shall designate the
members of the Council of Guardianship to be convened and to
assume its responsibilities only in the event of a Regency. The mother
of the Crown Prince shall ex-officio a member of such Council. The
Council of Guardianship shall receive in trust for the Crown Prince one
third of the annual income and revenues received by the predecessor
of the Crown Prince who has become Emperor, in conformity with this
the provisions of Artical 19 (c).

ARTICAL 13

(a) In the event that the Emperor shall, at anytime, have no male
desendant, or no male descendant capable of meeting the
requirements for succession to the Throne, He shall, after having
previously consulted the Crown Council, publicly designate as Heir
Presumptive from amongst His nearest male relatives, a direct
descendant of Sahle Sellassie, meeting the requirements for
succession to the Throne.

(b) The determination as to the qualifications for sucession shall be
made by the Emperor, after having previously consulted the Crown
Council.

(c) In case of a determination that a male descendant is incapable of
meeting the requirements for sucession, such determination shall
operate to exclude such male descendant in favour of the next male
descendant, or in favour of the Heir Presumptive shall become
inoperative upon the subsequent birth of a male descendant.

(d) In case of the minority of the Emperor, the designation of an Heir
Presumptive shall, in accordance with the provisions of the present
artical, be effected by the Council of Regency. However, at the time of
His Coronation, and at any time thereafter, the Emperor shall be free
to designate, in accordance with the provisions of the present Artical ,
another Heir Presumptive in replacement of the Heir Presumptive
designated by the Council of Regency, or previously, by Himself.

ARTICAL 14

Throughout His minority, the place of residence of the Emperor shall
be the Imperial Palace. Absence therefrom for travel or for educational
purposes maybe authorized by law. Upon attaining the age of twelve
years the Emperor may make official appearences, attended by the
Council of Regency, the Princes, the "Balabats" and the Dignitaries
(Mekuanent.)

ARTICAL 15

Any member of the Imperial Family, who, being eligible for succession,
marries a foreigner or who marries without consent of the Emperor, of
the Regent, or of the Council of Regency, as the case may be, shall
forfeit all Imperial perogitives for himself and his descendants.

ARTICAL 16

The Imperial family shall include all direct lineal ascendants and
descendants, together with their spouses, of the Emperor, with the
exception of those who have not complied with the provisions of Artical
15 or who are not of the Ethiopian Orthodox Faith.

ARTICAL 17

The status, position, duties, responsibilities, emoluments, travels
abroad and deportment of the Princes and of members of the Imperial
Family shall be considered by the Crown Council from time to time and
their recommendations thereon shall be communicated to the Emperor
for further action.

ARTICAL 18

Upon the death of the Emperor, there shall be a period of full national
mourning of three months, followed by a period of half mourning of six
months, and upon the death of the Empress, there shall be a period of
full national mourning of two months, followed by a period of half
mourning of four months. The Emperor shall proclaim lesser periods of
full and half national mourning upon the deaths of other members of
the Imperial Family, except that no period of national mourning may
cause to be postponed a coronation more then one year from the date
of the succession to the Crown of the Emperor or of His attaining the
age of eighteen. In the event that the coronation takes place during a
period of full or half mourning, such periods of mourning shall be
terminated seven days before the coronation.

ARTICAL 19

(a) The regalia of the Crown, including all regalia of the Empress and
of the Crown Prince, are inalienable as belonging to the Empire.

(b) From the date of the proclamation of the present Constitution, all
realty registered in the Name of the Crown (Bete Mengist) are held in
trust for the Crown under the administration of the Emperor and are
inalienable.

(c) It is the Emperor's right to administer all of the inalienable
properties of the Crown and all profits and revenues therefrom for the
benefit of the Crown and the Empire; and to receive and administer an
annual approriation, as provided by law, from the Imperial Treasury,
which shall, with the aforesaid profits and revenues, be adequate for
the fulfillment of His functions under the present Constitution. In any
case of a Regency, the civil list shall be annually determined by law.

(d) All properties held in the name of the Emperor or members of the
Imperial Family are private property and, as such, are under the same
regime as that applicable to all properties of nationals of the Empire.

(e) The Emperor's Court shall be under His direction and He may
make such arrangements in regard thereto as He deems appropriate.
He may, at will, appoint to, or dismiss, from all posts at His Court, such
persons as He shall see fit.

ARTICAL 20

Upon the establishment of a Council of Regency, each member thereof
shall take, in the presence of the Emperor, the following oath which
shall be administered by the Archbishop :

" In the name of the Almighty, and as a member of the Council of
Regency, I hereby swear to defend, with all my power, the rights, the
privileges and inheritance of His Majesty the Emperor, so long as I
shall remain a member of the Council of Regency ; that I will, at the all
times, respect and defend the Constitution ; and that in all my actions
and conduct, as a member of that Council, I will ever be motivated by
respect for the Constitution and the firm resolve of protecting the
rights, privileges, and inheritance of His Majesty the Emperor of
Ethiopia. So help me God"
The Archbishop himself shall take the same oath.

ARTICAL 21

On the occasion of His Coronation, the Emperor shall take the
following oath:
"In the name of the Almighty God, We Haile Sellassie I, the
Emperor of Ethiopia, swear that We will uphold and defend the
Constitution of the Empire; that We will govern Our Subjects with
patience and devotion to their general welfare in accordance with the
Constitution and the laws; that We will faithfully defend, with all the
means in Our power, the integrity and territory of Our Empire; that We
will faithfully see to the impartial execution of all laws approved by
Parliament and proclaimed by Us; that We profess and will defend the
Holy Orthodox Faith based on the doctrines of St. Mark of Alexandria,
professed in Ethiopia since the Holy Emperors Abreha and Atsbiha;
that We will ever promote the spiritual and material welfare and
advancement of Our Subjects; and that, with the aid of the Almighty,
We will faithfully execute the promises which We have here
undertaken. So help Us God."

ARTICAL 22

On the occasion of the Coronation of the Emperor, if over twelve years
of age, the Crown Prince or the Heir Presumptive, as the case may be,
all members of the Crown Council and all members of the Parliament,
shall individually take an oath of homage and fidelity to the Emperor.

ARTICAL 23

In pursuance of the requirements of Artical 22, the Crown Prince or
the Heir Presumptive, as the case may be, if over age of twelve, shall
take the following oath:

"In the name of the Almighty, I hereby swear that I will faithfully
observe all the precepts and directions of my August Father (
"Sovereign" in the case of an Heir Presumptive) and will ever strive to
respect His wishes and seek not after that which is not given to me,
and be not so impatient as Adonias or so daring as Abeselom; that I will
ever conduct myself so as to be worthy of my Sire ("Sovereign" in the
case of an Heir Presumptive), of my Imperial Blood and of the high
station which is ("may be" in the case of an Heir Presumptive) my
destiny; that I will, at all times, respect the Constitution and the laws,
and will ever profess and defend the Faith of our Orthodox Church. I
swear that, with the assistance of the Almighty, I will faithfully execute
the promises which I have here undertaken.So help me God."

In the event that the aforesaid oath shall not be taken on the occasion
of the Coronation, either by Crown Prince or by the Heir Presumptive,
as the case may be, it shall be taken before the Emperor by the Crown
Prince or the Heir presumptive, as the case may be, upon his attaining
the age of eighteen.

ARTICAL 24

In persuance of the requirements of Artical 22, the members of the
Crown Council shall take the following oath:

"In the name of the Almighty, I hereby swear allegiance and fidelity to
my Sovereign, His Imperial Majesty Haile Sellassie I and that I
will, as member of the Parliament, faithfully place above all else the
interest and welfare of Ethiopia and of its Sovereign; that I will at all
times, faithfully respect the Constitution and laws of the Empire, and
that I will disclose no secret or confidential information revealed to me
in connection with my official duties and position. So help me God.

ARTICAL 25

In persuance of the requirements of Artical 22, the members of the
Parliament shall take the following oath:

"In the name of the Almighty, I hereby swear allegiance and fidelity to
my Sovereign, His Imperial Majesty Haile Sellassie I and that I
will, as member of Parliament, faithfully place above all else the
interest and welfare of Ethiopia and of its Sovereign; that I will at all
times, faithfully respect the Constitution and laws of the Empire, and
that I will disclose no secret or confidential information revealed to me
in connection with my official duties and position. So help me God.

Chapter II

The Church of Haile Selassie I, Inc.

Ba Beta Kristiyan Haile Selassie I