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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RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE PEOPLE

ARTICAL 37

No one shall be denied the equal protection of the laws.

ARTICAL 38

There shall be no discrimination amongst Ethiopian subjects with
respect to the enjoyment of all civil rights.

ARTICAL 39

The law shall determine the conditions of acquisition and loss of
Ethiopian nationality and of Ethiopian citizenship.

ARTICAL 40

There shall be no interference with the exercise, in accordance with
the law, of the rights of any religion or creed by the residents of the
Empire, provided that such rites be not utilized for political purposes
or be not prejudicial to public order of morality.

ARTICAL 41

Freedom of speech and of the press is guaranteed throughout the
Empire in accordance with the law.

ARTICAL 42

Correspondence shall be subject to no censorship, except in time of
declared national emergency.

ARTICAL 43

No one within the Empire may be deprived of life, liberty or property
without due process of law.

ARTICAL 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 finding by ministerial order issued pursuant to the
requirements of a special expropriation law enacted in accordance
with the provisions of Articals 88, 89 or 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

ARTICAL 45

Ethiopian subjects shall have the right, in accordance with the
conditions prescribed by law, to assemble peacably and without arms.

ARTICAL 46

Freedom to travel within the Empire and to change domicile therein
is assured to all subjects of the Empire, in accordance with the law.

ARTICAL 47

Every Ethiopian subject has the right to engage in any occupation
and, to that end, to form or join associations, in accordance with the
law.

ARTICAL 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 the special protection of the law.

ARTICAL 49

No Ethiopian subject may be banished from the Empire.

ARTICAL 50

No Ethiopian subject may be extradited to a foreign country. No other
person shall be extradited except as provided by international
agreement.

ARTICAL 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 forty-eight hours, the court
shall have discretion to extend the period of forty-eight 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 to sole penalty for which is a fine.

ARTICAL 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
witnesses against him, to have compulsory process, in accordance
with the law, for obtaining witnesses in his favour, at the expence of
the Government and to have the assistance of council for his defence,
who, if the accused is unable to obtain the same by his own efforts or
through his own funds, shall be assigned and provided to the accused
by the court.

ARTICAL 53

No person accused of and arrested for a crime shall be presumed
guilty until so proven.

ARTICAL 54

Punishment is personal. No one shall be punished except in
accordance with the law and after conviction of an offence committed
by him.

ARTICAL 55

No one shall be punished for any offence which has not been
decleard by law to be punishable before the commision of such
offence, or shall suffer any punishement greater than that which was
provided by the law in force at the time of the commision of the
offence.

ARTICAL 56

No one shall be punished twice for the same offence.

ARTICAL 57

No one shall be subjected to cruel and in human punishment.

ARTICAL 58

No one shall be imprisoned for debt, except in case of legally proven
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, or to fulfill
legal obligations of maintenance. This provision shall not have the
effect of releasing the debtor from his obligations.

ARTICAL 59

No sentence of death shall be executed unless it be confirmed by the
Emperor.

ARTICAL 60

Confiscation of property as a penalty shall not be imposed except in
cases of treason, as defined by law, against the Emperor or the
Empire; sequestration of property as a penalty shall not be imposed
except in cases of property belonging to persons residing abroad and
conspiring against or engaging in deliberately hostile acts, as defined
by law, against the Emperor or the Empire. Attachment proceedings
covering the whole or part of the property of a person, made under
judicial authority, to cover payment of civil liability, or liability arising
out of the commission of an offence, or to meet taxes or fines, shall
not be deemed a confiscation of property.

ARTICAL 61

All persons and all private domiciles shall be exempt from unlawful
searches and seizures.

ARTICAL 62

(a) In accordance with tradition and the provisions of Artical 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 with out foundation, the
Government, or any Ministry, Department, Agency, instrumentality,
or official thereof against whom or which such suit was brought, shall
have the right of action against such resident for such malicious or
unfounded suit, and the court shall, in such case, decree remedies or
penalities according to the law.

ARTICAL 63

Everyone in the Empire shall have the right to present petitions to
the Emperor.

ARTICAL 64

Everyone in the Empire has the duty to respect and obey the
constitution, laws, decrees, orders and regulations of the Empire.
Ethiopian subjects, in additions, owe loyality to the Emperor and the
Empire, and have duty of defending the Emperor and the Empire
against, foreign and domestic, to perform public services, including
military services, when called upon to do so, and to exercise the right
of suffrage which is conferred upon them by the Constitution.

ARTICAL 65

Respect for the rights and freedoms of others and the requirements of
public order and the general welfare, shall alone justify any
limitations upon the rights guaranteed in the foregoing articals of the
present Chapter.

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Chapter IV

The Church of Haile Selassie I, Inc.