Portugal
Portugal
| Right | Section | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| Freedom of Association | History | Article 46 of the Portugese Constitution ( 1976) :
“Citizens shall possess the right to freely associate with one another without requiring any authorisation, on condition that such associations are not intended to promote violence and their purposes are not contrary to the criminal law.” “Associations shall pursue their purposes freely and without interference from the public authorities and shall not be dissolved by the state or have their activities suspended, except in such cases as the law may provide for and then only by judicial order.” “No one shall be obliged to belong to an association, or be coerced to remain therein by any means.” “Armed associations, military, militarised or paramilitary-type associations and organisations that are racist or display a fascist ideology shall not be permitted.” Portugal first protected freedom of association in the Constitution of the Portuguese Monarchy, promulgated in 1838. Under Article XIV, “all citizens have the right of assembling together conformably to the laws.” The article subsequently lays out specifications for how it is to be applied, and concludes with “a special law shall regulate, in other respects, the exercise of this right.” British and Foreign State Papers (1838-1839). “Constitution of the Portuguese Monarchy – Promulgated at Lisbon, April 4, 1838.” World Constitutions Illustrated, July 24, 2023, https://heinonline-org.ccl.idm.oclc.org/HOL/Page?collection=cow&handle=hein.cow/bfsprs0027&id=775&men_tab=srchresults. |
| Freedom of Expression | History | Article 37 of Portugal’s 1976 Constitution is the first assertion of freedom of expression in the present-day Portuguese Republic. It provides: "Everyone shall possess the right to freely express and publicize his thoughts in words, images or by any other means, as well as the right to inform others, inform himself, and be informed without hindrance or discrimination."
Other Portuguese governments have also protected this right, with its earliest assertion found in Article 145(3) of the Kingdom of Portugal’s 1822 Constitution. The 1911 constitution also upheld this principle, providing in Article 3(14) that “Liberty of conscience and creed is inviolable.” Sub article 13 of the same stipulates, “The expression of thought in any form whatever is completely free, and not dependent upon the previous giving of security, submission to censure, or the obtaining of previous authorization, but the abuse of this privilege is punishable in the cases and in the manner prescribed by the law.”
“Constitution of the Portuguese Republic.” University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. Accessed July 17. http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/research/portugal-constitution.html “Constitution of the Republic of Portugal—Lisbon, August 21, 1911.” HeinOnline, accessed on June 7, 2024. https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.cow/zzsn0036&id=4&collection=cow&index= (p. 767) “Portugal 1976 (rev. 2005).” Constitute Project. Accessed June 7, 2024. https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Portugal_2005 |
| Freedom of Religion | History | Portugal’s first constitution was enacted in 1822. Title II, Article XXV assigns the Catholic religion, Apostolic and Roman, as the nations official religion while allowing others to practice and identify with their own faiths and religions. It is important to note that this is the Political Constitution of the Portuguese Monarchy which established a constitutional monarchy.
The Constitution of the Portuguese Republic was ratified on 2 April 1976. Articles 13.2, 19.6, 35.3, 41, and 59.1 grant religious freedom, equality, and prohibit religious discrimination. Article 41.4 creates a separation of Church and State. References: “Northwestern SSO.” n.d. Prd-Nusso.it.northwestern.edu. Accessed June 21, 2024. https://heinonline-org.turing.library.northwestern.edu/HOL/Page?collection=cow&handle=hein.cow/bfsprs00 09&id=941&men_tab=srchresults. Parliament of Portugal. “Constitution of the Portuguese Republic Seventh Revision.” Assembly of the Republic. Last modified 2005. Accessed June 24, 2022. https://www.parlamento.pt/sites/EN/Parliament/Documents/Constitution7th.pdf. |
| Freedom of the Press | History | Articles 7 and 8 of the 1822 Portuguese Constitution originally protected press freedom: “The free communication of thoughts is one of man's most precious rights. All Portuguese may therefore, without prior censorship, express their opinions in any matter, as long as they are responsible for the abuse of this freedom in the cases, and in the form that the law determines… The Courts will appoint a Special Court, to protect the freedom of the press, and to curb the offenses resulting from its abuse, as provided for in art. 177 and 189” (O Portal da História, “CONSTITUIÇÃO PORTUGUESA DE 1822” ). [Translated from Portuguese] Today, Article 37 of Portugal’s 1976 Constitution protects press freedom: “Everyone shall possess the right to freely express and publicise his thoughts in words, images or by any other means, as well as the right to inform others, inform himself and be informed without hindrance or discrimination"(Constitute Project, “Portugal’s Constitution of 1976 with Amendments through 2005” ). |
| Privacy Rights | History | Portugal’s first protection of privacy was in the 1976 constitution. Article 26(1) says “Everyone shall possess the right to a personal identity, to the development of their personality, to civil capacity, to citizenship, to a good name and reputation, to their likeness, to speak out, to protect the privacy of their personal and family life, and to legal protection against any form of discrimination.” Article 65 grants privacy in the home (Constitute Project, “Portugal 1976 rev. 2005) . https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Portugal_ 2005? lang=en |
| Voting Rights and Suffrage | History | Article 10 states that political power is exercised via universal, direct, and secret suffrage granted to citizens of Portugal (over 18 years of age). Article 121 states that the President of the Republic is elected via universal, direct, and secret suffrage. (Constitute Project, “ Portugal’s Constitution of 1976 with Amendments through 2005” ). |