Guarantees of the Constitution and Control of Constitutionality

The validity of laws and the various acts of the state, the public administration and the local authorities shall depend on their compliance with the Constitution.

Laws or acts which violate the principles and norms enshrined in this Constitution shall be unconstitutional.

All acts which constitute violations of constitutional principles and norms shall be subject to a review of their constitutionality, specifically: (a) Legislation; (b) International treaties, conventions and agreements; (c) Revisions of the Constitution; (d) Referenda. SECTION II. ABSTRACT PRIOR REVIEW

The President of the Republic may ask the Constitutional Court to conduct a prior review of the constitutionality of any rule contained in legislation that has been submitted for enactment, any international treaty submitted to him for ratification or any international agreement sent to him for signature.

One tenth of the Members of the National Assembly in full exercise of their office may also request a prior review of the constitutionality of any rule contained in legislation that has been submitted for enactment

A prior review of constitutionality must be requested within twenty days of reception of the legislation in question.

The Constitutional Court must pronounce within forty-eight days, which may be reduced due to urgency if so requested by the President of the Republic or one tenth of the Members of the Assembly in full exercise of their office.

Legislation for which a prior review of constitutionality has been requested from the Constitutional Court may not be enacted, signed or ratified before the Constitutional Court has delivered its ruling.

If the Constitutional Court declares that any rule contained in a piece of legislation, treaty, convention or international agreement is unconstitutional, it must be vetoed by the President of the Republic and returned to the body which had approved it.

In cases provided for under the previous point, the legislation, treaty, convention or international agreement may not be enacted, ratified or signed, as appropriate, unless the body that passed it expunges the rule that has been deemed unconstitutional.

If the legislation, treaty, convention or international agreement is reformulated, the President of the Republic or the Members who had contested its constitutionality may request a prior review of the constitutionality of any of its rules. SECTION III. EX-POST ABSTRACT CONTROL

The Constitutional Court shall consider and shall declare with generally binding force the unconstitutionality or otherwise of any rule.

The following may request a declaration of unconstitutionality from the Constitutional Court: (a) The President of the Republic; (b) One tenth of the Members of the Assembly of the Republic in full exercise of their office; (c) Parliamentary Groups; (d) The Attorney-General; (e) The Ombudsman; (f) The Bar Association of Angola.

A declaration of unconstitutionality with generally binding force shall be effective from the date on which the rule that has been declared unconstitutional came into force and shall lead to the revalidation of the rule that has been revoked.

However, in the case of unconstitutionality due to an infraction of a subsequent constitutional rule, the declaration shall only be effective from the date on which the latter comes into force.

Rulings in cases that have already been tried shall stand, save when the Constitutional Court rules to the contrary in relation to rules concerning penal or disciplinary matters or administrative offences and their contents were less favourable to the defendant.

When required for the purposes of legal certainty, reasons of fairness or matters of exceptionally important public interest, which must be duly justified, the Constitutional Court may rule that the scope of the effects of the unconstitutionality or illegality shall be more restricted than those provided for in Points 1 and 2 of this Article.

The President of the Republic, one fifth of the Members in full exercise of their office and the Attorney-General may request the Constitutional Court to rule on unconstitutionality by omission.

Whenever the Constitutional Court determines unconstitutionality by omission it shall inform the appropriate legislative body in order to enable it to amend the omission.

The President of the Republic or one third of the Members of the National Assembly in full exercise of their office shall be responsible for initiating a revision of the Constitution.

Alterations to the Constitution shall be approved by a two-thirds majority of Members in full exercise of their office.

The President of the Republic shall not refuse to enact the Constitutional revision law, although he shall have the authority to request a prior review by the Constitutional Court.

Alterations to the Constitution which are approved shall be collected together in a single revision law.

The new text of the Constitution shall be published together with the revision law.

The National Assembly may review the Constitution five years after it has come into force or five years after the last ordinary revision.

The National Assembly may assume extraordinary revision powers at any time, on the basis of a decision by a two-thirds majority of Members in full exercise of their office.

Alterations to the Constitution must respect: (a) The dignity of the human person; (b) National independence, territorial integrity and unity; (c) The republican nature of the government; (d) The unitary nature of the state; (e) Essential core rights, freedoms and guarantees; (f) The state based on the rule of law and pluralist democracy; (g) The secular nature of the state and the principle of the separation of church and state; (h) Universal, direct, secret and periodic suffrage in the election of officeholders to sovereign and local authority bodies; (i) The independence of the courts; (j) The separation and interdependence of the bodies that exercise sovereign power; (k) Local autonomy.

No alterations may be made to the Constitution during a state of war, siege or emergency.