Of the Rights, Freedoms and Duties of the Citizens

Every human being carries within them inalienable and imprescriptible rights.

The safeguarding of these rights is the objective of any human community. The State has the obligation to respect them, to guarantee them and to protect them.

Moral persons may enjoy the rights guaranteed by this Constitution to the extent these rights are compatible with their nature.

All human beings are equal in dignity and in right.

The man and the woman are equal before the law.

No one may be favored or disadvantaged for reason of their familial, ethnic or regional origin, of their economic or social situation, of their political, religious, philosophical or other convictions.

Every human being has the right to development, to the physical, intellectual, moral and cultural fulfillment of their person.

The State has the obligation to guarantee the physical and mental integrity, the life and the security of every living person in the national territory.

No one may be arbitrarily deprived either of their liberty or of their life.

The exercise of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by this Constitution may only be subject to the restrictions expressly provided by the law and necessary for the protection of the national security, of the public order, of the public health, of morality or of the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.

No one may be arbitrarily arrested or detained. Whoever is arrested without legal basis or detained longer than the time period of arrest may, on their request or that of any interested person, refer [the matter] to the judicial authority designated to this effect by the law.

The judicial authority decides without delay on the legality or the regularity of their detention.

Every accused person or detained [person] must benefit from a treatment that preserves their dignity, their physical and mental health and that aids their social rehabilitation

No one has the right to obstruct an accused person or detained [person] from being examined by a doctor of their choice.

Every accused [person] has the right to be assisted by counsel at the stage of the preliminary inquiry.

Every person arrested has the right to be immediately informed of the charges brought against them.

Any accused [person] or suspected [person] is presumed innocent until their culpability has been established following a process that offers them the guarantees indispensible to their defense.

The judicial power, guardian of the individual liberty, assures respect for this principle within the conditions provided for by the law.

Every person has the right in any matter that their cause will be heard and resolved equitably within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial jurisdiction.

No one may be condemned for acts that did not constitute an infraction at the moment when they were committed.

Outside of the cases provided by the law, no one may be investigated or condemned for the acts blamed on others.

The damages resulting from an error of justice or those brought about by an abnormal functioning of the administration of justice give rise to an indemnification at the expense of the State, in accordance with the law.

No one may be submitted to measures of control or of security outside of the cases provided for by the law.

The human person is sacred and inviolable.

No one may be submitted to torture or to other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatments.

No one may evade the punishment incurred by committing such violations by invoking the order of a superior or [that] of a public authority.

Any individual, [or] any agent of the State, culpable of such acts, either on their own initiative, or on instruction, will be punished in accordance with the law.

Any individual, [or] any agent of the State is relieved of the duty of obedience when the order received constitutes a grave and manifest infringement of the respect of the Rights of Man and of the public freedoms.

Every Togolese citizen has the right to circulate freely and to establish themselves in the national territory in any place of their choice within the conditions defined by the law or local custom.

No Togolese may be deprived of the right to enter Togo or to leave it.

Any foreigner[,] in regular situation[,] on the Togolese territory and who conforms to the laws in force has the freedom to circulate and to choose their residence and the right to leave it freely.

A foreigner may only be deported or extradited from the Togolese territory by virtue of a decision conforming to the law. They must have the possibility to present their defense before the competent judicial authority.

No Togolese may be extradited from the national territory.

Every person has the right to the freedom of thought, of conscience, of religion, of belief, of opinion and of expression. The exercise of these rights and freedoms is made within respect for the freedoms of others, of the public order and of the norms established by the law and the regulations.

The organization and the practice of religious beliefs is exercised freely within respect for the law. It is the same for the philosophical orders.

The exercise of belief and of expression of belief is done within respect for the secularity of the State.

The religious denominations have the right to organize themselves and to exercise their activities freely within respect for the law.

The freedom of the press is recognized and guaranteed by the State. It is protected by the law.

Every person has the freedom to express and to disseminate through speech, writing or any other means, their opinions or the information which they possess, within respect for the limits defined by the law.

The press may not be subject to prior authorization, to caution [bail/security], to censorship or to other restraints. The prohibition of dissemination of any publication may only be pronounced by virtue of a decision of justice.

The right to property is guaranteed by the law. It may only be infringed for the cause of public utility legally declared and after a just and prior indemnification.

One's assets may only be seized by virtue of a decision taken by a judicial authority.

The domicile is inviolable.

It may only be made the object of a search or of a police entry in the forms and conditions provided for by the law.

Every citizen has the right to respect for their private life, of their honor, of their dignity and of their image.

The State guarantees the secrecy of correspondence and of telecommunications.

Any citizen has the right to the secrecy of their correspondence and their communications and telecommunications.

The State recognizes and guarantees within the conditions established by the law, the exercise of the freedoms of association, of assembly and of peaceful demonstration without instruments of violence.

The State recognizes private denominational and secular instruction.

The State has the obligation to assure the protection of marriage and of the family.

Parents have the duty to provide for the support and the education of their children. They are supported in this task by the State.

Children, whether they are born within marriage or outside of marriage, have the right to the same familial and social protection.

The Togolese nationality is attributed of right to the children born of a Togolese father or mother.

The other cases of attribution of the nationality are regulated by the law.

The State takes or enforces in favor of handicapped persons and of aged persons measures susceptible to shelter them from social injustices.

The State recognizes to the citizens the right to health. It works to promote it.

The State recognizes the right to education of children and creates conditions favorable to accomplish this objective.

School is obligatory for children of the two sexes until the age of 15 years.

The State assures progressively the gratuity of public education.

The State protects youth against any form of exploitation or of manipulation.

The State recognizes to every citizen the right to work and strives to create the conditions for effective enjoyment of this right.

It assures to each citizen the equality of opportunity concerning employment and guarantees to each worker a just and equitable remuneration.

No one may be disadvantaged in their work for reason of their sex, of their origin, of their beliefs or of their opinions.

The right to an equitable redistribution of the national wealth by the State is recognized to the citizens and to the territorial collectivities.

The right to strike is recognized to workers. It is exercised within the framework of the laws that regulate it.

The workers may constitute unions or affiliate with the unions of their choice.

Any worker may defend, within the conditions provided for by the law, their rights and interests, either individually, collectively or by union action.

The State has the duty to safeguard and to promote the national cultural patrimony.

Every person has the right to a healthy environment. The State sees to the protection of the environment.

Every citizen has the sacred duty to respect the Constitution as well as the laws and regulations of the Republic.

The defense of the country and the integrity of the national territory is a sacred duty of every citizen.

Every citizen has the duty of rendering national service within the conditions defined by the law.

Every citizen has the duty to combat any person or group of persons who should attempt to change by force the democratic order established by this Constitution.

The public assets are inviolable.

Any person or any public agent must scrupulously respect the and protect them.

Any act of sabotage, of vandalism, of embezzlement of public assets, of corruption, [or] of dilapidation is punished within the conditions provided by the law.

Every citizen has the duty to contribute to the public expenses within the conditions defined by the law.

Every citizen has the duty to see to respect for the rights and freedoms of other citizens and of the safeguarding of the public security and of the [public] order.

[They] work for the promotion of tolerance and of dialogue in their relations with others. [They] have the obligation to preserve the national interest, the social order, peace, and national cohesion.

Any act or any manifestation of a racist, regionalist, [or] xenophobic character is punished by the law.

The Forces of Security and of Police, under the authority of the Government, have for [their] mission to protect the free exercise of the rights and of the freedoms, and to guarantee the security of citizens and of their assets.

The rights and duties, stated in the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man and in the international instruments relative to the Rights of Man, ratified by Togo, are an integral part of this Constitution.