# Constitution of Mexico (1857)

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Translation made in 1917 by the American Academy of Political and Social Science in Philadelphia.

## PREAMBLE

In the name of God and by the authority of the Mexican people. The representatives of the different States, of the District and of the Territories which compose the Republic of Mexico, called upon by the provisions of the Plan proclaimed in Ayutla the first of March, eighteen hundred and fifty-four, amended in Acapulco the eleventh day of the same month and year, and by the call issued the seventeenth of October, eighteen hundred and fifty-five, to convene for the purpose of framing a constitution for the nation and making it a popular representative, democratic republic, exercising the powers with which they are vested, do hereby comply with the requirements of their high office, by decreeing the following political Constitution of the Mexican Republic, on the indestructible basis of its legitimate independence, proclaimed the sixteenth of September, eighteen hundred and ten, and consummated the twenty-seventh of September, eighteen hundred and twenty-one.

## TITLE I
### SECTION I. Of the Rights of Man

Article 1. The Mexican people recognize that the rights of man are the basis and the object of social institutions. Consequently they declare that all the laws and all the authorities of the country must respect and maintain the guarantees which the present constitution grants.
Art. 2. In the Republic all are born free. Slaves who set foot upon the national territory shall recover, by this act alone, their freedom, and enjoy the protection of the law.
Art. 3. Instruction is free. The law shall determine what professions shall require licenses for their exercise, and what requisites are necessary to obtain said licenses.
Art. 4. Every one is free to engage in any honorable and useful profession, industrial pursuit, or occupation suitable to him, and to avail himself of its products. The exercise of this liberty shall not be hindered except by judicial sentence when such exercise infringes the rights of a third party, or by executive order, issued in the manner specified by law, when it offends the rights of society.
Art. 5. No one shall be compelled to render personal services without due compensation and without his full consent, excepting labor imposed as a penalty by judicial decree. Subject to the conditions set forth in the respective laws, only military service shall be obligatory; and municipal service, service in connection with elections, and jury service shall be obligatory and without compensation.
The State shall not permit any contract, covenant, or agreement to be carried out having for its object the abridgment, loss or irrevocable sacrifice of the liberty of man, whether by reason of labor, education or religious vows. The law, therefore, does not recognize, nor consent to the establishment of, monastic orders, of whatever denomination or for whatever purpose contemplated. Nor shall any person legally agree to his own proscription or exile. [As amended, June 10, 1898.]
Art. 6. The expression of ideas shall not be the subject of any judicial or executive investigation, unless it offend good morals, impair the rights of third parties, incite to crime or cause a breach of the peace.
Art. 7. Freedom of writing and publishing writings on any subject is inviolable. No law or authority shall have the right to establish censorship, require bond from authors or printers, nor restrict the liberty of the press, which shall be limited only by the respect due to private life, morals, and public peace. Cases of offenses committed through the public press shall be tried by the competent courts of the Union, the States, the Federal District or the Territory of Lower California, according to penal law. [As amended, May 15, 1883.]
Art. 8. The right of petition, exercised in writing in a peaceful and respectful manner, is inviolable; but in political matters only citizens of the Republic may exercise it. To every petition an answer shall be given in writing, in the form of a decision, by the official to whom it may have been addressed, and the said official shall be bound to make the petitioner acquainted with the result.
Art. 9. No one shall be deprived of the right peaceably to assemble or to come together for any lawful purpose; but only citizens2 shall be permitted to exercise this right for the purpose of taking part in the political affairs of the country. No armed assembly shall have the right to deliberate.
Art. 10. Every one has the right to possess and carry arms for his safety and legitimate defense. The law shall designate what arms are prohibited, and the punishment to be incurred by those who carry them.
Art. 11. Every one has the right to enter and leave the Republic, to travel through its territory and change his residence without necessity of a letter of security, passport, safe conduct or any other similar requirement. The exercise of this right shall be subordinated to the powers of the judiciary, in the event of civil or criminal responsibility, and to those of the executive, in so far as relates to the limitations imposed by law in regard to emigration, immigration, and the public health of the country. [As amended, November 12, 1908.]
Art. 12. No titles of nobility, or prerogatives, or hereditary honors'exist in the Republic nor shall they be recognized therein. Only the people, legally represented, may decree'recompenses in honor of those who have rendered or may render eminent services to the country or to humanity.
Art. 13. In the Mexican Republic no one shall be tried according to private laws or by special tribunals. No person or corporation shall have privileges nor enjoy emoluments which are not in compensation for a public service and established by law. Military jurisdiction shall be recognized only for the trial of criminal cases having direct connection with military discipline. The law shall clearly define the cases included in this exception.
Art. 14. No retroactive law shall be enacted. No person shall be tried or sentenced except under laws previously enacted, exactly applicable to the case, and by a tribunal previously established by law.
Art. 15. No treaty shall ever be made for the extradition of political offenders, or of offenders of the common class, who have been slaves in the country where the offense was committed; nor shall any agreement or treaty be entered into which abridges or modifies the guarantees and rights which this constitution grants to the individual and to the citizen.
Art. 16. No one shall be molested in his person, family, domicile, papers or possessions, except by virtue of an order in writing of the competent authority, setting forth the legal grounds upon which the measure is taken. In cases in flagrante delicto any person may apprehend the offender and his accomplices, placing them without delay at the disposal of the nearest authorities.
Art. 17. No one shall be imprisoned for debts of a purely civil character. No one shall resort to violence in the enforcement of his rights. The tribunals shall always be open for the administration of justice, which shall be gratuitous, judicial costs being consequently abolished.
Art. 18. Imprisonment shall take place only for crimes deserving corporal punishment. In any stage of the case in which it shall appear that such a punishment can not be imposed upon the accused, he shall be set at liberty on bail.4 In no case shall the imprisonment or detention be prolonged for failure to pay fees, or any other pecuniary charge.5
Art. 19. No detention shall exceed three days, unless justified by a warrant, issued in accordance with law, and giving the grounds for the imprisonment. The mere lapse of this time shall render the authority that orders or consents to it and the agents, ministers, wardens, or jailers who execute it, responsible therefor. Any maltreatment during apprehension or confinement; any molestation inflicted without legal justification; or any exaction or contribution levied in prison, is an abuse which the laws must correct and the authorities severely punish.
Art. 20. In every criminal trial the accused shall enjoy the following guarantees:
I. The grounds of the proceedings and the name of the accuser, if there be such, shall be made known to him.
II. His preliminary examination shall be made within fortyeight hours, to be counted from the time he is placed at the disposition of the judge.
III. He shall be confronted with the witnesses who testify against him.
IV. He shall be furnished with all information of record, which he may need for his defense.
V. He shall be heard in his defense, either personally or by counsel, or by both, as he may desire. In case he shall have no one to defend him, a list of public counsel shall be shown to him, in order that he may choose one or more to act as his counsel.
Art. 21. The imposition of penalties properly so called pertains exclusively to the judiciary. The political or executive authorities shall only have power to impose fines and imprisonment, as disciplinary measures, the former of no more than five hundred dollars, and the latter for no more than one month, in the cases and in the manner which the law shall expressly determine.
Art. 22. Punishments by mutilation and infamy, by branding, flogging, beating with sticks, torture of whatever kind, excessive fines, confiscation of property, or any other penalties, unusual or working corruption of the blood, shall be forever prohibited.
Art. 23. Capital punishment is abolished for political offenses; in the case of offenses other than political it shall only be imposed for high treason committed during a foreign war, parricide, murder with malice aforethought, arson, highway robbery, piracy, and grave military offenses. [As amended, May 14, 1901.]
Art. 24. No criminal case shall have more than three instances. No person, whether acquitted or convicted, shall be tried again for the same offense. The practice of discharging in one instance is abolished.
Art. 25. Sealed correspondence sent through the mails shall be free from search. The violation of this guarantee is an offense which the law will punish severely.
Art. 26. In time of peace no soldier may demand quarters, supplies, or other real or personal service, without the consent of the owner. In time of war he may do so, but only in the manner prescribed by law.
Art. 27. Private property shall not be taken without the consent of the owner, except for reasons of public utility, indemnification having been made. The law shall determine the authority to make the expropriation and the conditions on which it shall be carried out. No religious corporations and institutions of whatever character, denomination, duration or object, nor civil corporations, when under the patronage, direction or administration of the former, or of ministers of any creed shall have legal capacity to acquire title to, or administer, real property, other than the buildings immediately and directly destined to the services or purposes of the said corporations and institutions. Nor shall they have legal capacity to acquire or administer loans made on such real property. Civil corporations and institutions not comprised within the above provision, may acquire and administer, in addition to the buildings mentioned, real property and loans made on such real property required for their maintenance and purposes, subject to the requisites and limitations to be established by the Federal law to be enacted by the Congress on the subject. [As amended, May 14, 1901.]
Art. 28. There shall be no private nor governmental monopolies of any kind whatsoever, nor any prohibitions even under cover of protection to industry, excepting only those relating to the coinage of money, the postal service, and the privileges which, for a limited time, the law may concede to inventors or improvers of inventions.
Art. 29. In cases of invasion, grave disturbance of the public peace, or any other emergency which may place society in grave danger, the President of the Republic, and no one else, shall have the power to suspend, with the advice of the council of ministers and with the approval of the Congress, and, in the recess thereof, of the Permanent Committee, the guarantees granted by this Constitution excepting those ensuring the life of man; but such suspension shall in no case be confined in its effects to a particular individual, but shall be made by means of a general decree, and only for a limited time. If the suspension occur while the Congress is in session, this body shall grant such powers as in its judgment the executive may need to meet the situation; if the suspension occur while the Congress is in recess, the Permanent Committee shall forthwith convoke the Congress for the granting of such powers.
SECTION II. Of Mexicans Art. 30. Mexicans are: I. All persons born, within or without the Republic, of Mexican parents. II. Aliens naturalized in conformity with the laws of the Federation. III. Aliens who acquire real estate in the Republic, or have Mexican children, if they do not declare their intention to retain their nationality.
Art. 31. It shall be the duty of every Mexican: I. To defend the independence, the territory, the honor, the rights and interests of his country. II. To serve in the army or the national guard pursuant to the respective organic laws. [As amended, June 10, 1898.] III. To contribute in the proportional and equitable manner provided by law, toward the public expenses of the Federation, the State and the municipality in which he resides.
Art. 32. Mexicans shall be preferred under equal circumstances to foreigners for all public employments, offices, or commissions, when citizenship is not indispensable. Laws shall be enacted to improve the condition of industrious Mexicans, by rewarding those who distinguish themselves in any science or art, to foster labor, and to found colleges and manual training schools.
SECTION III. Of Aliens Art. 33. Aliens are those who do not possess the qualifications prescribed by Article 30. They shall be entitled to the guarantees granted by Section I, Title I, of the present Constitution, except that in all cases the Government has the right to expel undesirable foreigners. They are under obligation to contribute to the public expenses as the law may provide, and to obey and respect the institutions, laws, and authorities of the country, subjecting themselves to the decisions and sentences of the tribunals, and shall not be entitled to seek other redress than that which the laws concede to Mexicans.
SECTION IV. Of Mexican Citizens Art. 34. Mexican citizenship shall be enjoyed only by those Mexicans who have the following qualifications: I. Are over 21 years of age, if unmarried, and over 18, if married.
II. Have-an honest means of livelihood.
Art. 35. The prerogatives of citizens are: I. To vote at popular elections.
II. To be eligible for any elective office and be qualified for any other office or commission, provided they have the other qualifications -required by law. III. To assemble for the purpose of discussing the political affairs of the country. IV. To serve in the army or national guard for the defense of the Republic and its institutions, as by law determined. [As amended June 10, 1898.] V. To exercise the right of petition in any matter whatever.
Art. 36. It shall be the duty of every Mexican citizen: I. To register in the polls of the municipality in which he lives, setting forth the property which he owns, if any, or the industry, profession, or labor by which he subsists. II. To enlist in the national guard. III. To vote at popular elections in the district to which he belongs. IV. To fill the elective federal offices to which he maybe chosen, and which in no case shall be gratuitous.
Art. 37. Citizenship shall be lost: I. By naturalization in a foreign country. II. By officially serving the government of another country or accepting its decorations, titles, or employment without previous permission of the Federal Congress, excepting literary, scientific, and humanitarian titles, which may be accepted freely.
Art. 38. The law shall determine the cases and the form in which the rights of citizenship may be lost or suspended, and the manner in which they may be regained.

## TITLE II
### SECTION I. Of the National Sovereignty and Form of Government

Art. 39. The national sovereignty is vested essentially and originally in the people. All public power emanates from the people, and is instituted for their benefit. The people have at all times the inalienable right to alter or modify the form of their government.
Art. 40. It is the will of the Mexican people to constitute themselves into a democratic, federal, representative republic, consisting of States, free and sovereign in all that concerns their internal affairs, but united in a federation according to the principles of this fundamental law.
Art. 41. The people exercise their sovereignty through the federal powers in the matters belonging to the Union, and through those of the States in the matters relating to the internal administration of the latter. This power shall be exercised in the manner respectively established by the Constitutions, both Federal and State. The constitutions of the States shall in no case contravene the stipulations of the Federal constitution.

### SECTION II. Of the Integral Parts of the Federation and the National Territory

Art. 42. The national territory comprises the integral parts of the Federation and the adjacent islands in both oceans.
Art. 43. The integral parts of the Federation are: the States of Aguascalientes, Campeche, Coahuila, Colima, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán, Morelos, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Valle de México, Vera Cruz, Yucatán, Zacatecas, the Territory of Lower California, the Territory of Tepic, formed from the seventh canton of Jalisco, and the Territory of Quintana Roo. The Territory of Quintana Roo shall be formed by the eastern portion of the Peninsula of Yucatán; it shall be bounded by a line which, drawn from the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, follows the arc of the meridian 87°32' (Longitude West of Greenwich) to its intersection with parallel 21°, and thence till it meets the parallel passing through the Southern Tower of Chemax, twenty kilometers to the east of this town; and reaching the vertex of the angle formed by the boundaries between the States of Yucatán and Campeche, near Put, goes southward to the parallel dividing the Republics of Mexico and Guatemala. [As amended November 24, 1902.]
Art. 44. The States of Aguascalientes, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Durango, Guerrero, México, Puebla, Querétaro, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, and the Territory of Lower California shall preserve the limits which they now have.
Art. 45. The States of Colima and Tlaxcala shall preserve in their new character of States the limits which they had as Territories of the Federation.
Art. 46. The State of the Valley of Mexico shall consist of the territory constituting at present the Federal District, but it shall not be a State until after the Supreme Federal Powers move to some other place.
Art. 47. The State of Nuevo Le6n and Coahuila shall comprise the territory formerly belonging to the two separate States of which it now consists, except a part of the Bonanza Hacienda, which shall be added to Zacatecas, exactly as it was before its annexation to Coahuila.
Art.48. The States of Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán, Oaxaca, San Luis Potosí, Tabasco, Vera Cruz, Yucatán, and Zacatecas shall recover the extent and limits which they had on the thirty-first of December, eighteen hundred and fifty-two, with the alterations established in the following article.
Art. 49. The town of Contepec, now belonging to Guanajuato, shall be annexed to Michoacán. The municipality of Ahualulco, belonging to Zacatecas, shall be annexed to San Luis Potosí. The municipalities of Ojo Caliente and San Francisco de los Adames, belonging to San Luis, as well as the towns of Nueva Tlaxcala and San Andrés del Teul, belonging to Jalisco, shall be annexed to Zacatecas. The department of Túxpam shall continue to form a part of Vera Cruz. The canton of Huimanguillo, belonging to Vera Cruz, shall be annexed to Tabasco.

## TITLE III. Of the Division of Powers

Art. 50. The supreme power of the Federation is divided for its exercise into legislative, executive, and judicial. Two or more of these powers shall never be united in one person or corporation, nor shall the legislative power be vested in one individual.

### SECTION I. Of the Legislative Power

Art. 51. The legislative power of the United States of Mexico is vested in a general Congress which shall consist of a House of Representatives and a Senate. [As amended November 13, 1874.]

#### PARAGRAPH I. Of the Election and Installation of the Congress

Art. 52. The House of Representatives shall consist of representatives of the Nation, all of whom shall be elected every two years by the citizens of Mexico. [As amended November 13,1874.]
Art. 53. One representative shall be chosen for each 60,000 inhabitants or for any fraction thereof exceeding 20,000, on the basis of the general census of the Federal District and of each State and Territory. Any State or Territory in which the population shall be less than that fixed by this article shall, nevertheless, elect one representative. [As amended December 18, 1901.]
Art. 54. There shall be elected an alternate for each representative.
Art. 55. The election of representatives shall be direct, in accordance with the provisions of the electoral law. [As amended April 26, 1912.] Art. 56. Representatives shall have the following qualifications: To be Mexican citizens in the enjoyment of their rights; to be twenty-five years of age on the day of the opening of the session; to be domiciled in the State or Territory in which the election is held, and not to belong to the ecclesiastical state. The domicile shall not be lost through absence in the discharge of any elective office.
Art. 57. The offices of senator and representative are incompatible with any other office or commission of the Federal Government for which any emolument is received. [As amended November 13, 1874.]
Art. 58. Representatives and senators are disqualified, from the day of their election until the day on which their term expires, from accepting from the Federal executive without previous permission of the respective House any salaried office. The same provision is applicable to alternates when in active service.
A. The Senate shall consist of two Senators for each State and two for the Federal District. The election of senators shall be direct in the first degree. Each State legislature shall declare the candidate elected who shall have obtained a majority of the votes cast or it shall choose, in the manner prescribed by the electoral law, from among those obtaining a pluralty. There shall be elected an alternate for each Senator.
B. The Senate shall be renewed by half every two years. Senators occupying the second place in the representation of each State, shall vacate their seats at the end of the first two years. After the second year the withdrawal shall be according to seniority.
C. The qualifications necessary to be a senator shall be the same as those necessary to be a representative, except as to the age, which in the case of a senator who shall be at least thirty years of age on the day of the opening of the session. [As amended November 13, 1874.]
Art. 59. Representatives and senators are inviolable for opinions expressed by them in the discharge of their duties, and shall never be called to account for them. [As amended November 13, 1874.]
Art. 60. Each House shall be the judge of the election of its members, and shall decide all questions arising therefrom. [As amended November 13, 1874.]
Art. 61. The Houses shall not open their sessions nor exercise their functions without a quorum, in the Senate of two-thirds, and in the House of Representatives of a majority of the total of its members; but the members present of either House shall meet on the appointed day and compel through the proper penalties the attendance of the absentees.
Art. 62. The Congress shall hold two ordinary sessions each year: the first shall begin on the sixteenth of September and end on the fifteenth of December; but this period may be extended for thirty working days. The second shall begin on the first of April and end on the last day of May, but may be extended for fifteen working days. [As amended November 13, 1874.]
Art. 63. At the opening of the sessions of the Congress the President shall be present and make an address in which he shall give information on the state of the country. The President of the Congress shall reply in general terms.
Art. 64. Every measure of the Congress shall be in the form of a law or decree. The laws or decrees shall be communicated to the Executive after having been signed by the Presidents of both Houses and by one of the secretaries of each. When promulgated, the enacting clause shall read as follows: "The Congress of the United States of Mexico decrees (text of the law or decree)." [As amended November 13, 1874.]

#### PARAGRAPH II. Of the Origin and Formation of Laws

Art. 65. The right to originate legislation pertains: I. To the President of the Republic II. To the Representatives and Senators of the Congress III. To the State Legislatures. [As amended November 13, 1874.]
Art. 66. Bills submitted by the President of the Republic, by State Legislatures or delegations thereof, shall be at once referred to committee. Those introduced by representatives or senators shall be subject to the rules of procedure. [As amended November 13, 1874.]
Art. 67. No bill rejected in the House of origin before passing to the other House shall be reintroduced during the session of that year. [As amended November 13, 1874.]
Art. 68. The second period of sessions shall be devoted with preference over all other matters, to the making of the necessary appropriations for the support of the Government in the following fiscal year, the levying of the taxes necessary to meet the expenses, and the examination of the accounts of the past year submitted by the Executive.
Art. 69. The Executive shall transmit to the House of Representatives, on the eve of the last day of the session, the accounts of the year and the budget for the next. They shall be referred to a special committee, which shall be appointed on that day, consisting of five members, whose duty it shall be to examine both documents and report thereon at the second meeting of the second period. [As amended November 13, 1874.]
Art. 70. Legislative measures may be originated in either House, excepting bills dealing with loans, taxes or imposts, or with the raising of troops which must have their origin in the House of Representatives. [As amended November 13, 1874.]
Art. 71. Bills, action on which shall not pertain exclusively to one of the Houses, shall be discussed first by one and then by the other, according to the rules of procedure as to the form, time of presentation and other details relative to discussions and votes.
A. After a bill has been approved in the House where it originated it shall be sent to the other House for consideration. If passed by the latter it shall be transmitted to the President who, if he has no observations to make thereto, shall immediately promulgate it.
B. Bills not returned by the Executive within ten working days with his observations to the House in which they originated, shall be considered approved, unless during the said ten days the Congress shall have adjourned or suspended its sessions, in which event they shall be returned on the first working day after the Congress shall have reconvened.
C. Bills rejected in whole or in part by the Executive shall be returned with his observations to the House where they originated. They shall be discussed anew by the latter and if passed by a majority vote shall be sent to the other. If approved by it, also by the same majority vote, the bill shall become a law and shall be sent to the Executive for promulgation. In such cases the voting in both Houses shall be by yeas and nays.
D. Bills totally rejected by the House not originating them shall be returned with the proper observations to the House of origin. If examined anew and approved by a majority of the members present, they shall be returned to the House rejecting them, which shall once again take them under consideration, and if approved by it, likewise by the same majority vote, they shall be sent to the Executive for the purposes of Clause A; but if the said House fail to approve them, they shall not be reintroduced in the same session.
E. Bills rejected in part or modified or amended by the House of revision shall be discussed anew in the House of origin, but the discussion shall be confined to the portion rejected or to the amendments or additions, without the approved articles being altered in any respect. If the additions or amendments made by the House of revision be approved by a majority vote of the members present in the House of origin, the bill shall be transmitted to the Executive for the purposes of Clause A; but if the amendments or additions by the House of revision be rejected by a majority vote of the House of origin they shall be returned to the former House in order that the reasons set forth by the latter may be taken into consideration. If in this second revision the said additions or amendments be rejected by a majority vote of the members present the portion of the bill which has been approved by both Houses shall be sent to the Executive for the purposes of Clause A. If the House of revision insist by a majority vote of the members present upon the additions or amendments, no action shall be taken on the whole bill until the next session, unless both Houses agree, by a majority vote of the members present, to the promulgation of the law without the articles objected to, which shall be left till the next session, when they shall be then discussed and voted upon.
F. The same formalities as are required for the enactment of laws shall be observed for their interpretation, amendment or repeal.
G. Both Houses shall hold their meetings at the same place, and shall not move to another without first having agreed upon the moving and the time and manner of accomplishing it, as well as upon the place of meeting which shall be the same for both Houses. If both Houses agree to change their meeting place, but disagree as to the time, manner or locality, the Executive shall settle the question. Neither House shall adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other.
H. When Congress meets in extra session it shall deal exclusively with the matter or matters specified in the call. If the object of the extra session has not been accomplished at the time in which the ordinary session begins, there shall be, nevertheless, a formal closing of the extra session, and the unfinished business shall be taken up and discussed in the ordinary session. The Executive shall not make any observations touching the resolutions of the Congress providing for an adjournment of its sessions, or passed by it when sitting as an electoral body or as a grand jury. [As amended November 13, 1874.]

#### PARAGRAPH III. Of the Powers of the Congress

Art. 72. The Congress shall have power:
I. To admit new States or Territories into the Federal Union, incorporating them into the Nation.
II. To grant statehood to Territories which have a population of eighty thousand inhabitants and the necessary means to provide for their political existence.
III. To form new States within the boundaries of existing ones, provided the following requisites are complied with:
IV. To settle finally the limits of the States, terminating the differences which may arise between them relative to the demarcation of their respective territories, except when the differences be of a litigious nature.
V. To change the residence of the supreme powers of the Federation.
VI. To legislate in all matters relating to the Federal District and the Territories.
VII. To lay the taxes necessary to meet the expenditures of the budget.
VIII. To establish the bases upon which the Executive may make loans on the credit of the nation; to approve the said loans and to acknowledge and order the payment of the national debt.
IX. To enact laws fixing the duties to be levied on foreign commerce, and to prevent by general provisions, onerous, restrictions from being imposed on interstate commerce.
X. To promulgate mining and commercial codes, which shall be binding throughout the whole Republic. The banking law shall form a part of the code of commerce. [As amended December 14,1883.]
XI. To create or abolish Federal offices, and to fix, increase, or decrease the compensations assigned thereto.
XII. To confirm the nominations made by the Executive, of ministers, diplomatic agents, and consuls, superior officers of the treasury, colonels and other superior officers of the national army and navy. [Transferred to Art. 72 B, II, Exclusive Powers of the Senate, November 13, 1874.]
XIII. To approve the treaties, agreements, or diplomatic conventions which the Executive may make. [Transferred to Art. 72 B, I, Exclusive Powers of the Senate, November 13, 1874.]
XIV. To declare war, upon examination of the facts submitted by the Executive.
XV. To regulate the manner in which letters of marque may be issued; to enact laws according to which prizes on sea and land shall be adjudged valid or invalid; and to frame the admiralty law for times of peace and war.
XVI. To grant or refuse permission to foreign troops to enter the territory of the Republic, and to allow fleets of other powers to remain for more than one month in the waters of the Republic. [Transferred to Art. 72 B, III, Exclusive Powers of Senate, November 13, 1874.]
XVII. To allow national troops to go beyond the limits of the republic. [Transferred to Art. 72 B, III, Exclusive Powers of Senate, November 13, 1874.]
XVIII. To raise and maintain the army and navy of the Union, and to regulate their organization and service.
XIX. To make rules for the organization armament, and discipline of the national guard, reserving respectively to the citizens who compose it the appointment of the commanders and officers, and to the States the power of instructing it in conformity with the discipline prescribed by said regulations.
XX. To consent to the use by the Executive of the national guard outside of its respective States and Territories, determining the strength of the force required. [Transferred to Art. 72 B, IV, Exclusive Powers of Senate, November 13, 1874.]
XXI. To enact laws on citizenship, naturalization, colonization, emigration, immigration and public health of the Republic.
XXII. To enact laws on the general means of communication and on post-roads and postoffices, to define and determine the waters subject to Federal jurisdiction and to enact laws as to the use and development of the same. [As amended June 20, 1908.]
XXIII. To establish mints, regulate the value and kinds of the national coin, fix the value of foreign moneys, and adopt a general system of weights and measures.
XXIV. To make rules for the occupation and alienation of public lands and the prices thereof.
XXV. To grant pardons for offenses subject to federal jurisdiction.
XXVI. To grant rewards and recompenses for eminent services rendered to the country or to humanity. [As amended June 2, 1882.]
XXVII. To extend for thirty working days the first period of its ordinary sessions.
XXVIII. To make rules for its internal government and to enact the necessary provisions to compel the attendance of absent Representatives and Senators and to punish the acts of commission or omission of those present.
XXIX. To issue the organic law of the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury.
XXX. To make all laws necessary for carrying into execution the foregoing powers and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the several branches of the Government.
A. The House of Representatives shall have the following exclusive powers:
I. To sit as an electoral college to exercise the powers conferred by law regarding the appointments of constitutional President and Vice President of the Republic, justices of the supreme court and senators for the Federal District. [Amendment of May 6, 1904.]
II. To pass upon the resignations and leaves of absence of the President and Vice President of the Republic and of the resignations of the justices of the supreme court. [As amended May 6, 1904.]
III. To watch, by means of a special committee, over the faithful performance by the Comptroller of the Treasury in the discharge of his duties.
IV. To appoint all the higher officers and other employees of the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury.
V. To act as a grand jury and to formulate articles of impeachment against the functionaries mentioned in article 103 of the Constitution.
VI. To audit the accounts to be rendered yearly by the Executive, approve the annual budget, and originate taxation for the purpose of meeting the expenses of the Government.
B. The Senate shall have the following exclusive powers:
I. To approve the treaties and diplomatic conventions concluded by the Executive with foreign powers.
II. To confirm the nominations made by the President of diplomatic ministers or agents, consuls general, higher officials of the treasury, colonels and other superior officers of the army and navy, in the manner and form by law provided.
III. To authorize the Executive to allow national troops to go beyond the limits of the Republic, or to permit foreign troops to pass through the national territory, and to consent to the presence of fleets of another nation for more than one month in Mexican waters.
IV. To consent to the Executive disposing of the national guard outside of the limits of its respective States or Territories, and to fix the amount of the force to be used.
V. To declare, when all the constitutional powers of any State have disappeared, that the occasion has arisen to give the said State a provisional governor, who shall order elections to be held according to the constitution and laws of the State. The appointment of such governor shall be made by the Federal Executive with the approval of the Senate, or in its recess, of the permanent committee. The said functionary shall not be chosen constitutional governor in the elections to be held under the call which he shall issue.
VI. To adjust all political questions arising between the powers of a State whenever one of them shall appeal to the Senate or whenever by virtue of such differences a clash of arms has arisen to interrupt the constitutional order. In this event the Senate shall decide in accordance with the Federal Constitution and the Constitution of the State involved. The exercise of this power and of the foregoing shall be regulated by law.
VII. To sit as a court of impeachment, under article 105 of the Constitution. [As amended November 13, 1874.]
C. Each House may, without the intervention of the other:
I. Pass resolutions upon matters exclusively relating to its own interior government.
II. Communicate with the other House, and with the Executive through committees appointed from among its members.
III. Appoint the employees in the office of its secretary, and make all rules and regulations for the said office.
IV. Issue a call for extraordinary elections to fill any vacancies which may occur in its membership. [As amended November 13, 1874.]

#### PARAGRAPH IV. Of the Permanent Committee

Art. 73. During the recesses of the Congress there shall be a Permanent Committee consisting of twenty-nine members, fifteen of whom shall be Representatives and fourteen Senators, appointed by the respective Houses on the eve of the day of adjournment. [As amended November 13, 1874.
Art. 74. In addition to the powers vested in it by this Constitution, the Permanent Comnmittee shall have the following powers:
I. To give its consent to the use of the national guard as provided in Article 72, Clause XX. [As amended May 6, 1904.]
II. To decide upon the call for extraordinary sessions of the Congress or of a single House thereof, either on its own initiative, in which event it shall hear the opinion of the Executive, or on the proposal of the Executive; in either event, the two-thirds' vote of the members present shall be necessary. The call shall stipulate the object or objects of the extraordinary session. [As amended November 13, 1874.]
III. To confirm the nominations referred to in article 85, clause III.
IV. To administer the oath of office to the President of the Rlepublic, and to the justices of the supreme court, in the cases provided for by this Constitultion.
V. To report upon all pending matters, in order that the next legislature may immediately consider them.

### SECTION II. Of the Executive Power

Art. 75. The exercise of the supreme executive power of the Union is vested in a single individual, who shall be called "President of the United States of Mexico."
Art. 76. The election of President shall be direct, in accordance with the terms of the electoral law. [As amended April 26, 1912.]
Art. 77. No person shall be eligible to the office of President who is not a Mexican citizen by birth, in the exercise of his rights, over thirty-five years old at the time of the election, not belonging to the ecclesiastical state, and a resident of the country at the time in which the election is held.
Art. 78. The President and Vice-President shall enter upon their duties on the first day of December, shall serve six years, and shall never be reelected. The President shall never be elected Vice-President, nor the Vice-President be elected President for the ensuing term. Nor may the Secretary of the Executive Department charged with the executive power at the time of the elections be elected President or Vice-President. [As amended November 27, 1911.]
Art. 79. The electors who choose the President shall likewise, on the same day and in the same manner, choose a Vice-President, who shall have the same qualifications as by Article 77 are required for the office of President. The Vice-President shall be ex officio President of the Senate; he shall have no voice and shall only be entitled to a vote in the event of a tie. The Vice President may, however, fill any appointive office of the Executive; in the event of disability caused by such appointment or by other causes, he shall be replaced as President of the Senate, as provided in the respective law. [As amended May 6, 1904.]
Art. 80. Whenever the President shall fail to present himself on the day set by law to assume office, or whenever a permanent disability occur during his term of office or he be granted permission to leave his office, the VicePresident shall assume the exercise of the Executive Power by operation of law, without the need of a new oath of office. If the disability of the President be permanent the VicePresident shall complete the term for which he was elected; in all other cases, he shall serve until the President resume office. [As amended May 6, 1904.]
Art. 81. If neither the President Elect nor the Vice-President Elect shall present himself at the beginning of any constitutional term, or the election not have been made and the result made known by the first of December, the outgoing President shall nevertheless vacate office and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs shall forthwith assume the executive power; in the absence or disability of the secretary of Foreign Affairs, one of the secretaries of the executive departments, in the order established by law, shall forthwith assume the executive power. The same procedure shall be observed when, in the event of the permanent or temporary disability of the President, the Vice President shall not present himself, when the latter shall be granted leave to resign, if he shall be in office, and when the permanent disability of both functionaries shall occur during the term of office. In the event of the permanent disability of the President and Vice President, the Congress, or in its recess the Permanent Committee, shall immediately issue a call for extraordinary elections. Should the disability of both functionaries occur in the last year of the constitutional term, no call shall be issued, but the secretary who shall assume the executive power shall continue charged with the same until the new President, or the person to act in his stead according to the preceding provisions, shall take office. The citizens chosen in the extraordinary elections shall assume office so soon as the corresponding declaration be made, and they shall continue in office for the balance of the constitutional term. Whenever a secretary of an executive department shall be called upon to assume the executive power, he shall discharge this office without need of an affirmation, until such time as he is able to make it. [As amended, May 6, 1904.]
Art. 82. Neither the President nor Vice-President shall resign office except for grave cause, upon which the Congress shall pass, to which body the resignations shall be presented. [As amended, May 6, 1904.]
Art. 83. The President, before entering upon the discharge of the duties of his office, shall make the following affirmation before the Congress, or in its recess before the Permanent Committee: "I do solemnly affirm that I will defend and enforce the Constitution of the United States of Mexico and the laws arising thereunder and that I will faithfully and conscientiously perform the duties of President of the United States of Mexico, to which I have been chosen by the people, having ever in mind the welfare and prosperity of the Nation." The Vice-President shall in the same session make an affirmation in similar language to discharge the duties of Vice President, or, should the occasion arise, those of President; if he shall be unable to make the affirmation at the same session as the President, he shall do so at another session. [As amended, May 6, 1904.]
Art. 84. The President and the Vice-President shall not absent themselves from the national territory, without the permission of the House of Representatives. [As amended, May 6, 1904.]
Art. 85. The President shall have the following powers and duties:
I. To promulgate and execute the laws enacted by the Congress, providing, within the executive sphere, for their faithful observance.
II. To appoint and remove at will the secretaries of executive departments, to remove the diplomatic agents and superior officers of the treasury, and to appoint and remove at will the other federal officials whose appointment or removal is not otherwise provided for in the Constitution or the laws.
III. To appoint, with the approval of the Congress, and, in its recess, of the Permanent Committee, ministers, diplomatic agents, and consuls general.
IV. To appoint, with the approval of Congress, colonels and other superior officers of the national army and navy, and superior officials of the treasury.
V. To appoint all other officers of the national army and navy, as by law provided.
VI. To dispose of the permanent land and sea forces for the domestic safety and foreign defense of the Union.
VII. To dispose of the national guard for the same purposes, as provided by Article 72, Clause XX.
VIII. To declare war in the name of the United States of Mexico, after the passage of the corresponding resolution by the Congress of the Union.
IX. To grant letters of marque, upon the terms and conditions fixed by the Congress.
X. To conduct diplomatic negotiations and to make treaties with foreign powers, submitting them for ratification to the Congress.
XI. To receive ministers and other envoys from foreign powers.
XII. To call, upon resolution of the Permanent Committee, an extra session of the Congress.
XIII. To afford the judiciary the assistance necessary for the expeditious exercise of its functions.
XIV. To open all kinds of ports, establish maritime and frontier custom houses and designate their location.
XV. To grant, according to law, pardons to criminals sentenced for offenses within the jurisdiction of the Federal tribunals.
XVI. To grant exclusive privileges for a limited time, and according to the respective laws, to discoverers, inventors or improvers in any branch of industry. [As amended, June 2, 1882.]
Art. 86. For the transaction of administrative matters of the Federal Government there shall be the number of Secretaries of Executive Departments which the Congress may by law establish, which law shall likewise assign among the various departments the several matters with which each shall be charged.
Art. 87. No person shall be appointed secretary of an executive department who is not a Mexican citizen by birth, in the enjoyment of his rights, and twenty-five years old.
Art. 88. All regulations, decrees, and orders of the President shall be signed by the secretary of the executive department to which the matter pertains. They shall not be binding without this requisite.
Art. 89. The Secretaries of Executive Departments shall, so soon as the sessions of the first period are opened, report to the Congress as to the state of their respective departments.

### SECTION III. Of the Judicial Power

Art. 90. The judicial power of the Federation is vested in a supreme court and in the district and circuit courts.
Art. 91. The supreme court shall consist of fifteen justices, and shall sit in bane or in sections, as provided by law. [As amentded, May 22, 1900.]
Art. 92. The justices of the supreme court shall serve for six years, and their election shall be indirect in the first degree, in the manner established by the electoral law.
Art. 93. No person shall be eligible to the position of justice of the supreme court who, in the judgment of the electors, is not learned in the science of law, thirty-five years of age, and a Mexican citizen by birth, in the exercise of his rights.
Art. 94. The justices of the supreme court shall, on entering upon the exercise of their functions, take an oath before Congress, and, in its recesses, before the permanent committee, in the following form: "Do you swear to perform loyally and patriotically the office of justice of the supreme court of justice, to which you have been chosen by the people, in conformity with the Constitution, having ever in mind the welfare and prosperity of the Union?"
Art. 95. The resignation of a justice of the supreme court shall only be accepted for grave cause, approved by the Congress, to whom the resignation shall be tendered. In the recesses of the Congress the power to act on this matter belongs to the Permanent Committee.
Art. 96. The law shall establish and organize the circuit and district courts, and the office of the Public Attorney of the Federation. The officers of the Public Attorney and the Attorney General of the Republic who shall preside over the same shall be appointed by the Executive. [As amended May 22, 1900.]
Art. 97. The Federal tribunals shall take cognizance of: I. All controversies arising out of the application and enforcement of the federal laws, excepting when the application only affects private rights when the regular local courts of the States, The Federal District and Territory of Lower California shall assume jurisdiction, respectively. [As amended May 29, 1884.] II. All cases pertaining to admiralty law. III. All cases to which the Federation may be a party. IV. All cases which may arise between two or more States. V. All cases arising between a State and one or more citizens of another State. VI. All civil or criminal cases that may arise out of treaties with foreign powers. VII. All cases concerning diplomatic agents and consuls.
Art. 98. The supreme court shall have original jurisdiction of controversies which may arise between one State and another, and of those to which the Federal Government may be a party.
Art. 99. The supreme court shall also have power to settle questions of jurisdiction between Federal tribunals, between these tribunals, and those of the States, or between those of one State and those of another.
Art. 100. In all the other cases mentioned in Article 97, the supreme court shall be either a court of appeals, or a court of last resort, as may be defined by the law regulating the jurisdiction of the circuit and district courts.
Art. 101. The Federal tribunals shall take cognizance of: I. All controversies arising out of laws or acts of the authorities which shall infringe any personal guarantees. II. All controversies arising out of laws or acts of the federal authorities which limit or encroach upon the sovereignty of the States. III. All controversies arising out of laws or acts of the State authorities which invade the sphere of the Federal authorities.
Art. 102. All controversies mentioned in Article 103 shall be prosecuted by the injured party in accordance with the judicial forms and procedure which the law shall establish. The judgment shall always be so drawn as to affect exclusively private individuals, and shall confine itself to affording them redress in the special case to which the complaint refers; but it shall make no general statement as to the law or the act that may have formed the basis for the complaint. When the controversy arises through the violation of personal guarantees in a civil suit, recourse may be had to the Federal Courts, only after the said civil suit has duly terminated with a decision which will permit no further legal recourse operating to vacate the said decision. [As amended November 12, 1908.]

## TITLE IV. Of the Responsibility of Officials

Art. 103. Senators, representatives, justices of the supreme court, and secretaries of executive departments shall be liable for the common offenses committed by them during their term of office, and for their crimes, misdemeanors, or omissions in the exercise of their functions. The governors of the States shall also be responsible for the violation of the Federal Constitution and laws. The President of the Republic shall be likewise responsible; but during his term he can be charged only with treason express violation of the Constitution, attacks on electoral liberty, and grave common offenses. [As amended May 6, 1904.] No constitutional privilege shall be extended to any high Federal functionary when tried for official offenses, misdemeanors, or omissions committed by him in the discharge of any public function or commission, during the time in which, according to law, the privilege is enjoyed. This provision shall be applicable to cases of common offenses committed under the same circumstances. In order that the proceedings may be instituted when the functionary returns to the exercise of his own functions, the rules set forth in Article 104 of the Constitution shall be observed.
Art. 104. If the offensebelongs to the common order the House of Representatives, acting as a grand jury, shall determine by a majority vote whether there is or is not any ground for proceeding against the accused. If the finding be favorable to the accused, no further action shall be taken. If the finding be adverse, the accused shall ipso facto be removed from office and be placed at the disposition of the ordinary courts of justice. [As amended November 13, 1874.]
Art. 105. In cases of impeachment the House of Representatives shall act as a grand jury and the Senate as a tribunal. The grand jury shall decide by a majority vote if the accused is or is not to be impeached. If the decision is favorable to the accused official, the latter shall continue in the exercise of his functions. If it is adverse, the accused official shall be immediately removed from office and put at the disposal of the Senate. The Senate, acting as a tribunal, shall, upon the proper hearing of the defendant, and also of the plaintiff, if there be any, by a majority vote impose the penalty provided by law. [As amended November 13, 1874.]
Art. 106. No pardon shall be granted the offender in cases of impeachment.
Art. 107. The responsibility for official breaches and offenses may only be enforced during such time as the functionary shall remain in office and for one year thereafter.
Art. 108. In civil cases no privilege or immunity in favor of any public functionary shall be recognized.

## TITLE V. Of the States of the Federation

Art. 109. The States shall adopt for their internal government the popular, representative, republican form of government. The term of office in the case of Governors shall not exceed six years. The prohibitions on the President, Vice President and President ad interim, referred to in Article 78, shall be applicable to State Governors and functionaries acting in their stead. [As amended November 27, 1911.]
Art. 110. The States shall have the power to fix among themselves, by friendly agreements, their respective boundaries; but these agreements shall not be carried into effect without the approval of the Congress.
Art. 111. No State shall: I. Enter into alliances, treaties or coalitions with another State or with foreign powers. Coalitions between frontier States for offensive or defensive war against savage Indians are excepted. II. Grant letters of marque or reprisal. III. Coin money, issue paper money, stamps or stamped paper. [As amended May 1, 1896.] IV. Levy taxes on persons or property passing through its territory. [As amended May 1, 1896.] V. Prohibit or tax, directly or indirectly, the entry into its territory, or the withdrawal therefrom, of any merchandise, foreign or domestic. [As amended May 1, 1896.] VI. Burden the circulation or consumption of domestic or foreign merchandise with taxes or duties to be collected by local custom houses or subject to inspection the said merchandise or require it to be accompanied by documents. [As amended May 1, 1896.] VII. Enact or maintain in force- laws or fiscal regulations discriminating, by taxation or otherwise, between merchandise, foreign or domestic, on account of its origin, whether this discrimination be established with regard to similar local products or to similar products of foreign origin. [As amended May 1, 1896.] VIII. Issue bonds of the public debt payable in foreign coin or outside the Federal territory;.contract loans, directly or indirectly, with any foreign government, or assume any obligation in favor of any foreign corporation or individual, requiring the issuance of certificates or bonds payable to bearer or negotiable by endorsement. [As amended December 18, 1901.]
Art. 112. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress:
I. Establish tonnage dues or other port charges, or impose taxes or other duties upon imports or exports. II. Keep at any time permanent troops or vessels of war. III. Make war on its own behalf on any foreign power, except in cases of invasion or of such imminent peril as to admit of no delay. In such event the State shall give notice immediately to the President of the Republic.
Art. 113. Every State shall be bound to deliver without delay to the demanding authorities the fugitives from justice from other States or from foreign nations.
Art. 114. The State Governors are bound to publish and enforce the Federal laws.
Art. 115. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State of the Federation to the public acts, records and judicial proceedings of all the other States. The Congress shall by general laws prescribe the manner of proving the said acts, records and proceedings and the effect thereof.
Art. 116. The Powers of the Union are bound to protect the States against all invasion or external violence. In case of insurrection or internal disturbance they shall give them the same protection, provided the Legislature of the State, or the Executive thereof if the Legislature is not in session, shall so request.

## TITLE VI. Of General Provisions

Art. 117. All powers not expressly vested by this Constitution in the Federal authorities are understood to be reserved to the States.
Art. 118. No person shall hold at the same time two Federal offices or one Federal and one State elective office; if elected to two, he shall choose between them.
Art. 119. No payment shall be made which is not included in the budget or authorized by a law subsequent to the same.
Art. 120. The President of the Republic, the Justices of the Supreme Court, Representatives and other public officials of the Federation who are chosen by popular election shall receive a compensation for their services, which shall be paid by the Federal Treasury and determined by law. This compensation may not be waived, and any law increasing or decreasing it shall have no effect during the period for which the functionary holds office.
Art. 121. Every public official, without exception, shall, before entering on the discharge of his duties, take an oath to maintain this constitution and the laws arising hereunder.
Art. 122. In time of peace no military authorities shall exercise other functions than those bearing direct relation to military discipline. No permanent military posts shall be established other than in castles, forts and arsenals depending directly upon the Federal Government, or in camps, barracks, or depots, established outside of inhabited places for the stationing of troops.
Art. 123. The Federal authorities shall have exclusive power to exercise, in matters of religious worship and outward ecclesiastic forms, such intervention as by law authorized.
Art. 124. The Federal Government shall have exclusive power to levy duties on merchandise imported, exported or passing in transit through the national territory, as well as to regulate at all times, and if necessary to forbid for the sake of public safety or for police reasons, the circulation in the interior of the Republic of all kinds of goods, regardless of their origin; but the Federal Government shall have no power to establish or decree in the Federal District and Territories the taxes and laws to which Clauses VI and VII of Article iii refer. [As amended May 1, 1896.]
Art. 125. All forts, barracks, warehouses, and other real property, destined by the Federal Government for public service or common use, shall be under the jurisdiction of the Federal authorities, in accordance with the law which the Congress shall issue on the subject; any of these establishments which may subsequently be acquired within the territory of any State shall likewise be subject to Federal jurisdiction, provided consent thereto shall have been obtained from the respective State legislature. [As amended October 31, 1901.]
Art. 126. This Constitution and the laws of the United States of Mexico which shall be made in pursuance hereof and all treaties made or which shall be made under the authority of the President of the Republic, with the approval of the Congress, shall be the supreme law of the land. And the judges in every State shall be bound by this Constitution and by these laws and treaties, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.

## TITLE VII. Of the Amendments to the Constitution

Art. 127. The present Constitution may be added to or amended. No amendment or addition shall become part of the Constitution until agreed to by the Congress of the Union by a two-thirds vote of the members present and approved by a majority of the State legislatures. The Congress shall count the votes of the legislatures and make the declaration that the amendments or additions have been adopted.

## TITLE VIII. Of the Inviolability of the Constitution

Art. 128. This Constitution shall not lose its force and vigor, even though its observance be interrupted by rebellion. In case that through any public disturbance a Government contrary to the principles which it sanctions be established, its force shall be restored so soon as the people shall regain their'liberty, and those who have participated in the Government emanating from the rebellion or have cooperated with it shall be tried in accordance with its provisions and with the laws arising under it.

## TRANSITORY ARTICLE

The present Constitution shall be published at once and sworn to with the greatest solemnity throughout the whole Republic; but its provisions, except those relating to the election of the supreme powers, Federal and State, shall not go into effect until the sixteenth of September next, when the First Congress, under the Constitution, shall meet. On and after that date the President of the Republic and the justices of the supreme court, who shall continue in the exercise of their functions until their successors are constitutionally elected and enter into the discharge of their duties, shall act in strict accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.
Given at the Hall of sessions of Congress in the City of Mexico on the fifth of February, eighteen hundred and fifty-seven, the thirty-seventh of the Independence.

## AMENDMENTS OF SEPTEMBER 25, 1873

Article 1. The church and the state are independent of each other. Congress shall not enact laws establishing or forbidding any religion.
Art. 2. Marriage is a civil contract. Marriage and all other acts relating to the civil status of persons shall appertain to the exclusive jurisdiction of the civil authorities in the manner and form provided by law, and they shall have the force and validity given to them by said laws.
Art. 3. No religious institutions shall acquire real estate or capital secured by mortgage on the same, except only in the case set forth in article 27 of the Constitution.
Art. 4. A simple promise to tell the truth and to comply with obligations entered into, shall take the place of the religious oath with all its effects and penalties.