Following the momentous event of the restoration of the Principality of Sabourg, and considering that its institutions must be perfected, both to meet the requirements of the sound administration of the country and to answer the new needs arising from social change, we have resolved to endow the princely State with a new constitution which, by our sovereign will, shall henceforth be regarded as the fundamental law of the princely State and may be amended only in the terms we have laid down.
TITLE I. THE PRINCIPALITY – THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES ↑
Art. 1. The Principality of Sabourg is a sovereign State, independent under the general principles of international law.
Art. 2. The principle of government is constitutional monarchy.
The Principality of Sabourg is a State governed by the rule of law, bound by respect for fundamental rights and freedoms.
Art. 3. Executive power depends on the high authority of the Prince of the abbatial State.
The Prince is inviolable.
Art. 4. Legislative power is exercised by the Prince and the Monastic Council.
Art. 5. Judicial power is exercised by the courts and tribunals.
Art. 6. The separation of administrative, legislative and judicial functions is guaranteed.
Art. 7. The princely coat of arms consists of the arms of the Abbey of Sabourg: a gilded and ornamented mitre, the crosier and two griffin's wings, on a light blue field, borne by the Crown of the Prince of the Abbey of Sabourg.
The national flag is composed of two equal oblique bands, light blue and white, light blue below, white above.
The use of these flags remains governed by the provisions of the sovereign ordinance of 28 December 2019.
Art. 8. Italian is the official language of the State. French is the second language of the State.
Art. 9. The Christian religion is the religion of the State, in particular in its apostolic Catholic form, in full harmony with the Orthodox form.
TITLE II. THE PRINCE, THE DEVOLUTION OF THE CROWN ↑
Art. 10. Succession to the throne, opened by the Council of State following death or abdication, takes place by the direct and lawful election of a member of the Crown Council, a monk-presbyter.
Succession to the throne may take place only in favour of a person holding Sabourgian nationality on the day the succession is opened.
Art. 11. For the exercise of sovereign powers, the age of majority is set at twenty-one years.
Art. 12. The Prince exercises his sovereign authority in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and of the laws.
Art. 13. The Prince represents the Principality in its relations with foreign powers.
Art. 14. After consulting the Crown Council, the Prince signs and ratifies international treaties and agreements. He communicates them to the Monastic Council, through the Secretaries of State, before their ratification.
However, the following may be ratified only by virtue of a law:
- international treaties and agreements which affect the constitutional organisation;
- international treaties and agreements whose ratification entails the amendment of the legislation in force
- international treaties and agreements which involve the accession of the Principality to an international organisation whose functioning requires the participation of members of the Monastic Council
- international treaties and agreements whose performance has the effect of creating a financial burden.
The foreign policy of the Principality is the subject of an annual report prepared by the Council of Dicasteries and communicated to the Monastic Council.
Art. 15. After consulting the Crown Council, the Prince exercises the right of pardon and amnesty, as well as the right of naturalisation and of restoration of nationality.
Art. 16. The Prince confers orders, titles and other distinctions.
TITLE III. FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS ↑
Article 17. Sabourgians are equal before the law. There are no privileges among them. They are monks or lay persons.
Article 18. The law governs the conditions for acquiring citizenship. The law governs the conditions under which citizenship acquired by naturalisation may be revoked.
The loss of Sabourgian nationality in all other cases may not be provided for by law.
Art. 19. – Individual liberty and security are guaranteed. No one may be prosecuted except in the cases provided for by law, before the courts it designates and in the forms it prescribes.
Except in the case of a flagrant offence, no one may be arrested other than by virtue of a reasoned order of the judge, which must be served at the time of arrest or, at the latest, within twenty-four hours. Every detention must be preceded by an interrogation.
Art. 20. No penalty may be established or applied other than by virtue of the law.
Criminal laws must guarantee respect for human personality and dignity. No one may be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
The death penalty is prohibited.
Criminal laws may not have retroactive effect.
Art. 21. The home is inviolable. It may be searched only in the cases provided for by law and under the conditions it prescribes.
Art. 22. Everyone has the right to respect for their private and family life and to the secrecy of their correspondence.
Article 23. Freedom to express one's opinions on any matter is guaranteed, subject to the punishment of offences committed in the exercise of those freedoms.
No one may be compelled to take part in the acts and ceremonies of a religion or to observe its days of rest.
Article 24. Property is inviolable. No one may be deprived of their property save for a legally established public purpose and against fair compensation determined and paid under the conditions provided for by law.
Article 25. Freedom of work is guaranteed. Its exercise is regulated by law.
Priority is given to Sabourgians for access to public and private employment, under the conditions provided for by law or by international conventions.
Art. 26. Sabourgians have the right to assistance from the State in cases of destitution, sickness, disability, old age and maternity, under the conditions and in the forms provided for by law.
Art. 27. Sabourgians have the right to education, both primary and secondary.
Art. 28. Everyone may defend the rights and interests of their profession or office against an employer.
The right to strike is recognised within the framework of the laws that govern it.
Art. 29. – Sabourgians have the right to assemble peacefully and unarmed, subject to the laws which may regulate the exercise of that right without prior authorisation. This freedom does not extend to open-air gatherings, which remain subject to the codes of law.
Art. 30. Freedom of association is guaranteed within the framework of the laws that govern it.
Art. 31. Everyone may address petitions to the public authorities.
Art. 32. Foreign nationals enjoy in the Principality all public and private rights which are not formally reserved to nationals. Specific provisions concerning monks and lay persons are the subject of a dedicated Sovereign Ordinance.
TITLE IV. PUBLIC SECTOR, PUBLIC FINANCES ↑
Art. 33. Public property is inalienable and imprescriptible.
The disposal of an item of public property may be decided only by law. Any property left abandoned is automatically treated as part of the private estate of the State, in the cases provided for by law.
The extent of public property and the rules applying to it are determined by law.
Art. 34. The property of the Crown is intended for the exercise of Sovereignty.
It is inalienable and imprescriptible.
Its extent and the rules applying to it are determined by the statutes of the sovereign Abbey.
Art. 35. Assets and property rights belonging to the private estate of the State may be disposed of only in accordance with the law.
Any transfer of part of the share capital of an undertaking in which the State holds at least 50% and which has the effect of transferring the majority of that capital to one or more natural or legal persons governed by private law must be authorised by law.
Article 36. Vacant property, having neither owner nor lawful possessor, forms part of the private estate of the State.
Article 37. The national budget comprises all the public revenue and expenditure of the Principality.
Art. 38. The national budget expresses the economic and financial policy of the Principality.
Art. 39. – The budget is the subject of a bill. It is voted upon and promulgated in the form of a law.
Art. 40. The expenditure of the Sovereign Abbey is set by the finance law and charged as a priority against the general revenue of the budget.
Art. 41. Any surplus of revenue over expenditure, established after the execution of the budget and the closing of the accounts, is paid into a constitutional reserve fund.
Any excess of expenditure over revenue is covered by a levy on the same account, decided by law.
Article 42. Financial management is supervised by a Higher Audit Commission.
TITLE V. THE COUNCIL OF DICASTERIES ↑
Art. 43. The Government is exercised, under the high authority of the Prince, by a Prime Minister assisted by a Council of Dicasteries composed of at least three Counsellors.
Art. 44. The Prime Minister represents the Prince and directs the executive services. He presides over the Council of Dicasteries and has the casting vote.
Art. 45. Sovereign ordinances are deliberated in the Council of Dicasteries. They are presented to the Prince under the signature of the Prime Minister; they state the deliberations to which they relate.
They are signed by the Prince; the Prince's signature gives them binding force.
Art. 46. Sovereign ordinances are exempt from deliberation in the Council of Departments and from presentation by the Prime Minister:
– those relating to the statutes of the Abbey of Sabourg and to those concerning its members;
– those relating to the statutes of the Crown Council and of the Council of State;
– those relating to matters falling within the competence of the Directorate of Judicial Services;
– those relating to the appointment of the members of the sovereign Abbey, of the members of the diplomatic and consular corps, of the Prime Minister, of the counsellors of the Dicasteries and equivalent officials, and of the magistrates of the judiciary;
– the granting of the end-of-mission law to consuls;
– the dissolution of the Monastic Council,
– the conferment of honorary distinctions.
Art. 47. Ministerial decrees are deliberated in the Council of Dicasteries and signed by the Prime Minister; they state the deliberations to which they refer. They are transmitted to the Prince within twenty-four hours of their signature and become enforceable only in the absence of express opposition by the Prince within ten days of their transmission by the Prime Minister.
However, the Prince may inform the Prime Minister that he does not intend to make use of his right of opposition to certain decrees or categories of decrees. These then become enforceable upon their signature by the Prime Minister.
Art. 48. Unless otherwise provided by legislation, the allocation of matters between Sovereign Ordinances and Ministerial Decrees is made by Sovereign Ordinance.
Art. 49. The deliberations of the Council of Dicasteries are recorded in minutes entered in a special register and signed, after the vote, by the members present. The minutes state the vote of each member. They are transmitted within five days of the meeting to the Prince, who may object to them under the conditions provided for in Article 47 above.
Article 50. The Prime Minister and the Ministerial Counsellors, known as Counsellors of the Dicasteries, are answerable to the Prince for the acts they perform in the administration of the Principality.
Art. 51. The obligations, rights and fundamental guarantees of civil servants, as well as their civil and criminal liability, are established by law.
TITLE VI. THE COUNCIL OF STATE ↑
Art. 52. The Council of State is composed of at least two Secretaries of State who exercise the office of Vicar General of the Princely Abbey. Its principal function is advisory, giving its opinion on the bills and ordinances submitted for its examination by the Prince.
It may also be consulted on any other draft.
Its organisation and functioning are determined by a Sovereign Ordinance.
TITLE VII. THE MONASTIC COUNCIL ↑
Art. 53. The Monastic Council comprises at least nine members and may reach twenty-four members elected for three years by direct universal suffrage and by list ballot, under the conditions provided for by law. The president is elected and must be reconfirmed each year by the members of the Council. Two thirds of the Council must be religious.
Entitled to vote, under the conditions laid down by law, are monks and lay persons, citizens of Sabourgian nationality, of either sex, aged at least twenty-one, with the exception of those deprived of the right to vote for one of the causes provided for by law.
Art. 54. Eligible for election are monks and lay persons of Sabourgian nationality of both sexes, aged at least twenty-five, who have held Sabourgian nationality for at least three years and who are not deprived of eligibility for one of the causes provided for by law. The law determines the offices whose exercise is incompatible with that of Monastic Counsellor.
Art. 55. Review of the lawfulness of elections is entrusted to the courts, under the conditions provided for by law.
Art. 56. The members of the Monastic Council bear no civil or criminal liability on account of the opinions or votes expressed in the exercise of their office.
They may not, without the authorisation of the Council, be prosecuted or arrested during a session on account of an offence or criminal violation, unless the offence is flagrant.
Art. 57. The newly elected Monastic Council meets on the twelfth day after the elections to elect its bureau. The most senior monastic counsellor presides over that meeting.
Without prejudice to Article 74, the powers of the previous Monastic Council expire on the day the new one meets.
Art. 58. The Monastic Council meets as of right each year in two ordinary sessions.
The first session opens on the first working day of the month of May.
The second session opens on the first working day of October.
The duration of each session may not exceed three months. Its closure is decided by the president.
Art. 59. The Monastic Council meets in extraordinary session either at the summons of the Prince or, at the request of at least two thirds of its members, at the summons of its President.
Art. 60. The bureau of the Monastic Council is composed of a President and a Vice-President elected for three years by the Assembly from among its members.
Art. 61. Subject to constitutional and, where applicable, legislative provisions, the organisation and functioning of the Monastic Council are determined by the rules of procedure adopted by the Council.
Before being applied, these rules are submitted to the Supreme Court, which rules on their conformity with constitutional and, where applicable, legislative provisions.
Art. 62. The Monastic Council sets the agenda. It is communicated to the Prime Minister at least three days in advance. At the request of the Council of Dicasteries, at least every second session is devoted to the discussion of bills presented by the Prince. The agenda of extraordinary sessions convened by the Prince is set out in the summons.
Art. 63. The sessions of the Monastic Council are public.
However, the Council may decide, by a two-thirds majority of the members present, to sit in camera.
The minutes of public sittings are printed in the “Official Journal of Sabourg”.
Art. 64. The Prince communicates with the Monastic Council through messages read by the Prime Minister.
Art. 65. The Secretaries of State, the Prime Minister and the Ministerial Counsellors known as Counsellors of the Dicasteries have right of entry and reserved seats at the sessions of the Monastic Council.
They must be heard when they so request.
Art. 66. A law requires the agreement of the will of the Prince and of the Monastic Council.
The initiative for laws belongs to the Prince.
The deliberation and the vote on laws belong to the Monastic Council.
The sanction of laws belongs to the Prince, who gives them binding force by promulgation.
Art. 67. The Prince signs bills. These bills are submitted to him by the Council of Dicasteries under the signature of the Prime Minister. After the Prince's approval, the Prime Minister tables them with the bureau of the Monastic Council.
The Monastic Council is entitled to submit bills.
Within six months of the date on which the Prime Minister receives the legislative proposal, he shall notify the Monastic Council of:
(a) his decision to convert the legislative proposal, as amended where appropriate, into a bill under the procedure laid down in the first paragraph. In that case the bill is presented within one year of the expiry of the six-month period;
(b) – his decision to discontinue the legislative procedure. That decision is set out in a statement entered as of right on the agenda of a public sitting of the ordinary session falling within that period. The statement may be followed by a debate.
If, on the expiry of the six-month period, the Council of Dicasteries has not made known what action has been taken on the legislative proposal, it is converted as of right into a bill, in accordance with the procedure laid down in the first paragraph.
The same procedure applies where the Council of Dicasteries has not transmitted the bill within the one-year period referred to in paragraph 2(a).
The Monastic Council has the right of amendment. On that basis it may propose additions, substitutions or deletions in the bill. Only amendments having a direct link with the other provisions of the bill to which they refer are permitted. The vote is taken on the bill as amended, unless the Council of Departments has the right to withdraw the bill before the final vote. However, the provisions of the preceding paragraph apply neither to bills authorising ratification nor to finance bills.
At the beginning of each ordinary session, the Council of Dicasteries makes known, in public sitting, the state of progress of the examination of all the bills tabled by the Council of Dicasteries, whatever the date on which they were tabled.
Article 68. The Prince issues the ordinances required for the execution of the laws and for the application of international treaties or agreements.
Art. 69. Laws and sovereign ordinances may be relied upon against third parties only from the day following their publication in the “Official Journal of Seborga”.
Art. 70. The Monastic Council votes the budget.
No direct or indirect contribution may be established otherwise than by law.
Any international treaty or agreement having the effect of establishing such a contribution may be ratified only by a law.
Article 71. The draft budget is presented to the Monastic Council before 30 September.
The budget law is voted during the October session of the Monastic Council.
Art. 72. The budget is voted chapter by chapter. Transfers from one chapter to another are prohibited, save in the cases authorised by law.
Art. 73. If the vote on the appropriations requested by the Council of Departments in accordance with Article 71 has not taken place before 31 December, the appropriations corresponding to the departments voted may be opened by sovereign ordinance after consultation of the Council of State.
The same applies to revenue and expenditure arising from international treaties.
Art. 74. The Prince, after consulting the Privy Council, may pronounce the dissolution of the Monastic Council. In that case, new elections are held within three months.
TITLE VIII. THE CROWN COUNCIL ↑
Art. 75. The Crown Council is composed of at least nine monks of Sabourgian nationality, appointed for three years by the Prince.
The offices of Prime Minister and of Ministerial Counsellor, known as Counsellor of the Dicasteries, are incompatible with membership of the Privy Council.
The Secretaries of State and the Prime Minister have the right to take part in the Council, with seats reserved at the meetings of the Monastic Council. They must be heard when they so request.
Art. 76. The Crown Council meets at least twice a year at the summons of the Prince. The Prince may also convene it whenever he deems it necessary, on his own initiative or at the proposal of the President of the Privy Council.
Art. 77. The Crown Council may be consulted by the Prince on matters relating to the higher interests of the State. It may put forward suggestions to the Prince.
It must be consulted on the following matters: international treaties, dissolution of the Monastic Council, applications for naturalisation and restoration of nationality, pardons and amnesties.
TITLE IX. JUSTICE ↑
Art. 78. Judicial power belongs to the Prince who, by the present Constitution, delegates its full exercise to the courts. The courts administer justice in the name of the Prince.
The independence of judges is guaranteed.
The organisation, jurisdiction and functioning of the courts, as well as the status of judges, are determined by law.
Art. 79. The courts are divided as follows:
– Court of First Instance, civil and criminal chambers;
– Court of Appeal, civil and criminal chambers;
– Supreme Court;
– Constitutional Court.
The provisions relating to the functioning of the courts are governed by sovereign ordinance, with the exception of the Constitutional Court, which is governed by Article 80 and the preceding paragraphs. A sovereign ordinance determines the seat and the powers of the public prosecutor.
Article 80. The Constitutional Court is composed of three full members and two alternate members. The members are designated by the Prince, namely
– one full member and one alternate member put forward by the Monastic Council, who are not part of it;
– one full member and one alternate member put forward by the Council of State, who are not part of it;
– one full member and one alternate member put forward by the Crown Council, who are not part of it.
These nominations are made by each of the aforementioned Councils, appointed at the rate of two for one post.
If the Prince is not satisfied with these nominations, he may call for new ones.
The president of the Constitutional Court is appointed by the Prince.
Art. 81. A. – In constitutional matters, the Constitutional Court rules sovereignly
1) on the conformity of the rules of procedure of the Monastic Council with constitutional and, where applicable, legislative provisions, under the conditions laid down in Article 61;
2) on actions for annulment, for a ruling on validity and for compensation whose object is a violation of the freedoms and rights enshrined in Title III of the Constitution and not covered by paragraph B of this article.
B.- In administrative matters, the Constitutional Court rules sovereignly
(1°) on actions for annulment on grounds of abuse of power brought against the decisions of the various administrative authorities and the sovereign ordinances made for the execution of the laws, as well as on actions for annulment on grounds of abuse of power brought against the decisions of the various administrative authorities and the sovereign ordinances made for the execution of the laws.
of the laws, as well as on the award of the resulting compensation;
2) on appeals on points of law brought against the decisions of administrative courts of last instance;
3) on applications for interpretation and applications for a ruling on the validity of the decisions of the various administrative authorities and of the Sovereign Ordinances made for the execution of the laws.
C.- The Constitutional Court rules on conflicts of jurisdiction.
Art. 82. The Constitutional Court deliberates in plenary session of five members or in an administrative chamber of three members.
It meets and deliberates in plenary session:
1) in constitutional matters
2) as the judge of conflicts of jurisdiction
3) in administrative matters upon referral ordered by the president of the Constitutional Court or decided by the administrative chamber.
It meets and deliberates in administrative chamber in all other cases.
Art. 83. A Sovereign Ordinance determines the organisation and functioning of the Constitutional Court, in particular the conditions of eligibility required of its members, the incompatibilities affecting them and their status, the rotation of the members of the Administrative Chamber, the procedure to be followed before the Court, the effects of actions and decisions, the procedure and effects of conflicts of jurisdiction, as well as the necessary transitional measures.
TITLE XI. REVISION OF THE CONSTITUTION ↑
Art. 84. The Constitution may not be the subject of any measure of suspension.
Total or partial revision of the present Constitution is subject to the joint agreement of the Prince and of the Monastic Council.
Where the initiative comes from the Monastic Council, the resolution must be adopted by a two-thirds majority of the normal membership of the assembly.
TITLE XII. FINAL PROVISIONS ↑
Art. 85. The earlier constitutional provisions are repealed.
The present Constitution enters into force on 28 December 2019, the day of the reconstitution of the Principality of Sabourg.
The Council of State, as well as the Crown Council, shall take up the exercise of their functions on the day of the reconstitution of the Principality of Sabourg.
The Council of Ministries shall exercise its functions at the latest six months after the day of the reconstitution of the Principality of Sabourg. The Sovereign Ordinance shall designate the Counsellors of the first Council of Dicasteries.
The Monastic Council, which on 28 December 2019 is exceptionally provided for and composed of the Crown Counsellors, shall be instituted, by an appropriate Sovereign Ordinance, at the latest twenty-four months after the day of the reconstitution of the Principality of Sabourg.