Sunday, April 7, 2013

Religion Provisions of the Constitution of Niger (2010)

One of my current research projects involves analysis of the religion provisions of various constitutions enacted since the year 2000. From time to time on this blog, I'll post extracts of those provisions arranged according to categories such as "Religious Freedom" (guarantee of individual rights), "Established Religion" (joining religion and government), "Establishment Clause" (separating religion and government), "Ceremonial Deism" (symbolic references to religion that have little or no legal effect), "Equal Protection of Religion" (non-discrimination guarantees), "Preamble", "Religious Education", and "Religious Limitations."
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The 2010 Constitution of Niger guarantees the separation of church and state (worded interestingly in Article 8) and entrenches that guarantee against constitutional amendment.  The document also contains equal protection and religious freedom guarantees, though it prohibits political parties from being constituted on a religious basis.  Minor displays of ceremonial deisms are evident in the oaths the President, Prime Minister, and members of the Constitutional Court must take.
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Niger Constitution 2010
Source:  World Constitutions Illustrated (HeinOnline)

Establishment Clause

Article 3  “The Republic of Niger is a unitary State. It is one and indivisible, democratic and social.
Its fundamental principles are: the government of the people by the people and for the people;
the separation of the State and of religion; social justice; national solidarity”

Article 8: “ No religion, no belief can arrogate the political power or interfere in the affairs of State.”

Article 175
No procedure of revision may be engaged or followed when the integrity of the territory is infringed.
The republican form of the State, the multiparty [system], the principle of the separation of State and religion and the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 47 and of Article 185 of this Constitution may not be made the object of any revision.

Equal Protection of Religion

Article 8  “It assures to all equality before the law without distinction of sex, [or] of social, racial, ethnic or religious origin.”

Miscellaneous

Article 8:  “All particularist propaganda of a regionalist, racial or ethnic character, all manifestation of racial, social, sexist, ethnic, political or religious discrimination, are punished by the law.”

Article 9:  “The political parties with an ethnic, regionalist or religious character are prohibited. No party may be knowingly created with the purpose of promoting an ethnic group, a region or a religion, under penalty of the sanctions provided by the law.”

Religious Freedom

Article 8: “It respects and protects all beliefs.”

Article 17:  “Each one has the right to the free development of his personality in its material, intellectual, cultural, artistic and religious dimensions, provided that he does not violate the rights of others, or infringe the constitutional order, the law or morality.”

Article 30:  “The State guarantees the free exercise of worship [culte] and the expression of beliefs [croyances].”

Ceremonial Deism

Article 50:  Before entering into [his] functions, the President of the Republic takes an oath on the Holy Book [Livre Saint] of his confession before the Constitutional Court, in the presence of the members of the National Assembly, in these terms:
"Before God and before the sovereign Nigerien People, We . ., President the Republic, elected according to the laws, solemnly swear on the Holy Book [Livre Saint]:
- to respect and to have respected the Constitution that the People have freely given to themselves;
- to loyally fulfill the high functions with which we have been invested;
- to never betray or to misrepresent the aspirations of the People;
- to respect and to defend the republican form of the State;
- to preserve the integrity of the territory and the unity of the Nation;
- to respect and to defend the rights and freedoms of the citizens;
- not to take or to be guaranty [cautionner] for any measures degrading [avilissante] the human dignity;
- to see to the neutrality of the administration and to the respect for the texts that establish [consacrent] its depolitization;
- to work tirelessly for the happiness of the People;
- to spare no effort for the realization of African Unity;
- to conduct ourselves in all [things] as faithful and loyal servant of the People;
In the case of perjury, may we suffer the rigors of the law.
May God help us."
The oath is received by the Constitutional Court

Article 74
Before entering into [his] functions, the Prime Minister takes, before the National Assembly, on the Holy Book of his confession, the following oath:
"Before God and before the representatives of the sovereign Nigerien People,
We ........... Prime Minister, Head of the Government, solemnly swear on the Holy Book [Livre-Saint]:
- to respect the Constitution that the People have freely given to themselves;
- to loyally fulfill the high functions with which we have been invested;
- to respect and to defend the republican form of the State;
- to respect and to defend the rights and freedoms of the citizens;
- Not to take or to be guaranty [cautionner] for any measures degrading
[avilissante] the human dignity;
- to assure the neutrality of the administration and to the respect for the texts that
establish [consacrent] its depolitization;
- to work tirelessly for the happiness of the People;
- to conduct ourselves everywhere as faithful and loyal servant of the People;
In the case of perjury, may we suffer the rigors of the law.
May God help us."

Article 89
Before entering into [his] functions, the President of the National Assembly takes an oath on the Holy Book of his confession before the Constitutional Court, in these terms:
"Before God and before the sovereign Nigerien People, We ........... , President of the National Assembly solemnly swear on the Holy Book
- to respect and to have respected the Constitution that the People have freely
given to themselves;
- to loyally fulfill the high functions with which we have been invested;
- never to betray or misrepresent [travestir] the aspirations of the People
- to respect and to defend the republican form of the State;
- to respect and to defend the rights and freedoms of the citizens;
- not to take or to be guaranty [cautionner] for any measures degrading
[avilissante] the human dignity;
- to respect and to have respected the principles of the separation of the powers;
- to respect and to have respected the Internal Regulations of the National
Assembly;
- to work tirelessly for the happiness of the People;
- to conduct ourselves everywhere as faithful and loyal servant of the People;
In the case of perjury, may we suffer the rigors of the law.
May God help us."

Article 124
Before entering into [their] functions, the members of the Constitutional Court take an oath on the Holy Book [Livre Saint] of their confession before the President of the Republic in these terms:
"I swear to well and faithfully complete my functions, to exercise them with total impartially within the respect for the Constitution and with total independence, to keep the secrecy of the deliberations and the votes, not to take any public position and not to give any consultation on the questions relevant to the competence of the Court. May God help us.”

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