CHAPTER 9: THE LEGAL GUARANTEES FOR CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS UNDER CUBAN NATIONAL LEGISLATION

Before we begin our analysis of the legal guarantees assured to each Cuban citizen in the exercise of his or her civil and political rights, we must deal with some general assumptions on the subject:

In this sense, the Universal Declaration is not a legally binding instrument, but a programmed support to achieve that “common standard” through dialogue and cooperation.

The universality of rights and freedoms bestowed by the Declaration is derived from respect for diversity in regards to forms and channels that would ensure its being observed and carried out, in keeping with the indivisibility and interdependence of different categories of human rights.

In the Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993, it was stated that human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and that all categories of human rights must be attended to in a just and equitable manner, on equal grounds and granting each the same weight.

Freedom of expression and opinion would not be fully carried out without enjoying the right to an education. However, denying rights as elementary as those of alimentation and access to health services, would prevent the exercise of the right to life and with this, that of any political or civil right.

Both the Charter of the United Nations Organization and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declared the responsibility and competence of the States to protect the rights and liberties of men and women as a principle.

It is the duty of each State, by the sovereign will of its people, to establish the guarantees and resources for the exercise and defense of those rights and liberties. The States are charged with ensuring the legislative measures, the policies and programs and other necessary elements in order to promote and protect the execution of rights recognized in the above-mentioned international documents.

By virtue of article 29 numeral 2 of the Universal Declaration, it is the national laws of each State that shall determine the specific content in that society of the rights recognized by the Declaration .

Human rights are not eternal, nor unique, nor may they be analyzed in a form that is abstract and removed from the concepts of class and society. National legislation and international obligations contracted by the States shall establish the legal framework for the exercise of rights and liberties of each individual in society.

Protection and promotion of rights and liberties require, as a decisive component, the application of government policies and programs that are directed towards their promotion and support.

The principle of sovereign equality of States ensures, at least in right, that no government may assume the legal authority of extraterritorially imposing its patterns and laws.

The analysis of the situation of human rights in a determinate country must keep in mind the national and regional context, the historical, religious, legal and cultural heritage and, in particular, its political, economic and social system.

The bourgeois concept of human rights gives privileges to civil and political rights, to the detriment of economic, social and cultural rights.

The bourgeois theory of human rights prioritizes the protection of civil and political rights. Economic, social and cultural rights are presented as objectives of progressive realization or as simple aspirations for the future.

Our positions on that subject are based on the inevitable inter-relationship and interdependency existing between both groups of rights, which would guarantee that none of said groups many have precedence over another. Thus, they must be viewed as an insurmountable whole.

The Universal Declaration, in its article 22, clearly establishes that “everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international cooperation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality”.

The International Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, on its part, establishes in its preamble that “the standard of a free human being, liberated from fear and poverty cannot be achieved unless conditions shall be created that allow everyone to enjoy his economic, social and cultural rights, as well as his civil and political rights”.

Human rights cannot be promoted and protected by maximizing a merely individualistic approach.

Bourgeois ideologues, in regards to the promotion and protection of human rights, impose a clearly individualistic approach. The extreme empowerment of the individual leads to persons avoiding their duties to the rest of society and even to the non-recognition of the collective sphere of enjoyment of some rights such as that of peoples’ right to peace, development, free determination and international solidarity.

An objective and just concept of human rights, as it empowers and protects individual enjoyment of rights and freedoms –the widest and fullest fulfillment for each human being –must keep in mind that the individual cannot develop his personality and exercise his rights removed from social relationships and to the detriment of society’s interest.

The recognizing of rights and liberties presents obligations to the individual in respect to society.

In its article 29, numeral 1, the Universal Declaration establishes “that everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality can be fully realized".

Western industrialized powers manipulate human rights with the goal of domination and they attempt to impose their ideology.

The western powers, under the leadership of the United States, have resorted to the manipulation of international cooperation in the sphere of human rights as an instrument of foreign policy in order to impose their domination plans.

The manipulations of Cuban reality on the subject of human rights, and the disinformation campaigns against the process of revolutionary transformation undertaken by the Cuban people throughout the past 45 years, has been at the centre of United States government policy against the Cuban peoples’ claims of sovereignty.

Washington spokespeople would like to demonstrate the supposed incompatibility of the political system established by the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba with the internationally accepted norms in the realm of democracy and human rights, fabricating a false image of an intolerant and change-resistant society, which does not allow plurality or political participation.

On the contrary, democracy in Cuba is based on the deepest and most genuine political participation, on the plurality of opinion –which carry weight in the conformation of the consensuses that determine the political, economic, social and cultural course of the nation –and in the condition of each Cuban as participant and beneficiary in the government. Each citizen is not only the subject of government he or she is also the beneficiary and co-proprietor of the heritage, the wealth and the basic means of production of the nation. All have access, with no discrimination, to basic services such as education, health, social assistance and security.

The Cuban democratic system fulfils the requisites of authenticity, legitimacy, justice and effectiveness.

The protection and guarantee for rights and liberties to Cuban citizens, as established by the Constitution of the Republic and other national legislation, is not only compatible with the nature and scope of those rights and freedoms consecrated by the Universal Declaration, but in numerous aspects, the sphere of recognition and protection is much broader and more extensive.

In addition to the rights included in the Universal Declaration, the Cuban Constitution consecrated the following, in conformity to the contents of its article 8, section b):

The human rights content in the Cuban Constitution, approved in a referendum by an overwhelming majority of the electorate in 1976, consecrated the ideals of democracy, liberty, equality and social justice that have guided the people in their struggle for more than 150 years,

The constitutional organization of the hierarchy of human rights possesses deep roots in Cuban legislative history. The Güaimaro Constitution of 10 April 1869, the first to govern in the Republic of Cuba-in-Arms, established in article 28 that “the House could not attack freedom of worship, press, peaceful assembly, petition or any other inalienable right of the people”. The Yaya Constitution of 10 October 1897 also included a broad declaration of individual and political rights, among them the freedom of conscience and worship, the right of complaint or legal claim, electoral rights, the freedom of opinion, expression and association, and others.

The Cuban Constitution of 1940, considered for its time the most advanced constitutional text in Latin America due to its advances in recognizing political and civil rights, dedicated several of its articles to regulating individual rights. The main rights to be regulated were: the right to equality, freedom of expression, the non-retroactive nature of penal law unless it should be in favor of the criminal, and the possibility of civil matrimony between persons having legal capacity, due to its stability and special nature.

The current Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, whose text was widely debated and modified several times by the Cuban people before being brought to referendum, is based on the ideas of the National Hero, José Martí, who stated on one occasion: “I would like the First Law of the Republic to be the Cubans’ devotion to the full dignity of Man”.

That vision diverges from the individualist readings that predominate, as we have said, in the bourgeois concept of human rights. Marti’s philosophy, in the sphere of human rights, contains the essence of solidarity in a republic which would be founded with everyone and for the good of everyone.

The articles of the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, enacted on 24 February 1976, codified each and every one of the human rights proclaimed by the Universal Declaration.

In their Constitution and in the conduct of their institutions, the Cuban people have consecrated respect for the principle of indivisibility and interdependence of all the categories of human rights. It would be an incomplete and unfinished analysis of the situation of human rights in Cuba to think of evaluating the promotion and protection of civil and political rights in an isolated manner. Nevertheless, because the lies and disinformation campaigns carried out by the Washington authorities against the Cuban Revolution have concentrated on those categories of rights, this chapter will basically deal with the specific regulation of civil and political rights in the Constitution and other legal norms in the Republic of Cuba.

An analysis of Cuban legislation immediately reveals that the system of legal protection of human rights is not restricted to its constitutional formulation; these are duly developed and ensured in their substantive and adjective right. The Penal Code, the Social Security Law, the Family Code, the Youth and Childhood Code and other laws complement and establish guarantees in the exercise of all human rights, including civil and political rights.

In the following pages, we present an approach –by no means does it intend being, nor could it be, an exhaustive approach in a document such as this –to the regulations which establish legal guarantees in the Constitution and other Cuban legal norms for civil and political rights recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The information is presented following the order of articles in one of the most universal international instruments for human rights. We compare the various articles of the Declaration referring to civil and political rights with corresponding Cuban legislation.

The respect of right to life, liberty and security of person constitutes a pillar in the performance of Cuban authorities and in the functioning of society as a whole.

There can be no true freedom in a society which is subjected to the exploitation of classes and oligarchic groups, where inequality and submission reign as conditions of subsistence and progress, where man is unable to achieve the fullest fulfillment of his potential through merit, talent or effort.

The laws of the Cuban State establish severe measures in order to prevent any arbitrary privation of freedom, as well as trial by court and the punishment of responsible parties, in the hypothetical case that such an event should occur.

The Law legally sanctions those behaviors threatening the physical integrity and life of human beings, which could be committed by any person, with no distinction of their functions, if they result in the aggravation of the legal responsibility under the Penal Code when they are the result of an abuse of power or authority or take advantage of the anyone’s defenselessness.

Violence against persons, besides being punishable, is dealt with by educational actions and by restricting the use of means that might stimulate situations of extreme violence and place the lives of human beings at risk. In this regard, it behooves us to point out that in Cuba there are rigorous controls and broad restrictions on the use of firearms, their sale and purchase is illegal and the legal possession of weapons is very limited.

Representatives of the Armed Forces, for example, since they are not responsible for the internal law and order of the country, may only carry and use weapons in fulfillment of activities related to their service within military units, in cases and in ways which have been established by regulations.

In terms of penal matters, members of the Ministry of the Interior, including police agents, are considered to be military and are subject to military penal legislation and justice.

In terms of the death penalty, it must be made clear that even though it is included within national legislation, the application of this sanction in Cuba has and has had an exceptional nature. It is only applied by the Court empowered to do so in the most serious cases of crimes which have been established (conforming to Chapter III, first section, article 29 of the Penal Code and in the Law Against Acts of Terrorism).

In 1999, the National Assembly of Peoples’ Power adopted Law No. 87 modifying the Penal Code, where life imprisonment is prescribed for certain crimes, with the main objective of using it as an alternative for the death sentence.

Cuba incorporates safeguards established by the United Nations into its legislation in order to ensure the protection of the rights of those condemned to death (Resolution 1984/50 ECOSOC) and fully complies with its practical application (the exemption of penal responsibility of certain persons because of age, mental condition, the possibility of using imprisonment as alternate punishment, the right of appeal, etc).

It is important to point out that the death penalty has been legally instituted in Cuba for the defense of national security, directed both against the numerous acts of aggression coming from abroad and for terrorist and criminal activities leading towards destruction of the Cuban state or the lives of its citizens.

An important factor that works against the abolition of the death sentence in Cuba has been the continuing and worsening of aggressive and terrorist policies against the Cuban people, which have been promoted or tolerated by the government of the United States.

“No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms”.

In Cuba, nobody shall be submitted to slavery. Slavery or any form of servitude is strongly rejected in Cuba on political and social grounds. The Island was the last Spanish colony on the American continent when it achieved its independence, while slavery wasn’t abolished until 1886.

In its articles 116 and 120, the Penal Code sanctions with sentences of up to ten to twenty years imprisonment or death anyone who, with intent to totally or partially destroy any national, ethnic, racial or religious group, subjects said group to conditions that constitute a threat of extermination for the group or some of their members. In article 120.1, imprisonment for ten to twenty years or death is established for anyone who, with the aim of instituting or maintaining domination of one racial group over another, promotes policies of extermination, segregation or racial discrimination.

The laws protect the dignity of prisoners and forbid that they, or any other persons, are kept in conditions of servitude. Article 30.11 of the Penal Code defines that “the prisoner may not be subject to corporal punishment nor is it admissible to carry out any act of humiliation or other that will damage his dignity”.

Cuban legislation makes no provision for any prison sentence that includes the accessory measures of forced labor.

Regulations defining the rights of inmates establish their right to receive technical or professional training and formal schooling and the right to a socially useful job and to receive by virtue of this employment the same salary accorded to anyone not fulfilling a prison sentence.

Since this has been object of numerous campaigns of disinformation and lies promoted by the United States against Cuba, it is worthwhile to shed light on the circumstances surrounding the young people who are part of the Youth Work Army and the students who participate in the farm-schools.

To guarantee respect for conscientious objectors to compulsory military service, Law no. 75 of 21 December 1994, or the National Defense Law, establishes that service in the Armed Forces can be replaced by alternate measures, bearing in mind the conditions of each citizen.

Legislation regulates that each youth who is called up to military service must have a previous interview to make known his criteria, vocation and education, and he should be offered the possibility of stating his conscientious objections, in order to adopt, as needed, the decisions required to ensure his placement within the national service, without the need to carry arms or be trained in the use of weapons, with due respect for religious or conscientious obligations.

In the case of the Youth Work Army, one of the options for compulsory military service, there is a mechanism for consultation by the Recruiting Commissions (Art. 70 of Law 75) for young people who are called up for service, after learning of their preferences among the 11 specialties that are offered.

The Youth Work Army offers young people advantages such as high salaries and the right to paid vacations that make it an attractive and popular alternative for compulsory military service. The jobs of the Youth Work Army consist basically of picking fruit and agricultural produce during the harvest season. These are products basically destined for the consumption of the troops and any excess is sold to the surrounding population, at reduced prices.

In the case of farm-schools, this too was conceived of as part of the pedagogical teachings of the apostle of Cuban independence, José Martí, who defended the position and supported the importance of connecting schooling and work in the formation of the young. The Cuban State developed a civic concept leading towards preparing and educating the human being from a very young age. Whenever possible, and if the teenagers and young people are fit to do so, at all levels from seventh grade to university, work is linked to education which is massive and free for all Cubans.

“No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.

The Cuban State has never resorted to violence or humiliation of a prisoner or of any one of its citizens after the triumph of the Revolution in 1959.

The Cuban revolution was born fighting against injustice and tyranny. In Cuba, a profound consciousness of repudiation and rejection of abuse and arbitrariness, and of physical and psychological violence against persons or prisoners was established.

The strictest fidelity to the principle of never using violence or humiliation against a prisoner guided the actions of the rebel army in their fight for liberation. This precept has continued being the inviolable norm for actions carried out by Cuban authorities.

In April 1961, during the American invasion of the Bay of Pigs, more than 1200 captured mercenaries were imprisoned and placed on trial by the revolutionary courts. None of them could ever say that they had been mistreated or tortured by Cuban soldiers. On the contrary, the Cuban authorities handed over the mercenaries to the United States government in exchange for a shipment of food and medicine that was subsequently delivered to the Cuban people.

Nobody can mention one single case of torture, of extra-judicial execution or of forced disappearance in the history of the Cuban Revolution. Neither could anyone refer to a single popular demonstration attacked or repressed by the police, or a single case of using tear gas, firearms or rubber bullets by the Cuban authorities against their own people.

Cuba has developed a prison system where the inmates have the possibility to re-educate and to take their places again in society. In a chapter covering this subject, we go into depth about the characteristics of this system and the new programs which are being carried out in order to attain this objective.

Respect for the physical and mental integrity of the person constitutes a sacred principle within Cuban social ethics. Its violation is sanctioned very severely. These guarantees are expressed in the Constitution of the Republic in articles 59 and 60.
In the Penal Code, article 141.1 regulates that the public official who applies or disposes of a security measure without the orders of a competent court, incurs punishment by imprisonment. Also, in articles 272 to 274 sanctions are laid out for the case where someone is wounded by another person. In article 286, the crime of coercion is regulated; this is defined as a crime by someone who uses violence or threats on another in order to force them to do something they don’t want to do.

The Law of Military Crimes, for its part, severely punishes any violation to the integrity of a person, even under the pretext of obeying orders and it establishes criminal sanctions of imprisonment for officials who exceed or unduly exercise their functions.

In the regulations of the Cuban prison system, every police agent is obliged to strictly comply with refraining from the use of violence or coercion to obtain declarations from an arrested person, during the interviews and interrogations.

The Constitution of the Republic, in article 63, establishes that every citizen has the right to present complaints and petitions to the authorities and to receive attention or pertinent reply, within a reasonable time, according to Law.

In the specific case of the Ministry of the Interior, independent of the actions of the Military Attorney General and keeping in mind the sensitivity of situations where their officials might be involved, the Minister of the Interior has established a department to deal with complaints from the populace, directly subordinate to the Secretary.

All claims must be verified and replied to within established time frames, with justice and impartiality prevailing. Persons or organizations that have claims presented against them may not occupy any position during the proceedings, investigations and decisions about the facts or imputations claimed.

This right to complain or present claims is also ensured for prison inmates. The Regulations of the Prison System establish that every incarcerated person has the right to present a complaint to the prison authorities, verbally or in written form, and to receive their answer. By the same token, prisoners have the right to refuse legal procedures given by a lawyer or by the chief of the establishment or place of incarceration.

“Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law”.

Cuban legislation recognizes the right of a human being to his or her legal personality, defined by the Civil Code in article 24 as beginning with birth and terminating with death. By the same token, article 25 of the Civil Code confers the acquisition of rights to all effects which are favorable, at birth, under the condition that it is a live birth.

Full legal capacity is acquired by the 18th birthday (article 29 of the Civil Code).

The law regulates those who are deprived of their capacity to carry out legal actions (article 31 of the Civil Code), minors less than 10 years of age and those of legal age who have been declared incapable of looking after themselves and their property.

Among the rights which are inherent to a legal personality are the right to solicit an immediate ceasing of violation, retraction on the part of the offender and reparations for damages occasioned.

“All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination”.

The Cuban Constitution dedicates a chapter with various articles where conditions are established related to the issue of equality, where equal rights and duties for all citizens are conceded, and discrimination is proscribed and penalized by law.

Equality is recognized for all citizens regardless of race, skin color, sex, religious beliefs, national origin or any other element harmful to human dignity. In this respect, all Cuban citizens are guaranteed rights such as:

By the same token, the Constitution recognizes in article 43 the equality of the sexes and establishes that women enjoy the same rights as men in economic, political, social and family sectors.

To ensure the exercise of these rights and particularly the insertion of women into social work, the State sees to it that jobs compatible with their physical characteristics are provided for them, granting maternity leaves both before and after childbirth.

The Enactment of the Family Code has contributed to and reinforced the exercise of full equality for women and has reaffirmed the important role of the family in society.
The legal protection of the right to equality extends to the Penal Code that states in article 295 that whoever discriminates against another or promotes or incites discrimination incurs sanctions of imprisonment from six months to two years or a fine of two hundred to five hundred installments or both.

“Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law”.

By virtue of the Constitution, anybody that suffers damages caused unduly by state officials or agents with the aim of exercising their functions, have the right to present a claim and obtain corresponding reparations or compensation in the form established by law. It also establishes the right to direct complaints and petitions to the authorities and to receive pertinent attention or replies according to the law.

In the Cuban political system, there is no division of power; there is one power alone and it rests with the people. Consequently, constitutional authority rests with the sole organ of state with constitutional authority, and this is the supreme state organ: the National Assembly of the People’s Power. No other institution is above this to judge the constitutional procedure of its actions.

In the Cuban political system, the courts do not have in their competence the knowledge of matters specifically dedicated to the resolution of cases of violations of human rights as such, unless these in turn consist of crimes or infractions that might give rise to other procedures, those that could be looked after in their jurisdictional sphere. Nevertheless, if during proceedings, at the moment sentence is passed to resolve the matter, the courts observe any violation of these rights, they are obliged to deduce testimony and bring it to the attention of the Attorney General’s Office, or the Public Defender.

Everyone in Cuba is assured the following for the defense of their individual rights:

As it may be deduced, the system for the protection of human rights has an important development in Cuba, and it is complemented by legal regulations that, as we shall see later, grant the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic specific functions, directed to protect with greater amplitude the citizen rights of persons.

By Law No. 83 of 1997, in its article 8, section c), the Attorney General’s Office received the express duty of looking after claims to be presented by citizens in presumed violations of their rights, and the duty to stipulate through resolution issued by the Attorney General, to re-establish legality, is attributed by article 24 of the same Law, in its section 2). In other words, it has the right to act and decide, and this is greater than that of the Ombudsman.

In Cuba, anyone, whether citizen or foreigner, may assert their rights before the courts or the appropriate authorities, seeking defense before acts that violate the same.

Article 58 of the Constitution establishes that: “freedom and inviolability of person are guaranteed to all that live in national territory”. No one may be arrested except in cases, in the form and with the guarantees prescribed by the law. The arrested or imprisoned individual is inviolable in his personal integrity.”

Article 59 establishes that “no one can be charged or condemned unless it is by a competent court by virtue of laws pre-dating the crime and with the formalities and guarantees that those establish”.

These constitutional postulates afford legal protection where the inviolability of the human being receives a higher ranking, at the same time as they lay down the bases which impede the violation of the freedom of persons, using trial law as the sole legal instrument authorized for detention.

The Law of Criminal Procedure establishes the cases where the authority or its agents must proceed in the detention of a person.

The Penal Code acts as the complement of regulatory norms, in contemplating the criminal figure of imprisonment for those who carry out an arbitrary detention, aggravating the imposable sanction if, as a consequence of the fact , the death of the victim results.

Grounds for sanctions for this crime are also applicable to the authority or its agent who, within the legal limits, does not release a detainee or place him at the disposition of a competent authority, or who unduly prolongs a resolution ordering release. This crime also includes the case of a director of a penitentiary institution who receives a person as accused or as prisoner, without having been ordered to do so by a competent authority or court, or when the detainee or prisoner who has been claimed by virtue of resolution passed is not conducted in Habeas Corpus or other analogous recourse.

The Law of Criminal Procedure, in article 109, calls on the Office of the Attorney General to safeguard respect for the dignity of the accused so that, in no case, would the accused be submitted to illegal restrictions of his rights, making it responsible for the safeguarding of strict fulfillment of the Law during the investigation phase.

In Article 245, the Law of Criminal Procedure states that the police may not detain a person for more than 24 hours without informing the judge or at the disposition of the Attorney General.

“Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him”.

The Constitution and the Law of Peoples’ Courts of Cuba establish as a principle that justice is dealt out on a basis of equality for all citizens before the law and the courts and that every accused has the right to a defense. Nobody may be charged or condemned unless they have been tried by a competent court by virtue of laws prior to the crime and following formalities and guarantees that are established.

The Constitution proclaims the fundamental principle that the judges, in their function of meting our justice, are independent and owe no allegiance other than to the Law.

The Law of Peoples’ Courts bases itself on the concept of professional collective functioning of the courts, eliminating the perniciousness implicit in a uni-personal court. It is established that in the election of judges there can be no distinctions or exclusions on the grounds of political affiliation. This sacred function can only be fulfilled by citizens having proven ethical and moral values and having the necessary aptitude and capacity.

The judicial function in Cuba takes precedence to government and administrative activity, this being guaranteed constitutionally and by law, establishing that all rulings and other court decisions passed within the limits of their competency must be inescapably upheld by the government organs and by the citizens.

Equality before the courts is guaranteed by the constitutional principle established in article 41 where it is stated that all citizens enjoy equal rights and are subject to equal obligations. The Law of Criminal Procedure establishes specific forums for the judging of political, legislative, government and judicial authorities –without affecting their rights and guarantees but without individual privileges –preventing any manifestation of impunity. Nobody in Cuba is exempt from or above the law.

The laws in the Cuban judicial system conceive of the criminal accusation as being independent from the concept of civil right. In this respect, the civil and political rights are protected in criminal law, in a way that their violation is a crime that is persecuted in court or at the instance of the party and whose protection includes a complete title of the Penal Code (articles 279 to 295).

The Law of Criminal Procedure, in article 305, establishes that verbal trial is public unless for reasons of state security, morality, public order or the respect due to the person offended by the crime, or his family members, and there is counsel requesting that the trial be held behind closed doors. Only the parties, their representatives, defenders, and auxiliary personnel and others authorized by the Court will be in attendance.

The final ruling passed by the courts is public and will be immediately communicated to the parties and their representatives. The Law of Criminal Procedure ensures all constitutional rights of the citizen with relation to the administration of justice.

Said Law demands the presumption of innocence of all accused parties until such time as sanctions are passed. Every crime must be tried independently of the testimony of the accused, that of his spouse and family members up to the fourth degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity. The obligation to prove corresponds to the accusation.
In its article 305, this same Law guarantees the verbal nature of the judgment and the publication of the debates.

In Cuban criminal procedure, according to article 346 of the Law that regulates it, it is not permitted to carry out judgments on absent accused parties, thus their non-attendance results in suspension of the same, since it constitutes a right for the accused to take part in the trial for which he has been arraigned.

The accused party also bears the right to challenge any of the members of the court that pass judgment on him, if there are any causes foreseen by trial law in its article 23.

The Constitution establishes the right of every accused party to have a defense, in its article 59. The law recognizes collective law offices as an autonomous organization of social interest and regulates the right of all accused parties to designate a lawyer and if this is not done, to have a public defender appointed for him.

By virtue of Cuban trial procedure, all sentences passed by the courts may be repealed before a superior court. In the case of the death penalty, there exists a special procedure of appeal with additional guarantees.

Cuban criminal legislation also recognizes the procedure of reviewing criminal sentences. There are different grounds that determine reviewing a sentence. This procedure can be initiated as a court appointment by the Ministry of Justice, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or the Attorney General, when they are advised after judicial inspection or at some moment in the trial about the concurrence of grounds for review.

In Cuba, there are no courts of law for minors. According to the Penal Code, criminal responsibility is established from the age of 16. A minor of less than 16 who commits an act interpreted as an adult crime or manifests behavioral disturbances is attended to by the Ministry of Education or by the Ministry of the Interior, within a system of pedagogical, sociological and cutting-edge jurisprudential concepts.

As an additional form of protection for youth, the Penal Code in its article 17 establishes that in the case of persons between the ages of 16 and 18, the minimum and maximum limits of sanctions may be reduced by up to half; in the case of those between the ages of 18 and 20, the reduction may be up to one third, thus the predominating factor is the re-education of the sentenced person, training him or her in a profession or trade and instilling in them a respect for law and order.

The general aim of the law is to help minors and youth in the process of forming their personality.

In the case of repeat offenders and those who commit highly dangerous acts, unwilling to take part in re-educational work and with those whose family, school and community actions have been unsuccessful, there is the possibility of them being sent away to re-educational centers that are run by the Ministry of the Interior. These institutions are provided with teaching areas, they have facilities for learning a trade, for sports and for cultural activities.

“Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed”.

These rights are those called “in dubio pro re” and “nullum crimen sina previa lege penale”. According to Cuban criminal doctrine, these premises constitute objective guarantees referring concretely to the accused party.

Cuban laws ensure the fulfillment of the principle of presumption of innocence for every accused party until such time as a ruling is passed against them. For its part, every crime must be proven independently of the testimony of the accused, the spouse and family members. Consequently, a simple declaration by the persons will not dispense with the obligation of presenting the necessary evidence in order to prove the facts.

On the other hand, everybody who commits a crime, according to the foreseen in current trial law in effect, will be submitted to the jurisdiction of competent courts according to the entity or seriousness of the crime and by virtue of the current laws in effect, prior to the punishable act, and with the formalities and guarantees that these establish.

Cuban legislation contemplates the non-retroactivity of criminal law as a constitutional principle. Article 61 of the Constitution regulates that the criminal laws only take retroactive effect when they are favorable to the arraigned or sanctioned party.

The Penal Code, in its article 3, endorses this principle in determining that the criminal law applicable is the one currently in effect at the moment the crime was committed and that the new law would be applicable to the crime committed with anteriority to its effectiveness only if it is more favorable for the accused. This means that if according to the new law, the crime sanctioned by a sentence passed should no longer be punishable, the sanction imposed and its other effects are extinguished in full right.

“No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks”.

The Constitution establishes in its article 56 that the domicile is inviolable. Nobody can penetrate the domicile against the will of the resident, except in cases foreseen by law.

In article 57 it is regulated that correspondence is also inviolable and only in cases foreseen by law may it be examined; it is also established that matters not involving the occurrence that motivated the examination of same should be kept secret.

Article 58 establishes that freedom and inviolability of person is guaranteed to all those residing in national territory.

Articles from 215 to 227 of the Law of Criminal Procedure establish the powers for which agents can be excused from respecting privacy of domicile. Agents can only penetrate the residence of a citizen if they receive permission from the citizen, if not they need to obtain a warrant from the Attorney General’s Office.

The laws and regulations of internal order determine the compulsory nature of respecting the dignity of persons.

“Everybody has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country”.

The Constitution and Cuban laws establish within the legal framework indispensable for the protection of rights enunciated in article 13 of the Universal Declaration, as evidenced by the enumeration of articles and laws above-mentioned.

Nevertheless, it must be kept in mind that the matter of the freedom to travel, in the case of Cuba, has been submitted to the irregularities and arbitrariness that have resulted from the political manipulation imposed by successive American administrations on the migratory relationships of the Island.

Moreover, the impunity with which terrorists of Cuban origin who reside in United States territory act has imposed on Cuban authorities the obligation of establishing special controls on the entry of Cuban residents to Cuba from said country.

In spite of the enormous obstacles and threats presented and because of the firm commitment of Cuban authorities, the relationships between the Cuban nation and its emigration are going through a progressive process towards fuller normalization.

From June 1st, 2004, Cuban residents abroad do not need to apply for permission to enter the country in order to travel to Cuba. Every Cuban resident abroad that has a valid passport may enter national territory as many times as desired. Nevertheless, that possibility is still denied to Cubans residing in the United States, due to the new restrictions imposed by President Bush on trips to the Island.

In regards to exits from the country, Cuba recognizes that right of its citizens, in both temporary and permanent circumstances, establishing the minimal restrictions required in the cases of persons who are dealing with important secrets or information which is highly sensitive for national security, professionals whose services are vital to the health of the people and who must wait for substitutes to be prepared or those who are limited by judicial orders or sentences passed by the courts.

“Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations”.

In the Cuban Constitution, the granting of asylum is regulated for those who are being persecuted for the struggle for democratic rights of the majority; for national liberation; against imperialism, fascism, colonialism and neo-colonialism; for suppression of racial discrimination, for the rights and recognition of workers, peasants and students; for progressive political, scientific, artistic and literary activities.

Hundreds of Latin Americans persecuted by dictatorships that were promoted and sustained by the United States have received refuge in Cuba.

“Everyone has the right to a nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality”.

Chapter II of the Constitution refers to the channels for acquiring Cuban citizenship, either through birth or naturalization.

The Constitution states that neither marriage nor its dissolution will affect the citizenship of the spouses or their children. Also, it is established that Cubans may not be deprived of their citizenship except for legally established legitimate causes.

Moreover, it is made clear that double citizenship is not accepted and that citizenship may be recovered in cases and forms prescribed by law.

The treatment afforded to citizenship includes some points that differ from the treatment which many western countries attribute to this concept. But, by virtue of the fact that regulation of its institutions and principles is a power inherent in each State and, moreover, is assured the support of the people, our legislation possesses no break with the legal guarantees, in this area, of the exercise of human rights in Cuba.

Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
“Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State".

In Cuba, the right of the family to receive the protection of society and state is regulated and guaranteed.

The Cuban constitutional expression on the subject of the family, to which an entire chapter is dedicated, is in itself a manifestation of the legal guarantees that the Cuban state confers on it. The fundamental characteristic of the norms relating to the right of the family in Cuba is its progressive nature, reflecting Cuban society.

In article 35 of the Constitution, it is established that the state protects the family, maternity and marriage.

Besides regulating divorce, the Constitution establishes that offspring have equal rights whether they were conceived within or outside of the marriage bond. In Cuba, all matters dealing with the issue of natural filiation have been abolished. In contrast with other countries, no declarations differentiate among the offspring, neither about the marital status of the parents in the registration of their offspring, nor in any other document referring to filiation.

Cuban laws are not opposed to religious marriages, according to the convictions of the spouses, even though for legal effect the marriage should be formalized under the civil registry.

The legal norm is clear about the equality of both spouses in their rights and obligations. The law protects both spouses when the equality of conditions in respect to common matrimonial goods is established, from the formalization of the marriage bond until dissolution of same, if that should occur.

In Cuba, marriage does not change the woman’s surname. Neither the marriage bond nor its dissolution, according to constitutional and legislative norms, will affect the citizenship of the spouses.

Nevertheless, Cuba recognizes that it is not enough to have legal guarantees, and it is necessary to form ethical principles and ethical, moral values and patterns of behavior which favor equality within the family, and this has been progressively achieved by way of policies and programs directed towards the full emancipation of women.

“Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property”.

At the time of the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, 8% of Cuban proprietors possessed more than 70% of the land, including those that belonged to trans-national American companies.

The First Agrarian Reform Law of 1959, delivered free ownership deeds to the land to more than 100 thousand small leasers, tenant farmers, sharecroppers and squatters who worked the land and the state was awarded ownership of the vast extensions of non-parceled lands that were administratively looked after by the landowners, thus the lands were to be exploited by the nation as property of all the people.

The small farmers were freed from all rent payments and freed from being exploited by intermediaries, receiving ample assistance in investment credits, maintenance costs and expansion, road construction, medical care and instruction.

The large cattle ranches and sugarcane plantations were converted into peoples’ farms and cooperatives, until the present day.

Before 1959, the immense majority of Cubans possessed nothing other than their poverty, disease, desperation and ignorance.

The Cuban people do not work for the enrichment of a minority class of exploiters. The surpluses do not fill the pockets of millionaires or trans-national corporations. They belong to society, invested in the reconstruction of schools, production facilities, hospitals, highways, public works, using expenditures that have been planned by the Cuban state with the aim of improving the living standard of all Cubans.

With the institution of the Law of Foreign Investments, Cuba has broadened the forms of ownership, supported by the Constitution of the Republic itself. In Article 23 of the Constitution, it is established that the state recognizes ownership of joint enterprises, societies and financial associations that are legally constituted. These new forms of ownership have been added to those already in existence, among which we should mention cooperative state ownership and private ownership.

The Penal Code establishes criminal sanctions for persons or groups who are responsible for criminal acts that go against the legal goods: property.

“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance”.

The Cuban Revolution has respected all churches and all religious beliefs, without any discrimination. The Cuban state protects the freedom of worship and the Constitution establishes the most absolute separation between Church and State.

Article 8 of the Constitution establishes that the state recognizes respects and guarantees religious freedom (the right of having religious beliefs, to change them and to take part in worship and to have neither beliefs nor practice any form of worship), it supports the separation of religious institutions from the State and confirms that the different creeds enjoy equal consideration.

In 1992, articles of the Constitution of the Republic were modified, in effect since 1976, eliminating from the text any mention of scientific atheism in the functioning of the State and its institutions; we went from being an atheistic state to a lay state. The guarantees for full religious freedom were consolidated.

In 1997, we began celebrating 25 December as an official holiday, a date which was permanently included in the list of official national holidays after 1998.

In 1998, Pope John Paul II, Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, was received in Cuba and in 1999, the celebration of Cuban Protestantism was held. Basic religious activities for both events were held out-of-doors, with the populace filling the main squares of the country, including Revolution Square and there was live coverage on Cuban TV and radio.

The religious institutions freely appoint their personnel and they are allocated to various parts of the country, they organize numerous religious activities in the nation, locally, nationally and internationally, and they regularly receive visits from their international representatives, as well as their religious literature.

An important number of religious institutions have their own periodical publications registered with the Cuban Book Institution. Our public mass media reflects the most outstanding events related to those institutions.

On their holidays, both the Catholic bishops and the protestant ministers send radio messages to the faithful and to all the people.

During the last 10 years, more than 1,000 temples, chapels, parochial and pastoral residences have been repaired. According to the possibilities of the country, the churches and faiths have acquired more than 100 properties, hundreds of vehicles and other facilities with the aim of carrying out their religious activities.

Other important religions in the country, besides the Catholics and the various protestant and evangelical faiths, are the ones of African origin, spiritualism and Judaism, as well as the religious organization of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Christianity is represented by the Catholic Church and the protestant and evangelical churches in several dozens of national denominations.

There are 3 main religions of African origin: Santería or the Ochoa Regla and the Palo Monte or Conga Regla, present throughout the country; and the Abakúa Society, based in Havana and Matanzas city.

Some of the Santería practitioners are affiliated with the Yoruba Association of Cuba, which nowadays is beginning to create future affiliates of the society in the provinces. Before the triumph of the Revolution, those religions were proscribed, even though they were widely popular. The Revolution has recognized them and eliminated any grounds for which a believer could be sanctioned on the basis of his religious belief.

The constitutional reforms of 1992 deepened the support of the fullest of legal protection for the freedom of religion in Cuba.

Article 42 of the Constitution expresses that discrimination on the grounds of race, skin color, national origin, religious beliefs and any other negative aspect to human dignity is proscribed and sanctioned by law.

Article 55 of the Law of Laws declares that the state recognizes respects and ensures freedom of conscience and religion, the freedom of each citizen to change their religious beliefs or to not have any religious beliefs, and to worship, with all respect to the law, in the church of their preference.

For its part, The Penal Code, in its article 294, sanctions with imprisonment of up to two years crimes against the freedom of worship, whenever it is committed by a public official.

General education is a function of the state and it is free and based on the conclusions and contributions of science. Parents have the freedom to ensure that their children receive a religious and moral education in accordance with their convictions, and this may take the form of religious instruction within the family itself or in the theological seminaries of the churches.

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

The Constitution of the Republic tacitly defines in its articles the recognition that citizens have the freedom of speech and the press, in accordance with the aims that are decided upon by the Cuban people.

The material conditions for this exercise are given by the fact that the press, radio, television and the cinema and other media of mass communication are the property of all the people or of the mass, social and political organizations. Said media cannot be the object, in any case, of private property, and this ensures that its use will be for exclusive service to the workers and in the interests of society.

Article 291 of the Penal Code sanctions those who commit crimes against the freedom of thought. Whoever prevents another, in whatever form, from exercising their right to freedom of speech or press as ensured by the Constitution and the law, will be sanctioned with imprisonment for from three months to a year, or fined 100 to 300 installments or both. If the crime is committed by a public official, in abuse of his position, the sanction is imprisonment from six months to two years, or a fine of 200 to 500 installments, or both.

The full enjoyment of the freedom of expression is an inescapable necessity for Cuba, part of the conformation of the consensuses which guarantee the unity of action of the Cuban people in the face of the government of the United States policy of hostility, aggression and blockade.

Only the firmest of convictions and the most solid of commitments, only the fullest of participation and to truly feel represented in the decisions that have been adopted by the country’s leadership, has permitted the conscious and active support of the overwhelming majority of Cubans for a Revolution that fights in defense of independence and its very existence as a nation of heroic people, that has resisted and advances in the face of the most aggressive and powerful empire that has ever existed.

The exercise of freedom of opinion and expression has as its only restriction the self same limits which are presented by the defense of national independence and sovereignty and the guarantee of the right of free determination of the Cuban people.

The Cuban people only restrict the “freedom” of opinion and expression of those few who would sell their services as mercenaries to the policy of hostility, aggression and genocidal blockade of the United States government against Cuba. By applying such restrictions, Cuba is acting by virtue of not just its national legislation, but also the numerous international human rights instruments and successive resolutions passed by the United Nations General Assembly which have demanded respect for the free determination of peoples and the cease of the economic, commercial and financial blockade being applied by the government of the United States against Cuba.

It is well known that the self same international human rights instruments recognize the legitimacy of certain restrictions to the exercise of the individual right to freedom of opinion and expression.

In numeral 3, of article 19 of the International Civil and Political Rights Pact, it is stated that the right to freedom of opinion and expression entails duties and responsibilities and in consequence, “they may be subject to certain restrictions, which should, nevertheless, be expressly affixed by law and become necessary for a) ensuring respect of the rights or the reputation of others, b) the protection of national security, public law and order or public health or morals.”

In Cuba, there has been the broadest discussion about the most diverse subjects in political, economic, social and cultural life, dealing with both the nation as well as with the entire planet.

In the intellectual, cultural and academic sphere, favorable conditions are in place for the freest creation and controversy, which are reflected in the diversity of the publications that are published and in the variety of works of art that are presented to the public.

Each Cuban is guaranteed access to methods, channels and means that facilitate an effective impact of their opinions and points of view about the processes of formulation, decision-making and execution of policies and programs covering the most diverse subjects in the life of the country.

Among these participation opportunities we can cite the parliamentary debates and their commissions, the assemblies for accountability of the delegates in the Peoples’ Power in the various electoral districts; the various possibilities to participate which are offered by the more than 2 thousand political, mass, student, social, professional, religious, cultural, brotherhood, etc. organizations that contribute decisively to the life of the nation, the diverse and numerous opportunities for academic, cultural and intellectual participation and debate; the regular meetings of our workers in their union organizations and their voices which are heard in the production and service sector assemblies with their respective administrations; the numerous mechanisms created in the political, administrative and legal spheres in order to channel the concerns, complaints and suggestions of the populace.

In the country, we have numerous accredited foreign press correspondents, including the principal international cable agencies. In Cuba, films from various sources are shown –mainly American –music from many different sources is heard and played by artists of different nationalities, there are numerous information, documentation and library centers all widely accessible to Cubans, and works by authors espousing all tendencies, philosophical principles and aesthetic trends are being published. In the radio and TV media, information segments coming from the American and Hispanic network chains are being reproduced, just to mention a few.

Cubans have ample access to the best in world production in all areas of creativity and philosophy. The restrictions which they face are the consequence fundamentally of the blockade policy of the government of the United States against the Island. The Bush administration has embarked with viciousness and premeditation on a campaign against academic, cultural and scientific exchanges between Cubans and their American colleagues and the so-called “people-to-people contacts”.

The government of the United States has intensified its radio-electronic aggression and its disinformation campaigns against the Cuban Revolution, resorting to the manipulation of its trans-national media. From United States stations we hear of the calls for the collapse of Cuban constitutional order, for the carrying out of terrorist acts and for illegal emigration.

In Cuba, nobody has ever been sanctioned for merely expressing their difference of opinion or point of view, even when these have been contrary to those of the authorities. The reasons why a citizen may be sanctioned are precisely defined in the criminal laws.
In the concepts of Criminal Law, the political prisoner is one who is arrested or condemned for acting on behalf of the functions of progress and social improvement, for fighting for social justice and freedom, equality, solidarity, democracy, human rights, in brief, for the well-being of the human being, the community and humanity as a whole. In Cuba, we have never arrested, tried or sanctioned anyone for these reasons.

In the world of today, we hope to put the freedom of press on equal footing with the freedom of the centers of trans-national power which control and are the masters of the mass media in order to impose their interests and agendas. The so-called “free flow of information and ideas” hides an enormous imbalance and inequality that prevails in the movement of ideas and political, economic and cultural concepts both between nations and inside their borders. A few very wealthy individuals who live in a few of the western industrialized powers provide and control the immense majority of the messages and ideological models that move around in the world.

Nevertheless, the same minority groups in power which advocate the supposed free flow of information and ideas on the subject of ideologies –in order to impose their control on the means of neo-colonial domination over the peoples of the world –completely deny the free flow of information, ideas and knowledge in the spheres of production, science and technology. In these areas, they have imposed an unjust international system of patents which blocks access by the peoples of the South to knowledge and to the best achievements of human creativity.

Fanatical individualist defense of the freedom of opinion and expression must not serve as a pretext for tolerating criminal acts such as racism, xenophobia and the activities of neo-Fascist groups. These kinds of groups and opinions are forbidden by law in Cuba.

“Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. No one may be compelled to belong to an association”.

A distinctive characteristic of Cuban society is the high level of communication and sociability of its members and the deep-rooted spirit of cooperation and community bonds of its members, which finds expression in the spheres of political, labor, social and family relations and is institutionalized in a broad spectrum of organizations.

The Cuban constitution recognizes in its article 54 the right of assembly, of demonstration and association exercised by manual laborers and intellectuals, peasants, women, students and other sectors of workers. The mass and social organizations possess all the facilities for carrying out their activities, in which their membership enjoys a broad range of freedom of expression, based on the full respect for individual initiative, freedom of opinion and free exercise of criticism.
The Penal Code protects this right in article 292 which sanctions with imprisonment or a fine anyone who prevents the functioning of a licit association or prevents membership in it, forbids the holding of a meeting or a licit demonstration or forbids anyone from attending such demonstrations.

The Labor Code on its part establishes in article 14 that the workers have the right to meet, discuss and freely express their opinions about issues and matters that affect them.

The Penal Code establishes restrictions in its article 209 for meetings or demonstrations of illicit associations.

The right of association in Cuba has limitations established by law for the protection of national security and the defense of sovereignty and national independence.

Just as the freedom of opinion and expression, the freedoms of association and peaceful meetings also may be legitimately restricted by virtue of international human rights instruments.

In articles 21 and 22, the International Pact for Civil and political Rights establishes that said liberties may be subject to restrictions foreseen by law as necessary in a democratic society, in the interest of national security, public safety or public law and order or to protect the public health and morals or the rights and freedoms of others.

After the triumph of the Revolution on 1 January 1959, a democratic system was established in Cuba in order to allow for the active participation of all social actors committed to the values of freedom, independence, social justice, equity and solidarity among all Cubans.

The parties dealing in traditional politicking which were subject to and dependent upon Washington disappeared, and a party arose that united all the Cuban revolutionaries: the Communist Party of Cuba. The Party provides forums for analysis and seeks consensus through debate and a wide ranging social dialogue, ensuring that each sector of the population and each citizen has the right to be heard and attended to. The existence of one single party does not present any obstacle nor does it establish limits for exercising democracy.

In the case of Cuba –whose people are confronting the brutal undeclared war that has been imposed by the United States authorities –unity of all revolutionary forces becomes a decisive factor for resistance and victory. Political plurality in a country does not determine the number of parties, but the level of participation and representation achieved by the most diverse sectors of society and the overwhelming majority of its citizens in the conduction of the most important matters of public interest to the nation.

The very history of Cuba shows that formal freedoms of competency can not only coexist indefinitely with social injustice, but can also promote and harbor it. In all Cuban history before the Revolution, pluripartitism never solved the problem of democracy and social justice. The greater the number of parties existing in Cuba during its first 56 years of republican life, the more dependency there was on the United States and more corruption, theft, frustration, unemployment, illiteracy, lack of medical care, inequality, racial discrimination and skepticism in the country, and thus, less political plurality enjoyed by the Cuban people.

The legitimacy of the one party system is accredited by the consensus of the majority which supports its acting as the political force that represents the vital interests of the workers and of the entire nation. That party is capable of promoting a climate where not only is diversity respected but where to disagree and dissent is permitted. Unity of action is only demanded around the decisions which are adopted.

The Law of Associations and its Regulation Law No. 54 of 27 December 1985, establishes that the Cuban State guarantees the exercise of the right of association as a means by which the citizens may realize multiple activities that contribute to the growth of science, culture, sport, creative initiatives, leisure activities and recreation during free time, as well as manifestations of friendship and human solidarity and other forms of organization for social welfare.

The law contains the grounds which can give place to the denial of the constitution of an association. Nonetheless, before a refusal is made, the promoters may claim a Motion to Repeal to the Justice Ministry and the resolution which is reached by this resource can be judicially contested.

The right for union organization is fully protected by Cuban law, and the Labor Code guarantees it.

In Cuba, there are 19 national unions grouped around a central syndicate, the CTC (Trade Union Federation), whose principles, statutes and regulations are democratically discussed and approved by the workers in their workers’ assemblies from the level of every workplace right up to the organization Congress. The CTC has the right to legislative initiative, according to regulations in the Constitution.

“Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.

The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures”.

From their own constitutional order, Cubans have established a model of a society that is adjusted to their history, culture, idiosyncrasies and reality, where it is possible to grow with equality and to transform with social justice, and that aims to achieve a harmonious combination between the collective and the individual interests.

We are building a society which results in a more productive citizen in the economic sense, more participatory in the political sense and with a greater sense of solidarity in the social sense.

In order for the electoral right to have an expression that promotes true popular participation, it is not enough to merely hold regular elections. Democracy is not accredited by dreams of formal mechanisms whose only function is to guarantee a false representation, many times weighed down by fraudulent practices.
It is the unprecedented fact of a broader concept of political participation, and this has made it possible for social majorities in Cuba to succeed in expressing themselves as political majorities and that democracy on the Island is sustained by the proposition of an existence of organic links between the government and the people.

We start with the concept of a state with a division of functions, but not with a division of powers. The power is indivisible and rests with the people, through a system of political organization that allows the citizens to transform themselves into active subjects in the national process. There is a relationship of clear subordination of the elective positions to the electorate and of all the executives to their collective organs.

Coming out of its republican experience, the presidency as a political organism is considered to be defunct in Cuba and, consequently, a mixed system was proposed, to become the mechanism of subordination and coordination for the principal state organs. Even though the Constitution itself recognizes that the supreme state organ is the National Assembly. The attribution of important functions to the Council of State gives it a special status in the exercise of its representative functions between the sessions period of the National Assembly.

In this manner, the carrying out of regular elections for the representative organs through direct and universal suffrage is instituted, where all candidates need more than 50% of the vote to be elected (every two and a half years for the municipal assemblies and every five years for the provincial assemblies and the National Assembly).

As a conclusion to the comparative analysis we have undertaken, some ideas may be identified:

However, that national law cannot be in contradiction with international obligations freely and expressly contracted by each state with other international subjects, whether in the framework of the United Nations or other multilateral or bilateral forums