Denmark 1953 Constitution

Part VIII

71

1. Personal liberty shall be inviolable. No Danish subject shall in any manner whatever be deprived of his liberty because of his political or religious convictions or because of his descent.
2. A person shall be deprived of his liberty only where this is warranted by law.
3. Any person who is taken into custody shall be brought before a judge within twenty-four hours. Where the person taken into custody cannot be released immediately, the judge shall decide, stating the grounds in an order to be given as soon as possible and at the latest within three days, whether the person taken into custody shall be committed to prison, and in cases where he can be released on bail, the judge shall determine the nature and amount of such bail. This provision may be departed from by Statute as far as Greenland is concerned, if for local considerations such departure may be deemed necessary.
4. The finding given by the judge may at once be separately appealed against by the person concerned to a higher court of justice.
5. No person shall be remanded for an offense that can involve only punishment consisting of a fine or mitigated imprisonment.
6. Outside criminal procedure the legality of deprivation of liberty which is not by order of a judicial authority, and which is not warranted by the legislation dealing with aliens, shall at the request of the person who has been deprived of his liberty, or at the request of any person acting on his behalf, be brought before the ordinary courts of justice or other judicial authority for decision. Rules governing this procedure shall be provided by Statute.
7. The persons mentioned in subsection (6) shall be under supervision by a board set up by the Folketing, to which board the persons concerned shall be permitted to apply.

1. 1. The dwelling shall be inviolable. House searching, seizure, and examination of letters and other papers as well as any breach of the secrecy to be observed in postal, telegraph, and telephone matters shall take place only under a judicial order unless particular exception is warranted by Statute.

73

1. 1. 1. The right of property shall be inviolable. No person shall be ordered to cede his property except where required by the public weal. It can be done only as provided by Statute and against full compensation.
      2. Where a Bill relating to the expropriation of property has been passed, one-third of the Members of the Folketing may within three week-days from the final passing of such Bill, demand that it shall not be presented for the Royal Assent until new elections to the Folketing have been held and the Bill has again been passed by the Folketing assembling thereupon.
      3. Any question of the legality of an act of expropriation and the amount of compensation may be brought before the courts of justice. The hearing of issues relating to the amount of the compensation may by Statute be referred to courts of justice established for such purpose.
   2. Any restraint of the free and equal access to trade which is not based on the public weal, shall be abolished by Statute.

75

1. 1. 1. In order to advance the public weal efforts should be made to afford work to every able-bodied citizen on terms that will secure his existence.
      2. Any person unable to support himself or his dependents shall, where no other person is responsible for his or their maintenance, be entitled to receive public assistance, provided that he shall comply with the obligations imposed by Statute in such respect.
   2. All children of school age shall be entitled to free instruction in the elementary schools. Parents or guardians who themselves arrange for their children or wards receiving instruction equal to the general elementary school standard, shall not be obliged to have their children or wards taught in an elementary school.
   3. Any person shall be entitled to publish his thoughts in printing, in writing, and in speech, provided that he may be held answerable in a court of justice. Censorship and other preventive measures shall never again be introduced.

78

1. 1. The citizens shall be entitled without previous permission to form associations for any lawful purpose.
   2. Associations employing violence, or aiming at attaining their object by violence, by instigation to violence, or by similar punishable influence on people of other views, shall be dissolved by judgment.
   3. No association shall be dissolved by any government measure. However, an association may be temporarily prohibited, provided that proceedings be immediately taken against it for its dissolution.
   4. Cases relating to the dissolution of political associations may without special permission be brought before the highest court of justice of the Realm.
   5. The legal effects of the dissolution shall be determined by Statute.
2. The citizens shall without previous permission be entitled to assemble unarmed. The police shall be entitled to be present at public meetings. Open-air meetings may be prohibited when it is feared that they may constitute a danger to the public peace.
3. In case of riots the armed forces, unless attacked, may take action only after the crowd in the name of the King and the Law has three times been called upon to disperse, and such warning has been unheeded.
4. Every male person able to carry arms shall be liable with his person to contribute to the defense of his country under such rules as are laid down by Statute.
5. The right of the municipalities to manage their own affairs independently under the supervision of the State shall be laid down by Statute.
6. All privileges by legislation attached to nobility, title, and rank shall be abolished.
7. In future no fiefs, estates tail in laud or estates tail in personal property shall be created.
8. The provisions of sections 71, 78, and 79 shall only be applicable to the defense forces subject to such limitations as are consequential to the provisions of military laws.