Chapter II - the armed forces

Article 142. The Armed Forces, comprised of the Navy, the Army and the Air Force, are permanent and regular national institutions, organized on the basis of hierarchy and discipline, under the supreme authority of the President of the Republic, and are intended for the defense of the Country, for the guarantee of the constitutional powers, and, on the initiative of any of these, of law and order. Paragraph 1 - A supplementary law shall establish the general rules to be adopted in the organization, training and use of the Armed Forces.  Paragraph 2 - Habeas-corpus shall not apply to military disciplinary punishments. 

The entire Paragraph 3 was added by CA 18, February 5th 1998. This CA instituted the constitutional regime of the militaries. Before the CA, the references to the militaries were, in most cases, aglutinated with the references to the civil servants.

Paragraph 3 - The members of the Armed Forces are called military, and the following provisions apply to them, in addition to other provisions that the law may establish: I - the ranks, with the prerogatives, rights and duties inherent to them, are awarded by the President of the Republic and are guaranteed in full to officers in active service, those of the reserve or in retirement, and such officers have exclusive rights to military titles and posts, and together with the other members, to the use of the uniforms of the Armed Forces;  II - a military in active service who takes office in a permanent civil public position or job shall be transferred to the reserve, under the terms of the law;  III - a military in active service who, under the terms of the law, takes office in a non-elective, temporary civil public position, job or function, even if in the indirect administration, shall be put on leave and, as long as he remains in this situation he may only be promoted by seniority, and his period of service shall be counted only for that promotion and for transfer to the reserve, and after two years, whether continuous or not, away from active service, he shall be transferred to the reserve, under the terms of the law; IV - the military are forbidden to join unions and to strike; V - while in actual service, the military are forbidden to belong to political parties; VI - an officer shall only lose his post and rank if he is judged unworthy of or incompatible with the dignity of officership by decision of a permanent military court, in times of peace, or of a special court, in times of war; VII - an officer sentenced in a common or military court by means of an unappealable judgment to imprisonment for more than two years shall be submitted to trial as provided in the preceding item; VIII - the provisions of article 7, items VIII, XII, XVII, XVIII, XIX, and XXV, and of article 37, items XI, XIII, XIV and XV, apply to the military; IX - the provisions of article 40, paragraphs 4, 5, and 6 apply to the military and their pensioners; X - the law shall provide for admission to the Armed Forces, age limits, tenure, and other conditions for a military to be retired, the rights, duties, remuneration, prerogatives and other circumstances which are specific to the military, the special characteristics of their activities being taken into account, including those carried our by virtue of international agreements and of war. 

Article 143. Military service is compulsory as set forth by law.  Paragraph 1 - It is within the competence of the Armed Forces, according to the law, to assign an alternative service to those who, in times of peace, after being enlisted, claim imperative of conscience, which shall be understood as originating in religious creed and philosophical or political belief, for exemption from essentially military activities.  Paragraph 2 - Women and clergymen are exempt from compulsory military service in times of peace, but are subject to other duties assigned to them by law.