ART. 281. The Congress may, by special law, upon the request of the Council of Ministers, declare a state of national emergency, and may authorize the Council of Ministers itself to exercise extraordinary powers in any case in which the external security or internal order of the State may be placed in danger or attacked, by reason of war, catastrophe, epidemic, grave economic upset, or any other cause of an analogous nature.

In each case the special law shall determine the concrete matter to which the extraordinary powers shall be applied, as well as the period during which such powers shall be effective, which shall never exceed forty-five days.
 

ART. 282. During the state of national emergency the Council of Ministers may exercise the functions expressly delegated to it by the Congress. The Council of Ministers may likewise alter criminal proceedings. In all cases the legislative provisions adopted by the Council of Ministers must be ratified by the Congress in order to continue in effect when the state of national emergency shall have been terminated. Judicial actions that modify the normal regime must be revised, upon the termination of the state of emergency, at the instance of the interested party. A retrial shall take place in case sentence has already been passed whereupon said sentence shall be considered as a trial procedure.
 

ART. 283. The law in which the state of national emergency is declared must necessarily contain a call for an extraordinary session of the Congress for the day on which the emergency period expires. While the emergency period shall last a permanent committee of the Congress must be assembled in order to supervise the use of the extraordinary powers granted to the Council of Ministers, ant! this permanent committee may convene the Congress, even before the expiration of the said period, in order to declare abolished the state of emergency.

The permanent committee shall be selected from the body of the Congress, and shall be composed of twenty-four members who shall come from both colegislative bodies, in equal numbers, and similarly with representation from all the political parties. The president of the Congress shall preside over the committee, and it shall function when the Congress is in recess and during the state of national emergency.

The permanent committee shall have competence:

1st. To supervise the use of the extraordinary powers that may be granted to the Council of Ministers in cases of emergency.

2nd. Over determination of the inviolability of Senators and Representatives.

3rd. Over other matters that the law of relations between the colegislative bodies may stipulate.
 

ART. 284. The Council of Ministers must give an accounting of the use of the extraordinary powers before the permanent committee of the Congress, at any time that the latter shall so decide, and before the Congress upon the expiration of the state of national emergency.

A special law shall regulate the state of national emergency.