Rules of Procedure of the Federal Assembly

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**Drafted by Rep. Carton (PPS-FR)**

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**Submitted on 19 June 2020**

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Adopted on 20 June 2020

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## **TITLE I - REPRESENTATIVES, ASSEMBLY BODIES AND POLITICAL GROUPS**

### CHAPTER 1 - REPRESENTATIVES

#### **Rule 1 – Representatives**

Persons elected to the Federal Assembly shall be referred to as: "Representatives", or "Reps.".

#### **Rule 2 – Independent mandate**

Representatives shall exercise their mandate freely and independently, shall not be bound by any instructions and shall not receive a binding mandate.

#### **Rule 3 – Standards of conduc**

1. The conduct of Representatives shall be characterised by mutual respect and shall be based on the values and principles of the Federal Republic of Europe. Representatives shall respect the Assembly’s dignity and shall not harm its reputation.

2. Representatives shall not disrupt the good order on the floor of the Assembly and shall refrain from improper behaviour. Representatives shall not resort to offensive language on the floor.

*The assessment of whether the language used by a Representative in a parliamentary debate is offensive or not should take into consideration, inter alia, the identifiable intentions of the speaker, the perception of the statement by the public, the extent to which it harms the dignity and reputation of the Assembly, and the freedom of speech of the Representative concerned. By way of example, defamatory language, “hate speech” and incitement to discrimination would ordinarily constitute cases of “offensive language” within the meaning of this Rule.*

3. The application of this Rule shall not otherwise detract from the liveliness of parliamentary debates, nor shall it undermine Representatives' freedom of speech.

### CHAPTER 2 - OFFICERS OF THE ASSEMBLY

#### **Rule 4 – Provisional Chair**

1. At the first sitting of a session, and at any other sitting held for the purpose of electing the President and the Bureau, the outgoing President or, failing him or her, the outgoing Vice-President, or, failing him, the Representative having held office for the longest period shall take the chair until the President has been elected.

2. No business shall be conducted while a Representative is provisionally in the chair, except the election of the President.

#### **Rule 5 – Nominations**

The President shall be elected a vote of all Representatives, followed by the Vice-President. Nominations shall be with consent of the nominee, and may only be made by a political group.

#### **Rule 6 – Election of the President and Vice-President – opening address**

1. Nominations for President shall be handed to the Representative provisionally in the chair, who shall announce them to the Assembly. If after two ballots no candidate has obtained an absolute majority of the votes cast, the third ballot shall be confined to the two Representatives who have obtained the highest number of votes in the third ballot. In the event of a tie, the candidate having held office for the longest period shall be declared to have been elected.

2. As soon as the President has been elected, the Representative who is provisionally in the chair shall vacate the chair. Only the elected President may deliver an opening address.

3. Nominations for Vice-President shall be handed to the President, who shall announce them to the Assembly. The election shall be held in a manner identical to the election of the President.

#### **Rule 7 – Term of office of Officers**

1. The term of office of the President and Vice-President shall be a month. When Representatives change political groups they shall retain, for the remainder of their term, any office they hold.

2. If a vacancy for one of these positions occurs before the expiry of this term of office, the Representative elected shall serve only the remaining period of his or her predecessor's term of office.

#### **Rule 8 – Vacancies**

1. If it becomes necessary for the President or the Vice-President to be replaced, a successor shall be elected in accordance with Rule 6.

2. If the office of President becomes vacant, the Vice-President shall act as President until a new President is elected.

#### **Rule 9 – Early termination of an office**

The Conference of Presidents may, acting by a majority of three-fifths of the votes cast, representing at least three political groups, propose to the Assembly that it bring to an end the term of office of the President or Vice-President, or of any other office holder elected within the Assembly, where it considers that the Representative in question has been guilty of serious misconduct. The Assembly shall take a decision on that proposal by a majority of two-thirds of the votes cast.

### CHAPTER 3 - OFFICES, BODIES AND DUTIES

#### **Rule 10 – Duties of the President**

1. The President shall direct all the activities of the Assembly in accordance with these Rules and shall enjoy all powers that are necessary to preside over the proceedings of the Assembly and to ensure that they are properly conducted.

2. The duties of the President shall be to open, suspend and close sittings; to rule on the admissibility of amendments and other texts put to the vote, as well as on the admissibility of parliamentary questions; to ensure observance of these Rules; to maintain order; to call upon speakers; to close debates; to put matters to the vote and to announce the results of votes.

3. The Conference of Presidents shall draw up the agenda of the Assembly’s sittings.

4. The President may speak in a debate only to sum up or to call speakers to order. Should the President wish to take part in a debate, he or she shall vacate the chair and shall not reoccupy it until the debate is over.

#### **Rule 11 – Duties of the Vice-President**

1. If the President is absent or unable to discharge their duties, or if the President wishes to take part in a debate pursuant to Rule 10(4), they shall be replaced by the Vice-President.

2. The President may delegate any duties to the Vice-President.

#### **Rule 12 – Composition of the Conference of Presidents**

1. The Conference of Presidents shall consist of the President of the Assembly, the Vice-President of the Assembly and the Presidents of the political groups. The President of a political group may arrange to be represented by a member of that group.

2. The President of the Assembly shall invite one independent Representative to attend meetings of the Conference of Presidents, without the right to vote.

3. The Conference of President may make amendments to the agenda.

4. The Conference of Presidents shall endeavour to reach a consensus on the matters referred to it. Where a consensus cannot be reached, the matter shall be put to a vote subject to a weighting based on the number of Representatives in each political group.

#### **Rule 13 – Duties of the Conference of Presidents**

1. The Conference of Presidents shall take decisions on the organisation of the Assembly’s work and on matters of legislative planning.

2. The Conference of Presidents shall be the authority responsible for matters concerning the Assembly’s relations with the other institutions and bodies of the Federal Republic of Europe.

#### **Rule 14 – Continuity of an office during the election period**

When a new Assembly is elected, all bodies and office holders of the outgoing Assembly shall continue to be in office until the first sitting of the new Assembly.

### CHAPTER 4 - POLITICAL GROUPS

#### **Rule 15 – Establishment and dissolution of political groups**

Representatives of each political party shall be members of their party’s political group and may not belong to another political group.

#### **Rule 16 – Intergroups**

Individual Representatives may form Intergroups or other unofficial groupings of Representatives, for the purpose of holding informal exchanges of views on specific issues across different political groups, and of promoting contact between Representatives and civil society.

## **TITLE II - LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE**

#### **Rule 17 – First reading**

1. When a bill is on the agenda for a first reading, the Assembly shall hold a debate on the bill, including a debate on amendments submitted to it.

2. After the bill has been debated for at least two hours, any amendments to the draft legislative act shall be put to a vote. Representatives may continue to speak on the bill until the end of the day’s sitting.

3. If no amendment has been submitted to a bill, the bill shall immediately be put to a vote at the end of the two hours of debate. Representatives may continue to speak on the bill until the end of the day’s sitting.

4. Amendment shall be up for a vote for 24 hours. Amendments which are adopted become part of the bill.

5. The President shall announce the results of the votes on the amendments at the end of the voting period.

6. Amendments which are rejected are not part of the bill.

7. If one amendment or more has been adopted, the bill shall be put to a vote during the following day’s sitting, and be up for a vote for 24 hours.

8. If the bill has been put to a vote under paragraph 4, it shall be up for a vote for 24 hours.

9. The President shall announce the results of the votes on the bill at the end of the voting period.

#### **Rule 18 – Second reading**

1. When a bill is on the agenda for a second reading, the Assembly shall hold a debate on the bill submitted by the Council of the Federation.

2. The proceedings applicable to a first reading under Rule 17 shall apply during second reading.

#### **Rule 19 – Third reading**

1. When a bill is on the agenda for a third reading, the Assembly shall hold a debate on the agreement proposed by the Conciliatory Committee.

2. After two hours of debate, the agreement shall be put to a vote.

3. The agreement shall be up for a vote for 24 hours.

4. The President shall announce the result of the vote at the end of the voting period.

#### **Rule 20 – Final vote**

1. If the President or the Prime Minister requests that a bill be submitted to a final vote, the version of the bill adopted during the second reading shall be put to a vote without debate, and be up for a vote for 24 hours.

2. The President shall announce the result of the vote at the end of the voting period.

#### **Rule 21 – Presidential vetoes**

1. If the President of the Federal Republic of Europe vetoes a bill, a debate motion to insist on the bill may be tabled by the Prime Minister, or the president of a political group, no later than three sitting days after the veto is announced.

2. The Assembly shall hold a debate on the motion to insist on the bill.

3. After two hours of debate, the motion to insist on the bill shall be put to a vote.

4. The motion to insist on the bill shall be up for a vote for 24 hours.

5. The President shall announce the result of the vote at the end of the voting period.

## **TITLE III - RELATIONS WITH OTHER INSTITUTIONS AND BODIES**

### CHAPTER 1 - CONFIRMATIONS

#### **Rule 22 – Confirmation of a Prime Minister**

1. When the Assembly has to confirm a Prime Minister nominated by the President of the Federal Republic of Europe, the confirmation may be put on the agenda on any sitting day.

2. The President shall request the nominee to make a statement and to present their political guidelines to the Assembly. The statement shall be followed by a debate, in the form of a questions and answers session.

3. The nomination shall then be put to a vote. The vote shall be open for 12 hours.

4. The President shall inform the Assembly and the President of the Federal Republic of Europe of the outcome of the vote.

#### **Rule 23 – Confirmation of a Cabinet**

1. When the Assembly has to confirm a Cabinet, the confirmation may be put on the agenda on any sitting day.

2. The confirmation shall then be put to a vote. The vote shall be open for 12 hours.

3. The President shall inform the Assembly of the outcome of the vote.

#### **Rule 24 – Motions of no-confidence**

1. A motion of no-confidence in respect of the Prime Minister and their Cabinet, or of one Cabinet Minister, may be submitted to the President by two political groups. No motion of no-confidence in respect of a specific Cabinet Minister shall be tabled more than once over a two weeks period.

2. A motion of no-confidence shall state reasons. A motion of no-confidence in the Prime Minister and their Cabinet shall bear mention of the name of the individual who would be recommended to the President as the new Prime Minister. It shall be forwarded to the Prime Minister.

3. The President shall announce to Representatives that a motion of no-confidence has been tabled immediately after they have received it.

4. The debate on the motion of no-confidence shall take place immediately after the reception of the motion is announced to Representatives.

5. The motion of no confidence shall be open for debate for two hours, after which it shall be put to a vote. Representatives may continue to speak on the motion of no-confidence until the end of the sitting day.

6. The vote shall be open for 12 hours.

7. A motion of no-confidence in a Cabinet Minister shall be adopted if it secures two thirds of the votes cast. A motion of no-confidence in the Prime Minister shall be adopted if it secures a majority of the votes cast. The President shall inform the Assembly, the Prime Minister, and the President of the Federal Republic of Europe of the result of the vote.

### CHAPTER 2 - STATEMENTS

#### **Rule 25 – Statements by the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers**

1. The Prime Minister may, at any time, ask the President for permission to make a statement. The President shall decide the day on which the statement shall be made, or allow for the statement to be made immediately if the Assembly in sitting.

2. A Cabinet Minister may, at any time, ask the President for permission to make a statement. The President shall decide the day on which the statement shall be made, or allow for the statement to be made immediately if the Assembly in sitting

### CHAPTER 3 - PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS

#### **Rule 26 – Questions to the Prime Minister**

1. Questions to the Prime Minister shall be held each week, on a day agreed upon by the President and the Prime Minister.

2. Each President of a political group may ask up to three questions. When all of them have done so, or declined or failed to ask any further question, any Representative shall be allowed to ask for the floor and ask a question until the end of the sitting day.

### CHAPTER 4 - RESOLUTIONS

#### **Rule 27 – Resolutions**

1. Any Representative may table a resolution.

2. Each Representative may table no more than one resolution per week.

3. The resolution shall be submitted to the President, who may put it on the agenda for a future day.

4. When a resolution is on the agenda, the Assembly shall hold a debate on the resolution for two hours. Any Representative may speak on the resolution until the end of the sitting day.

5. The resolution shall then be put to a vote. The vote shall be up for 24 hours, and the results announced by the President.

6. No amendments may be tabled that would make changes to a resolution.

#### **Rule 28 – Topical debates**

1. The President may put a topical debate on the agenda.

2. A topical debate shall pertain to a specific topic, or policy domain, or world event.

## **TITLE IV - SESSIONS**

### CHAPTER 1 - SESSIONS OF THE ASSEMBLY

#### **Rule 29 – Parliamentary term, session, part-sessions, sittings**

The parliamentary term shall run according to the Constitution. It shall be a single session. Each week shall be a part-session. Each day where an agenda has been provided and debate or votes can take place is a sitting day.

### CHAPTER 2 - ORDER OF BUSINESS OF THE ASSEMBLY

#### **Rule 30 – Draft agenda**

1. At the end of each part-session the draft agenda for the next part-session shall be drawn up by the President. The Conference of Presidents may adopt amendments to the draft agenda.

2. The agenda may indicate voting times for certain items down for consideration.

3. The final agenda shall be made available to Representatives at least three hours before the beginning of the part-session.

#### **Rule 31 – Amendments to the agenda**

1. The Prime Minister can suggest changes to the agenda at any point for priority Cabinet business. The President shall decide whether to grant such changes.

2. In case of emergency, the President may alter the agenda.

### CHAPTER 3 - GENERAL RULES FOR THE CONDUCT OF SITTINGS

#### **Rule 32 – Speaker recognition**

1. Any Representative wishing to speak on a topic on the agenda may do so by asking for the floor on the Assembly’s floor.

2. Representatives may not speak unless called upon to do so by the President. Upon finishing their speech, Representatives shall yield the floor.

3. Representatives may ask questions pertaining to another Representative, in which case their request for the floor should have priority over other requests. The President may refuse to recognise a Representative for a question if he believes the Representative is abusing this prerogative.

4. When given the floor, no Representative may speak for more than one full Discord message (2000 signs) before yielding the floor. Representatives should post their whole speech in a single message, with the exception of: (i) a thank-you sentence addressed to the President; and (b) a sentence to yield the floor.

5. The Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister shall have priority over other Representatives and are given the floor immediately upon request.

#### **Rule 33 – Prevention of obstruction**

The President shall have the power to put an end to the excessive use of motions such as points of order, where they are convinced that those motions are manifestly intended to cause, and would result in, a prolonged and serious obstruction of the procedures of the Assembly or the rights of Representatives.

### CHAPTER 4 - MEASURES TO BE TAKEN IN THE EVENT OF NON-COMPLIANCE WITH THE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT OF REPRESENTATIVES

#### **Rule 34 – Immediate measures**

1. The President shall call to order any Representative who breaches the standards of conduct.

2. If the breach is repeated, the President shall call the Representative to order a second time.

3. If the breach continues, or if a further breach is committed, the Representative may be denied the right to speak and may be excluded from the Chamber by the President for the remainder of the sitting. In cases of exceptional seriousness, the President may also resort to exclusion of the Representative concerned from the Chamber for the remainder of the sitting immediately and without a second call to order.

4. The President may delete from the record those parts of a speech by a Representative that breach Rule 3(2).

#### **Rule 35 – Penalties**

1. In serious cases of breach of Rule 3(1) or (2), the President shall adopt a reasoned decision imposing upon the Representative concerned the appropriate penalty in accordance with this Rule.

2. The Representative concerned shall be invited by the President to submit written observations before the decision is adopted. The President may decide to convene an oral hearing instead whenever it is more appropriate. The decision imposing the penalty shall be notified to the Representative concerned. After that decision has been notified to the Representative concerned, any penalty imposed on a Representative shall be announced by the President in the Assembly.

3. When assessing the conduct observed, account shall be taken of its exceptional, recurrent or permanent nature and of its seriousness. Account shall also be taken, if applicable, of possible damage inflicted on the dignity and reputation of the Assembly.

4. The penalty may consist of one or more of the following measures:

1. a reprimand;
2. temporary suspension from participation in all or some of the activities of the Assembly for a period of between one and five sitting days;

### CHAPTER 5 - QUORUM, AMENDMENTS AND VOTING

#### **Rule 36 – Quorum**

The Assembly may deliberate and vote if over half of the number of Representatives are present. A quorum is always assumed to be present.

#### **Rule 37 – Tabling and presenting amendments**

1. Amendments for consideration in the Assembly may be tabled by a political group or at least four Representatives. The names of the author and all co-signatories shall be published.

*Amendments shall be tabled in writing in the form of a Google Doc and signed by their author and co-signatories.*

*Amendments may be accompanied by a short justification. Such justifications shall be the responsibility of the author and shall not be put to the vote.*

2. Subject to the limitations laid down in Rule 38, an amendment may seek to change any part of a text. It may be directed to deleting, adding or replacing words or figures.

*In this Rule and Rule 38, the term “text” means the whole of a bill.*

3. The President shall set a deadline for the tabling of amendments.

4. An amendment may be presented during the debate by its author or by one of the co-signatories.

5. Where an amendment is withdrawn by its author, it shall fall unless it is taken over by another Representative.

#### **Rule 38 – Admissibility of amendments**

1. No amendment shall be admissible if:

1. it does not directly relate to the text which it seeks to amend;
2. it seeks to delete or replace the whole of a text;
3. it seeks to amend more than one of the individual articles or paragraphs of the text to which it relates with the exception of with the exception of compromise amendments and amendments which seek to make identical changes to a particular form of words throughout the text.

2. The President shall decide whether amendments are admissible.

*The President's decision under paragraph 2 concerning the admissibility of amendments is not based exclusively on the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Rule but on the provisions of the Rules in general.*

3. With the agreement of the President, amendments may, be tabled after the close of the deadline for amendments if they are compromise amendments. The President shall decide on the admissibility of such amendments.

*The following general criteria for admissibility of compromise amendments may be applied:*

* *as a general rule, the compromise amendments relate to parts of the text which have been the subject of amendments prior to the deadline for tabling amendments;*
* *as a general rule, the compromise amendments are tabled by political groups representing a majority in the Assembly, or the authors of other amendments;*
* *as a general rule, the compromise amendments entail the withdrawal of other amendments to the same passage.*

#### **Rule 39 – Voting procedure**

1. Save where these Rules specifically provide otherwise, the following voting procedure shall apply to texts submitted to the Assembly:

1. first, the President shall announce the vote on the floor,
2. second, the President shall post on the appropriate voting channel, indicating precisely what is the subject matter of the vote,
3. third, Representatives shall cast their votes by reacting to the post,
4. finally, the President shall announce the results of the vote on the floor.

2. A vote may be called if:

1. it has been up for 24 hours, or
2. having been up for 18 hours, the in-favour/against ratio is 2/3 or higher, or
3. having been up for 12 hours, the in-favour/against ratio is 3/4 or higher.

#### **Rule 40 – Order of voting on amendments**

1. Amendments shall have priority over the text to which they relate and shall be put to the vote before that text.

2. All the amendments on a text shall be put up to a vote at the same time. The amendments shall be put up in the order of the provisions of the text they pertain to. If two or more mutually exclusive amendments have been tabled to the same part of a text, the amendments shall be put up to a vote in order from the amendment that departs furthest from the original text to the amendment that departs the least from the original text.

3. If two or more mutually exclusive amendments have been tabled to the same part of a text, these amendments shall not be called less than 24 hours before having been put up to a vote.

4. If one the first of the mutually exclusive amendments is adopted, the other conflicting amendments shall be deemed to have been rejected. If it is rejected, the list shall be proceeded with until one of the conflicting amendments is called as adopted and the others deemed rejected, or until have these amendments have been rejected. Where there is a doubt as to priority, the President shall decide.

5. Where compromise amendments are put to the vote, they shall be given priority in voting.

6. The President may put other amendments to the vote collectively where they are complementary.

7. Where two or more identical amendments are tabled by different authors, they shall be put to the vote as one.

#### **Rule 41 – Right to vote**

The right to vote is a personal right. Representatives shall cast their votes individually and in person.

#### **Rule 42 – Voting**

1. As a general rule, the Assembly shall vote by reacting to posts made by the President in the relevant channel.

2. In calculating whether a text has been adopted or rejected, account shall be taken only of votes cast for and against, with more votes in favour than against needed for approval. This provision shall not apply in cases where a different requirement for a majority is provided by the Constitution, or by law.

3. The President shall establish the result of the vote and announce it.

#### **Rule 43 – Tied votes**

In the event of a tied vote, the text or bill shall be deemed to have been rejected.

*The President may vote, but shall not have a casting vote.*

### CHAPTER 6 - POINTS OF ORDER AND PROCEDURAL MOTIONS

#### **Rule 44 – Points of order**

1. Representatives may be allowed to speak in order to draw the attention of the President to any failure to comply with the Assembly's Rules of Procedure. They shall first specify to which Rule they are referring.

2. A request to raise a point of order shall take precedence over all other requests to speak or procedural motions.

3. The President shall take an immediate decision on points of order in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and shall announce it immediately after the point of order has been raised. No vote shall be taken concerning the President's decision.

4. Exceptionally, the President may state that he or she will announce the decision later, but the President shall not do so more than 24 hours after the point of order was raised. Postponement of the ruling shall not entail the adjournment of the debate.

### CHAPTER 7 - PUBLICATIONS OF ADOPTED TEXTS

#### **Rule 45 – Texts adopted**

Texts adopted by the Assembly shall be published immediately after the vote.

## **TITLE V - AMENDMENT OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE**

#### **Rule 46 – Amendment of the Rules of Procedure**

1. Any Representative may propose amendments to these Rules and to their annexes accompanied, where appropriate, by short justifications. The President shall examine them and decide whether to submit them to the Assembly.

2. Unless otherwise specified when the vote is taken, amendments to these Rules and to their annexes shall enter into force on the first day of the part-session following that of their adoption.

## **TITLE VI - MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS**

#### **Rule 47 – Unfinished business**

At the end of the last part-session before elections, all the Assembly's unfinished business shall be deemed to have lapsed.

#### **Rule 48 – Corrigenda**

1. If an error is identified in a text adopted by the Assembly, the President shall, where appropriate, submit a draft corrigendum to the Assembly.

2. The corrigendum shall be announced at the following part-session. It shall be deemed to have been approved unless, not later than 24 hours after its announcement, a request is made by a political group that it be put to the vote.

3. Approved corrigenda shall be published in the same way as the text to which they refer.