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Organization
and functioning of the House
Sessions of the House
The House meets without summons for
its ordinary session fifteen days following a general election and its
functioning and procedures are regulated, according to the Constitution,
by its Standing Orders (Internal Rules of Procedure). The ordinary
session of the House lasts for a period of three to six months in each
year, as the House may determine. In practice, however, sessions of the
House usually last for nine to ten months. The House can be summoned to
an extraordinary session by its President on the request of ten
Representatives, in which the reasons for such a request are clearly set
out.
Meetings
of the House
The meetings of the
House are open to the public, are usually held every Thursday and the
minutes of the debates are recorded verbatim and are published. The
quorum of the House consists of at least one third of the total number
of its members. The House may, if it thinks necessary, hold secret
sessions on a resolution carried by a three-quarters majority vote of
the total number of Representatives.
The agenda for a meeting
of the House includes four chapters: legislative work, introduction of
bills and documents, questions by Representatives addressed to the
various Ministries and the relevant answers of the Ministers and,
finally, in Chapter Four, matters entered by Members for debate.
The President of the Republic may address the House by message or
transmit his/her views to the House through the Ministers. The Ministers
may follow the proceedings of the House or any Committee thereof and
make a statement to or inform the House on any subject within their
competence.
The President’s and parliamentary
party leaders’
meeting
An informal institution
has been established in the House in recent years, that of “the
leaders’ meeting”, as it came to be known. This institution, which is
not anticipated in the Constitution or the House Rules of Procedure,
was initially applied in order to deal with some practical matters
raised in the progress of parliamentary work, but was eventually
established as a permanent institution playing a steering and
coordinating role in relation with the House work in plenary or in
committees or with other activities of the House or of its
Representatives. Proposals and suggestions of the leaders’ conference
are usually respected by House Members, but are never a substitute for
plenary decisions, as they have never aimed to anyway.
Parliamentary committees
Aiming at carrying out parliamentary work in a more
orderly manner, the Constitution and the House Rules provide for the
setting up and functioning of committees, the composition of which is
decided by the Committee of Selection. Political party groups in the
House are duly represented on each parliamentary committee.
Parliamentary committees are divided into standing
committees, corresponding to the respective Ministries and other
temporary, ad hoc or special committees. Committee quorum consists of at
least half of the total number of its members. Committee decisions are
taken by simple majority. In case of equality in votes, the Chairman or
Deputy Chairman of the Committee has a second or casting vote.
The Committees consider bills introduced in the House
for adoption and all matters introduced in plenary and referred to them.
Each Committee may, in addition to matters referred to it by the House,
consider on its own motion any other matter falling within its
competence, in the exercise of parliamentary control.
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