Speech by Representative from his seat.

20. Speeches on a matter of order or procedure, including matters of interpretation or application of the Rules, may be made not from the rostrum of the house, but from the Representative’s seat. Also the President may for any sufficient reason allow a Representative to make a speech from his seat.

Permission to speak.

21. A Representative shall ask for oral permission to make a speech by raising his hand.

Invitation by the President to make a speech.

22. A Representative shall make a speech after being invited to do so by the President.

Simultaneous request for permission to speak.

23. When two or more Representatives ask at the same time for permission to speak, the President shall give permission to speak to the Representative whom he has noticed first.

More than one speech on the same subject.

24. No Representative may, unless he obtains the permission of the President, speak more than once on the same subject, unless:

(a) he will explain an essential part of his speech which was misinterpreted or was the subject of criticism by another Representative without, however, introducing a new subject;

(b) he is the introducer of a motion or amendment to a matter of substance and not a matter of form;

(c) he is the Representative who introduced the Private Bill under debate or he is the mover of a matter entered for debate;

(d) he is a Representative speaking on behalf of the Committee before which the Bill or Private Bill, or the matter moved was referred for debate in the first instance;

(e) he will express an opposite view, or comment on an argument or speak or take a stand on a new point or new idea raised from the speech of a Representative;

(f) he will reply to a personal attack made against him by a previous speaker.

Support to a motion or amendment by a Representative.

25. A Representative can support a motion or amendment moved, or proposed by another Representative by rising from his seat and stating that he intends to support such motion or amendment. This statement shall not be considered as a speech on the proposed motion or amendment.

Reading of speeches, limitations, etc.

26. A Representative shall not read his speech, but may read extracts from books or documents in order to support his arguments; he can also make use of notes to refresh his memory:

It is to be understood that a Representative may read his speech from a manuscript in the case of -

(a) an introductory speech on a Private Bill, or a subject entered for debate in the agenda, or to give a reply thereto;

(b) a speech on the Budget; and

(c) statements made by Party leaders in the House or by Parliamentary Spokesmen or by their Representatives.

A Representative must not deviate from the question under debate.

27. A Representative, when called to speak, must direct his speech to the matter under debate or to a motion or amendment he intends to move or support, or to a point of order. When, however, a Representative deviates from the subject, the President shall remind him that he must speak on the subject.

Speech on matters sub judice.

28. A Representative during his speech, when referring to any particular matter which is sub judice, must speak in a way that is not prejudicial to a fair trial of the case.

Out of order.

29. Any attempt to re-examine any particular matter on which the House expressed an opinion during the current session shall be considered to be out or order, unless this is supported by new elements or circumstances.

Interruption of a Representative.

30. No Representative shall interrupt another Representative unless -

(a) he will raise a procedural matter or intervene for reasons of order; or

(b) he will clarify, with the speaker’s consent, a matter raised by such speaker,

provided that in either case he obtains the permission of the President.

Adjournment of debate on any particular topic in the agenda.

31. A debate on any particular topic of the agenda may be adjourned for the next meeting of the House at the request of the majority of the Representatives present at the meeting.

Conclusion of debate on a matter and voting.

32. The President shall not accept any motion by a Representative requesting that the matter be put to the vote in the House, unless:

(a) the matter has been fully debated, and

(b) acceptance of such motion would not be contrary to or in violation of any rule of procedure.

Procedure to be followed in putting a motion to the vote.

33. In applying the provisions of rule 32 hereof the President may move that the matter be put to the vote before the House. In such a case two Representatives, one in favour and one against the motion, shall be allowed up to fifteen minutes each for their respective speeches. The House shall then decide on the motion without further debate and without any amendment thereto.

Decision to conclude debate.

34. A decision on a motion for the conclusion of the debate must be taken by a 2/3 majority of the Representatives present and voting.

Observance of the Rules by Representatives.

35. During the sittings of the House and of the Committees, the Representatives must observe the provisions of these Rules of Procedure and have due respect for the Constitution and the functions of the State.

Behaviour of Representatives during the sittings of the House.

36. During the sittings of the House, the Representatives must -

(a) present themselves and behave in a manner suited to the place, the task performed and the mission of the House;

(b) avoid any activities obstructing the smooth conduct of the proceedings of the House; and

(c) avoid the use of abusive language against the person of any Representative.

Appointment of Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Members of a Committee of the House.

37. (1) The Committee of Selection shall appoint the Chairman and the Members of each Committee, as well as the Member who will be replacing the Chairman in case of temporary absence or incapacity.

(2) Should the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of a Committee not be present at a meeting of the Committee, the duties of the President shall be exercised by a Representative of the parliamentary group to which the Chairman of the Committee belongs. In case that no Representative of the said parliamentary group is present at the meeting, the eldest Representative present shall preside over the Committee.

Refusal to accept appointment to a Committee of the House.

38. No Representative can refuse appointment to any Standing Committee or any special or temporary Committee of the House, unless he has special reasons to this effect to the satisfaction of the Committee of Selection.

Convocation of a meeting of a Committee of the House.

39. (1) The Chairman of a Committee of the House or the member deputizing for him in his absence shall convoke the meetings of the Committee and direct its proceedings accordingly.

(2) The Committees shall meet whenever it is deemed necessary following a decision by the Chairman, or a request addressed to him by a Member acting on behalf of the parliamentary group to which that Member belongs, or a request by two Members, provided that this has been notified in time to all Members of the Committee.

Place of the meeting of a Committee.

39A. (1) The Committees shall hold their meetings in the building of the House of Representatives, unless it is deemed necessary to hold them elsewhere due to special reasons. In such a case, this shall be decided by the Committee, which shall inform the President of the House of its decision.

(2) When a Committee visits a specific place, it can hold an informal meeting there. However, it shall not decide or take a position on the matter which is the object of the visit, until an ordinary meeting of the Committee is held at the building of the House.

Quorum of Committees of the House.

40. The quorum of the Committees shall consist of at least one half of the total number of its members.

A Bill or Private Bill or other matter may be referred for debate to more than one Committee.

41. (1) Following a decision of the House to this effect a Bill or Private Bill, or any other particular matter may be referred to for debate before one or more Committees of the House.

(2) Notwithstanding any decision made under the paragraph hereinbefore mentioned, for the elaboration of any Bill or Private Bill or matter falling within the competence of more than one Committee, the President of the House may call joint meetings of the competent Committees of the House. Should the President of the House not be present, the Chairman of the Committee which is mentioned first in the reference of the matter to the Committees shall preside over the joint meeting.

(3) A Committee shall proceed to the earliest possible consideration of the matter referred to it, shall prepare its report as quickly as possible and shall see to its immediate distribution to all Representatives.

Consideration of matters by a Committee on its own motion.

41A. (1) Each Committee in addition to the matters referred to it by the House, may, in the exercise of parliamentary control on matters within its competence, by unanimous decision, consider on its own motion any other matters within its competence.

(2) In cases of a decision not taken unanimously by a Committee for the consideration of a matter on its own motion, it is required that a proposal duly explained be submitted in advance, either in writing or orally, by one or more interested Representatives to the Chairman of the Committee. The aforementioned proposal has to encompass evidence that would constitute a prima facie case of consideration. A proposal not duly explained, or a proposal solely expressing suspicion, or encompassing such elements which constitute an issue of mere information, cannot be approved by the Committee. Should the Committee decide that there is a prima facie matter which is not identical or similar to any other matter already entered for debate in the House, or in any Committee, it shall approve, by majority, the introduction of the matter in question in the list of pending issues of the Committee.

Procedure of debates in the Committees.

42. (1) A Representative who has introduced a Private Bill or entered a matter for debate in a Committee, shall attend the meeting of the Committee in person in order to support and elaborate on the Private Bill or matter in question respectively:

It is to be understood that in case of a serious impediment, the Respresentative may be represented by another Representative of the same political party group.

(2) In case of an introduction of a Bill by the Government, a notification for the meeting of the competent Committee of the House shall be sent to the Minister who has introduced the Bill under question, or in whose competence the matter under question falls.

(3) Ministers can be present at the debates of the Committees of the House and express their views.

(4) A Committee of the House shall have the right to summon any interested organ, authority, organization, society, association, trade union, person or corporate body to provide information and evidence or to express and elaborate views and opinions on any Bill or matter under debate.

(5) For procedural purposes, the Committees of the House shall take into consideration information and evidence submitted before them in accordance with their own decision, or as a result of representations addressed to them, or by invocation of the legislation in force pertaining to the submission of evidence and information to the House of Representatives and the Committees.

(6) Should a person wish to express views or elaborate on them or opinions on a matter, he shall inform accordingly the Chairman of the Committee in writing, through the Director of the Parliamentary Committees Service.

(7) The decision concerning the specific procedure to be followed in each case for the collection of evidence and information in question, shall be taken by the Committee itself.

(8) The Chairman of the Committee shall make clear to those wishing to submit information to the Committee that the evidence and information submitted shall be made public, unless they themselves request that the said evidence and information be considered as confidential. In such a case, the submitted evidence shall be classified and considered from then on as confidential without this precluding any member of the House from having access to this evidence.

(9) Should a Ministry, a government department or another organization be summoned to a meeting of a Committee, the level of their representation to the said meeting shall be decided by the Ministry, the government department or the organization themselves:

It is to be understood that the aforementioned provisions do not deprive the Committee of the right to summon to a hearing particular members of the Government or the civil service, if it deems this purposeful.

(10) A Committee may require a priori the submission of a memorandum comprising the views of a Ministry, government department or organization on the matter to be debated:

It is to be understood that, in case these views are expressed in person before a Committee, the representative of any of the aforementioned services shall not be deprived of the right to support these views with a written note or memorandum, which he shall forward to the Committee upon conclusion of the meeting concerned.

(11) Once all evidence submitted before a Committee has been distributed to all its Members, the Committee may at the first stage ask for clarifications from the persons who have submitted such evidence, in relation to either the evidence itself or any other new points emanating from the evidence in question.

(12) Further evaluation of the evidence submitted before a Committee shall be the work of its Members in a meeting in camera.

(13) The Chairman of a Committee shall require from persons appearing before it to express concisely and comprehensively their opinions or views and submit relevant evidence and information on the matter under consideration. Then, he shall give the floor to those Members of the Committee who wish to address questions for clarification only on any point that has been expressed or raised.

(14) The Members of the Committee shall at this stage avoid to express or disclose in any way their positions or conclusions on the matter under debate.

(15) Should the Chairman of a Committee consider that abusive language or phrases, or words offending the House or other institutions are used in a document submitted before the Committee, he may order the withdrawal of the said document or the deletion of such phrases or words. The decision of the Chairman of the Committee shall be notified to the President of the House.

(16) During hearings in a Committee, its Chairman has responsibility for and ensures the protection of the invited persons against unbecoming expressions or the launching of accusations or personal attacks.

Permission to speak in a Committee.

43. (1) The members of a Committee, having first obtained the permission to speak from the Chairman, shall limit themselves to the matter under consideration.

(2) Each Member of a Committee who takes the floor, shall express his views or observations addressing the Chair or another person through the Chair.

(3) A Member who has obtained permission to speak, may not be interrupted, unless the Chairman of the Committee consents to this.

(4) The Chairman of a Committee is entitled to revoke permission to speak from a Member who acts improperly, or in the Chairman’s judgement deviates from the matter under discussion, or is out of order.

Personal interests of a member of a Committee.

44. In case a Member of a Committee has a direct personal interest in relation to the matter under consideration by a Committee, he should inform accordingly the Chairman and the Members of the Committee at the opening of the meeting or as soon as the existence of such an interest becomes evident in the course of the discussion.

Procedure to be followed in putting a motion to the vote.

45. Should the Chairman of a Committee consider that a matter has been sufficiently debated, he shall first put to the vote a motion that the debate on the matter has been exhausted and shall immediately thereafter put the said matter to the vote, without any further discussion, for the adoption of a final position.

Decisions of Committees of the House.

46. The decisions of the Committees of the House shall be taken by majority. In case of equality of votes the Chairman or the Member deputizing for him shall have a second or casting vote. Any disagreement by a Member of the Committee and the reasons therefor shall be briefly entered, at his request, in the report of the Committee.

Publicity of the meetings of a Committee and handling of confidential documents.

46A. (1) The meetings of the Committees are public, unless the Committee concerned otherwise decides.

(2) Notwithstanding the paragraph hereinabove, the meetings of the Committees, at the stage of the adoption of a final position and decision, shall always be held in camera.

(3) Should a document which is classified as confidential be distributed to the Members of a Committee, any notification concerning its content to any person other than a Representative is not permitted, unless if and to the extent the Chairman of the Committee consents to.

(4) In case of a leak of such document, the President of the House shall ensure the investigation of the case and submit a relevant report to the plenary of the House.

Functioning of subcommittees.

46B. (1) A Committee may decide to entrust the study of one or more matters to subcommittees composed of Committee Members. Furthermore, the Committee may decide to extend or amend the terms of reference of, or dissolve the subcommittees. The subcommittees shall submit the results of their study to all Members of the Committee before the latter is convened in order to decide upon the matter in question.

(2) On setting up a subcommittee, the Chairman of the Committee concerned shall appoint the Chairman of the said subcommittee.

(3) The same procedure followed by the Committees shall be adopted, to the possible extent, as far as both the composition and the procedure to be followed by the subcommittees are concerned.

Minutes of proceedings of meetings of Committees of the House.

47. (1) The minutes of proceedings of the meetings of Committees shall be kept in a summary form. Should a Committee deem it necessary, it may exceptionally order that precise minutes are kept, taking into consideration the nature and seriousness of the matter under debate.

(2) The Chairman of each Committee shall ensure that copies of the minutes are forwarded to all its Members. The said minutes shall be considered as confidential and shall not be distributed to any person other than a Member of the House, without the instructions of the President of the House.

Reports by Committees of the House.

47A. (1) Once the consideration of a matter has been concluded, a Report addressed to the plenary of the House shall be prepared by the Committee.

(2) The draft Report shall be prepared by the secretariat of a Committee and shall be forwarded to all its Members for approval. Should the time limit set by the Committee for the approval of the said text expire without any proposals for amendments or additions, the text of the draft Report shall be considered as adopted by all the Members of the Committee and shall be distributed to all the Members of the House.

(3) In case a Committee decides to examine the draft text of a Report, the said text shall be submitted to the Committee for final approval.

(4) A Member of a Committee disagreeing with the content of the Report of the Committee or wishing to express different views or positions, may present his own position in brief which shall be incorporated in the text of the Report in question.

(5) The Chairman of a Committee, or the Member who for any reason deputizes for him in his absence, shall have responsibility for the presentation of the Report of that Committee before the plenary of the House.

(6) The Chairman of a Committee may order the rectification of errors appearing in a Report of the Committee, provided that the said errors are purely casual and do not affect in any way the substance of the content of a Report.

Consideration of memoranda/ representations submitted to Committees.

48. (1) All memoranda addressed to a Committee shall be submitted to the secretariat of the Committee which shall forward them to all its Members. Should the preliminary examination of these memoranda give rise to issues requiring further investigation, then the whole matter shall be placed before the Committee which shall decide on the procedure to be followed:

It is to be understood that the Committees or their secretariat shall not consider any representations submitted anonymously to the Committees, or any other representations notified to them, unless it is deemed that in the latter case issues for consideration are raised.

(2) The person submitting a memorandum/representation shall be informed the soonest possible of the results of the examination of the issue he has raised.