Explanatory Report.

49. All Bills or Private Bills must be accompanied by an explanatory report stating the objects and reasons of such Bill or Private Bill (in these Rules referred to as “Explanatory Reports”).

Procedure in introduction of Private Bills.

50. A Representative intending to introduce a Private Bill must hand over to the President before the commencement of the sitting at which he wishes such Private Bill to be introduced, a copy of the Bill and of its Explanatory Report.

Publication of Bills and Private Bills in the official Gazette.

51. Bills and Private Bills shall be introduced to the House during its sittings and shall be published as early as possible in the official Gazette of the Republic. Copies of any such Bills or Private Bills shall be distributed to all Representatives as quickly as possible after their introduction to the House.

Reading of Committee reports.

52. The report of the appropriate Committee to which the Bill or Private Bill was referred, shall be read out from the rostrum of the House by the Chairman of such Committee or, in his absence, by the Member deputizing for him.

Procedure in debating and voting on Bills and Private Bills.

53. After the reading of the report there shall follow a debate in principle on the Bill or Private Bill followed by the reading, debate and voting on such Bill or Private Bill, taken clause by clause and as a whole.

Procedure in introducing amendments.

Any amendment proposed by a Representative shall be deposited with the President, if possible before the clause by clause commencement of the debate on the Bill or Private Bill and with the permission of the President during such debate.

Written and oral proposals for amendments.

55. All amendments shall be submitted in writing to the President’s Office and shall be distributed to all Representatives. An oral proposal for an amendment can only be made with the permission of the President.

Debate and voting on amendments and sub-amendments.

56. Amendments shall be debated and put to the vote before the main subject of the debate is voted upon, while sub-amendments shall be debated and put to the vote before amendments. The order in which amendments must be put to the vote is proposed by the President and in case of any objection the decision shall rest with the House.

Amendments relating to numerical errors and to linguistic or grammatical improvements.

57. After the clause by clause reading and debate on a Bill or Private Bill and following a decision taken by the President under the provisions of these Rules of Procedure that the debate has been concluded, no proposal for amendment can be made unless this is related to corrections of numerical errors, or to amendments aiming exclusively at effecting linguistic or grammatical improvements to the text without changing its meaning.

Amendments containing improper expressions

58. The President shall have the right not to allow the expounding of proposals for amendments or additional clauses containing improper expressions, and shall also have the right to refuse to put such proposals to the vote. Should the Representative insist, the President shall put the matter before the House which shall decide without any debate.

Final reading and voting on Bills and Private Bills.

59. Upon the conclusion of the clause by clause debate of a Bill or Private Bill under the provisions referred to hereinbefore, the House, unless it otherwise decides, shall proceed to the final reading of the Bill or Private Bill by reading only its title and by putting it to the vote as a whole.

Explanation of reasons for negative vote or abstention.

60. After a Bill or Private Bill has passed, no Representative can speak on the subject except in the case of a negative vote or abstention and only for the purpose of explaining the reasons for his abstention or negative vote.

Transmission of laws of the House to the President of the Republic.

61. After the passing of any Bill or Private Bill into law, the President shall transmit such law to the President of the Republic for promulgation by publication in the official Gazette of the Republic.

Pronouncement by the House on law or Budge returned.

62. In case a law is returned, the President shall within three days notify all Representatives of such return and the House of Representatives shall pronounce on the matter so returned within fifteen days of such return and in the case of return of the Budget as in paragraph 2 of Article 51 of the Constitution provided, the House of Representatives shall pronounce on the matter so returned within thirty days of such return.

Reference of Regulations to a Committee of the House.

63. Regulations issued and introduced to the House under the relevant laws shall, on being introduced, be referred for debate by the President before the appropriate Committee of the House.

Study and preparation of report on Regulations by a Committee of the House.

64. The appropriate Committee of the House shall proceed as quickly as possible to a study of the Regulations and shall prepare a report thereon following as far as possible the same procedure as that applied in the case of Bills or Private Bills.

Procedure in adopting Regulations.

65. The debate in the House on both the Regulations and the report of the appropriate Committee of the House, as well as the debate on a motion for their amendment and the taking of a vote thereon, shall be carried out as far as possible as provided in the Rules of Procedure with reference to Bills or Private Bills.

Introduction of public documents and petitions.

66. Public documents or petitions properly introduced to the House shall likewise be referred to the appropriate Committee of the House which after consideration thereof shall submit its report or comments thereon to the House.

Typing and checking of minutes of the House.

67. The minutes of the proceedings of the House shall be typed within three days of the respective sitting and shall be at the disposal of the Representatives for the purpose of checking the text of their speech.

Objection to minutes.

68. An objection to the minutes of a sitting of the House can be raised by a Representative by a written objection sent to the President of the relevant sitting, or through an oral submission at the following sitting. The House may then decide to correct such minutes accordingly.

Publication and distribution of minutes.

69. The minutes of the proceedings of the House of Representatives shall be printed, published and distributed to the Representatives.

Official minutes to be kept in Archives.

70. The official minutes of the proceedings of the House shall be signed by the President or by the Representative presiding over the relevant sitting and shall be kept in the Archives of the House.

Inspection of minutes by Representatives.

71. The Representatives shall have the right to inspect and go through the official minutes and documents recorded in the Archives and shall be furnished with certified free copies thereof.