SESSIONS
INTERNAL ORGANIZATION
BUREAU
STANDING COMMITTEES
POLITICAL GROUPS
PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATIONS:
-The National Assembly Delegation
for the European Union
-The Parliamentary Delegation
for Demographic Issues
-The National Assembly Delegation
for Planning.
-The Parliamentary Office for Evaluation
of Scientific and Technological Options.
-The Parliamentary Office for Evaluation
of Legislation
-The Parliamentary Office for Evaluation
of Public Policies
The National Assembly sits in Paris in the Palais Bourbon, which has been the
seat of the first parliamentary assembly since 1795. This was most recently confirmed
by the Ordinance of 17 November 1958.
SESSIONS
The Constitutional Act of 4 August 1995 changed the arrangements for holding
sessions to enable Parliament to operate continuously from the first working
day of October to the last working day of June. During this nine-month ordinary
session, replacing the two three-month sessions previously held, the Constitution
sets the maximum number of sitting days at 120. Additional sitting days may however
be decided, either by the Prime Minister, after consulting the president of the
assembly concerned, or by the majority of the members of each assembly.
Each assembly determines the weeks in which it will sit. The days and hours of
sittings are determined by the Rules of Procedure of each assembly.
As in the past, Parliament may also be convened in extraordinary session
by decree of the President of the Republic to consider a specific agenda at the
request either of the Prime Minister or of the majority of the deputies.
The Assembly meets as of right and may not be dissolved while article 16 of the
Constitution, conferring emergency powers on the President of the Republic in
the event of a serious crisis, is in operation.
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INTERNAL ORGANIZATION
The business of the Assembly is organized and dealt with through a number of
different bodies – the Bureau, the Chairmen's Conference (see page 12),
the political groups, committees and parliamentary delegations.
BUREAU
The Bureau is made up of twenty-two members – the President
of the National Assembly, who is elected during the first sitting of each new
term for the life of the Assembly, plus six Vice-Presidents, three Quaestors
and twelve Secretaries. These are elected during the sitting after the election
of the President, in such a way as to reflect the political make-up of the Assembly,
and a new election concerning their posts takes place at the opening sitting
of each ordinary annual session.
The Bureau
has complete power to arrange the business of the Assembly. It can interpret
and complement the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly by issuing orders known
as the Instruction générale. It also organizes and directs
the departments of the Assembly. These have the task, under the President's authority,
of assisting the deputies and organs of the Assembly in its legislative proceedings
and, under the Quaestors' authority, of managing the Assembly's administrative
and financial affairs.
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The President of the National Assembly is fourth in the French Republic's
order of precedence. He directs the proceedings of the Assembly, taking the chair
at public debates and in some of its main bodies, including the Bureau and the
Chairmen's Conference. He is responsible for the security of the Assembly and
may requisition armed forces for this purpose. In addition, the Constitution
requires him to appoint three of the nine members of the Constitutional Council
and authorizes him to refer matters to the Council. The Constitution also provides
that the President of the Assembly is to be consulted by the President of the
Republic before the latter dissolves the Assembly or takes emergency powers,
and by the Prime Minister before the latter determines that the Assembly is to
sit for additional days. The President of the National Assembly presides over
the Congress (joint session of the National Assembly and the Senate) when it
meets to amend the Constitution.
The six Vice-Presidents may replace the President in chairing debates on
the floor of the chamber.
Under the authority of the Bureau, the three Quaestors
have joint responsibility for the administrative and financial management of
the Assembly, including the assessment of budget requirements, the commitment
to incur expenditure, the conclusion of contracts, security (acting for the President)
and the management of administrative personnel (together with the President).
They are themselves supervised by the committee auditing and clearing accounts
– a fifteen-member committee appointed in such a way as to ensure proportional
representation of political groups.
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The twelve Secretaries are responsible for monitoring ballots and for certifying
the exactness of verbatim report of debates.
STANDING COMMITTEES
The Constitution specifies that there are to be no more than six standing committees
in each assembly. In the National Assembly they are :
-the Cultural, Family and Social Affairs Committee;
-the Foreign Affairs Committee;
-the National Defence and Armed Forces Committee;
-the Finance, General Economy and Planning Committee;
-the Constitutional Acts, Legislation and General Administration Committee;
-the Production and Trade Committee.
The members of these committees are appointed at the beginning of each new term
and each year thereafter at the commencement of the ordinary session in such
a way as to ensure proportional representation of political groups. No deputy
can be a member of more than one standing committee.
Each committee designates its bureau each year, consisting of a chairman and
a number of deputy chairmen and secretaries. The Finance, General Economy and
Planning Committee also appoints a general rapporteur.
The Cultural Affairs Committee and the Production Committee have the largest
membership; they each have twice as many members (at least 140) as each of the
other four (roughly 70).
The committees have complete control of their own proceedings. However, when
the Assembly is sitting they can meet only to consider matters committed to them
by the Assembly for immediate consideration or matters which have been included
on the agenda.
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POLITICAL GROUPS
Deputies may form groups
according to their political affinities. Each group must have at least twenty
members, not including ‘associate’ members, though the latter do count
towards the calculation of committee seats.
The political groups nominate members for the various organs of the Assembly,
state their views on texts submitted or to be submitted to the Assembly and determine
the political position to be adopted in committee or in plenary.
They generally meet on Tuesdays and additionally whenever required; they have
premises in the Palais Bourbon and staff which they recruit themselves.
Deputies who do not belong to a political group are usually termed « non
inscrits ». There are special provisions in the Rules of Procedure
for appointing them to committees and for determining the time they may speak
on the floor of the Assembly.
PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATIONS
Parliamentary delegations are set up by Act of Parliament ; they have to keep
Parliament informed in particular areas.
There are six parliamentary delegations.
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The National Assembly Delegation for the European Union
was set up by the Act of 6 July 1979, as amended by the Acts of 10 May 1990
and 10 June 1994. It has thirty-six members.
The Assembly constituted the Delegation because of the increase in the decision-
making powers of European Community institutions on matters within the jurisdiction
of Member States.
The Delegation's main function is to provide the Assembly with the information
it needs. For this purpose it centralizes all material on Community activities
originating either in the Community institutions themselves (proposals for directives
and regulations, White Papers etc.) or in the Government, and ensures that it
is passed on to the relevant committees.
The constitutional amendment of 25 June 1992, which was required before the Maastricht
Treaty could be ratified, and the amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the
Assembly made in November 1992 and January 1994 to specify how the new article
88-4 of the Constitution was to be implemented, increased the Government's obligation
to inform the Assembly and hence strengthened the role of the Delegation.
The Government is now required to transmit to Parliament ‘any proposals
for Community instruments which contain provisions which are matters for statute
as soon as they have been transmitted to the Council of the Communities’.
It must also keep the Delegation informed of any negotiations in progress.
The Delegation, for its part, must examine all proposals for Community instruments
which are matters for statute. Its members can introduce in their respect motions
for resolutions which are then considered by the standing committee responsible
and by any other committees asked for opinions. Motions for resolutions which
have been carried by the relevant standing committee are considered final within
eight days if they have not been included on the agenda or, if they are included,
once they are carried by the Assembly. The Government generally takes account
of the Assembly's view when negotiating with its European partners.
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The Parliamentary Delegation for Demographic Issues,
which was set up by the Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy Act of 31 December
1979, is a joint delegation for both parliamentary assemblies. It has twenty-five
members, fifteen of them from the National Assembly.
The National Assembly
Delegation for Planning was set up by the Planning Reform Act
of 29 July 1982 and has fifteen members.
The
Parliamentary Office for Evaluation of Scientific and Technological Options
was set up by the Act of 8 July 1983 and is a joint delegation for both parliamentary
assemblies. It has thirty-two members, sixteen of them from the National Assembly.
The members of this Office are appointed in such a way as to ensure proportional
representation of political groups – at the beginning of each term in the
case of the deputies, and after each partial renewal by election of the Senate
in the case of the senators.
To accomplish its work the Office is assisted by a Science Board of fifteen prominent
personalities selected for their expertise in science and technology.
Matters may be referred to the Office :
- by the Bureau of either assembly, either on its own initiative or at the request
of a political group chairman or of sixty deputies or forty senators ;
- or by a standing or special committee.
Moreover, since the Act of 30 December 1991 came into effect, the Government
is required to refer to the Office its annual report to Parliament on the management
of radioactive waste.
Once a reference is made, a rapporteur is appointed from among the members of
the Office. The rapporteur submits his draft report and recommendations to the
Science Board and then to the Office itself. The latter may, after consulting
the author of the reference, decide to publish the rapporteur's findings and
some or all of the contributions of experts and records of hearings.
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The
Parliamentary Office for Evaluation of Legislation,
set up by the Act of 14 June 1996, is made up of two delegations – one in
the Assembly and one in the Senate, each with fifteen members. The Assembly delegation
is appointed for the life of the Assembly and consists of seven ex-officio members
(the chairman of the Legistion Committee and one member from each of the six
standing committees) and eight members designated by the political groups in
such a way as to ensure proportional representation (including the ex-officio
members).
The Office is chaired for a year at a time by the chairman of the Legislation
Committee of the Assembly and of the Senate.
The task of the Office is to evaluate whether legislation properly deals with
the matters it is intended to regulate; the Office is also required to simplify
legislation. Matters may be referred to it by the Bureau of either assembly or
by a standing or special committee. The Office may call on experts. Its findings
are communicated to the author of the reference.
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The
Parliamentary Office for Evaluation of Public Policies,
set up by the Act of 14 June 1996, is also made up of two delegations –
one in the Assembly and one in the Senate, each with sixteen members. The Assembly
delegation is appointed for the life of the Assembly and consists of eight ex-officio
members (the chairman and the general rapporteur of the Finance Committee and
one member from each of the six standing committees) and eight members selected
by the political groups in such a way as to ensure proportional representation
(including the ex-officio members).
The Office is chaired for a year at a time by the chairman of the Finance Committee
of the Assembly and of the Senate.
References to the Office may be made by the Bureau of either assembly or by a
standing or special committee. It may commission studies from appropriate persons
or organizations. Its findings are communicated to the author of the reference.
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