Act No. 90 / 1995 Coll.

Act on Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies

Valid Law Effective from 01.08.1995
90
THE LAW
of 19 April 1995
concerning the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies
Parliament has decided on this law of the Czech Republic:

ČÁST PRVNÍ

INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS
§ 1
(1) The Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies shall lay down the principles of conduct of the Chamber of Deputies (hereinafter referred to as "the House '), its bodies and its officials, the principles of negotiation of a joint meeting of the chambers of Parliament, external relations of the House, the status of Members, bodies and officials of the House.
(2) Under this law, the House regulates its internal circumstances and more detailed rules of action of the House and its institutions.

ČÁST DRUHÁ

_
Member's mandate
§ 2
The mandate of a Member shall be subject to election. Replacement (1) shall assume the mandate of the Member for whom the alternate enters at the time of the termination of the mandate of that Member (Article 6 (a), (c), (d) and (f))).
§ 3
Declaration made in person at the meeting The House may waive its mandate. If the Member is prevented from attending a session of the House by serious circumstances, he may also do so by a declaration drawn up in the form of a notarial record which shall be delivered to the President of the House and shall not be more than one month old.
§ 4
Member's promise
The Member shall take part in the first meeting of the House, a promise prescribed by the Constitution. He will do so by saying the word 'I promise' and by giving a hand to him in whose hands he takes his promise. The President shall have the text read before that. The composition of the oath shall be confirmed by the Member by his signature.
§ 5
Member's card
(1) A Member shall receive a photograph, the stamp of the House and the signature of the President of the House.
(2) The card verifies that its holder is a member of the House, has the rights and obligations of a Member and also serves as a personal card of a Member confirming his identity.
Termination of the Member's mandate
§ 6
The mandate of Members shall cease
(a) denial of a Member's promise or acceptance of a promise subject to reservation;
(b) the expiry of the parliamentary term,
(c) a declaration by the Member at the session of the House giving up his mandate or at the time of delivery of the notarial record of his resignation (§ 3) in the hands of the President of the House,
(d) the moment in which the circumstances resulting in the loss of the Member's electability arise;
(e) dissolution of the House,
(f) at the time when the Member has taken up office or duties the incompatibility of which with the function of Member shall be determined by the Constitution or by law.
§ 7
If a Member becomes legally incompatible with the mandate of a Member, he shall notify the President of the House without delay.
§ 8
Doubts about the loss of selectivity and doubts about the incompatibility of the function with the duties of Member shall be treated in accordance with the special legislation.2)
Participation in the deliberations of the House and its institutions
§ 9
(1) The Member shall take part in the deliberations of the House and its bodies to which he has been elected or appointed.
(2) After the opening of the session of the House or its institution, the President shall notify the names of the Members who have requested an apology for non-participation.
(3) If a Member is unable to take part in the deliberations of the House or its institution, he shall apologise to the President of the institution whose proceedings are concerned.
(4) The Member shall apologise in such a way that, according to the nature of the case, the President of the House or the President of the institution in question is informed, preferably before the beginning of the hearing at which he is sorry.
(5) The minutes of the participation of a Member in the meeting of the House and at the meetings of its institutions, including the grounds for non-participation, where the Member mentions them, shall be kept by the President of the House or by the President of the competent authority.
§ 10
(1) The publication of speeches by Members in the House and in its institutions is not subject to any restrictions, except for private meetings or parts thereof.
(2) A delegation sent by the Assembly for the handover of petition3) to the House building or where the House and its bodies act may have a maximum of five members.
§ 11
Authorisation of a Member to request information and explanations
(1) The Member is entitled to request from the members of the Government and the Heads of Administration and Territorial Authority the information and explanations necessary for the performance of his duties.
(2) Information and explanations shall be made available to Members within 30 days by members of the Government and the heads of administrative and local authorities, provided that their disclosure does not obstruct the laws governing confidentiality or the prohibition of their publication. 4)
§ 12
Declaration of consent to prosecute a Member
(1) The request by the competent authority to give consent to the House for the prosecution of a Member and the notification of the detention of a Member in the commission of a criminal offence or immediately thereafter must include, in particular, the definition of the offence in question and its presumed legal qualifications.
(2) The President of the House shall decide without delay whether to give his consent to the surrender of the detainee to the court and shall communicate his opinion to the competent authority without delay. At the same time, the request or notification referred to in the previous paragraph shall be forwarded to the Mandate and Immunity Committee for consideration and report to the House. Such a request or notification shall be decided by the House at its first subsequent meeting by a resolution sent to the competent authority within five days of its adoption.
Disciplinary proceedings
§ 13
(1) Disciplinary proceedings shall be brought against a Member who, with his speech made in the House or in the Senate or in their bodies, shall act for which he may otherwise be prosecuted.
(2) Disciplinary proceedings may be brought against a Member who, by his speech made in the House or in the Senate or in their bodies, offends a Member, a Senator, a Constitutional Judge or any other person entitled to attend a meeting of the House and its institutions by law.
(3) Disciplinary proceedings shall also be brought against a Member who commits an offence and requests the authority responsible for dealing with the offence to discuss the infringement in disciplinary proceedings.
(4) The Mandate and Immunity Committee shall initiate disciplinary proceedings on the disciplinary offence referred to in paragraph 1 on a proposal from the President of the House or on its own initiative, on the disciplinary offence referred to in paragraph 2 on the basis of a proposal from the injured party and on the offence referred to in paragraph 3 on the basis of a referral by the competent authority under specific legislation. (4a)
§ 14
(1) The Mandate and Immunity Committee shall carry out the necessary investigations in the framework of the disciplinary procedure and the Members against whom the disciplinary procedure is being conducted shall give the opportunity to express themselves and defend themselves. After the investigation has been carried out, it shall decide to impose a disciplinary measure or suspend the proceeding.
(2) In the case of offences which can only be dealt with on a proposal, the Mandate and Immunity Committee will determine, before the disciplinary proceedings are initiated, whether the application has been lodged by an authorised person and whether other conditions laid down by a special law have been complied with. 5)
(3) A Member shall have the right to be represented in disciplinary proceedings by another Member or a lawyer.
(4) The objection of bias shall be decided by the Organising Committee, which may order the matter to another Committee.
(5) The members of the Disciplinary Board shall be excluded from the deliberations of the Disciplinary Board concerned.
§ 15
(1) Members may be required to apologize for the inproper statement within the prescribed period and in the prescribed manner or to impose a fine of up to one month's salary on a Member for the disciplinary offence referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 13.
(2) A penalty may be imposed on Members for an infringement pursuant to Paragraph 13 (3), which is laid down in a separate legislation. 6)
(3) The time limit and the form of the apology referred to in paragraph 1 and, where appropriate, the amount of the fine and the time limit for its payment shall be indicated in the operative part of the decision imposing disciplinary measures.
(4) Disciplinary measures may be imposed on Members within one year of the date on which the disciplinary action or infringement took place.
§ 16
(1) The decision of the committee responsible in disciplinary proceedings shall be subject to the right of appeal to the House within 15 days of receipt of the written decision.
(2) The House shall decide, after a debate, that the disciplinary measure is confirmed, amended or repealed and that the procedure is terminated or revoked and the case is brought back to proceedings.
§ 17
If a Member to whom a disciplinary measure has been imposed does not apologise within the prescribed time limit and in the prescribed manner, the committee which has conducted the disciplinary proceedings shall decide on the appropriate way of publishing the disciplinary decision or the Members shall impose a fine up to one month's salary.
§ 18
(1) If the fine imposed has not been paid voluntarily within the prescribed time limit, the Office of the Chamber of Deputies (hereinafter referred to as "the Office of the Chamber") will knock it off the salary of a Member. The enforcement of the decision shall be ordered by the committee which led the disciplinary procedure in which the fine was imposed. If the decision imposing a fine does not contain a time limit for payment of the fine, it shall be determined in addition by the committee ordering enforcement. The decision imposing a fine shall be enforceable if no appeal can be made against it and if the period prescribed to pay the fine has expired in vain.
(2) The revenue from fines is the income of the State budget.
Order measures
§ 19
(1) The President may impose an order of order on Members of the House for the improper conduct of the House, which is an admonition, and for the repeated improper conduct of the Members from the Chamber of Appeal for no longer than the end of the day on which the declaration took place.
(2) A Member may appeal to the House immediately after its deposit against a decision by the President to impose an order of order or a notice from the Chamber. The House shall confirm or revoke the decision of the President without debate. The House's decision is final.
(3) The honourable Member shall be able to take part in the vote.
§ 20
Order powers of the Chair The House shall be subject, alongside Members, to all other participants in the House's deliberations and to persons present in the premises reserved for guests, the public and representatives of the media. If these persons behave inappropriately, the President may interrupt the meeting, have the officers of order removed by the Parliamentary Guard and have the reserved seats cleared out.

ČÁST TŘETÍ

_
§ 21
Meetings of the House
(1) The session of the House is permanent. The session of the House shall be convened by the President of the Republic in such a way as to start no later than 30 days after the election date. If they do not, the House shall meet 30 days after the election date. Such a circumstance shall be brought to the attention of Members in writing by the Head of the Chamber of Deputies (hereinafter referred to as the Head of the Office).
(2) The session of the House may be suspended by its resolution. The total time for which the meeting may be suspended shall not exceed 120 days per year.
(3) At the time of the interruption of the session of the House, the time limit set out in paragraphs 91 (1) and (2) of Section 91 for the discussion of the draft law in committees and in Section 103 (2) on the minimum time limit for the discussion of the mandated chapter of the draft State Budget Act in committee.
(4) The session of the House ends with the expiry of its term of office or by its dissolution.

ČÁST ČTVRTÁ

ESTABLISHMENT MEETINGS
§ 22
(1) Members shall meet after their election at the constituent meeting of the House.
(2) The constituent meeting of the House may meet at least one day after the end of the previous parliamentary term.
(3) The opening session of the House shall be convened by the former President of the House, if any. If the former President of the House is not a Member, he shall convene a meeting, provided he is a Member, the oldest former Vice-President of the House, and if that is not the case, the oldest Member of the newly elected House; if the opening meeting is rejected, the following oldest Member shall convene it.
(4) The constituent meeting of the House shall begin and be chaired by the Member who convened it until the new President is elected.
§ 23
(1) The President of the constituent meeting of the House shall take the oath of a Member before the Assembly of Members.
(2) The other Members shall take their vows in the hands of the President of the constituent meeting of the House (Section 4).
§ 24
The President of the constituent meeting will ask the House to take note of the establishment of the Election Commission from the proposals of the parliamentary clubs (Section 116 (2)). It shall also determine the number of members and implement the establishment of the Mandate and Immunity Committee.
§ 25
The House will elect its chairman.
§ 26
The President of the House shall take over the proceedings of the meeting. On a proposal from the President, the House shall decide on the number of Vice-Presidents and make their choice.
§ 27
On a proposal from the President, the House shall decide on the number of verifiers of the House and decide on the proposal for their nomination.
§ 28
The House shall set up its committees and determine the number of its members.

ČÁST PÁTÁ

_
§ 29
President of the House
(1) The President of the House shall in particular:
a) represent the House externally,
(b) propose to the President of the Republic the appointment of Prime Minister pursuant to the second sentence of Article 68 (4) of the Constitution;
(c) to accept the promises of the members of the Supreme Audit Office;
d) refer the Senate a bill with which the House has given its consent,
(e) to refer the President of the Republic to the laws adopted,
(f) to send the Prime Minister the laws adopted for signature,
(g) to sign the laws and resolutions of the House, or any other documents issued by the House.
(2) The President of the House is also responsible for:
(a) to call an alternate for an empty parliamentary mandate and to certify that he has become a Member;
(b) consent to be given to the court by a detainee who has been caught committing a crime or immediately thereafter;
(c) establish the order in which the Vice-Presidents of the House will represent him;
(d) convene, initiate and conclude a meeting of the House and a joint meeting of the House and of the Senate;
(e) at the time of the interruption of the session, call the House for a meeting before the deadline,
(f) suspend the meeting of the House in the event of a mess, or if the House is unable to resolve,
(g) appoint and recall the Head of the Office.
(3) The President of the House shall also carry out other tasks laid down by law or by the authority of the House. It also exercises other powers in cases entrusted by the Czech National Council Act to its Bureau, 7) unless the law provides otherwise.
§ 30
Vice-Presidents of the House
(1) The Vice-Presidents of the House shall represent the President of the House on his or her instructions or in the designated order.
(2) When representing the President of the House, the Vice-Presidents of the House shall have the rights and duties of the President.
(3) The Vice-Presidents shall take turns in the proceedings of a meeting of the House in the order agreed with the President of the House; If no agreement is reached, the order shall be determined by the President of the House.
§ 31
The President of the House or the Vice-President of the House may be removed only on a written proposal of at least two fifths of all Members.

ČÁST ŠESTÁ

THE AUTHORITIES OF THE DREAM
Committees of the House
§ 32
The House shall set up a mandate and an immune committee from Members, a petition committee, a budget committee, a control committee, an organisational committee, a media committee, a committee on European affairs and other committees to be decided upon.
§ 33
(1) In addition to membership of the Committee, a Member may be a member of a maximum of two other committees.
(2) A Member may chair only one committee.
(3) A Member who is a member of the Government may not be a member of the Committee. The President and Vice-Presidents of the House shall be members of the Organising Committee only.
Committee deliberations
§ 34
(1) Committees are accountable to the House for their activities.
(2) The Committee shall discuss the matters which the House shall order and the matters which it shall decide on.
(3) The committees shall not act when the session of the House is adjourned.
§ 35
(1) The constituent committee meetings shall be convened by the President of the House. The Committee shall be managed by the President of the House by an authorised member of the Committee until the elected chairman is confirmed by the House.
(2) The Committee shall elect a chairman at the constituent meeting. If the House does not confirm the President-elect, it shall request the Committee to elect a new President within a specified time limit. If the Committee does not elect a new President within the prescribed time limit or the House does not confirm a new President, it shall elect a President of the House.
(3) The House may request the Committee to elect a new President within a specified time limit. If the Committee does not do so within the prescribed time limit or the House does not confirm the new President, the House shall ask the Committee for a second time to submit a proposal to confirm the new President. If the Committee does not do so again within the prescribed time limit or the House does not confirm the new President, it shall elect a new President of the House.
(4) The Committee may elect a new chairman on a written proposal from two fifths of its members. The choice may not take place until seven days after the submission of the proposal. If the House does not confirm the new President, the original President shall remain in office.
(5) The Chairman of the Committee shall take up his duties upon confirmation by the House or after election by the House. By confirming or selecting a new President, the duties of the previous President shall cease.
(6) The Committee shall elect the Vice-Presidents and verifiers of the Committee.
§ 36
(1) The meetings of the Committee shall be convened and managed by its chairman or his authorised Vice-President. If the Chair of the Committee is absent, one of the Vice-Presidents shall convene and manage the meetings of the Committee. If both the President and the Vice-Presidents are absent, the meeting of the Committee shall be convened and chaired by a member to whom the Committee or the chairman shall be entrusted.
(2) The President shall convene a meeting of the Committee, if the House so provides, or if the President of the House so requests, or at least two-fifths of all members of the Committee. In such a case, it shall convene a meeting of the Committee within a time limit set by the House or within 15 days of the request of the President of the House or Members. In other cases, it shall convene a meeting of the Committee for days designated as committee days, unless the Committee, by an absolute majority of its members, decides otherwise.
(3) The Chairman of the Committee shall propose the agenda of the Committee and the time and manner in which its various items are discussed. A member of the Committee may propose to add or amend the agenda. The Committee shall decide on the date and time of each meeting of the Committee, "Proposal for the term and agenda of the next meeting of the Committee '.
(4) After approval of the draft agenda of the Committee, at least three-fifths of all the members of the Committee shall be required to agree to the adoption of the draft agenda and to amend the time set for consideration of its individual items. For the adoption of a proposal to delete an approved item of the programme or part thereof, the agreement of an absolute majority of the members present in the Committee shall be sufficient.
§ 37
Meetings of committees shall be open to the public, unless otherwise provided for in this law or unless the committee agrees that the meeting or part thereof is not public. Management in disciplinary matters is always private. Members, the President of the Republic, members of the Government and persons who may attend a meeting of the House and its bodies by law may attend meetings of the Committee or part thereof which have been declared non-public; other persons may be present only with the agreement of the Committee.
§ 38
(1) The Committee is in a position to act if at least one third of its members are present. The agreement of an absolute majority of committee members present shall be required for the validity of the resolution, unless otherwise provided by law.
(2) Members who are not members of the Committee shall have an advisory vote at the Committee meeting; they may make comments and make proposals on the matter but cannot vote.
§ 39
(1) Members who are members of the Committee shall attend meetings of the Committee. The President of the Republic, members of the Government and persons entitled to attend meetings of the House and its bodies by law may attend; she may be present at the Head of the Office and appointed by the staff of the House Office.
(2) A member of the Government and of the Head of another Central Administrative Office is required to appear in person at a meeting of the Committee if requested by the Committee and to provide the information and explanations required, unless the disclosure of such information is prevented by the laws governing confidentiality or the prohibition of disclosure. 4)
(3) A member of the Government may be represented at a meeting of the Committee by another member of the Government or by his deputy if the Committee does not insist on his or her personal participation.
(4) A member of the Government or, where appropriate, the representative of the Government and the head of the Central Administrative Office may join experts at a meeting of the Committee.
(5) The Chair may, with the agreement of the Committee, give the floor to other persons at the meeting of the Committee.
§ 40
(1) The chairman of the Committee shall designate a rapporteur from among the members who shall report to the Committee on the matter.
(2) A minority of the Committee, comprising at least one fifth of all members of the Committee, may designate a rapporteur for the deliberations of the Committee, who shall submit to the Committee an opposition report to the minority of the Committee (hereinafter referred to as the "Opponent Report"); such a report may be submitted by a minority of the Committee to the House.
§ 41
(1) The Committee shall adopt a resolution on the outcome of its deliberations. The designated rapporteur or rapporteurs shall participate in the drafting of the resolution. The resolution shall be signed by the chairman, the designated committee rapporteur and the committee verifier.
(2) The Committee, if it does not proceed in accordance with Paragraph 109a (3), shall submit a resolution according to the nature of the case to the House or may send it to the competent member of the Government or to the head of another Central Administrative Office. A Member of the Government or of the Head of another Central Administrative Office to which a resolution of the Committee has been sent pursuant to the previous sentence shall, within 30 days, if the Committee has not set a longer deadline, communicate to the Committee the information and explanations requested by the resolution, unless the provision of such a resolution is contrary to the laws governing confidentiality or the prohibition of publication of them.
(3) If, after consulting the Committee, the resolution referred to in paragraph 1 has not been adopted by the Committee, the chairman of the Committee shall record the deliberations of the Committee in which he shall inform the Committee of the matter. The record shall be signed by the chairman, the designated rapporteur and the committee verifier.
§ 42
(1) Committees may hold joint meetings, designate joint rapporteurs and adopt joint resolutions. However, they always vote separately.
(2) If the committees fail to evaluate the joint resolution, each committee shall adopt its own resolution.
§ 43
(1) A minutes shall be taken of the committee meeting, indicating the agenda of the meeting, who has managed the meeting, what proposals have been made and who has made them, who have spoken in the debate, the nominal list of Members voting on the final resolution on a particular item of the agenda, and how each Member has voted and the information on the outcome of the vote. Where a vote is held other than the final resolution, the minutes, as each Member has voted, shall be entered in the minutes if any of the members of the committee so requests at the latest before the vote begins. The minutes shall include the full texts of the written amendments tabled, the resolutions adopted and, where appropriate, the minutes of the committee's deliberations, the declarations and other documents which have been the subject of the negotiations.
(2) Where an amendment to the committee's draft law is tabled by a resolution of the committee, the minutes of the committee meeting to which the amendment was adopted shall also include information pursuant to Article 20 (1) (j) of the Law on the Collection of Laws and International Treaties; the information shall be provided to the person making the minutes of the committee meeting by the Member on the basis of whose proposal the amendment was adopted.
(3) The minutes shall be approved by the verifier and signed by the chairman of the Committee no later than 14 days after the end of the meeting. Any objection to such an approved minutes may be made at the next meeting of the Committee to decide on them. Where a meeting of the Committee is held in public, the minutes shall be made public in a manner which allows remote access. The approved minutes, together with the resolution on objections against them, shall be submitted for deposit together with the annexes no later than two months after the end of the meeting. If there is a joint meeting of several committees, the minutes shall be signed by the Presidents and verifiers of the committees involved.
(4) A sound record shall be taken from the meetings of the Committee which shall be kept for six months. The Committee may decide to maintain it for a longer period. In special cases, the Committee may decide not to record sound. The reasons for this resolution must be included in the minutes of the committee meeting.
(5) If a committee so decides, a shorthand record and a transcript of the committee meeting shall be taken.
§ 44

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Regulation Information

CitationAct No. 90 / 1995 Coll., on the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies
Regulation TypeLaw
Author-
CollectionCode of Laws
Date of Promulgation05.06.1995
Effective from01.08.1995
Effective until-
Status Valid
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
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