Page 213 - DPOL202_COMPARATIVE_POLITICS_AND_GOVERNMENT_ENGLISH

Comparative Politics and Government

Notes 4. What has put a great premium on the inherent power of the Parliament is the provision of
delegated legislation in the new Constitution. The Constitution empowers the Government to
pass by ordinances measures which may be necessary for the execution of its programme but
which are normally in the domain of law. Such measures can be passed only by the authorisation
of Parliament and hold good for a limited period only. Art. 37 of the Constitution empowers
the Government to regulate matters which are not governed by laws but by means of official
orders. Art. 38 says that the Government may ask the Parliament to authorise it to promulgate
ordinances on items coming under the domain of law.
5. The powers of the Parliament in regard to electoral disputes have been vested in the
Constitutional Council. The Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States have
a right to disqualify an elected member of their chamber on the charge of having indulged in
corrupt practices. Likewise, the House of Commons is the sole judge of the eligibility of its
members. But the Parliament of France has been deprived of this inherent power under the
present Constitution. Any matter relating to the regularity of elections and referendum or use
of corrupt means in the elections falls under the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Council and
not under the authority of the Parliament.
It all makes the point clear that under the Fifth Republic the Parliament of France is neither a sovereign
law-making body like its English counterpart, nor is it a powerful legislative organ as found in other
democratic countries following the English model; more so it is not even as powerful as the American
Congress where the national legislature has its earmarked area of law-making and, in addition to
that, has some checks over the executive and the judiciary.
System of Commissions and Legislative Process: Now we turn to the study of the commissions
(committee system) and legislative process to illustrate the fact that the Parliament of France works
in a way which is quite different from the ways of the British Parliament and the American Congress.
What is slightly similar to the American practice is that under the new Constitution, the powers of
the committees have been cut to make the house powerful as has happened in the United States after
the ‘revolution of 1911’ to finish the menace of Cannonism. But the study of legislative process
leaves the same impression that the powers of the Parliament have been usurped by the written rules
of the Constitution and not by the unwritten maxims of the fundamental law of the land which are
called conventions of the constitution in Britain.
Commissions: The Parliament of France works with the help of its commissions or committees as
known in other countries like Britain and the United States. Both Houses have their own commissions
and their staff; they are called ‘permanent commissions’ as they are formed for the whole session,
while some temporary or ad hoc commissions may also be set up for a specific purpose. The Constitution
has fixed the number of commissions at six less to encourage departmental interconnections but
more to discourage lobbying from outside forces. Each commission appoints from among its members
its own bureau consisting of a president, 2 vice-presidents, 2 secretaries in the smaller commission ;
I president, 4 vice-presidents and 4 secretaries in the bigger ones. The meetings are arranged and
convened by the President.
Like the American system, the commissions of the Parliament perform an important role as the bills
are first discussed here before they and taken up by the house. On receiving a bill, the commission
appoints ; rapporteur, whereas the Finance Commission sets up a rapporteur-generaper government
department. If the commission so desires, it may be assisted by a civil servant . The commission may
hold its meetings in camera or in public and examine witnesses and interested parties if so authorised
by the Parliament in advance. A precis of proceedings is published weekly without record of voting
and minutes are available to the members of Parliament, though special care is taken to maintain the
secrecy of an ‘important’ matter.
The rapporteur of the commission is charged with the work of guiding the commission from the
standpoint of legislative policy, while the President sees to it that the link between the Parliament
and the commission is maintained. As the debates over the bill proceed, the rapporteur keeps the
minutes. When finance is involved, the Commission on Finance must send its rapporteurs to the
commission in-charge of the bill, where they have a consultative part. Representation on the

208 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY