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Eighth Amendment Of Law No 7/93, Of 1 March (Members ' Statute)-Replacement Scheme For Members By Reason Of Relevance.

Original Language Title: Oitava alteração à Lei nº 7/93, de 1 de Março (Estatuto dos Deputados) - Regime de substituição dos deputados por motivo relevante.

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DRAFT LAW NO. 242 /X

DEPUTIES REPLACEMENT SCHEME BY REASON

RELEVANT

The deputies 'replacement scheme for' relevant reason ' has been one of the

critical aspects, not always peaceful, of the understanding of the nature of the mandate

representative and institutional function of the Member-Articles 152º, 2 and 155º, paragraph 1 of the

Constitution of the Portuguese Republic (CRP).

Ora, being Parliament a representative assembly of all Portuguese (article

147º CRP) and being certain that the election presupposes a duty of representation, becomes

Indispensable that, at every moment, voters recognize themselves in those who the

represent; that the candidates elected in accordance with the criteria of the electoral system

coincide with the Deputies who effectively, until new election, have seat in the

Assembly; and that, as much as possible, an identity of thought is guaranteed

and of persons in the title of the mandates.

A comparative law analysis allows to conclude that the Constitutions that admit to the

suspension of the mandate enunciates with rigour its causes and none provides for

replacement for "relevant reason".

As they refer to this purpose Jorge Miranda and Alexandre Pinheiro, in study

"On the Temporary Replacement of Deputies by Relevant Reason":

" That which is expected of who deserved to be put in eligible place on a list of

candidacy and has been elected is that it knows how to conserve the mandate given by the electorate and that,

as a representative of the people, know to take up their positions in Parliament, through the

presence and vote: How much, can you invoke objection of conscience (article 41º,

No. 6) to furloughed the discipline imposed by the parliamentary group.

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Much less are attentionable personal or partisan reasons. From two one: or if

feature so ponderous that the Deputy resigns or not is, and will never be able to

sacrifice the duty of exercise of the mandate and to it to print continuity and coherence.

It is not only in the Presidency of the Republic that we do not conceive of hiatus or interregation;

also do not conceive in a modern Parliament with multiple competences

legislative and surveillance and that works both in plenary and in committee

(articles 176º, 177º and 178º).

In rigor, the possibility constitutionally attributed to the Deputies of pedirem to

temporary replacement in the exercise of the mandate, does not express the right to suspend the

mandate that has as effect the temporary replacement of Deputies. The

Constitution mandates as causes of the suspension of the mandate of the Deputies to

existence of incompatibility situations by identifying itself only to the registered

article 154º, paragraph 1 in which the Deputy comes to perform duties as a member of the

Government and the occurrence of relevant reason.

Being the suspension at the request of the Deputy, thing other than the suspension deliberated by the

Chamber-which may check, for example, in the situation provided for in Article 157º, paragraph 4-

the relevant motive formula should be interpreted as an objective vicissitude. If

so it is not is is to be recognizing MPs a power to, for private reasons or

of politico-partisan convenience, break down the representative bond that bints them to

electorate.

To admit the temporary replacement (being always possible the resignation) of the Deputies

that they perform functions incompatible with the exercise of the parliamentary mandate, the

Constitution prescribes for reasons of public interest connected to the necessary

independence and availability for the exercise of the office, a legal impossibility

of accumulation.

The interpretation of what is the relevant reason announced in Article 153º, paragraph 2 shall

pauper by criteria that pass through the identification of impossibility situations

not already legal, but easy, that we put in crisis the good performance of the mandate ". Is

the case of the situations of prolonged illness, the exercise of the right to the licence of

motherhood or paternity and, still, of the criminal procedure in certain

conditions. In these cases, it is not a matter of assigning a right to the Deputies, but

truly of the non-discriminating, depriving them of the exercise of rights of their own.

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The deputies 'replacement scheme for' relevant reason ', in force, has given

origin to critical rotativism, how many times unpeaceful and disprestigious of the

perception of the representative mandate and the institutional function of the Deputy.

They are expected to be merited to be elected who knows how to conserve the mandate given by the

electorate. And this is not something of a somanide, because the deputy, when being invested in office,

takes on a judgeship, and does not stay invested in a personal position that it can

have your bel-pleasure.

The necessary reform of the political system passes, therefore, and among other aspects,

by a correction of the norms of the statute that respect this matter, with a view to

a reading that deepens independence and stability in the exercise of the mandate

parliamentarian.

In these terms, under the applicable legal and regimental provisions, the Deputies

below signed from the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party present the following

project-law:

Single article

Article 5º of the Statute of Deputies, adopted by Law No. 7/93 of March 1, with

the amendments introduced by Laws 24/95, August 18, 55/98, 18 of

August, 8/99, of February 10, 45/99, of June 16, 3/2001, of February 23, and

24/2003, of July 4, shall be replaced by the following:

Article 5º

Temporary replacement for relevant reason

1. Deputies may ask the President of the Assembly of the Republic, for

relevant reason, its replacement by one or more times, in the course of

legislature.

2. For the relevant reason:

a) Serious Illness involving impediment to the exercise of the functions by

period not less than 30 days, nor more than 180;

(b) Exercise of leave by maternity or paternity;

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c) Necessity to ensure follow-up of proceedings under paragraph 3 of the

article 11º.

3. The replacement application will be submitted directly by the

Deputy or through the direction of the parliamentary group, accompanied, in this

case, of declaration of annuence of the Deputy to be replaced.

4. The temporary replacement of the Deputy, when fused in the grounds

constants of points (a) and (b) of paragraph 2, does not imply the cessation of processing

of the remuneration nor the loss of the service time count.

Palace of Saint Benedict, April 6, 2006

THE DEPUTIES