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The Second Amendment Of Act No. 5/93, Of 1 March (Legal Regime Of Parliamentary Inquiries

Original Language Title: Procede à segunda alteração da Lei n.º 5/93, de 1 de Março (Regime Jurídico dos Inquéritos Parlamentares

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Parliamentary Group

DRAFT LAW NO. 36 /X

LEGAL REGIME FOR PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRIES (AMEND THE LAW

No. 5/93, OF March 1)

Exhibition of reasons

The legal regime of the commissions of inquiry shall be amended, as a condition for

preserve the capacity of Parliament to scrutinise the acts of governments. That one

capacity-and responsibility-is one of the most valued constitutional attributes in the

our legal and political order.

Ora, successive and serious incidents over several legislatures have demonstrated the

depletion of the model that assigns to each government majority control of the shares

of the committee that has been constituted to verify precisely whether the Government, in given area

of his performance, proceeded correctly. In the past, government majorities

made it impossible to make representations or even the conclusion of reports. In the previous

Legislature, a commission of inquiry that emerged from a potent right was

emptied of its investigatory capacity, to the extent that it was prevented from proceeding

the audiences deemed indispensable by its proponents, even arriving the

chair of the committee to act individually to its extinction, in an illegal act of

abuse of power that was disallowed by the then President of the Assembly of the

Republic, which clarified that the committees cannot be extinguished on their own.

Regardless of the concrete appreciation of the circumstances of each of these cases

of conflict commissions of inquiry, it matters to regulate their functioning, in a manner

making them immune to such instrumentalizations, ensuring in that way their

transparency, its proper functioning and the pursuit of its function.

The present draft law meets these criteria by modifying the current regime of the

commissions of inquiry and valuing the characteristics of the constitutional system

portuguese, who ensure private rights and responsibilities to the Deputies and the

Parliament in this matter.

It is apparent, by a study of the comparative legislation, that other parliaments adopt

less comprehensive procedures of those that have been followed in Portugal. In Belgium,

a senator or deputy has the right to submit a motion for a resolution to the

constitution of an inquiry, which is then appreciated in the plenum. In Spain, the

government may take the initiative to propose a commission of inquiry, as well as the

desk of the Congress of Deputies, two parliamentary groups or one-fifth of the

members of the House. In France, it is also the plenum of Parliament that deliberates

on the constitution of a commission, to which may be proposed by any group

parliamentarian. In Italy, if a fifth of senators subscribe to the proposal of a

commission of inquiry, this should be submitted for discussion and vote in the five days

subsequent.

In this way, it emerges that the potent right of imposition of a commission of

enquiry is a norm that responds to the concern of Portuguese constitutionalists

in the sense of extending the right of oppositions to the constitution of effective instruments of

verification of acts of the Government or of intervention in other social matters of large

sensitivity. The same is the case in Germany where, at the request of a quarter of the

deputies, it becomes mandatory the constitution of the commission, which is in general very

restricted, having 5 a to 7 members, being public for their work, on principle.

But the preservation of this ability to inquire into the Government or political acts requires the

institutionalization of guarantees prolonging the potent right of constitution of the

commission up to the responsibility in determining procedures that are

compatible and consistent with the objectives set out for the investigation. In this sense,

follow in this bill some of the principles that inform the functioning

of the commissions of inquiry in the United States.

It is further proposed to expedite the operation of the committees, determining that the

They will be composed by a Deputy by each Parliamentary Group.

So, and in the applicable constitutional and regimental terms, the Members of the Block of

Left, present the following draft law:

Article 1.

Subject

The Act sets out rules for the constitution, operation and deliberations of the committees

possible formed in the Assembly of the Republic for the conduct of inquiries

parliamentarians.

Article 2.

Amend Law No 5/93 of March 1

Articles 3, 4, 6º, 17 and 21 of Law No. 5/93 of March 1, go on to have the following

wording:

" Article 3.

(...)

1-The draft resolutions or motions aimed at the conduct of an inquiry

will indicate their object and grounds, under penalty of preliminary rejection by the

President, as well as, if this is the understanding of its authors, the list

preliminary of the personalities to be convened for the provision of affidavits and

possible representations to be made, without prejudice to other decisions to be taken by the

commission.

2-(...)

Article 4.

(...)

1-(...).

2-The said application, addressed to the President of the Assembly of the Republic, shall

indicate its object and grounds, as well as, if this is the understanding of the

its authors, the preliminary list of the personalities to be summoned for the provision of

testimonies and any possible representations to be made, without prejudice to other decisions to

be taken by the commission.

3-(...).

4-Eliminate.

5-Until the 8º day after the publication of the application in the Journal of the Assembly of the

Republic , the President of the Assembly of the Republic, listened to the Conference of the

Representatives of the Parliamentary Groups, will schedule a debate on the matter of the

enquiry, as long as requested by the applicants of the committee's constitution or by a

parliamentary group.

Article 6.

(Composition and operation of the committee)

1-A The Commission shall be composed of a Member of Parliament by each Parliamentary Group.

2-Compete to the President of the Assembly of the Republic give possession to the members of the

Committee and, listened to the Conference of Representatives of Parliamentary Groups,

determine the time frame of the achievement of the investigation set out in Article 2 (b) and of the

referred to in point (a) of the same provision, when the respective resolution does not have it

done, and authorize its extension to the maximum time limit referred to in the article

11.

3-Previous n. 2.

4-Each Parliamentary Group shall indicate to the President of the Assembly of the Republic, until the

8º day after the publication of the resolution or of the application in Journal of the Assembly

of the Republic the respective Member who will integrate the committee.

5-A The committee starts its proceedings immediately after the possession conferred by the

President of the Assembly of the Republic, as soon as more than half of the

members who make it up.

Article 17.

(...)

1-(...).

2-The persons who testify before the committee of inquiry identify themselves and provide

oath in the terms of the applicable standards.

3-(previous n. 2).

4-(previous n. 3).

5-(previous n. 4).

Article 21.

(...)

1-(...).

2-(...).

3-(...).

4-(...).

5-The report referred to in Article 20 shall be published in the Journal of the Assembly of the

Republic and will be submitted for consideration in the course of the agenda of the Assembly of the

Republic, at the same time and in the same terms of the debate of the report approved by the

commission, being further discussed even if it occurs that the commission has

deliberate by majority vote not to approve report.

6-(previous n. 5).

7-(previous n. 6).

8-(previous n. 7). "

Article 3.

Additions to Law No. 5/93 of March 1

Articles 19-A and 20-A to Law No. 5/93 of March 1 on the following are adjourned.

terms:

Article 19-The

Instructor-led process of the survey

1-The instructor-led process of the survey includes:

a) The hearing of the affidavits of the persons and the pursuit of representations whose listing

is spelled out in the draft resolutions or the requirements referred to in Articles 3 and

4.

b) The hearing of other personalities and the pursuit of other representations that are

deliberated by the plenary of the committee;

c) The consideration of documents or other information deemed relevant by the

commission.

2-A Committee of Inquiry discusses the results of the representations made and takes the

deliberations that it considers relevant.

20.

Reopening of the instructory process of the survey

1-Deputies who vote won in the final assessment of the committee's report have

the right to reopen the instructory process under the terms of the numbers 3 and following.

2-Should the delibere commission of inquiry not report; any of its

members have the right to make reopen the instructory process, in the terms of the numbers

following.

3-The Deputies referred to in the n. the

1 and 2 of this article have the right to apply for the

President of the Assembly of the Republic to reopen the instructor-led process,

substantiating the requirement.

4-Verified the condition of members of the committee of inquiry of the applicants,

it is incumbent upon the President to determine the time limit of the new instructory process, not exceeding the

deadline originally set for the proceedings of the survey, keeping up with the composition

original of the commission.

5-Deputies who take the responsibility to reopen the survey determine the

list of the necessary affidavits and representations, which arise in the face of the plenary of the

commission and with the participation of all its members.

6-Compete to the Deputies referred to in the preceding paragraphs, exhausted the representations and

anticipated testimony, present its findings in the form of a report.

7-A reopening of the instructory process in the terms of the previous figures is unrepeatable

in the course of an inquiry.

Article 4.

Entry into force

The Act shall come into force on the day following its publication in Journal of the Republic .

Assembly of the Republic, April 13, 2005

The Deputies of the Left Bloc,