Constitution of the Kingdom of France
From Roach Busters
Contents |
King
Article. The person of the King is inviolable and sacred. His Ministers are responsible.
Article. Instruments of the King shall be countersigned by the Prime Minister and, where required, by the Ministers concerned.
Article. The King is the supreme head of the State, commands the land and sea forces, ensures due respect for the Constitution, ensures the proper functioning of the public authorities and the continuity of the State, guarantees the national independence and territorial integrity, and makes the necessary regulations and ordinances for the execution of the laws and the security of the State.
The Government
Article. The King shall appoint the Prime Minister. He shall terminate the appointment of the Prime Minister when the latter tenders the resignation of the Government.
On the recommendation of the Prime Minister, he shall appoint the other members of the Government and terminate their appointments.
Article. The Government shall determine and conduct the policy of the Nation.
It shall have at its disposal the civil service and the armed forces.
It shall be accountable to Parliament in accordance with this Constitution.
Article. The Prime Minister, who may be a Minister without portfolio, shall direct the actions of the Government, coordinate the functions of the Ministers, coordinate relations between the Government and Parliament, appoint and remove those public officials for whose designation no other authority has been made responsible, and exercise such powers as may be delegated to him by the King.
Article. Instruments of the Prime Minister shall be countersigned, where required, by the Ministers responsible for their implementation.
Article. Membership of the Government shall be incompatible with the holding of any other public office. The position of deputy in the National Assembly is excepted.
King
1. The sovereignty of the Kingdom shall be vested in the King and the supreme authority over all the affairs of the Kingdom shall be exercised by him as the head of state, in the manner provided for in the present Constitution.
2. The person of the King shall be inviolable and sacred.
3. The King shall have power to determine the organization, powers, and duties of all Ministries, executive departments and the administration of the Government and to appoints, promote, transfer, suspend, and dismiss the officials of the same.
4. The King shall reserve the right, with the advice and consent of Parliament, to declare war. He shall further reserve the right to decide what armed forces shall be maintained both in time of peace and in time of war. As commander-in-chief of all armed forces in and under France, he shall have the right to organize and commend the said forces; to commission and to confer military rank upon the officers of the said forces; and to promote, transfer, or dismiss any of the said officers. He shall further reserve the right, with the advice and consent of Parliament, to declare a state of siege, martial law, or a national emergency, and to take such measures as are necessary to meat a threat to the defense or integrity of the Kingdom and to assure its defense and integrity.
5. The King shall exercise supreme direction and supervision of the Kingdom's foreign policy. He shall have power to accredit and receive ambassadors and other diplomatic envoys and to ratify, with the concurrence of the Chamber of Peers, international treaties and agreements.
6. The King alone shall have power to confer and revoke titles of nobility and other state awards.
7. The King shall have the right to convene the annual sessions of the deliberative chambers and to convoke extraordinary sessions thereof. At the opening of each session of the chambers, he may present or cause to be presented a speech from the throne concerning the legislative program recommended by him. He shall have the right to postpone the opening of and to suspend, for not more than thirty days, and to extend any session of Parliament.
8. The King shall have power to appoint all justices and magistrates in the service of the Kingdom, to ensure the independence of the judiciary and the preservation of the rule of law, and to grant amnesties and to commute pardons.
9. The King shall have power to submit any law to referendum. The organization and conditions of such referendum shall be prescribed by law.
10. The King shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the members of both chambers of Parliament, in joint session assembled, to amend the Constitution.
11. The King alone shall have full power to determine the law of succession.
12. The King shall at all times profess the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion, and pledge to uphold and defend the same.
Council of Ministers
1. The executive power in the Kingdom shall be vested in the King with the assistance of the Council of Ministers.
2. (1) The King shall appoint as President of the Council of Ministers the person who, in his opinion, is best able to command the support of a majority of the National Assembly. He shall appoint the remaining Ministers, and Deputy Ministers, if any, on the advice of the President of the Council of Ministers.
(2) Membership of the Council of Ministers shall be incompatible with that of Parliament, with the representation of any trade or professional organization on the national level, or with any public employment or professional activity. Any person holding any of these positions who shall be appointed to the Council of Ministers shall resign such position before assuming his duties.
(3) Each member of the Council of Ministers shall, before assuming office, make and subscribe before the King an oath of loyalty in such manner and form as the King shall prescribe.
3. (1) The President of the Council of Ministers shall lead the Council of Ministers, coordinate its activities, act as its representative, and systematically inform the King of its activities.
(2) He shall exercise overall supervision over the implementation of policies, regulations, directives, and decisions adopted by the Council of Ministers.
(3) He shall discharge all responsibilities entrusted to him by the King and by the law.
(4) He shall obey and enforce the Constitution.
4. (1) The Council of Ministers shall ensure the implementation of laws and decisions adopted by Parliament.
(2) It shall draw up the government budget and, with the approval of the National Assembly, implement it.
(3) It shall formulate and implement economic, social, and development policies and strategies.
(4) It shall submit draft laws to Parliament on any matter falling within its competence.
(5) It shall carry out other responsibilities that may be entrusted to it by the King.
(6) It shall enact regulations pursuant to powers vested in it by the King.
5. The President of the Council of Ministers, the Ministers, and the Deputy Ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the King, and may be removed by him at his discretion.
6. The Council of Ministers may ask the National Assembly to pass a motion of confidence in relation to a statement of general policy or any important matter of national interest.
7. (1) Upon the initiative of one-third of all the deputies in full exercise of their office, the National Assembly may subject the Council of Ministers to no confidence motions in relation to the implementation of its program of government or to any important matter of national interest.
(2) No confidence motions shall only be considered forty-eight hours after they are made, and the debate thereon shall last for no more than five days.
(3) If a no confidence motion is not passed, its signatories may not make another such motion during the same legislative session.
8 The Council of Ministers shall resign upon:
A) The beginning of a new National Assembly.
B) Dismissal of the President of the Council of Ministers by the King.
C) Resignation of the President of the Council of Ministers.
D) The death or lasting physical or mental incapacitation of the President of the Council of Ministers.
E) The failure of any confidence motion.
F) The passage of a no confidence motion by an absolute majority of all the deputies of the National Assembly in full exercise of their office.
9. Any member of the Council of Ministers may resign at any time by lodging his resignation in writing with the King.
10. The salaries and emoluments of the members of the Council of Ministers shall be fixed by law and may not be increased or decreased during their tenure of office.
Parliament
The legislative power in the Kingdom shall be vested in Parliament, which shall be composed of the King, the National Assembly, and the Chamber of Peers.
National Assembly
1. The entire territory of the Kingdom shall be divided into as many electoral districts as there are members of the National Assembly in such manner as Parliament may prescribe.
2. No electoral district shall form part of more than one province and the boundaries of each electoral district shall be such that the number of inhabitants thereof is as nearly equal to the population quota as is reasonably practicable.
3. Parliament shall review the division of the Kingdom into electoral districts at intervals of not less than eight and not more than ten years and may alter the electoral districts in accordance with the provisions of this section to such extent as it may consider desirable. Where the boundaries of any electoral districts are altered in accordance with this Constitution, that alteration shall come into effect upon the next dissolution of Parliament after the alteration has been approved by both the National Assembly and the Chamber of Peers.
4. Each electoral district shall be represented one deputy, elected by an absolute majority of the electorate of that district. If no candidate attains an absolute majority in the first voting, another election shall be held within fourteen days from the announcement of the results, the competition being between the two candidates with the highest number of votes, and being considered elected the candidate with the majority of valid votes. If more than one candidate with an equal number of votes remains in second place, the eldest one shall qualify.
5. To be eligible as a deputy, a person must be a French subject who has reached the age of twenty-one years; is qualified to be registered as a voter in the electoral district for which he shall be elected; and is in full enjoyment of his political and civic rights.
6. (1) No deputy shall be elected with any binding mandate.
(2) Deputies shall represent the whole country and not the electoral districts for which they are elected.
7. The National Assembly shall be the sole judge of the qualifications and elections of its members.
8. Electoral law shall regulate the filling of vacancies that arise in the National Assembly and, in cases in which there are important grounds for doing so, the temporary substitution of members.
9. (1) Every National Assembly shall continue for four years from the first meeting thereof, but may at any time be dissolved by the King, after consulting the President of the Council of Ministers, the Speaker of the National Assembly, and the Chancellor.
(2) A general election shall take place no fewer than twenty days and no more than forty days after the dissolution. At any general election of members of the National Assembly, all polls shall be taken on one and the same day in all the electoral districts throughout the Kingdom, such day to be appointed by the King.
(3) The National Assembly shall sit as of right on the second Thursday following its election. Should this sitting fall outside the period prescribed for the ordinary session, a session shall be convened by right for a fifteen-day period.
(4) No further dissolution shall take place within a year following said election.
10. (1) The National Assembly shall, before proceeding to the dispatch of any other business, elect a member to be the Speaker of the National Assembly.
(2) The Speaker shall preside over the meetings of the Assembly, direct all its administrative affairs, and enforce all disciplinary actions the Assembly takes on its members.
(3) The Speaker of the National Assembly may at any time resign his office either by announcing his resignation in person to the National Assembly or by notice in writing to the King.
(4) He shall vacate his office if he ceases to be a member of the National Assembly, if he becomes a Minister or a Deputy Minister, or if the National Assembly resolves by an absolute majority of the members thereof, that his office shall become vacant.
(5) During the Speaker's absence, a member of the National Assembly designated by a majority of the members thereof shall assume the Speaker's duties for the duration of his absence.
Chamber of Peers
1. The Chamber of Peers shall be convoked by the King at the same time as the National Assembly. The session of the one shall begin and end at the same time as that of the other.
2. Every meeting of the Chamber of Peers which may be held outside of the time of the session of the National Assembly, or which may not be ordered by the King, shall be unlawful and of no validity.
3. The appointment of peers shall belong exclusively to the King. He shall have power to determine their number, alter their dignities, appoint them for life, or make their peerage hereditary.
4. Peers shall assume membership in the Chamber at the age of twenty-five years, but shall not have a deliberative voice until reaching the age of thirty years.
5. The Chancellor shall preside over the meetings of the Chamber, direct all its administrative affairs, and enforce all disciplinary actions the Chamber takes on its members. During his absence, a peer appointed by the King shall assume these duties.
6. (1) Members of the Royal Family and Princes of the Blood are peers by right of their birth, but shall not have a deliberative voice until reaching the age of twenty-five years.
(2) The Princes may take their places in the Chamber only upon the order of the King, expressed for each session by a message, under penalty of invalidating everything which may have been done in their presence.
7. The Chamber of Peers shall have exclusive jurisdiction over the crimes of high treason and attacks against the security of the state, which shall be defined by law.
8. No treaty or international agreement shall be valid and effective unless concurred in by at least two-thirds of all the members of the Chamber.
Both Chambers of Parliament
1. All deliberations of the National Assembly or the Chamber of Peers, whichever the case may be, shall be open to the public unless the National Assembly or the Chamber of Peers, whichever the case may be, decides by a vote of the majority of its members that the deliberations shall be conducted in secret.
2. (1) Except where there is a constitutional provision to the contrary, the decisions of each chamber shall be taken by a majority vote, when the absolute majority of its members is present.
(2) Members' right to vote shall be exercised in person.
3. No one may be a member of the National Assembly and of the Chamber of Peers simultaneously.
4. (1) No Member of Parliament shall be prosecuted, investigated, arrested, detained or tried in respect of opinions expressed or votes cast in the performance of his official duties.
(2) No Member of Parliament shall be arrested for a serious crime or other major offence, nor shall he be subjected to any other custodial or semi-custodial measure, without the authorization of the chamber of which he is a member. Such authorization shall not be required in the case of a serious crime or other major offence committed flagrante delicto or when a conviction has become final.
(3) The detention, subjecting to custodial or semi-custodial measures, or prosecution of a Member of Parliament shall be suspended for the duration of the session if the chamber of which he is a member so requires.
(4) The chamber concerned shall meet as of right for additional sittings in order to permit the application of the foregoing paragraph should circumstances so require.
5. (1) All peers of the Chamber of Peers and deputies of the National Assembly shall, upon assumption of office, make a full disclosure of their financial and business interests. They shall notify the chamber concerned of a potential conflict of interest that may arise from the filing of a proposed legislation of which they are authors.
(2) No peer or deputy shall directly or indirectly be financially interested in any contract with the government or any subdivision or instrumentality thereof, or in any franchise or special privilege granted by Parliament during his term of office. He shall not appear as counsel before court in any civil case wherein the government or any subdivision or instrumentality thereof is the adverse party, or in any criminal case wherein an officer or employee of the government is accused of an offense committed in relation to his office, or collect any fee for his appearance in any administrative proceedings; or accept employment to intervene in any cause or matter where he may be called upon to act on account of his office.
6. (1) The Chamber of Peers or National Assembly may make rules and orders with respect to the order and conduct of its business and proceedings.
(2) If a joint sitting of the Chamber of Peers and the National Assembly is required, it shall be convened by the King by message to the Chamber of Peers and to the National Assembly.
(3) At any joint sitting referred to in sub-section (2) the Speaker shall preside and the rules of the National Assembly shall, as far as practicable, apply.
7. The salaries of peers and deputies shall be fixed by law. No increase or decrease in their salaries shall take effect until after the expiration of the term of office of all peers and deputies approving the increase or decrease.
8. (1) The power to initiate legislation shall belong to the King, the Council of Ministers, the deputies of the National Assembly, and the peers of the Chamber of Peers.
(2) Every bill passed by Parliament shall embrace only one subject which shall be expressed in the title thereof.
(3) No bill passed by either chamber shall become a law unless it has passed three readings on separate days, and printed copies thereof in its final form have been distributed to its members three days before its passage, except when the President of the Council of Ministers certifies to the necessity of its immediate enactment to meet a public calamity or emergency. Upon the last reading of a bill, no amendment thereto shall be allowed, and the vote thereon shall be taken immediately thereafter, and the yeas and nays entered in the Journal.
9. Bills on the introduction or cancellation of taxes, on exemption from their payment, on the issue of state loans, on changes in the financial obligations of the State, and other bills envisaging expenses covered from the budget may be submitted only upon a conclusion of the Council of Ministers and shall originate exclusively in the National Assembly.
10. (1) If a bill is passed by the chamber in which it originated, it shall be submitted within five days for consideration by the other chamber. If both chambers approve the bill, it shall be sent to the King for its examination; and if the King approves it, it shall become law.
(2) If a bill is totally or partially rejected by the King, it shall be returned, with his objections, to the chamber in it which it originated; the latter shall reconsider it and if it is confirmed by a majority of two-thirds of the votes, it shall be sent again to the revising chamber. If both chambers approve it by such majority, the bill shall become a law and the King shall obligatorily promulgate it. In all such cases the voting in both chambers shall be by roll call, by yeas and nays; and both the names and grounds of the voters, as well as the objections of the King shall be immediately published by the press. If the chambers differ as to the objections, the bill cannot be reintroduced in the legislative session of that year.
(3) In the enactment of laws the following formula shall be used: "Be it enacted by His Most Christian Majesty the King of France and Navarre, the Chamber of Peers, and the National Assembly on this day [insert date here] in the Year of Our Lord [insert year here]."
11. Parliament shall have power:
A) To levy taxes and collect duties on revenue sources to pay the debts, carry on the government, and provide for the defense and general welfare of the Kingdom.
B) To print and borrow money, mint coins, and regulate foreign exchange and money in circulation.
C) To exercise oversight and supervision of credit institutions and organizations that operate with public money.
D) To regulate commerce and trade with foreign nations.
E) To approve or reject the Government budget.
F) To establish and implement national standards and basic policy criteria for public health, education, public safety, pensions, working conditions, and social welfare.
G) To regulate and establish the general post offices of the nation.
H) To develop, administer, and regulate highways, roads, airports, ports, harbors, railways, telecommunications, and other infrastructure.
I) To decide about the use and sale of national lands.
J) To enact laws for the utilization and conservation of the environment and natural resources.
K) To settle definitely the boundaries of the national territory, to fix those of the provinces, to create new ones, and to determine, by special legislation, the organization, administration and government that the national territories outside the boundaries assigned to the provinces are to have.
L) To establish uniform standards of measurement and calender.
M) To patent inventions and protect copyrights.
N) To grant general amnesties.
O) To determine and administer all matters relating to nationality, immigration, the granting of passports, entry into and exit from the country, quarantine, refugees, and asylum.
P) To make rules for the government, regulation, and administration of the armed forces, law enforcement agencies, and intelligence agencies.
Q) To authorize, or refuse to authorize, the King to declare war or to make peace.
R) To authorize, or refuse to authorize, the deployment of French military personnel outside of France.
S) To authorize, or refuse to authorize, the King to declare martial law or a state of emergency.
T) To allow or deny the transit of foreign military forces in France.
U) To carry out measures against catastrophes, natural calamities, epidemics, and elimination of their aftermaths.
V) To exercise such other duties and perform such other functions as may be authorized by this Constitution or required by law.
