The most important discussion partner of the parliament is the government. The relationship between the two institutions (or ‘bodies’ as the constitutional term is) is of the utmost importance for an effective government.
Introduction
Parliament and government are constantly involved with each other, but not always in the same way. There are cases in which the parliament acts as a legislator together with the government and produces laws. There are also cases in which the parliament controls and tries to influence government policy. Sometimes the situations approach each other: during legislative work, policy is also discussed and during monitoring work, the parliament insists on new legislation, which must be submitted by the government.
What is also somewhat confusing is that there are also situations in which legislation and policy control take place at the same time. This is the case with the budget process. Budgets take the form of bills and are treated in the same way as other laws, but the contents of the budget include more than just figures and relate to almost the entire policy. During the budget discussion (in formal terms: legislation), the entire policy is therefore also up for discussion.
In all of this, it must also be borne in mind that parliament often works at different stages and levels. Most of the topics that are discussed in the plenary session of the House of Representatives have previously been the subject of discussion in standing or special committees. Other topics, however, are only discussed in the plenary meeting. It also happens that topics are only discussed in committees and not or hardly in the full meeting. However, to maintain clarity, we will discuss the different ways of acting of the people’s representation (the House of Representatives or simply: the chamber) separately.
The chamber as co-legislator
Like almost all other parliaments, ours also began its history as a co-legislator. This task is already mentioned in the Constitution of 1814 (the first constitution of the Kingdom). The great significance of this task lies mainly in the fact that the government cannot introduce new laws without the cooperation of the parliament. When it comes to new legislation (or changes to existing laws), the parliament actually has a kind of right of veto. If it rejects a bill by a majority vote, that is the end of the matter; Leaving aside, of course, the possibility that the parliament will later reconsider this rejection.
T he co-legislative task has two sides; cooperation in the development of bills submitted by the government and the right to submit a bill yourself (right of initiative), which in turn requires the cooperation of the government to become law. This right of initiative also appeared in the Constitution of 1814, but it has not been used much over the years. Yet this right is not without significance; Recently, members of the House of Representatives (the Senate lacks the right of initiative) have submitted a number of important initiative bills, such as the bills regulating abortion.