Constitution of the Kingdom of France
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Contents |
Parliament
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. The National Assembly shall be the sole judge of the qualifications and elections of its members.
7. 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.
8. (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.
9. (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. All deliberations of the Chamber of Peers shall be open to the public unless the Chamber, by a majority of its members, decides otherwise.
8. 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.
9. 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.
Legislation
1.
