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Functions of the Parliaments of France and Sweden

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Functions of the Parliaments of France and Sweden Research Paper The Secretary General of the Senate Functions of the Parliaments of France and Sweden May 2018 Researcher: Ms. Heng Nida Assisted by: Ms. Chea Sokun Minea Notice of Disclaimer The Parliamentary Institute of Cambodia (PIC) is an independent parliamentary support institution for the Cambodian Parliament which, upon request of the parliamentarians and the parliamentary commissions, offers a wide range of re- search publications on current and emerging key issues, legislation and major public policy topics. These publications provide information on subjects that are relevant to parliamentary and constituency work but do not purport to represent or reflect the views of the Parliamentary Institute of Cambodia, the Parliament of Cambodia, or of any of its members. The content of this publication, current at the date of publication, are for refer- ence purposes only. This publication is not designed to provide legal or policy advice, and do not necessarily deal with every important topic or aspect of the issues it considers. The content of this publication is covered by applicable Cambodian laws and in- ternational copyright agreements. Permission to reproduce in whole or in part or otherwise use the content on this publication may be sought from the appropri- ate source. © 2018 Parliamentary Institute of Cambodia (PIC) Contents Executive Summary .............................................................................................. 1 1. Introduction ................................................................................................... 3 2. Parliament of France (of the Fifth Republic) ...................................................... 3 2.1. The National Assembly ........................................................................... 3 2.2. The Senate ............................................................................................ 4 2.3. The three functions of the Parliament ....................................................... 5 2.3.1. Legislation ....................................................................................... 5 2.3.2. Representation ................................................................................. 6 2.3.3. Oversight ......................................................................................... 6 2.4. The Secretaries General .......................................................................... 8 3. National Parliament of the Kingdom of Sweden ................................................. 9 3.1. Three functions of the Parliament ............................................................... 10 3.1.1. Legislation .......................................................................................... 10 3.1.2. Representation ................................................................................... 12 3.1.3. Oversight ........................................................................................... 13 3.2. Administration .......................................................................................... 14 4.Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 15 Annex ................................................................................................................ 17 Executive Summary In general, the Parliaments of France and Sweden are like most Parliaments that are bicameral or unicameral, and they both have three main functions - legislation, representation and oversight - that they undertake with the support of their Gen- eral Secretariats/Administration. It should be noted that, for both countries, as members of the European Union (France joined in 1958 and Sweden in 1995), the national Parliaments also play an active role in the EU law-making process through consultative/approval procedures between the Governments and their Parliaments. In order to effectively support its Parliament and Parliamentarians, the administra- tion of the French Parliament, in both Houses, is divided into the General Secretari- at of the Questeur and the General Secretariat of the National Assembly or Senate. The Questeur is responsible for administration while the General Secretariat of the House is responsible for the legislative service. With regard to the Swedish Parliament, the General Secretariat is called the Admin- istration and its main duties are facilitating the work of the Parliament, its members and Committees through the parliamentary communication division, committee support, support for international cooperation, legal and research services, records, security and IT services. The National Assembly of France consists of eight Committees while the Senate has seven. Each House has another Committee, called the European Affairs Com- mittee. Overseas citizens can elect Members of Parliament – 11 members to the National Assembly (2 percent) and 12 members to the Senate (3.5 percent). Re- garding the legislative process, the Government can call for a `shuttle’ between the two Houses, with the National Assembly having the last word. In addition, only the National Assembly, not the Senate, can dissolve the Government. The Senate has the constitutional mission to ensure representation of the local authorities, with particular attention to the decentralization movement that aims to strengthen them. Furthermore, the Parliament's oversight mission is supported by several en- tities such as committees and delegations,that ensure that the process of question- ing the Government on its activities and expenditures is properly conducted. Some of these entities have extensive investigative powers. Both Houses are supported by the Parliamentary Office for the Evaluation of Scientific and Technologies Choic- es (OPECST). The Swedish Parliament was bicameral in the past and became a single House in 1971. The Parliament, called the Riksdag, comprises 15 Committees and a special 1 Committee on European Affairs. Swedish citizens inside and outside of Sweden can vote in parliamentary elections; they can vote for political parties or candidates, or acquire blank ballot papers to insert the names of parties and candidates. In rela- tion to the legislation, the bills concerning revenue and expense are divided into the Spring Fiscal Policy Bill submitted in April and the Budget Bill submitted in Septem- ber. The Spring Fiscal Policy Bill is an assessment of the current sitatus and proposes guidelines and policies. On the other hand, the Budget Bill deter- mines the total budget of the government for the up-coming year. The Riks- dag has the support of the National Audit Office to oversee the budget. Moreover, the Swedish Parliament has the role of examining both the behavior of public offi- cials and the relevant documents (laws and regulations). The checking of docu- ments is intended to determine whether or not citizens are properly informed and recognize new laws or regulations before they are applied. Additionally, according to the principle of Government accountability before the Parliament, as in France, the Parliament of Sweden has the power to dissolve the Government. 2 1. Introduction The election relating to the fourth mandate of the Cambodian Senate was held on 25 February 2018. After the election, the new Members of the Sen- ate were assigned to their positions. The General Secretariat of the Senate plays an important role in providing them with orientation relating to their parliamentary functions. In this regard, the Secretary General planned to organize a seminar in May 2018 at which the functions of two foreign Par- liaments - in France and Sweden - would be presented as comparative stud- ies. In response to the request of the General Secretariat of the Senate of Cam- bodia, the purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of the func- tioning of the French and Swedish parliamentary systems so that Members of the Cambodian Parliament can have this information at their disposal on the day of the seminar and thus be better prepared. This document exam- ines how the two foreign Parliaments fulfill their three functions (legislation, representation and oversight), and also focuses on the services of the French and Swedish Secretaries General in support of their Parliaments. 2. Parliament of France (of the Fifth Republic) The election relating to the 15th mandate of the National Assembly of France took place on 11 and 18 June 2017i followed by the senatorial election, which was held on 24 September 2017 to renew 170 of the 348 seats in the Sen- ate of the French Fifth Republic. In these elections, there were nine winning political parties (see Annex 1). The Parliament of France consists of two Houses - the National Assembly and the Senate.[1, art 24] Parliamentarians of the two Houses are selected by two different electoral systems: direct and indirect.[2] Each House has Committees that organize legislative debates and oversee the Government. 2.1. The National Assembly The National Assembly comprises 577 Members of Parliament, 11 of those Members are elected by French citizens abroad. The National Assembly Members are elected for five years by direct universal suffrage.[1, art 24] i11 June 2017 was the date of the first round of the election to elect the 15th National Assembly and the second round was on 18 June 2017 to elect the president. In order to be elected in the first round, a candidate must receive more than 50 percent of vote (this process is known as “first-past-the- post”). 3 The main bodies of the National
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