House of Delegates (Radictistan)
House of Delegates of the Grand Duchy of Radictistan Walmannshas des Grasdukat Radictistans | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Leader of the Opposition | Decebel Krat, Liberal Democratic Party |
Speaker of the House of Delegates | Harrison Radicman |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 200 |
 | |
Political groups | HRH Government
HRH Official Opposition Other Opposition |
| Elections | |
| First-past-the-post | |
| Meeting place | |
| Palace of Parliament, Greater Nuxenstat | |
The House of Delegates (Radictistani: Walmannshas) is the lower house of the Radictistani parliament. Its 200 members are elected to represent single-member constituencies by a first-past-the-post system. Candidates must be the at least thirty years of age and reside in the electoral district for which they have been nominated. The Delegates meet in the Palace of Parliament in the Riverside Department of Nuxenstat, Radictistan's capital.
Under the Radictistani political system, the majority party in the Delegates following an election forms a government and its leader becomes the Prime Minister. The Delegates also have the constitutional prerogative to approve or reject all ministerial appointments made by the Crown. The House is presided over by a nonpartisan Speaker. With only two hundred members of parliament to represent more than five hundred million Radictistani citizens, there is widespread concern that MPs are unable to be fully aware of their constituents needs and desires.
Role
Relationship with government
The Constitution of Radictistan specifies that the leader of the majority party in the House of Delegates following a general election becomes the Prime Minister. The leader of the second largest party becomes Leader of the Opposition. In the event that there is no majority party, the Grand Duke appoints as Prime Minister a party leader who can command the support of the Delegates through a coalition government. The Prime Minister must be a member of the Delegates. The Prime Minister must retain the confidence of the House to remain in power. The Delegates can at any time approve a motion of no confidence in which case the Prime Minister and Government must resign.
All appointments of Crown Ministers to the Radictistani cabinet must be approved by the House of Delegates by majority vote. The Delegates also have the power of impeachment over Crown Ministers. Government Ministers, those appointed by the Prime Minister, are not required to have formal approval of the Delegates as the Prime Minister is considered to already have approval through the support of his government by the Delegates. All ministers are obliged to take questions from parliament on a regular basis concerning the conduct of their departments. The Prime Minister also takes questions from parliament.
Legislative functions
While most legislation can originate from either house, controversial bills are almost always introduced in the Delegates. Bills of supply may only originate in the Delegates. Unlike in other countries with parliamentary government, the upper house may freely propose changes to supply bills and may reject bills outright. The Constitution of Radictistan requires that supply bills contain no provisions other than appropriations. The Speaker of the Delegates is required to certify that a supply bill is such. The Speaker's determination cannot be challenged during the legislative process but is subject to judicial review.
Members and elections
A General Election is held ninety days following a dissolution of parliament or five years after the formation of a government. In a general election all 200 seats are contested. A Member of Parliament serves for the duration of the parliamentary term. In the event that a Member dies, resigns, or becomes ineligible to serve then a by-election is called.
Parliamentary constituencies are not regularly apportioned by population. The current arrangement awards disproportionate voting power to Radictistan's major cities, particularly those in the densely populated and relatively prosperous west.
Qualifications
A number of statutory qualifications exist for Members of Parliament. The Radictistani constitution requires that candidates hold Radictistani citizenship at the time of their nomination and have reached the age of thirty. Candidates must also have resided in the electoral district for which they have been nominated for at least six months by the date of election.
Certain categories of persons are legally disqualified from standing for election or serving in the House of Delegates. Serving active-duty members of the armed forces, civil servants and holders of Crown offices, ordained clergy, and Peers are disqualified as are members of the Royal Family. Persons convicted of a felony are disqualified for three years after the completion of their judicial sentence.
Officers
The Speaker of the House of Delegates is the chief presiding officer. No Delegate may speak or raise a point of order without first being recognized by the Speaker. However, the Speaker or substitute presiding officer is required to give the floor to the first member who requests to speak. The Speaker is elected by parliament at the start of the parliamentary term according to a simple majority vote by secret ballot. While the Speaker is still considered to be a member of his party, he is expected to act in a nonpartisan manner and can only vote in the event of a tied vote of members present. By convention the Speaker always votes against the measure unless it is a supply bill. For procedural votes always votes to continue debate as it is considered improper for the Speaker to use his prerogatives to block legislation he disfavors. The Speaker's tenure of office expires when parliament is dissolved and he can be removed at any time through a motion of no confidence.
The Clerk of the House (Radictistani: Klerk des Has) serves as the Delegates' adviser on protocol and procedure. The Clerk is responsible for signing official documents and certifies the official transcripts of House proceedings.
The Sergeant-at-Arms (Radictistani: Schutzserzant) is the chief security officer of the House of Delegates, appointed by its members. His deputies, called Corporals (Radictistani: Kaprals) make up the Parliamentary Security Unit, which is trained by the Royal Security Police but answerable to the House of Delegates only. The PSU has full police powers within its jurisdiction including the power of arrest. The PSU also has authority to enforce parliamentary subpoenas.
Privileges and immunities
Members of the House of Delegates have extensive parliamentary immunity, among the most comprehensive in the world. Delegates cannot be arrested or detained except in flagrante delicto or be criminally prosecuted. Delegates are also protected from civil action in case of slander and libel. Delegates can be stripped of their immunity by the Privileges and Immunities Committee, allowing for prosecution. Instances of immunity being stripped are rare, the house generally acting in jealous regard of its privileges. Parliamentary staff have limited immunity when acting under the instructions of a member.
Police and military personnel are forbidden from entering the Palace of Parliament without permission of both Houses or in case of extreme emergency such as an active shooter situation. The Grand Duke is also prohibited by law from entering the Delegates' chambers.
Procedure
During debates, Delegates must be called on by the Speaker or alternate presiding officer in order to speak. The Speaker is required to acknowledge the first member who rises to speak. By convention the Speaker then alternates between calling government and Opposition members.
All votes on legislation are recorded electronically. Only procedural votes can occur by voice vote. The Speaker is permitted to vote on legislation only in the event of a tied vote of all members present. By convention, the Speaker always votes against the proposed bill except in the case of a supply bill.
All sessions of the House of Delegates are open to the public unless the house votes to have a closed session. Closed sessions are extremely rare and occur only when classified information is expected to be discussed at length. Open sessions of the full house and select committee meetings are televised live on RBS Parliament.
Committees
The House of Delegates has a number of permanent and ad hoc committees formed for various purposes, eg. to review proposed legislation. A Standing Committee exists for each ministerial department and to fulfill other roles, such as the Privileges and Immunities Committee which acts to defend and regulate parliamentary privilege.
Standing Committees
| Committee | Chair | Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Standing Committee on Justice | Johanne Vost (FDP) | Ministry of Justice |
| Standing Committee on Health, Education, and Public Welfare | Klaus Fulk (FDP) | Ministry of Health, Education, and Public Welfare and related bodies and policy. |
| Standing Committee on Agriculture and the Environment | John Hartmann (FDP) | Ministry of Agriculture and related bodies, agricultural and environmental policy. |
| Standing Committee on Commerce and Industry | Madeleine Krowe (FDP) | Ministry of Commerce and Industry |
| Standing Committee on Labor Policy | Mario Carrera (FDP) | Ministry of Labor |
| Standing Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure | Ivan Sobelev (FDP) | Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and related bodies |
| Standing Committee on Energy | Irina Azov (FDP) | Ministry of Energy |
| Standing Committee on Defense | Hugo Nors (FDP) | Ministry of Defense |
| Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs | Hermann Witte (FDP) | Ministry of Foreign Affairs, foreign policy |
| Standing Committee on Internal Security | Uwe Heisenberg (FDP) | Ministry of Internal Affairs, policing, and domestic security policy. |
| Standing Committee on the Treasury and Economy | Simon Taylor (FDP) | The Royal Treasury, Bank of Radictistan, related bodies, and economic policy. |
| Privileges and Immunities Committee | Joachim Makler (FDP) | Parliamentary privilege |
| Parliamentary Procedure Committee | Harrison Radicman (Speaker) | Parliamentary procedure |
| Standing Committee on Intelligence | Sergei Bergsmann (FDP) | Foreign intelligence policy and oversight. |
| Standing Committee on Technology and Communications | Shahryar Karimi (FDP) | Technology and communications policy |
| Standing Committee on Trade | Vladimir Antonov (FDP) | International trade |
| Standing Committee on Appropriations | Bertram Small (FDP) | Budget, supply bills, appropriations |