Gylian Parliament

Gylian Parliament Parlement gylienne (French)
13th Parliament
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Chamber of Deputies Senate
History
Founded	28 April 1958 (Popular Assembly) 1 February 1962 (Gylian Parliament)
Preceded by	General Council of the Free Territories
Structure
Seats	560 400 Deputies 160 Senators
Joint committees	28
Elections
Chamber of Deputies voting system	Single transferable vote
Senate voting system	Sortition and appointment by the President based on advice
Chamber of Deputies last election	27–28 July 2024
Chamber of Deputies next election	July or August 2028
Meeting place
Parliament Building, Mişeyáke, Mişeyáke
Website
http://www.parliament.gls/

The Gylian Parliament (French: Parlement gylienne) is the bicameral federal legislature of Gylias. It consists of the Chamber of Deputies (Chambre des députés) and Senate (Senat). Both assemblies meet in the Parliament Building in Mişeyáke, in separate chambers, and can meet jointly in certain circumstances.

The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house and primary legislative body at the federal level. It elects members from multi-member districts known as circonscriptions.

The Senate is the upper house. Previously elected from 1962 to 1995, its members are now chosen through sortition and appointment by the President.

Like all other legislatures in Gylias, the Parliament is a popular legislature, whose mermbers serve part-time.

History

The Gylian Parliament was created during the transition from the Free Territories to Gylias. The indirectly-elected General Council of the Free Territories, formed of delegates chosen from local communal assemblies, was replaced with a directly-elected federal legislature, the Popular Assembly.

The only Popular Assembly election took place in 1958, using national party-list proportional representation. The Assembly served a term of four years, overseeing the formalisation of the Free Territories' anarchist governance, including the passage of the Constitution of Gylias and six codes of law.

The Law on Electoral Representation of 1960 reorganised the legislature. It became bicameral, and the voting system changed to single transferable vote. The Constitution renamed the Popular Assembly to the Chamber of Deputies, while the new chamber was named the Senate.

The first election for the Gylian Parliament took place in 1962. The election ushered in the First Republic's political system, with five-party electoral blocs and Non-inscrits. Parliament was made a popular legislature to keep governance as direct as possible. Initially its term of office was 7 years.

The two chambers evolved different identities. The Senate became a means of acknowledging the contributions of esteemed civil society and artistic figures. It was jokingly likened by Dæse Şyna to a retirement home for respected political pensioners.

Parliament's term was shortened to 5 years before the 1976 election. The 1980 election was held a year ahead of schedule.

Its size was capped by the Law on Legislature Sizes of 1989 to prevent it from growing to the point of usurping the prerogative of direct democracy. The Senate was reformed to be based on sortition and appointment in 1997.

The term was fixed at 4 years starting with the 2000 election. The current cycle allows federal and regional elections to be held two years apart.

The Latte Revolution brought an electoral reform that further reduced Parliament's size. Electoral reform shaped the Second Republic's political system, as parties merged and electoral blocs consolidated.

Legislative functions

The Parliament represents the federal legislative branch of Gylias. It has limited responsibilities by law and the principle of subsidiarity. Since communal assemblies and municipalities have the prerogative of self-governance, the Parliament's role is more deliberative and delegative.

It scrutinises, debates, and advances proposals. It gathers consensus from the public and all levels of government on matters of federal importance.

Members of Parliament are subject to imperative mandates and recall from their constituents.

The Chamber of Deputies is the responsible house, and the only one where federal budget bills are introduced.

Bills may be introduced by any member of either chamber (except budget bills) and there is no distinction between bills introduced by members of government or opposition parties.

Sessions

Both chambers meet in regular sessions. There are usually 4 sessions in the year. Each lasts 3 weeks, and has between 2 and 5 sittings per week.

• The spring session begins on the first Monday in March.
• The summer session begins on the first Monday in June.
• The autumn session begins on the first Monday in September.
• The winter session begins on the first Monday in December.

Extraordinary sessions may be called for additional debates or to address special situations.

Legislative procedure

The Parliament's legislative procedure has four stages:

1. Proposal: can be made by the people (in the form of a popular initiative), civil society or professional organisations, municipal or regional councils, individual members of Parliament, or members of the government.
   1. The bill in question is subject to a general discussion, and afterwards referred to the relevant committee for review.
   2. The committee prepares a report on the bill, with the advice of other committees, and presents it to Parliament.
   3. The chamber where the bill originated votes to either request a further report or proceed to debate. (A vote to reject the bill ends the legislative process.)
2. Drafting: takes place in parliamentary committees, with public hearings and consultations.
   1. The bill is brought to the relevant committees for review and drafting.
   2. The committees discuss, propose, and compose the final text of the bill. During the drafting process, members of the public are also consulted on the bill, and expert witnesses are called to provide input.
   3. The final draft is reviewed article-by-article, and presented to the Parliament.
3. Approval: takes place in both chambers of Parliament.
   1. The Parliament debates and proposes further amendments to the bill. (It can also vote to refer the bill back to committees for further consideration, returning it to the drafting stage.)
   2. The bill is sent to the Constitutional Court for inspection.
   3. Once cleared by the Constitutional Court, the chamber where the bill originated votes on it.
   4. If the bill passes the chamber, it is sent to the other chamber where it must be voted through without further changes.
   5. If the other chamber modifies the bill, it must be returned to the original chamber to approve the changes.
   6. To prevent repeated passing of the bill between the two chambers, the Chamber of Deputies can overrule the Senate's rejection of a bill by majority vote.
4. Promulgation: done by the President of Gylias.
   1. Once a bill is passed, it is sent to the President for promulgation into law.
   2. The President can reject a bill with a written justification, returning it to Parliament. (It is customary for the justification to be that the bill is unconstitutional or would affect popular self-governance.)
   3. If the bill is returned, Parliament debates it anew.
   4. If the Parliament approves the bill without modifications, the President must sign it into law.

After the President has promulgated it, a law is published in the Official Gazette and commences after 15 days, unless a longer time period is specified.

Responsibilities

Other responsibilities of the Parliament include:

• Providing a forum for debating and discussing matters of public importance through popular petitions, motions, and bills.
• Debating constitutional amendments.
• Reviewing the actions of government, both policy and routine administration.
• Approving federal budgets.

Parliamentary procedure

Both chambers have a presiding Speaker, chosen from the members at the beginning of term and renouncing party affiliation. Speakers maintain order during debates, determine the order in which members speak, make procedural rulings, and announce vote results. Speakers may not vote in a debate except in case of a tie, where they will vote in favour of further debate or the status quo.

Parliament does not have rules on unparliamentary language, giving it a more informal atmosphere compared to other state legislatures. Members cannot interrupt other members while they are speaking. Members can directly speak amongst themselves or address their remarks to the Speaker. They can refer to each other by full name, or as "Deputy" or "Senator" for short.

Members cannot directly insult another member's family or non-parliamentary friends. Members of Parliament have no parliamentary immunity, but have parliamentary privilege for their statements.

Each day of parliamentary session has 30 minutes reserved for Question Time, during which Deputies and Senators address questions to the Cabinet and Prime Minister. The Prime Minister transfers questions they're not directly responsible for to the relevant cabinet members.

Due to the many parties represented and strict Speaker moderation, Gylian Question Time sessions are known for their lively but civilised atmosphere. Questions must be relevant to policy, even from members of government parties. Speakers disallow pre-arranged questions meant to criticise the opposition.

Parliament meets collectively to assume office. After that, both chambers of Parliament meet and conduct their sessions separately. Joint meetings of both chambers take place to receive addresses from visiting heads of state or government.

Members

Members of Parliament serve part-time, by the popular legislature principle. They are paid a salary equivalent to an average worker's wage. They must handle their own accommodation and transportation.

Members of Parliament cannot consume mind-altering substances while on duty. Parliamentary sessions adjourn for the day at 16:00.

All votes in Parliament are made electronically. Proxy voting is used if a member cannot attend a vote in person.

Parliamentary groups

Parties and independents form parliamentary groups in the Chamber of Deputies, in order to simplify organisation and determine membership of committees and speaking order during debates. Groups also receive allowances to support their activities.

The Second Republic has seen a consolidation of parties, the appearance of new electoral blocs, and the decline of the non-inscrit group.

The current parliamentary groups are:

Group		Constituent parties
	Progressive Alliance group	DCP, SP, SDP
	Liberal Union group	NUP, NLP, PRRA
	Ensemble group	MAD, NAF, HP
	National Bloc group	CNP, NPR, PDU
	Anarchist Forum group	FVU, LND, LSDP, PP-CM, UI
	City and Country Unity grup	FLP, PPFN, Pirates, UM
Non-inscrits group		ARENA, GP, IRAM, Ind

Committees

Much of Parliament's work is done in committees. Committees examine policy and legislation, take evidence from witnesses, and conduct inquiries. They allow the public and experts to participate in the legislative process, and members to ask questions and review proposals.

There are two types of committees. Permanent Committees scrutinise bills and topics referred to them by the chambers, examine the government's budget and activities, and provide guidance and research during the bill-drafting process. They form a significant contribution to grey literature published in Gylias, including white papers and green papers. Serving on or chairing a Permanent Committee is a prestigious position.

The current Permanent Committees are:

• Civil, Political, Economic, and Social Liberties
• Community Affairs
• Constitutional Affairs and Public Administration
• Culture, Arts and Leisure
• Defense
• Education and Learning
• Equality and Social Integration
• Economy and Finance
• Environment and Resources
• Federal and Regional Coordination
• Foreign Relations
• Justice and Human Rights
• Health and Wellbeing
• Intelligence and Security
• Labour
• Law Enforcement and Public Safety
• Local Government
• Natural Resources
• Parliamentary Procedures and Matters
• Planning and Development
• Public Accounts
• Public Standards and Integrity
• Public Petitions
• Publications and Parliamentary Library
• Science and Technology
• Social Policy
• Trade
• Transport and Infrastructure

Temporary Committees are established to deal with particular issues, and work closely with Permanent Committees. Different Prime Ministers have established Temporary Committees reflecting their program.

Parliament has no internal committees. Parliamentary affairs are handled by the Permanent Committee on Parliamentary Procedures and Matters.

All parliamentary committees are joint committees, with both Deputies and Senators. A committee has 20 members in total, half from each chamber, and half government and half opposition. Membership is determined by negotiation and consensus.

Broadcasting

Parliamentary proceedings are broadcast by GTV Parliament. The channel broadcasts only while Parliament is in session, and does not operate outside those times.

List of Parliaments

Election	Parliament
1958	Popular Assembly
1962	1st Parliament
1969	2nd Parliament
1976	3rd Parliament
1980	4th Parliament
1985	5th Parliament
1990	6th Parliament
1995	7th Parliament
2000	8th Parliament
2004	9th Parliament
2008	10th Parliament
2012	11th Parliament
2016	12th Parliament
2020	13th Parliament