Imperial Parliament of The Rhinelandes
The Imperial Parliament Imperial Parliament of the Rhinelandes | |
|---|---|
| 58th Parliament | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Houses | The Senate The Bundestag |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
| Preceded by | Imperial Reichstag |
| Leadership | |
Monarch | Wilhelm IV since February 2004 |
Senate Speaker | Erna Leitner since June 2018 |
Bundestag President | Lennart Roth since October 2012 |
Chancellor | Lutz Kleiber, Conservative since November 2010 |
Leader of the Opposition | Marko Hessel, Social Democrat since January 2016 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 600 Consisting of 100 Senators and 500 Representatives |
 | |
Senate political groups | State Senators (32) Military Senators (20) Sovereign appointed Senators (18) Free-City Senators (12) Noble Houses Senators (18) |
 | |
Bundestag political groups | Conservative Party (185) Democratic Party (69) Rhineland National Party (6) Liberal Party (49) Social Democratic Party (153) Green Party (23) Labour Party (10) Independents (5) |
| Bundestag committees | See Committees of the Bundestag |
Joint committees | Confidence Committee |
Length of term | Up to 5 years |
| Elections | |
Senate voting system | Appointed |
Bundestag voting system | First-Past-The-Post |
Bundestag last election | 1st November 2015 |
Bundestag next election | 1st November 2020 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Reichstag Palace, The Oval, Kaiserstadt | |
The Imperial Parliament of the Rhinelandes is the supreme legislative body of the Empire of the Rhinelandes. Except for the Sovereign, only the Parliament possesses legislative supremacy, thereby ensuring its authority over all other political entities within the Empire, excluding the Sovereign. The Imperial Parliament is bicameral but has three constituent parts, consisting of the sovereign (Crown-in-Parliament), the Senate (Upper House), and the Bundestag (the primary chamber and lower house). The Senate and Bundestag meet in the Reichstag Palace in the Imperial Oval in the capital, Kaiserstadt.
The Senate includes five different types of members: 32 Senators representing the States of the Empire, appointed by the Prince(ss)s of those States; 20 Senators appointed from the Armed Forces, appointed by the Military High Command; 18 Senators directly appointed by the Sovereign without advice from Government; 12 Senators representing the Imperial Free Cities of the Empire, appointed by the Dukes/Duchesses of those Cities; and 18 Senators appointed by the Sovereign from amongst the Noble Houses of the Rhinelandes. The Senators appointed to represent the States and Free Imperial Cities are appointed every 8 years and individuals can be re-appointed indefinitely. Senators appointed by the Military High Command are appointed every 10 years and can be re-appointed 3 times. Senators directly appointed by the Sovereign, including those from the Noble Houses, are appointed for life but can be removed by the Sovereign at their discretion.
The Bundestag is an elected chamber with elections to 500 single member constituencies held at least every five years under the first-past-the-post system. The two Houses of the Imperial Parliament meet in separate chambers within the Reichstag Palacae in the Imperial Oval. In accordance with the Constitution of 1859, the Chancellor and all government ministers are members of the Bundestag and therefore accountable to the Bundestag.
The supreme legislative power of the Empire of the Rhinelandes is officially vested in the Sovereign. However, the Emperor will usually act on the advice of the Chancellor and government minister. Whilst the Chancellor and Ministers are accountable directly to the Bundestag, they must also maintain the confidence of the Senate and the Senate also retains the right to reject any legislation from the Bundestag. As such, in practice there is a balance of legislative power between the two chambers.
Confidence Committee
The Confidence Committee is the only joint committee of the Senate and Bundestag and it consists of all 100 Senators and all 500 Representatives. The Committee is chaired by the Lord Speaker of the Senate who is, ex officio, the Crown Prince of the Empire. This is done to ensure impartiality and non-partisanship chairing of the Committee. The Committee is only assembled once the Government loses a vote of no confidence in either the Bundestag or the Senate. As the Government is accountable to both the Senate and Bundestag, a vote of no confidence must be passed by both chambers before the Government is forced to resign.
Formation of the Committee
In order for the Committee to be called to order, the Government of the day must have lost a vote of no confidence in either the Bundestag or the Senate. A Vote of No Confidence can be called by both the Senate and the Bundestag and is called when either chamber believes the government has failed their duties or is unable to continue to govern. Due to the balance of power between the Senate and Bundestag and the Government's direct accountability to both chambers, if either the Senate or Bundestag votes in favour of no confidence, it must then be approved by the other chamber. To do this in a balanced way, a joint committee, called the Confidence Committee, is summoned.
In the Bundestag, any member may ask the President of the Bundestag to call for a vote of no confidence. For a vote to be approved, it must be seconded by at least 5 other representatives. To ensure that votes of no confidence which are likely to be defeated do not derail the functions of the Chamber, the President of the Bundestag will then summon the Ways and Means Committee of the Bundestag, the most senior committee of the Bundestag. The Ways and Means Committee will then be asked to vote on a vote of no confidence. If the vote is passed, then a full floor vote will occur in the Bundestag where all members will be required to vote for or against the government of the day.
If the Bundestag calls a vote of no confidence in the Government, and the vote passes, the President of the Bundestag must present a request to the Lord Speaker of the Senate, asking the Speaker to summon the Confidence Committee. By law, the Lord Speaker is required to summon the Committee and so this is simply a formality. The Lord Speaker will then summon the Confidence Committee at least 72 hours later in the Bundestag Chamber.
In the Senate, any Senator may call for a vote of no confidence in the Government. The call must be seconded by at least 5 other Senators. If the call for a vote of no confidence meets these requirements, the Lord Speaker will schedule a vote of no confidence to occur in 5 working days. If 50 Senators sign a letter to the Lord Speaker, stating their opposition to the Vote of No Confidence, before the vote, then the vote is cancelled. If not, the vote proceeds. If the Senate votes against the government of the day in a vote of no confidence, the Lord Speaker must summon the President of the Bundestag and inform him of the decision of the Senate. The Lord Speaker will then ssummon the Confidence Committee at least 72 hours later in the Bundestag chamber.
Voting Procedure
Before voting can take place, there must be at least 48 hours of debate on the floor of the joint committee. To ensure fairness between the Chambers, 1/6th of the time is alloted to Senators and 5/6ths of the time is alloted to Representatives. To ensure the balance of power between the Bundestag and Senate is maintained, the voting power of both chambers is balanced. This results in each Senator's vote counting 5 times and each Representatives counting just once. This ensures that the 100 senators have the same voting power as the 500 representatives. Due to the entire Senate and Bundestag being in the same chamber, logistical challenges result in the vote not being able to be conducted electronically. As a result, there is a voice vote where each member of the Parliament must come befor ethe Lord Speaker and Parliamentary clerks and state their vote to the Lord Speaker and Parliamentary clerkss.