| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Assemblée nationale / National Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
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POLITICAL SYSTEM
|
| Type of political regime |
presidential |
| Notes |
The President of the Republic is the Head of State and oversees respect for the Constitution (Article 37 of the Constitution). |
| Head of the executive |
President of the Republic |
| Notes |
The President ensures the regular functioning of public powers and the continuity of the State, and decides on and leads national policy. |
| Method for appointing the executive |
The President is elected by universal direct suffrage (Article 24 of the Constitution). He/she appoints ministers who assist with his/her functions. He/she may recall and fixes the attributions of each minister by decree. |
| Term of office of the executive and coincidence with the term of the legislature |
The term of office of the President is five years once renewable. The deputies are elected by universal direct suffrage also for a five-year term. |
| Incompatibility of the functions of member of the executive and member of Parliament |
No |
Although the exercise of any non-elective function is incompatible with the mandate of a deputy, the latter may be members of the Government. In that capacity, they have eight days to decide on the appointment and to quit the parliament as necessary. |
| Dissolution of Parliament |
Yes |
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In case of a lasting disagreement between the President and the National Assembly on fundamental issues, the President, after having consulted the President of the National Assembly, may announce the latter's dissolution (Article 76 of the Constitution). |
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Dissolution may not occur before the legislature has reached its third year or more than once during the same presidential mandate. New elections take place within 60 days of the dissolution taking place. If these return to the National Assembly a majority of the deputies favourable to the position adopted by the previous majority on the issue that provoked the dissolution, the President must resign. The National Assembly then meets by rights within 10 days of being elected. |
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ACCOUNTABILITY
|
| Accountability of Government to Parliament |
No |
The President ensures the regular functioning of public powers and the continuity of the State, and works out and leads state policy. He/she appoints ministers, who are responsible only to him/her (Article 39 of the Constitution). |
| Modalities of oversight |
- Oral and written questions of parliamentarians
|
Deputies may ask written questions and oral questions with or without debate to ministers who must respond (Article 73 of the Constitution). The responses are not followed by a vote but are published in the official journal. One meeting a week is reserved for oral questions with debate during the course of each extraordinary session. |
- Government reports to Parliament
|
Not applicable |
| Measures |
- Vote of confidence on Government programs and/or legislative proposals
|
Not applicable |
| Motions of censure and votes of no confidence (sub-report) |
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Not applicable |
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Not applicable |
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Not applicable |
| Dismissal and/or impeachment of Government and other public officials (sub-report) |
- Circumstances and persons concerned
|
The President is not responsible for acts carried out in the exercise of his/her office except in the case of high treason (Article 86 of the Constitution). Ministers are judicially responsible for acts carried out in the exercise of their office qualifying as crimes or serious offences at the time they were committed. |
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The President may not be indicted except by the National Assembly deciding under a secret ballot by a three-fifths majority of its members. He/she is then tried by the High Court of Justice. The latter may decide that during the President's indictment the President of the Assembly acts in his/her place until it has returned its verdict. The same procedure applies to ministers. The High Court of Justice is composed of members elected by and from within the National Assembly at the beginning of each legislature. It is chaired by a magistrate elected by the General Assembly of each Supreme Court (Article 85 of the Constitution). |
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The High Court of Justice is bound by the definition of crimes and offences as well as by the outcome of the sentence according to the current penal law at the time the acts were committed. |
- Have these procedures been applied?
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Not available |
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OVERSIGHT OVER THE ACTIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
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| Oversight over the actions of the Government administration |
No |
The President directs the administration and appoints all civilian posts (Article 40 of the Constitution). Therefore as an institution the administration accounts to him/her for its actions. |
| Means and modalities of oversight |
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The ministers may be heard at any time by the National Assembly and by its committees. They may choose associates to work with them. |
- Committees of inquiry and missions to Government departments
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The National Assembly may appoint committees of inquiry within itself. These committees are formed to assemble items of information on the established facts and to submit their conclusions to the National Assembly. A committee of inquiry may not be created when the facts have given rise to legal proceedings that are already underway. If a committee has already been formed, its mission ends when a judicial inquiry into the facts that gave cause to its formation has opened. |
- Oral and written questions of parliamentarians
|
Deputies may ask written questions and oral questions with or without debate to ministers who are required to respond. The responses are not followed by voting but are published in the official journal. One meeting a week is reserved for oral questions without debate during each extraordinary session. All parliamentarians wishing to ask written questions to members of the Government must submit the text to the President of the Assembly who communicates this to the President of the Republic (Article 73 of the Constitution).
If the government member fails to answer the written question within 15 days, it automatically becomes an oral question, inserted into the agenda at a conference of the presidents' sitting, which decides whether or not the question will be followed by debate. When a question is called at a meeting, the President reads it out. The minister in question replies to the author of the question who has another 15 minutes at the most to make a reproach. If a debate ensues, it is organised as a legislative debate though not sanctioned by a vote. The questions of parliamentarians as well as the responses given by members of the Government are published in the official journal of debates. |
- Role of Parliament in the appointment of senior Government officials
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Not applicable |
- Activity reports of the Government administration and of public services or establishments
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The Audit Chamber of the Supreme Court is competent to give its opinion on (i) the auditing of public accounts and (ii) the financial and accounting management of all organizations benefiting from state financial assistance. |
- Representation of Parliament in governing bodies of the Government administration
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Not applicable |
| Existence of an ombudsman |
No |
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- Method for appointing the executive
|
Not applicable |
- Relationship to Parliament
|
Not applicable |
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BUDGETARY OVERSIGHT
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| Consultation of Parliament in the preparation of the national budget
|
No |
Not applicable |
| Modalities of oversight |
- Examination of the budget / finance act by Parliament
|
The National Assembly votes on finance bills (Article 61 of the Constitution). The finance bill is presented at the office of the National Assembly at the latest on the day of the opening of the second ordinary session. The National Assembly has 60 days maximum to vote on the plan. If by reason of force majeure the President has not been able to submit it on time, the ordinary session is by rights immediately followed by an extraordinary session whose duration is at most equal to the time required to cover the deadline, which runs for 60 days from the day the report is submitted. |
- Reports on the budget / finance act by Committees
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The Parliament exercises control over the actions of the governmental administration through the Finance Committee report. |
| Fields overseen |
|
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Not applicable |
- Budget of special departments
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Not applicable |
- Role of Parliament in national development plans
|
Not applicable |
| Parliament's deadline for the examination and adoption of the budget / finance act |
The annual finance bill is examined during the course of the second ordinary annual session. The parliament has 75 days in which to approve the finance bill. |
| Consequences of failure by Parliament to adopt the budget / finance act |
If the finance bill has not been adopted when the deadline expires, it is put into force by decree, taking into account the amendments voted by the National Assembly and accepted by the President. If the annual finance bill could not be put into force before the beginning of the financial year, the President urgently requests authorization from the parliament for collecting the taxes. This is given within two days. The President is then authorized to resume the previous year's finance budget by decree. |
| Budgetary autonomy of Parliament |
Yes |
Financial autonomy is prescribed by law, but in practice it is limited owing to weak recovery of budgetary resources. |
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OVERSIGHT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BUDGET AND OF GOVERNMENT SPENDING
|
| Evaluation of Government spending |
| Parliament approves Government expenditures annually |
Yes |
The parliament pronounces on the accounts bill. |
| Parliamentary oversight of public companies |
No |
Not applicable |
| Modalities of oversight |
- Body for auditing the Government's books and method for appointing
|
The Audit Chamber of the Supreme Court guarantees a posteriori oversight over the implementation of the finance bills. |
- Reports of the public auditor's office
|
The Audit Chamber of the Supreme Court submits a report to the National Assembly on oversight a posteriori of the execution of the budget. This report accompanies the accounts bill that the parliament works out. |
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Not applicable |
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OVERSIGHT OVER FOREIGN POLICY
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| Foreign Relations Committee (sub-report) |
- Functions of the Committee
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The parliament exercises oversight over foreign policy via the Foreign Affairs Committee. |
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Oral and written questions are often put to the minister in charge of the Department of Foreign Affairs during deliberations by the Committee. |
- Composition of the Committee
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Not available |
- Bilateral visits of Parliament, inter-parliamentary conferences and information missions abroad
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The parliament exercises oversight over foreign policy through bilateral visits, inter-parliamentary conferences and information missions abroad. |
- Plenary debates on foreign policy issues
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The parliament exercises oversight over foreign policy by organizing plenary debates. |
| Involvement of Parliament |
- Participation of Parliament in inter-governmental meetings
|
The parliament may take the initiative of sending a delegation to inter-governmental meetings. |
- Modalities and procedures for ratifying international treaties and agreements (sub-report)
|
The President negotiates international agreements (Article 77 of the Constitution). Peace treaties, commercial treaties, treaties or agreements relating to international organizations, those funded by the State, those that modify legislative clauses, those that relate to the status of persons, and those that bear transfer, exchange or annexation of territory may only be ratified or approved by a law. Such a treaty not ratified by the parliament does not have the force of law. If the Supreme Court, on a reference from the President or a deputy, has declared that an international agreement contains a clause contrary to the Constitution, authorization to ratify or approve it may be given only after amendment of the Constitution. |
- Other mechanisms for participation in foreign policy by Parliament
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Besides the aforementioned there are no other means of control available to the parliament. |
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OVERSIGHT OVER NATIONAL DEFENCE POLICY
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| National Defence Committee (sub-report) |
- Functions of the Committee
|
The parliament exercises oversight over defence policy through the National Defence Committee. |
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Not available |
- Composition of the Committee
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The composition of the Committee reflects the numerical strength of each party in the parliament. |
| Parliamentary oversight of public arms manufacturing companies |
Not applicable |
| Circumstances and involvement |
- Modalities and procedures in case of war, an armed attack or a state of emergency
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A state of siege or a state of emergency is declared by the President upon the recommendation of the President of the National Assembly and the President of the Supreme Court (Article 74 of the Constitution). |
- Role of Parliament in sending troops abroad
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Not applicable |
- Other mechanisms for participation in national defence policy by Parliament
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The participation of the parliament in defence policy is limited because the President, as guarantor of national independence and territorial integrity, is responsible for national defence. He/she also presides over the Supreme Council for National Defence. |
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STATE OF EMERGENY
|
| Circumstances |
A state of siege or a state of emergency is declared by the President upon the recommendation of the President of the National Assembly and the President of the Supreme Court (Article 74 of the Constitution). The President may take any measure by ordinance necessary for defending the territorial integrity and for re-establishing or maintaining public order. A state of war is declared by the President after having been authorized by the National Assembly by a two-thirds majority of its members. |
| Can parliament take the initiative to declare a state of emergency |
No |
|
| Consequences of a state of emergency for Parliament |
When there is a state of siege or emergency, the National Assembly meets by rights if it is not already in session. It may not then be dissolved. The decree proclaiming a state of siege or a state of emergency no longer holds force after 12 days, unless the National Assembly, on a reference from the President of the Republic, authorizes the prorogation for a deadline set by it. Ordinances taken pursuant to a state of siege or state of emergency cease to be in force when they are over. |
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VERIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTIONALITY AND THE APPLICATION OF LAWS
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| Modalities of oversight |
- Body ruling on the constitutionality of laws
|
A specialised body / constitutional Court |
The Supreme Court, through its Constitutional Chamber, has jurisdiction over international laws and agreements (Article 83 of the Constitution). Members of the Supreme Court may not perform any other public or private functions, notably electives ones. Except in the case of a flagrant crime, magistrates of the Supreme Court may not be prosecuted, arrested, detained or judged for a criminal affair except with preliminary authorization from the General Assembly of the Supreme Court. The latter grants competence to the jurisdiction of its choosing. |
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The Supreme Court has jurisdiction in the first and final instance (i) over appeals made against actions of the President as well as over appeals made against rulings, (ii) over appeals made against the elections at the National Assembly and at local assemblies, and (iii) over appeals in annulment. |
| Evaluation of laws |
Yes |
This comes within the competence of the Legislation and Regulations Committee of the National Assembly, the general administration and the law. |
| Measures |
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