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According to Article 20, paragraph 1, of the Constitution ‘The Government shall determine and conduct the policy of the Nation.’ Paragraph 3 of the same article specifies ‘It shall be responsible to Parliament in accordance with the terms and procedures set out in Articles 49 and 50.’ Although Article 20 of the Constitution lays down that the Government is responsible to Parliament, Article 50 of the Constitution to which it refers limits the sanction to the sole votes taken by the National Assembly ‘Where the National Assembly carries a motion of censure, or where it fails to endorse the programme or a statement of general policy of the Government, the Prime Minister must tender the resignation of the Government to the President of the Republic.’ The Constitution therefore allows the National Assembly alone to raise an issue of the Government’s responsibility, by voting, and thereby to challenge its existence. But raising an issue of the Government’s responsibility before the National Assembly is no longer, under the Vth Republic, a factor of governmental instability, owing to what is known as the fait majoritaire (majority rule), in other words the existence of a majority supporting the Government by its votes. This does not mean that the procedures for raising an issue of the Government’s responsibility are not applied. They are applied when, after the formation of the Government, or periodically during the latter’s existence, the Prime Minister makes a statement of its general policy or a statement on its programme (Article 49, paragraph 1); when the opposition takes the initiative of introducing a motion of censure to oblige the Prime Minister to give explanations on all or part of the Government’s policy (Article 49, paragraph 2); or when, to obtain the passing of a bill, the Prime Minister must make an issue of the Government’s responsibility, according to a procedure already mentioned (Article 49, paragraph 3).
According to this provision, ‘The Prime Minister, after deliberation by the Council of Ministers, makes the Government’s programme or possibly a statement of its general policy an issue of its responsibility.’ It appeared to result from this provision that the Prime Minister was obliged to make the Government’s programme an issue of its responsibility, whereas the approval of a statement of general policy was a matter of opportunity, but this interpretation has given way to a practice according to which the engagement of responsibility is optional and intervenes, for this reason, in the very great majority of cases, regarding a statement of general policy. According to Rule 152 of the National Assembly Rules of Procedure, when the Prime Minister makes an issue of the Government’s responsibility pursuant to Article 49, paragraph 1, ‘the Chairmen’s Conference shall arrange the debate in manner provided by Rule 132.’: determination of the total speaking time allocated to groups in proportion to their size. ‘After the closure of the debate, the floor may be given for an explanation of vote lasting fifteen minutes to a speaker designated by each group and five minutes to other speakers… The President shall put to vote approval of the Government’s programme or statement. An absolute majority of votes cast shall be required.’ Voting shall be by public ballot at the rostrum.
According to this provision, ‘The National Assembly may raise an issue of the Government’s responsibility by passing a motion of censure. Such a motion shall not be admissible unless it is signed by at least one tenth of the members of the National Assembly (…). Except as provided in the above paragraph (in other words in response to the engagement of its responsibility regarding a bill), a deputy shall not sign more than three motions of censure during a single ordinary session and more than one during a single extraordinary session.’ Rule 153 of the National Assembly Rules of Procedure specifies that, ‘A motion of censure shall be tabled by delivering to the President of the Assembly a document entitled ‘Motion of censure’ together with a list of signatures of at least one tenth of the members of the Assembly. The tenth of members shall be calculated by reference to the number of seats actually filled; if the calculation results in a fraction, the number shall be rounded up.’ For instance, when the 577 seats are filled, this figure stands at 57.7, rounded up to 58. ‘No deputy shall sign more than one motion of censure at a time.’ ‘Reasons may be given for motions of censure.’ ‘Once a motion of censure has been tabled, no signature shall be withdrawn or added. The President shall notify the Government of the motion, shall have it posted on the noticeboard and shall inform the Assembly at its next following sitting. The definitive list of signatures shall be published in the verbatim report.’ As Article 49, paragraph 2, of the Constitution sets forth that ‘Voting may not take place within forty-eight hours after the motion has been introduced.’, Rule 154, paragraph 1, of the National Assembly Rules of Procedure specifies that the ‘Chairmen’s Conference shall determine the date on which motions of censure are to be debated, the date to be no later than the third sitting day after expiry of the constitutional time limit.’ The debate is organised in the same conditions as the debate on a statement of general Government policy pursuant to Article 49, paragraph 1, of the Constitution. The specific character of Article 49, paragraph 2, of the Constitution, resides in the way a motion of censure is adopted: ‘Only the votes in favour of the motion of censure shall be counted; the motion of censure shall not be adopted unless it is voted for by the majority of the members of the Assembly ". Rule 154, paragraph 6, of the National Assembly Rules of Procedure specifies consequently that ‘Only deputies in favour of the motion of censure shall take part in the ballot, which shall take place as provided in section II of Rule 66.’, in other words at the rostrum, for a length of 45 minutes. All deputies not participating in the vote are presumed to approve the Government, including those who, in a ballot held in ‘ordinary’ conditions, would have simply abstained.
As already seen, this provision links the engagement of responsibility to the legislative procedure: when the Prime Minister makes the passing of a bill an issue of the Government’s responsibility, this bill is ‘considered adopted’ unless a motion of censure is introduced and carried as provided in paragraph 2 . |
