The right of (legislative) initiative is the
constitutional
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
ly defined power to propose a new law (
bill) in a
legislature
A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...
.
The right of initiative is usually given to both the
government (executive)
The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state.
In political systems ...
and
individual legislators.
However, some systems may restrict this right to legislators acting alone or with others (such as in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
) or to the government (such as in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
). This, however, does not preclude the executive from suggesting the introduction of certain laws to their backers in the legislature, or even from members of the executive from introducing laws by themselves in systems that allow simultaneous membership in the executive and the legislature.
Bicameral legislatures may restrict the right of initiative to the members of the
lower house only, or allow members of the
upper house
An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...
to introduce bills to the lower house (such as in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...
).
Groups with a right of initiative
Almost all countries give the right of legislative initiative to
members of parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members oft ...
, either as individuals or as part of a group. Depending on the country other groups of people may have the ability to initiate legislation including:
*
heads of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...
, such as a
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...
or a
monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
*
Heads of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a g ...
that are not also the head of state, such as a
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
* A
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
as a whole, or an individual
government minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...
* Political parties
* Courts and government agencies
*
Local governments
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
, normally present in a
federal system
Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments ( provincial, state, cantonal, territorial, or other sub-unit governments) in a single p ...
* Academic institutions
*
Businesses
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit."
Having a business name does not sepa ...
and
companies
A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared ...
* Groups of citizens, normally with a signature quota
* Individual citizens alone
Netherlands
The power to make a legislative proposal in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
is held by the
members of the Dutch government and other members of the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
. Both have the ''right of initiative'' . The right of initiative is regulated in the
Dutch Constitution:
* ''Article 82 paragraph 1: Bills can be submitted by or on behalf of the King and the House of Representatives of the States General.''
The
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
has no right of initiative as an independent body. There is, however, a right of initiative for the joint meeting of the
States General (House and Senate together).
The right of initiative of the
Crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
and the States General had already been formulated in Article 46 of the ''Constitution for the United Netherlands of 1814'':
* ''Article 46. The Sovereign Prince has the right to propose laws and other proposals to the States General, as well as to approve or not approve the nominations made by the States General to Him. (...)''
In more than 95% of all cases, the government takes the lead in drafting a law. A member of the House of Representatives can receive assistance from the Legislation Bureau . MPs will make more frequent use of their right of amendment, or the right to propose amendments to a bill.
Belgium
In
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
, the executive (officially the
king
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...
and his ministers, but the king has no actual power) as well as members of the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
and the
Chamber of Representatives have the right of initiative. The executive must always exercise its right of initiative in the House (according to Belgian
separation of powers
Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typica ...
, the
executive also has the right of initiative).
If the Senate or the House exercises its right of initiative, it is referred to as a ''law project'' (''wetsontwerp'' in
Dutch, ''projet de loi'' in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
). If the executive does so, this is referred to as a ''law proposal'' (''wetsvoorstel'' in Dutch, ''proposition de loi'' in French). If the executive submits a bill, it must be sent to the Legislation Department of the
Council of State
A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
for advice. This is a substantial requirement of form, i.e. non-compliance can lead to the annulment of the law.
France
In France, ministerial bills are called ''law projects'' and parliament's bills are called ''law proposals''.
Law projects
In France, bills are proposed by the government. One of the ministers propose the bill to those concerned by his or her application. Then, if the different ministers agree, the bill is sent to the ''
secrétariat général du gouvernement'' and then to the
Conseil d'État
In France, the (; Council of State) is a governmental body that acts both as legal adviser to the executive branch and as the supreme court for administrative justice, which is one of the two branches of the French judiciary system. Establi ...
, the
Council of Ministers
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...
, Parliament, and so on...
The
Conseil d'État
In France, the (; Council of State) is a governmental body that acts both as legal adviser to the executive branch and as the supreme court for administrative justice, which is one of the two branches of the French judiciary system. Establi ...
(and sometimes the
Constitutional Council) has the duty to advise the government on projects of law.
Law proposals
Any MP can propose a law to Parliament.
Law proposals, unlike law projects, can be directly deposed if they do not increase the state's expenditure.
Both kind of bills can first be deposed either to the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
or the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
Only 10% of laws that are passed are proposed by Members of Parliament.
This is mainly because the government has several means to limit the power of Parliament:
the Government fixes most of the agenda of both chambers, and
the Government can, under certain conditions, prevent Parliament from modifying its texts.
The legislative initiative of Parliament has both good and bad points.
The principal criticism is that ''lobbies'' could persuade Parliament to satisfy them before other citizens.
On the other hand, legislative initiative is the best way for Parliament to defend itself against possible encroachments to its power.
European Union
The
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
has a near monopoly for legislative initiative, whereas in many Parliamentary systems there is a mechanism whereby members of the parliament may introduce bills. This ranges from insignificant in the UK Parliament (see
Private Members' Bills in the Parliament of the United Kingdom), through quite significant in the Israeli Knesset, to being the only way bills can be introduced in the US Congress. In most parliaments, the ability of members to introduce legislation is severely limited in practice. Under the Treaty of Maastricht enhanced by the Lisbon Treaty, the European Parliament has an indirect right of legislative initiative that allows it to ask the Commission to submit a proposal, though to reject the request the Commission only needs to "inform the European Parliament of the reasons".
Member states also have an indirect right of legislative initiative concerning the
Common Foreign and Security Policy
The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) is the organised, agreed foreign policy of the European Union (EU) for mainly security and defence diplomacy and actions. CFSP deals only with a specific part of the EU's external relations, whic ...
.
Over 80% of all proposals by the Commission were initially requested by other bodies.
[Nugent, N: The European Commission (2001), S.236]
Some politicians, including
and
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn (; born 25 April 1949), also known as DSK, is a French economist and politician who served as the tenth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and was a member of the French Socialist ...
, feel that the Commission's monopoly on legislative initiative prevents the emergence or development of real democratic debate.
Citizens also have legislative initiative in the EU by the procedure of a
European Citizens' Initiative
The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) is a European Union (EU) mechanism aimed at increasing direct democracy by enabling "EU citizens to participate directly in the development of EU policies", introduced with the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007. Th ...
, in which at least a million signatures by EU citizens need to be obtained
in at least a quarter of EU member states.
Further reading
Glossary of Legislative Terms at okhouse.gov
Assemblée nationale - LA PROCÉDURE LÉGISLATIVESpeech by José Manuel BARROSO, President of the European Commission, At the inauguration of the Academic Year 2004-2005, College of Europe, Bruges, 23 November 2004
See also
*
Article One of the United States Constitution
Article One of the United States Constitution establishes the legislative branch of the federal government, the United States Congress. Under Article One, Congress is a bicameral legislature consisting of the House of Representatives and the ...
*
Constitution of the Republic of China
The Constitution of the Republic of China is the fifth and current constitution of the Republic of China (ROC), ratified by the Kuomintang during the session on 25 December 1946, in Nanjing, and adopted on 25 December 1947. The constitution, ...
*
Legislature
A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...
References
External links
Report on the Legislative Initiativean
Annex Venice Commission
The Venice Commission, officially European Commission for Democracy through Law, is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law. It was created in 1990 after the fall of the Berl ...
(2008)
{{Authority control
Legislative legal terminology
Statutory law