Venice Commission - Report on Bicameralism
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3.What form of state and form of government has the country? Please provide details with reference to relevant constitutional provisions. a) Unitarian or federal/regional/other form of decentralization; b) Parliamentary, presidential, semi-presidential or mixed
Algeria has a republican regime, with the President of the Republic as the leader of the executive power and the Council of Ministers. The President can nominate the Prime Minister.
The Republic of Austria is a federal state composed of nine autonomous federal provinces: Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, Vienna. Its federal nature is one of the principles laid down in the Constitution (Art. 2 B-VG) and can only be changed by referendum according to Art. 44 para. 3 B-VG.
“La Belgique est un état fédéral qui se compose des communautés et régions.” (art. 1 de la Constitution)
Bosnia and Herzegovina is unique in the world in terms of its State structure. The Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina does not define its form of government. It is a decentralized State consisting of two entities: the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska, and the Brčko District of BiH. They have a high degree of autonomy, including their own Constitutions, that is, the Statute, which, however, must be consistent with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Brazil is a federative presidential republic without a prime minister, made up of twenty-six states and a federal district. Its Constitution was adopted on October 5, 1988.
Canada is a federal state, with a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary form of democratic government. The preamble to the Constitution Act, 1867, records the desire of the original provinces to be “federally united into One Dominion under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a Constitution similar in Principle to that of the United Kingdom”. As the country evolved and became an independent state, the Crown also became divisible, such that it is proper to speak of the Crown in right of Canada (and at the provincial level, the Crown in right of the province). Canada’s independence is reflected in the fact that it is His Majesty’s Canadian Ministers who advise the King in relation to Canadian matters. The King is represented in Canada by the Governor General and the provincial Lieutenant Governors.
As specified in the Political Constitution of 1980, Chile is a unitary state, with its territory divided into 16 regions. Sovereign power is vested in the nation, and is exercised through the election of representatives by universal suffrage or referendum. Chile is a republican democracy.
The Czech Republic is unitary and parliamentary state (Art. 1 para 1 and Art. 15 para 1 of the Constitution). The governement is responsible to the lower chamber of the Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies (art. 68 para 1) and is dependent upon its confidence (Art. 73 para 2).
France is a unitary state but, by virtue of Article 1er of its Constitution, it has a decentralised organisation. A special title of its Constitution is devoted to the organisation and competences of its decentralised authorities, those of the "hexagon" as well as those of the overseas territories. The system is parliamentary, but it gives the President of the Republic and the executive important prerogatives. The lower house can be dissolved by the President of the Republic, but not the second chamber. It is true that some authors consider that the French Fifth Republic is a semi-presidential regime since the President of the Republic is elected by direct universal suffrage, without any link with the election of deputies. But many constitutionalists nevertheless consider that despite its particularities, due to the mode of election of the president and the specific powers he enjoys, this regime is fundamentally parliamentary and this is also my opinion. Indeed, the main powers of the president require the approval of a parliamentary majority, in particular his choice of government and the possibility of passing bills. We have seen, during periods of cohabitation, that the president is reduced to a very limited role when he does not have a majority to support him. In such a situation, it is the Prime Minister, responsible to the National Assembly, who regains leadership of the executive (giving full effect to Article 21 of the Constitution, which tends to be forgotten when the majority of deputies support the President. The period we have been experiencing since the summer of 2022 is further proof of the parliamentary dominance of the regime. To conclude, I believe that we can say that the regime is only semi-presidential if the majority of deputies unhesitatingly support the president (which implicitly means that it is the parliament that is the key to the balance); as soon as the support is fragile, a fortiori if it is non-existent, we return to the fundamentals of the parliamentary regime. I noted a few days ago that Edouard Philippe, former Prime Minister, commented on the political situation by saying that it reminded us that our system is parliamentary.
Germany is a federal State with a parliamentary system, where the federal legislative power is vested in the Bundestag, the parliament of Germany (Article 77 subsection 1 Basic Law) and the Bundesrat (Article 50 Basic Law), the representative body of the Länder. The Parliament elects the Chancellor. The highest representative of the country, the President (“Bundespräsident”) is elected by the Bundesversammlung, a special assembly composed of the members of Parliament and an equal number of members elected by the parliaments of the Länder (Article 54 subsection 3 Basic Law). The President has mostly representative functions and can only step in when the election of the chancellor fails and it is necessary to decide about having a minority government or dissolving the Bundestag.The general principles of the political system (republic, democracy, federalism, social State, rule of law) are enshrined in Article 20 and 28 Basic Law.
Ireland is a unitary parliamentary democracy with a President as its head of state. The President is elected by the people for a term of seven years and performs ceremonial duties such as signing legislation into law and representing Ireland abroad.
3. The Italian Constitution has adopted a parliamentary form of Government, based on a relation of confidence between the two chambers and the Government: see art. 94 of the Constitution.
According to paragraph 1 of Article 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Kazakhstan is a unitary state with a presidential form of government.
a) Mexico has a federal system of government. According to article 40 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, Mexico is a: “representative, democratic, secular, federal, Republic, made up by free and sovereign States in everything related to its domestic regime, but united in a federation”.
Etat unitaire, et selon les termes de la constitution, la régionalisation est « avancée ». Monarchie constitutionnelle, régime mixte.
a) Unitarian or federal/regional/other form of decentralisation Regional form of decentralisation: municipalities, provinces, central level (Articles 123-132 Constitution). Municipalities and provinces have their own autonomy, which however can be limited by central regulation (Law, government decrees, ministerial regulations).
Poland is a parliamentary republic, with its bicameral legislature comprising the Sejm and the Senate and executive bodies comprised President and Prime Minister as a head of the cabinet and the head of government of Poland.
The form of the State is commonly described as a semi-presidential republic, given its main features; thus, the President is elected by universal vote; the Government is designated by the President, but approved by the Parliament and is accountable before the Parliament; the executive power can be described as dual, given the significant roles of both the President and the Prime-minister.
Slovenia is according to Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia parliamentary representative democratic republic (Article 1). The Constitution, adopted on December 23, 1991, outlines the form of state and government of Slovenia. The form of government is based on the principle of the separation of powers into three branches (Article 3): the legislative, executive, and judicial. The National Assembly is the highest representative and legislative body of the country, consisting of 90 members who are elected for a four-year term. The executive power is vested in the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, which is headed by the Prime Minister and consists of ministers who are appointed by the National Assembly. The judiciary is independent and is composed of courts, which exercise judicial power in accordance with the Constitution and laws.
a) Unitarian or federal/regional/other form of decentralisation
a. Unitarian or federal/regional/other form of decentralization
Tunisia operates under a presidential regime and features a bicameral parliament, as outlined in Article 87 of the constitution that the executive function is exercised by the President of the Republic assisted by a Government presided over by a Head of Government and Article 56 that the people, holders of sovereignty, delegate the legislative function to a first representative chamber called the Assembly of People's Representatives, and to a second representative chamber called the Council of Regions and Districts.
Parliamentary system. The second r chambers if the House of Lords. The first chamber is the House of Commons. The latter is the subject of direct elections and the primary legislative body. Although the House of Lords must pass draft legislation in order for it to become law by Convention its primary role is to scrutinise and improve by amendment with the final say being left to the House of Commons.
The U.S. has a federal form of government. The Constitution however does not specifically name or describe the federal system; instead, the system is a byproduct of the structure laid out in the Constitution and the division of power between the national/federal government and the 50 states. There are certain provisions in the Constitution that showcase the push and pull in power between the federal and state powers. For example, the 10th Amendment to the Constitution says that any powers not delegated to the federal government via the Constitution are reserved to the states. In addition, Article VI, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution (commonly referred to as the Supremacy Clause) establishes that the federal Constitution, and federal law more generally, takes precedence over state laws and state constitutions.
Algeria
Austria
Unlike the situation in states with a centralist form of organisation, the legislative and executive powers in Austria are shared by the federal and provincial governments (Art. 10 – 15 B-VG). Thus, the federal state and the provinces have legislative bodies and executive organs of their own. Provincial laws and laws pertaining to communities are passed by the provincial parliaments and the administration of the provinces lies in the hands of the provincial governments. The provinces participate indirectly in the administrative activities of the federal state ("indirect administration of federal law by provincial administrative authorities"). However, the provinces lack an independent judiciary. The Federal Constitution defines Austria as a (bicameral) parliamentary democracy (Art. 1 B-VG). The Austrian Parliament consists of two chambers – the National Council (Nationalrat) and the Federal Council (Bundesrat), which form separate entities. Together they represent the legislative power. Jointly they form a third parliamentary body, the Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung, Art. 38 – 40 B-VG), see below question 13) g) for its (limited) responsibilities.
The National Council (Art. 24 – 33 B-VG) is responsible for proposing, deliberating, and passing laws. As an institution directly elected by the people, it also has important control functions: by addressing specific questions to the Federal Government, the National Council exercises control over it and may even deny the Government, or individual members of it, its confidence and in this way force them to step down.
Jointly with the National Council, the Federal Council (Art. 34 – 37 B-VG) exercises the legislative power at federal level. It can raise objections to legislative decisions of the National Council (suspensive veto). In the majority of cases the Federal Council cannot prevent legislation but only delay it. There are, however, some matters on which the Federal Council has an absolute veto (see below question 13) ii)). It is also referred to as the Chamber of Provinces. Its members are delegated by the provincial parliaments of the nine federal provinces.
The Federal President (Art. 60 – 68 B-VG) and the Government jointly form the head of the federal administration. The Federal President is elected by a direct popular vote for a six-year term. Beside other responsibilities he/she is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, appoints the Federal Chancellor, has the power to dismiss the Government, dissolve the National Council and reject proposed ministers.
The Government (Art. 69 – 78 B-VG) – which is appointed by the Federal President – comprises the Federal Chancellor, the Vice Chancellor and the Ministers. It heads, determines and supervises political life internally and externally. Passing laws is the task of Parliament, not the Government. So the Federal Government needs majorities in the National Council who support them and vote for them. The Government can submit legislative proposals as bills to the National Council.
Belgium
La Belgique est en outre un état décentralisé avec des provinces et des communes.
La Belgique a un système parlementaire: Le Roi nomme et révoque les ministres. Il doivent avoir la confiance de la majorité de la Chambre des Représentants (art. 96 de la Constitution et des coutûmes constitutionnelles)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Brazil
The president is elected for a four-year term, and may be re-elected once.
Canada
Through the preamble, Canada has inherited many of the unwritten constitutional principles and constitutional conventions that govern the exercise of formal powers in the United Kingdom, including the principles of the rule of law and responsible government.
The executive government and authority “of and over Canada” is formally vested, by section 9 of the Constitution Act, 1867, in the King. (Section 9 mentions “the Queen” – at the time of Confederation in 1867, the reigning monarch was Queen Victoria—but the references to “the Queen” in the Act’s provisions mean whoever is the reigning Sovereign.) The King’s Privy Council for Canada is established by section 11 and is presided over by the Governor General. Privy Councillors may be commissioned by the Governor General to be Ministers of the Crown, and by constitutional convention, these Ministers are usually chosen from the elected members of the House of Commons, on the advice of the Prime Minister.
The Parliament of Canada is established by section 17 of the Constitution Act, 1867, and consists of the King, “an Upper House styled the Senate”, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the Ministry (the Cabinet) must maintain the confidence of the elected house, the Commons.
The Senate was modelled on the United Kingdom’s House of Lords, insofar as the Senate is a body in which Senators are appointed by the Governor General in the name of the King, and have long tenure (until 1965, for life; since 1965, until a retirement age of 75 years). As well, Senators must hold real and personal property amounting to at least $4,000 Canadian dollars, a significant sum in 1867, when it was thought that landed interests should be represented in the upper house and would contribute to the Senate’s role of exercising “sober second thought” in the enactment of federal legislation. The property requirement has receded in relative importance over time. The relevant provisions of the Constitution Act, 1867 are section 24 (appointment), section 23 (qualifications), and section 29 (tenure).
Chile
The President of the Republic has important powers, such as appointing senators, nominating ministers and declaring a state of war. Since then, democratic reforms have substantially modified the Constitution.
Under the Constitution, the Chilean state is divided into three classic powers.
Czechia
France
Germany
Ireland
The Irish Parliament, known as the Oireachtas, consists of the President and two Houses: Dáil Éireann (House of Representatives) and Seanad Éireann (the Senate). There are specific, separate constitutional provisions pertaining to each of these. The powers, duties and roles of each are clearly laid out in the Constitution as follows:
1. The President – Articles 12-14.
2. Dáil Éireann – Articles 16-17.
3. Seanad Éireann -Articles 18-19.
The sole and exclusive power of making laws is vested in the Oireachtas, as per Article 15.2.1 of the Constitution.
The Constitution confers primacy on Dáil Éireann as the directly elected House in the passage of legislation. Dáil Éireann is also the House from which the Government is formed and to which it is responsible, as per Article 28.4.1. https://web.archive.org/web/20131004131131/http://referendum2013.ie/.
Italy
Italy is a regional state. The Senate is to be elected on “a regional basis” (art.57), yet the Senate is not representative of the regions. The regions are the territorial unity on which the electoral apportionment is based. Regions are considered in the geographic not political sense.
Kazakhstan
Mexico
The states that are part of the federation, according to article 43 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States are: 1) Aguascalientes, 2) Baja California, 3) South Baja California, 4) Campeche, 5) Coahuila de Zaragoza, 6) Colima, 7) Chiapas, 8) Chihuahua, 9) Durango, 10) Guanajuato, 11) Guerrero, 12) Hidalgo, 13) Jalisco, 14) Mexico, 15) Michoacan de Ocampo, 16) Morelos, 17) Nayarit, 18) Nuevo Leon, 19) Oaxaca, 20) Puebla, 21) Queretaro, 22) Quintana Roo, 23) San Luis Potosi, 24) Sinaloa, 25) Sonora, 26) Tabasco, 27) Tamaulipas, 28) Tlaxcala, 29) Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, 30) Yucatán, 31) Zacatecas and 32) Mexico City.
b) The Federal Supreme Power of Mexico is divided in Legislative, Executive and Judicial, according to article 49 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States.
The Mexican political system is presidential, because the federal Executive power, according to article 80 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States is exercised, solely, by one person: the President. Additionally, according to article 89 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, the President has the duties of Head of State and Head of Government.
Finally, the Executive and Legislative powers are independent from each other and cannot be exercised by the same person, therefore, a complete separation between the Executive and the Parliament is stablished, according to article 49 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States.
Morocco
The Netherlands
b) Parliamentary, presidential, semi-presidential or mixed; parliamentary system. Government is dependent on the trust of parliament. Laws are the product of Government and Parliament together (Article 81 of the Constitution).
Poland
Constitution of the Republic of Poland (1997):
Article 1 The Republic of Poland is the common good of all citizens.
Article 2. the Republic of Poland is a democratic state governed by the rule of law, realizing the principles of social justice.
Article 3. the Republic of Poland is a unitary state.
Article 4 (1) The supreme power in the Republic of Poland belongs to the Nation.
(2) The Nation exercises power through its representatives or directly. (…)
Article 10. 1. The system of government of the Republic of Poland is based on the division and balance of the legislative power, the executive power and the judicial power.
(2) Legislative power is exercised by the Sejm and the Senate, executive power by the President of the Republic of Poland and the Council of Ministers, and judicial power by the courts and tribunals.
Romania
Slovenia
Slovenia is a territorially unified and indivisible state (Article 4). Slovenia has a decentralized form of government, with local self-government. The Constitution provides for the decentralization of power and the establishment of self-governing local communities. Article 139 of the Constitution provides for the establishment of self-governing local communities, which are based on the principles of local self-government and the separation of powers between the state and local communities. Local communities have the right to manage local affairs and provide public services in accordance with the law. They are also entitled to financial resources from the state budget, as well as their own revenue sources.
Additionally, the Constitution provides for the establishment of regional self-government. Article 140 of the Constitution allows for the establishment of regions, which are defined by law and based on common economic, cultural, and social characteristics. Regions have not yet been established in Slovenia.
Furthermore, the Constitution provides for the protection of minority rights, including the right of minorities to participate in the decision-making process of local and regional self-government. Minority representatives are entitled to participate in the work of representative bodies at the local and regional levels.
Spain
Spain is a politically decentralised state, often described as halfway between federal and regional states. It is divided into 17 territorial entities (Autonomous Communities) with major legislative powers and 2 Autonomous Cities (Ceuta and Melilla) in North Africa (but in the case of these cities they have no legislative powers). In addition, there is a long tradition of local government in municipalities and (with far fewer powers) in 50 provinces (which have in part legally disappeared, except to serve as constituencies, when the territory of the Autonomous Community coincides with that of a province; i.e. in 7 cases: Madrid, Murcia, Baleares; La Rioja, Asturias, Navarra, and Santander)
Spain is often described as an asymmetric federalism due to the importance of the differences among its Autonomous Communities. For a more detailed explanation see below the answer to the last question.
b) Parliamentary, presidential, semi-presidential or mixed
Spain is a Parliamentary system
Switzerland
Switzerland is a federal state (art. 3 and 44 Constitution [hereafter: Cst.]) with 26 states, the so-called cantons (art. 1 Cst.).
b. Parliamentary, presidential, semi-presidential or mixed
Switzerland has a mixed form of government (directorial government).
The government (Federal Council) consists of seven members (art. 175 para. 1 Cst.) elected by Parliament (art. 175 para. 2 Cst.). Once the members of Federal Council are elected, they cannot be removed, and there is no vote of no confidence. On the other hand, the Federal Council may not dissolve Parliament or one of its chambers.
Tunisia
United Kingdom
United States of America
The federal government in turn is a tripartite system made up of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The qualifications, powers and duties for each branch are laid out in Articles I, II and III of the U.S. Constitution, respectively.