House: Amendment to Rules of Procedure First Point on Agenda of January Session

Bratislava, 26 January (TASR) - A draft amendment to Parliament's Rules of Procedure will be the first point on the agenda of the January House session, which is due to begin on Tuesday (27 January), House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) told a press conference on Monday, pointing to the need to ensure that the legislative body functions properly at a basic level. Rasi confirmed that the proposed changes are a response to the conflicts that occurred at the December session. "These were unprecedented situations," he said, accusing the opposition of instigating them and preventing Parliament, through obstruction, from carrying out its basic function of passing laws. "What happened was an attack on democracy. The opposition tried to block a legislative body elected in democratic elections," stated Rasi. According to the House chair, the amendment to the Rules of Procedure introduces plenty of minor changes that should increase transparency when submitting legislative changes. "It also introduces a code of ethics, which is a strong demand from the public," he noted. The amendment includes an obligation for MPs to wear 'appropriate attire'. If this is violated, an MP may be expelled from the chamber. Visual aids will be prohibited, and a discrete zone will be created to prevent attacks on those taking the floor. The person chairing the session may expel an MP from the chamber for disturbing order. This will lead to the loss of one monthly salary and lump-sum compensation. The same sanction will apply to a repeated expulsion from the chamber. A maximum time of 37.5 hours has been set for all parliamentary caucuses to discuss each item on the agenda; although this period will be doubled in the case of debates on the state budget and the government manifesto. "Parliament may decide to extend the debate time," noted Rasi. He believes that the proposed limit will provide sufficient time for MPs to express themselves and debate the issue at hand. ko/df