House:Amendment to Rules of Procedure First Point on Agenda of January Session-2

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. Rasi pointed out that several opposition comments have been incorporated in the draft. Asked whether the changes also address the issue of alcohol consumption [in Parliament], he said that such a problem would manifest itself via disruptive and inappropriate behaviour during a session. "That's why the person presiding over the session is there - to respond to such inappropriate conduct," he said. House Vice-chair Tibor Gaspar (Smer-SD) stressed that the sanctions being introduced are graduated in their nature, ranging from a warning and minor penalties up to strict punishments. "No one will be able to complain that they've been immediately subjected to severe sanctions; there's an opportunity to accommodate one's behaviour to the importance that befits Parliament," he said. Another House Vice-chair, Andrej Danko (Slovak National Party/SNS), said that the proposed changes would create modern rules of parliamentary procedure, noting that the provisions were compared with those in other parliaments. He believes that the changes will improve the cultivation of debates and the overall political culture. "We fully stand behind them," stressed Danko. House Vice-chair Peter Ziga (Voice-SD) opined that setting a maximum time for debating a single item on the agenda, along with the proposed adjustments, will give each parliamentary caucus enough opportunities to use the time effectively. "If we consider that an MP's working week is 31 hours, then a single law can be debated for more than a week. I think that is sufficient time," he said. NOTE: This story has been extended to include the final four paragraphs. ko/df