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PART V
THE
LEGISLATURE
CHAPTER I-Parliament
65.
Establishment of Parliament.-
(1) There shall be a Parliament for Bangladesh (to be known as the House
of the Nation) in which, subject to the provisions of this Constitution,
shall be vested the legislative powers of the Republic :
Provided that nothing in this clause shall prevent Parliament from
delegating to any person or authority, by Act of Parliament, power to make
orders, rules, regulations, bye-laws or other instruments having
legislative effect.
(2) Parliament shall consist of three hundred members to be
elected in accordance with law from single territorial constituencies by
direct election and, for so long as clause (3) is effective, the members
provided for in that clause ; the members shall be designated as Members
of Parliament.
(3) Until the dissolution of Parliament occurring next after the
expiration of the period of ten years beginning from the date of the first
meeting of the Parliament next after the Parliament in existence at the
time of the commencement of the Constitution (Fourteenth Amendment) Act,
2004, there shall be reserved forty five seats exclusively for women
members and they will be elected by the aforesaid members in accordance
with law on the basis of procedure of proportional representation in the
Parliament through single transferable vote :
Provided that nothing in this clause shall be deemed to prevent a
woman from being elected to any of the seats provided for in clause (2) of
this article.
(4) The seat of Parliament shall be in the capital.
66. Qualifications
and disqualifications for election to Parliament.-
(1) A person shall subject to the provisions of clause (2), be qualified
to be elected as, and to be, a member of Parliament if he is a citizen of
Bangladesh and has attained the age of twenty-five years.
(2) A person shall be disqualified for
election as, or for being, a member of Parliament who-
(a) is declared by a competent court
to be of unsound
mind ;
(b) is an undischarged insolvent ;
(c) acquires the citizenship of, or
affirms or acknowledges allegiance to, a foreign state ;
(d)
has been, on conviction for a criminal offence involving moral turpitude,
sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years, unless a
period of five years has elapsed since his release ;
(dd)
holds any office of profit in the service of the Republic other than an
office which is declared by law not to disqualify its holders ; or
(g)
is disqualified for such election by or under any law.
(2A) For the purposes of this article a person shall not be
deemed to hold an office of profit in the service of the Republic by
reason only that he is a President,
Prime Minister, Minister, Minister of State or Deputy Minister.
(3)
Omitted.
(4) If any dispute arises as to whether a member of
Parliament has, after his election, become subject to any of the
disqualifications mentioned in clause (2) or as to whether a member of
Parliament should vacate his seat pursuant to article 70, the dispute
shall be referred to the Election Commission to hear and determine it and
the decision of the Commission on such reference shall be final.
(5) Parliament may, by law, make such provision as it
deems necessary for empowering the Election Commission to give full effect
to the provisions of clause (4).
67.
Vacation of seats of members.-
(1) A member of Parliament shall vacate his seat-
(a)
if he fails, within the period of ninety days from the date of the first
meeting of Parliament after his election, to make and subscribe the oath
or affirmation prescribed for a member of Parliament in the Third Schedule
:
Provided that the Speaker may, before the expiration of that period, for
good cause extend it ;
(b) if he is absent from Parliament,
without the leave of Parliament, for ninety consecutive sitting days ;
(c) upon a dissolution of
Parliament ;
(d) if he has incurred a
disqualification under clause (2) of article 66 ; or
(e) in the circumstances specified
in article 70.
(2) A member of Parliament may resign his seat by writing under
his hand addressed to the Speaker, and the seat shall become vacant when
the writing is received by the Speaker or, if the office of Speaker is
vacant or the Speaker is for any reason unable to perform his functions,
by the Deputy Speaker.
68.
Remuneration, etc., of members of Parliament.-
Members of Parliament shall be entitled to such
1[remuneration],
allowances and privileges as may be determined by Act of Parliament or,
until so determined, by order made by the President.
69.
Penalty for member sitting or voting before taking oath.- If a person sits or votes as a
member of Parliament before he makes or subscribes the oath or affirmation
in accordance with this Constitution, or when he knows that he is not
qualified or is disqualified for membership thereof, he shall be liable in
respect of each day on which he so sits or votes to a penalty of one
thousand taka to be recovered as a debt due to the Republic.
70.
Vacation of seat on resignation, etc.- (1)
A person elected as a member of Parliament at an election at which he was
nominated as a candidate by a political party shall vacate his seat if he
resigns from that party or votes in Parliament against that party.
Explanation.-If a member of Parliament-
(a) being present in Parliament abstains from voting,
or
(b) absents himself from any sitting of Parliament,
ignoring the direction of the party which nominated
him at the election as a candidate not to do so, he shall be deemed to
have voted against that party.
(2) If, at any time, any question as to the
leadership of the Parliamentary party of a political party arises, the
Speaker shall, within seven days of being informed of it in writing by a
person claiming the leadership of the majority of the members of that
party in Parliament, convene a meeting of all members of Parliament of
that party in accordance with the rules of procedure of Parliament and
determine its Parliamentary leadership by the votes of the majority
through division and if, in the matter of voting in Parliament, any member
does not comply with the direction of the leadership so determined, he
shall be deemed to have voted against that party under clause (1) and
shall vacate his seat in the Parliament.
(3) If a person, after being elected a member of Parliament as an
independent candidate, joins any political party, he shall, for the
purpose of this article, be deemed to have been elected as a nominee of
that Party.
71.
Bar against double membership.- (1) No person shall at the same time be a member of
Parliament in respect of two or more constituencies.
(2) Nothing in clause (1) shall prevent a person from being at the
same time a candidate for two or more constituencies, but in the event of
his being elected for more than one-
(a) within thirty days after his last election the person elected shall
deliver to the Chief Election Commissioner a signed declaration specifying
the constituency which he wishes to represent, and the seats of the other
constituencies for which he was elected shall thereupon fall vacant ;
(b) if the person elected fails to comply with sub-clause (a), all the
seats for which he was elected shall fall vacant ; and
(c) the person elected shall not make or subscribe the oath or
affirmation of a member of Parliament until the foregoing provisions of
this clause, so far as applicable, have been complied with.
72.
Sessions of Parliament.-
(1) Parliament shall be summoned,
prorogued and dissolved by the President by public notification, and when
summoning Parliament the President shall specify the time and place of the
first meeting :
Provided that a period exceeding sixty days shall not intervene
between the end of one session and the first sitting of Parliament in the
next session :
Provided further that in the exercise of his
functions under this clause, the President shall act in accordance with
the advice of the Prime Minister tendered to him in writing.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause
(1) Parliament shall be summoned to meet within thirty days after the
declaration of the results of polling at any general election of members
of Parliament.
(3) Unless sooner dissolved by the President, Parliament shall
stand dissolved on the expiration of the period of five years from the
date of its first meeting :
Provided that at any time when the Republic is engaged in war the
period may be extended by Act of Parliament by not more than one year at a
time but shall not be so extended beyond six months after the termination
of the war.
(4) If after a dissolution and before the holding of the next
general election of members of Parliament the President is satisfied that
owing to the existence of a state of war in which the Republic is engaged
it is necessary to recall Parliament, the President shall summon the
Parliament that has been dissolved to meet.
(5) Subject to the provisions of clause (1) the sittings of
Parliament shall be held at such times and places as Parliament may, by
its rules of procedure or otherwise, determine.
73.
President’s address and messages to Parliament.- (1) The President may address Parliament
and may send messages thereto.
(2) At the commencement of the first session after a general
election of members of Parliament and at the commencement of the first
session of each year the President shall address Parliament.
(3) Parliament shall, after the presentation of an address by the
President, or the receipt of a message from him, discuss the matter
referred to in such address or message.
73A.
Rights of Ministers as respects Parliament.-
(1) Every Minister shall have the right to speak in, and otherwise to take
part in the proceedings of Parliament, but shall not be entitled to vote
or to speak on any matter not related to his Ministry unless he is a
member of Parliament also.
(2) In this article, “Minister” includes a
Prime Minister, Minister of State and Deputy Minister.
74.
Speaker and Deputy Speaker.-
(1) Parliament shall at the first sitting after any general election elect
from among its members a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker, and if either
office becomes vacant shall within seven days or, if Parliament is not
then sitting, at its first meeting thereafter, elect one of its members to
fill the vacancy.
(2) The Speaker or Deputy Speaker shall vacate his office-
(a) if he ceases to be a member of Parliament ;
(b) if he becomes a Minister ;
(c) if Parliament passes a resolution (after not less than fourteen
days’ notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution)
supported by the votes of a majority of all the members thereof, requiring
his removal from office ;
(d) if he resigns his office by writing under his hand delivered to the
President ;
(e) if after a general election another member enters upon that office ;
or
(f) in the case of the Deputy Speaker, if he enters upon the office of
Speaker.
(3) While the office of the Speaker is vacant or the Speaker is
2[acting
as] President, or if it is determined by Parliament that the Speaker is
otherwise unable to perform the functions of his office, those functions
shall be performed by the Deputy Speaker or, if the office of the Deputy
Speaker is vacant, by such member of Parliament as may be determined by or
under the rules of procedure of Parliament ; and during the absence of the
Speaker from any sitting of Parliament the Deputy Speaker or, if he also
is absent, such person as may be determined by or under the rules of
procedure, shall act as Speaker.
(4) At any sitting of Parliament, while a
resolution for the removal of the Speaker from his office is under
consideration the Speaker (or while any resolution for the removal of the
Deputy Speaker from his office is under consideration, the Deputy Speaker)
shall not preside, and the provisions of clause (3) shall apply in
relation to every such sitting as they apply in relation to a sitting from
which the Speaker or, as the case may be, the Deputy Speaker is absent.
(5) The Speaker or the Deputy Speaker, as the
case may be, shall have the right to speak in, and otherwise to take part
in, the proceedings of Parliament while any resolution for his removal
from office is under consideration in Parliament, and shall be entitled to
vote but only as a member.
(6) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (2) the Speaker or,
as the case may be, the Deputy Speaker, shall be deemed to continue to
hold office until his successor has entered upon office.
75.
Rules of procedure, quorum, etc.- (1) Subject to this Constitution-
(a) the procedure of Parliament
shall be regulated by rules of procedure made by it, and until such rules
are made shall be regulated by rules of procedure made by the President ;
(b) a decision in Parliament shall
be taken by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting, but
the person presiding shall not vote except when there is an equality of
votes, in which case he shall exercise a casting vote ;
(c) no proceeding in Parliament
shall be invalid by reason only that there is a vacancy in the membership
thereof or that a person who was not entitled to do so was present at, or
voted or otherwise participated in, the proceeding.
(2) If at any time during which Parliament is in session the
attention of the person presiding is drawn to the fact that the number of
members present is less than sixty, he shall either suspend the meeting
until at least sixty members are present, or adjourn it.
76.
Standing committees of Parliament.-
(1) Parliament shall appoint from among its members the following
standing committees, that is to say-
(a) a public accounts committee ;
(b) committee of privileges ; and
(c) such other standing committees
as the rules of procedure of Parliament require.
(2) In addition to the committees referred to in clause (1),
Parliament shall appoint other standing committees, and a committee so
appointed may, subject to this Constitution and to any other law-
(a) examine draft
bills and other legislative proposals ;
(b) review the enforcement of laws and propose measures for
such enforcement ;
(c) in relation to any matter referred to it by
Parliament as a matter of public importance, investigate or inquire into
the activities or administration of a Ministry and may require it to
furnish, through an authorised representative, relevant information and to
answer questions, orally or in writing ;
(d) perform any other function assigned to it by
Parliament.
(3) Parliament
may by law confer on committees appointed under this article powers for-
(a) enforcing the attendance of witnesses and
examining them on oath, affirmation or otherwise ;
(b) compelling the production of
documents.
77.
Ombudsman.-
(1) Parliament may, by law, provide for the establishment of the office
of Ombudsman.
(2) The Ombudsman shall exercise such powers and perform such functions
as Parliament may, by law, determine, including the power to investigate
any action taken by a Ministry, a public officer or a statutory public
authority.
(3) The Ombudsman shall prepare an annual report concerning the
discharge of his functions, and such report shall be laid before
Parliament.
78.
Privileges and immunities of Parliament and members.-
(1) The validity of the proceedings in Parliament shall not be questioned
in any court.
(2) A member or officer of Parliament in whom powers are vested for the
regulation of procedure, the conduct of business or the maintenance of
order in Parliament, shall not in relation to the exercise by him of any
such powers be subject to the jurisdiction of any court.
(3) A member of Parliament shall not be liable to proceedings in any
court in respect of anything said, or any vote given, by him in Parliament
or in any committee thereof.
(4) A person shall not be liable to proceedings in any court in respect
of the publication by or under the authority of Parliament of any report,
paper, vote or proceeding.
(5) Subject to this article, the privileges of Parliament and of its
committees and member may be determined by Act of Parliament.
79.
Secretariat of Parliament.-
(1) Parliament shall have its own secretariat.
(2) Parliament may, by law, regulate the recruitment and
conditions of service of persons appointed to the secretariat of
Parliament.
(3) Until provision is made by Parliament the President may,
after consultation with the Speaker, make rules regulating the recruitment
and condition of service of persons appointed to the secretariat of
Parliament, and rules so made shall have effect subject to the provisions
of any law.
CHAPTER II¾LAGISLATIVE
AND FINANCIAL PROCEDURES
80.
Legislative procedure.-
(1) Every proposal in Parliament for
making a law shall be made in the form of a Bill.
(2) When a Bill is passed by Parliament it shall be presented
to the President for assent.
(3) The President, within fifteen days after a Bill is
presented to him, shall assent to the Bill or, in the case of a Bill other
than a Money Bill, may return it to Parliament with a message requesting
that the Bill or any particular provisions thereof be reconsidered, and
that any amendments specified by him in the message be considered ; and if
he fails so to do he shall be deemed to have assented to the Bill at the
expiration of that period.
(4) If the President so returns the Bill Parliament shall
consider it together with the Presidents message, and if the Bill is
again passed by Parliament with or without amendments by the votes of a
majority of the total number of members of Parliament], it shall be
presented to the President for his assent, whereupon the President shall
assent to the Bill within the period of seven days after it has been
presented to him, and if he fails to do so he shall be deemed to have
assented to the Bill on the expiration of that period.
(5) When the President has assented or is deemed to have
assented to a Bill passed by Parliament it shall become law and shall be
called an Act of Parliament.
81.
Money Bills.-
(1) In this Part "Money Bill" means a Bill containing only provisions
dealing with all or any of the following matters-
(a) the imposition, regulation, alteration,
remission or repeal of any tax ;
(b) the borrowing of money or the giving of any
guarantee by the Government, or the amendment of any law relating to the
financial obligations of the Government ;
(c) the custody of the Consolidated Fund, the
payment of money into, or the issue or appropriation of moneys from, that
Fund ;
(d) the imposition of a charge upon the Consolidated
Fund, or the alteration or abolition of any such charge ;
(e) the receipt of moneys on account of the
Consolidated Fund or the Public Account of the Republic, or the custody or
issue of such moneys, or the audit of the accounts of the Government ;
(f) any subordinate matter incidental to any of
the matter specified in the foregoing sub-clauses.
(2) A Bill shall not be deemed
to be a Money Bill by reason only that it provides for the imposition or
alteration of any fine or other pecuniary penalty, or for the levy or
payment of a licence fee or a fee or charge for any service rendered, or
by reason only that it provides for the imposition, regulation,
alteration, remission or repeal of any tax by a local authority or body
for local purposes.
(3) Every Money Bill shall,
when it is presented to the President for his assent, bear a certificate
under the hand of the Speaker that it is a Money Bill, and such
certificate shall be conclusive for all purposes and shall not be
questioned in any court.
82.
Recommendation for financial measures.-
No Money Bill, or any Bill which involves expenditure from public moneys,
shall be introduced into Parliament except on the recommendation of the
President :
Provided that no recommendation
shall be required under this article for the moving of an amendment making
provision for the reduction or abolition of any tax.
83.
No taxation except by or under Act of Parliament.-
No tax shall be levied or collected except by or under the authority of an
Act of Parliament.
84.
Consolidated Fund and the Public Account of the Republic.-
(1) All revenues received by the Government, all loans raised by the
Government, and all moneys received by it in repayment of any loan, shall
form part of one fund to be known as the Consolidated Fund.
(2) All other public moneys
received by or on behalf of the Government shall be credited to the Public
Account of the Republic.
85.
Regulation of public moneys.-
The custody of public moneys, their payment into and the withdrawal from
the Consolidated Fund or, as the case may be, the Public Account of the
Republic, and matters connected with or ancillary to the matters
aforesaid, shall be regulated by Act of Parliament, and until provision in
that behalf is so made, by rules made by the President.
86.
Moneys payable to Public Account of Republic.-
All moneys received by or deposited with¾
(a) any person employed in the service of the
Republic or in connection with the affairs of the Republic, other than
revenues or moneys which by virtue of clause (1) of article 84 shall form
part of the Consolidated Fund ; or
(b) any court to the credit of any cause,
matter, account or persons,
shall be paid into the Public Account of
the Republic.
87.
Annual financial statement.-
(1) There shall be laid before
Parliament, in respect of each financial year, a statement of the
estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government for that year, in
this Part referred to as the annual financial statement.
(2) The annual financial statement shall show separately-
(a) the sums required to meet expenditure charged by
or under this Constitution upon the Consolidated Fund; and
(b) the sums required to meet other expenditure
proposed to be made from the Consolidated Fund ;
and
shall distinguish expenditure on revenue account from other expenditure.
88.
Charges on Consolidated Fund.-
The following expenditure shall be charged upon the Consolidated Fund-
(a)
the remuneration payable to the President and other expenditure relating
to his office ;
(b) the remuneration payable to-
(i) the Speaker and Deputy Speaker;
(ii) the Judges of the Supreme Court ;
(iii) the Comptroller and Auditor-General ;
(iv) the Election Commissioners ;
(v) the members of the Public Service
Commissions ;
(c)
the administrative expenses of, including remuneration payable to,
officers and servants of Parliament, the Supreme Court, the Comptroller
and Auditor-General, the Election Commission and the Public Service
Commissions ;
(d)
all debt charges for which the Government is liable, including interest,
sinking fund charges, the repayment or amortisation of capital, and other
expenditure in connection with the raising of loans and the service and
redemption of debt ;
(e)
any
sums required to satisfy a judgment, decree or award against the Republic
by any court or tribunal ; and
(f)
any other expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Fund by this
Constitution or by Act of Parliament.
89.
Procedure relating to annual financial statement.-
(1) So much of the annual financial statement as relates to expenditure
charged upon the Consolidated Fund may be discussed in, but shall not be
submitted to the vote of, Parliament.
(2) So much of the annual financial statement as relates to
other expenditure shall be submitted to Parliament in the form of demands
for grants, and Parliament shall have power to assent to or to refuse to
assent to any demand, or to assent to it subject to a reduction of the
amount specified therein.
(3) No demand for a grant shall be made except on the
recommendation of the President.
90.
Appropriation Act.-
(1) As soon as may be after the grants under article 89 have been made by
Parliament there shall be introduced in Parliament a Bill to provide for
appropriation out of the Consolidated Fund of all moneys required to meet¾
(a)
the grants so made by Parliament ; and
(b)
the expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund but not exceeding in
any case the amount shown in the annual financial statement laid before
Parliament.
(2) No amendment shall be proposed in Parliament to any such
Bill which has the effect of varying the amount of any grant so made or
altering the purpose to which it is to be applied, or of varying the
amount of any expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund.
(3) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution no money
shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund except under appropriation
made by law passed in accordance with the provisions of this article.
91.
Supplementary and excess grants.-
If
in respect of any financial year it is found¾
(a)
that the amount authorised to be expended for a particular service for the
current financial year is insufficient or that a need has arisen for
expenditure upon some new service not included in the annual financial
statement for that year ; or
(b)
that any money has been spent on a service during a financial year in
excess of the amount granted for that service for that year ;
the President shall have power to authorise expenditure from the
Consolidated Fund whether or not it is charged by or under the
Constitution upon that Fund and shall cause to be laid before Parliament a
supplementary financial statement setting out the estimated amount of the
expenditure or, as the case may be, an excess financial statement setting
out the amount of the excess, and the provisions of articles 87 to 90
shall (with the necessary adaptations) apply in relation to those
statements as they apply in relation to the annual financial statement.
92.
Votes of account, votes of credit, etc.-
(1) Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this Chapter,
Parliament shall have power-
(a)
to make any grant in advance in respect of the estimated expenditure for a
part of any financial year pending the completion of the procedure
prescribed in article 89 for the voting of such grant and the passing of a
law in accordance with the provisions of article 90 in relation to that
expenditure ;
(b)
to make a grant for meeting an unexpected demand upon the resources of the
Republic when on account of the magnitude or the indefinite character of
the service the demand cannot be specified with the details ordinarily
given in an annual financial statement ;
(c)
to make an exceptional grant which forms no part of the current service of
any financial year ;
and Parliament shall have power to authorise by law the withdrawal of
moneys from the Consolidated Fund for the purposes for which such grants
are made.
(2) The provisions of articles 89 and 90 shall have effect in
relation to the making of any grant under clause (1), and to any law to be
made under that clause, as they have effect in relation to the making of a
grant with regard to any expenditure mentioned in the annual financial
statement and to the law to be made for the authorisation of appropriation
of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund to meet such expenditure.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing
provisions of this Chapter, if, in respect of a financial year, Parliament-
(a) has failed to make the grants under article 89 and
pass the law under article 90 before the beginning of that year and has
not also made any grant in advance under this article ; or
(b) has failed to make the grants under article 89 and
pass the law under article 90 before the expiration of the period for
which the grants in advance, if any, were made under this article,
the President may, upon the advice of the Prime Minister, by order,
authorise the withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund moneys necessary to
meet expenditure mentioned in the financial statement for that year for a
period not exceeding sixty days in that year, pending the making of the
grants and passing of the law.
CHAPTER III¾Ordinance
Making Power
93.
Ordinance making power.-(1)
At any time when 1[Parliament stands dissolved or is not in
session], if the President is satisfied that circumstances exist which
render immediate action necessary, he may make and promulgate such
Ordinances (as the circumstances) appear to him to require, and any
Ordinance so made shall, as from its promulgation have the like force of
law as an Act of Parliament :
Provided that no Ordinance under this clause shall make any
provision-
(i) which could not lawfully be made under this
Constitution by Act of Parliament ;
(ii) for altering or repealing any provision of
this Constitution ; or
(iii) continuing in force any provision of an
Ordinance previously made.
(2) An Ordinance made under clause (1) shall be laid before
Parliament at its first meeting following the promulgation of the
Ordinance and shall, unless it is earlier repealed, cease to have effect
at the expiration of thirty days after it is so laid or, if a resolution
disapproving of the Ordinance is passed by Parliament before such
expiration, upon the passing of the resolution.
(3) At any time when Parliament stands dissolved the President
may, if he is satisfied that circumstances exist which render such action
necessary, make and promulgate an Ordinance authorising expenditure from
the Consolidated Fund, whether the expenditure is charged by the
Constitution upon that fund or not, and any Ordinance so made shall, as
from its promulgation, have the like force of law as an Act of Parliament.
(4) Every Ordinance promulgated under clause (3) shall be laid
before Parliament as soon as may be, and the provisions of articles 87 and
90 shall, with necessary adaptations, be complied with in respect thereof
within thirty days of the reconstitution of Parliament.
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