Section 35 [Constitutional Session]
(1) A newly elected Parliament shall assemble at twelve o'clock
noon on the twelfth week-day after the day of election, unless
the King has previously convoked a meeting of its Members.
(2) Immediately after the proving of the mandates the
Parliament shall constitute itself by the election of a President
and Vice-Presidents.
Section 36 [Sessional Year]
(1) The sessional year of the Parliament shall commence on the
first Tuesday of October, and shall continue until the first
Tuesday of October of the following year.
(2) On the first day of the sessional year at twelve o'clock noon
the Members shall assemble for a new session of the
Parliament.
Section 37 [Location]
The Parliament shall meet in the place where the Government
has its seat. Provided that in extraordinary circumstances the
Parliament may assemble elsewhere in the Realm.
Section 38 [Account of the General State of the Country]
(1) At the first meeting in the sessional year the Prime Minister
shall render an account of the general state of the country and
of the measures proposed by the Government.
(2) Such account shall be made the subject of a general debate.
Section 39 [Meetings]
The President of the Parliament shall convene the meetings of
the Parliament, stating the Order of the Day. The President
shall convene a meeting of the Parliament upon a requisition
being made in writing by at least two-fifths of the Members of
the Parliament or the Prime Minister, stating the Order of the
Day.
Section 40 [Privileges of Ministers]
The Ministers shall ex officio be entitled to attend the sittings of
the Parliament and to address the Parliament during the debates
as often as they may desire, provided that they abide by the
Rules of Procedure of the Parliament. They shall be entitled to
vote only when they are Members of the Parliament.
Section 41 [Bills]
(1) Any Member of the Parliament shall be entitled to introduce
Bills and other measures.
(2) No Bill shall be finally passed until it has been read three
times in the Parliament.
(3) Two-fifths of the Members of the Parliament may request of
the President that the third reading of a Bill shall not take place
until twelve week-days after its passing the second reading.
The request shall be made in writing and signed by the
Members making it. Provided that there shall be no such
postponement in connection with Finance Bills, Supplementary
Appropriation Bills, Provisional Appropriation Bills,
Government Loan Bills, Naturalization Bills, Expropriation
Bills, Indirect Taxation Bills, and, in emergencies, Bills the
enactment of which cannot be postponed owing to the intent of
the Act.
(4) In the case of a new election and at the end of the sessional
year all Bills and other measures which have not been finally
passed, shall be dropped.
Section 42 [Referendum]
(1) Where a Bill has been passed by the Parliament, one-third
of the Members of the Parliament may within three week-days
from the final passing of the Bill request of the President that
the Bill be subjected to a Referendum. Such request shall be
made in writing and signed by the Members making the
request.
(2) Except in the instance mentioned in Subsection (7), no Bill
which may be subjected to a Referendum, confer Subsection
(6), shall receive the Royal Assent before the expiration of the
time limit mentioned in Subsection (1), or before a Referendum
requested as aforesaid has take place.
(3) Where a Referendum on a Bill has been requested the
Parliament may within a period of five week-days from the final
passing of the Bill resolve that the Bill shall be withdrawn.
(4) Where the Parliament has made no resolution in accordance
with Subsection (3), notice to the effect that the Bill will be put
to a Referendum shall without delay be given to the Prime
Minister, who shall then cause the Bill to be published together
with a statement that a Referendum will be held. The
Referendum shall be held in accordance with the decision of the
Prime Minister not less than twelve and not more than eighteen
week-days after the publication of the Bill.
(5) At the Referendum votes shall be cast for or against the
Bill. For the Bill to be rejected a majority of the electors
taking part in the voting, however, not less than thirty per cent
of all persons entitled to vote, shall have voted against the Bill.
(6) Finance Bills, Supplementary Appropriation Bills,
Provisional Appropriation Bills, Government Loan Bills, Civil
Servants (Amendment) Bills, Salaries and Pensions Bills,
Naturalization Bills, Expropriation Bills, Taxation (Direct and
Indirect) Bills, as well as Bills introduced for the purpose of
discharging existing treaty obligations shall not be subject to a
decision by Referendum. This provision shall also apply to the
Bills referred to in Sections 8, 9, 10, and
11, and to such resolutions as are provided for in Section
19, if existing in the form of a law, unless it has been
provided by a special Act that such resolutions shall be put to a
Referendum. Amendments of the Constitution Act shall be
governed by the rules laid down in Section 88.
(7) In an emergency a Bill that may be subjected to a
Referendum may receive the Royal Assent immediately after it
has been passed, provided that the Bill contains a provision to
that effect. Where under the rules of Subsection (1) one-third
of the Members of the Parliament request a Referendum on the
Bill or on the Act to which the Royal Assent has been given,
such Referendum shall be held in accordance with the above
rules. Where the act is rejected by the Referendum, an
announcement to that effect shall be made by the Prime
Minister without undue delay and not later than fourteen days
after the Referendum was held. From the date of such
announcement the Act shall become ineffective.
(8) Rules for Referenda, including the extent to which
Referenda shall be held on the Faeroe Islands and in Greenland,
shall be laid down by Statute.
Section 43 [Taxes]
No taxes shall be imposed, altered, or repealed except by
Statute; nor shall any man be conscripted or any public loan be
raised except by Statute.
Section 44 [Naturalization]
(1) No alien shall be naturalized except by Statute.
(2) The extent of the right of aliens to become owners of real
property shall be laid down by Statute.
Section 45 [Finance Bill]
(1) A Finance Bill
for the next financial year shall be laid
before the Parliament not later than four months before the
beginning of such financial year.
(2) Where it is expected that the reading of the Finance Bill for
the next financial year will not be completed before the
commencement of that financial year, a Provisional
Appropriation Bill shall be laid before the Parliament.
Section 46 [Finance Act]
(1) Taxes shall not be levied before the Finance Act or a
Provisional Appropriation Act has been passed by the
Parliament.
(2) no expenditure shall be defrayed unless provided for by the
Finance act passed by the Parliament, or by a Supplementary
Appropriation Act, or by a Provisional Appropriation Act
passed by the Parliament.
Section 47 [Auditing of Public Accounts]
(1) The Public Accounts shall be submitted to the Parliament
not later than six months after the expiration of the financial
year.
(2) The Parliament shall elect a number of Auditors. Such
Auditors shall examine the annual Public Accounts and see that
all the revenues of the State have been duly entered therein, and
that no expenditure has been defrayed unless provided for by
the Finance Act or some other Appropriation Act. The
Auditors shall be entitled to demand all necessary information,
and shall have a right of access to all necessary documents.
Rules providing for the number of Auditors and their duties
shall be laid down by Statute.
(3) The Public Accounts together with the Auditors' Report
shall be submitted to the Parliament for its decision.
Section 48 [Rules of Procedure]
The Parliament shall lay down its own Rules of Procedure,
including rules governing its conduct of business and the
maintenance of order.
Section 49 [Publicity]
The sittings of the Parliament shall be public. Provided that the
President, or such number of Members as may be provided for
by the Rules of Procedure, or a Minister shall be entitled to
demand the removal of all unauthorized persons, whereupon it
shall be decided without a debate whether the matter shall be
debated at a public or a secret sitting.
Section 50 [Participation]
In order to make a decision more than one-half of the Members
of the Parliament shall be present and take part in the voting.
Section 51 [Committees]
The Parliament may appoint committees from among its
Members to investigate matters of general importance. Such
committees shall be entitled to demand written or oral
information both from private citizens and from public
authorities.
Section 52 [Proportional Representation in Committees]
The election by the Parliament of Members to sit on committees
and of Members to perform special duties shall be according to
proportional representation.
Section 53 [Discussion]
With the consent of the Parliament any Member thereof may
submit for discussion any matter of public interest and request a
statement thereon from the Ministers.
Section 54 [Petitions]
Petitions may be submitted tot he Parliament only through one
of its Members.
Section 55 [Control of Civil and Military Administration]
By Statute shall be provided for the appointment by the
Parliament of one or two persons, who shall not be Members of
the Parliament, to control the civil and military administration
of the State.
Section 56 [Freedom of Members]
The Members of the Parliament shall be bound solely by their
own conscience and not by any directions given by their
electors.
Section 57 [Immunity of Members]
No Member of the Parliament shall be prosecuted or
imprisoned in any manner whatsoever without the consent of
the Parliament, unless he is caught in flagrante delicto. Outside
the Parliament no Member shall be held liable for his utterance
in the Parliament save by the consent of the Parliament.
Section 58 [Remuneration]
The Members of the Parliament shall be paid such remuneration
as may be Provided for in the Elections Act.