RULES OF PROCEDURE of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia
I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
The Rules of the Procedures shall regulate the organisation and functioning of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia (Assembly) and the working bodies of the Assembly (working bodies).
In accordance with these Rules of the Procedures, the working bodies shall pass Rules of Procedures for their work.
Article 2
The sessions of the Assembly and the working bodies shall be open for the public.
The Assembly may decide to work without the presence of the public, under conditions determined with the Constitution and these Rules of Procedures.
Article 3
The Macedonian language and its Cyrillic alphabet shall be the official language and alphabet used in the work of the Assembly.
A Member of the Assembly who speaks a language different than the Macedonian language, which is also spoken by at least 20% of the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia, may use that language at the Assembly sessions and at the sessions of the working body.
Citizens of other states who have been invited to participate in the work of the Assembly or to address the Assembly shall be entitled to speak in their own language.
The speech given in a language different from the Macedonian language, shall obligatorily be translated into Macedonian language.
Article 4
The Assembly shall decide upon all the issues with public voting.
The Assembly shall use the secret voting only to decide upon election, appointment or dismissal of holders of public and other functions, upon a proposal of the President of the Assembly or one Member of the Assembly, whose request shall be supported by ten Members of the Assembly.
Article 5
The Assembly shall continuously hold sessions.
The recess period of the Assembly shall last from 1 August to 31 August.
The President of the Assembly may schedule a session of the Assembly during the recess period, as well.
Article 6
The Assembly shall be represented by the President of the Assembly.
Article 7
The Assembly shall have its stamp.
The stamp of the Assembly shall be round. The heraldic sign of the Republic of Macedonia shall be in the middle of the stamp surrounded by the text: “The Republic of Macedonia – Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia – Skopje”.
Article 8
The provisions of these Rules of Procedures shall apply accordingly in the work of the Assembly in case of military or emergency condition, unless otherwise regulated by the Constitution or these Rules of Procedure.
II. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY
1. Constitutive session of the Assembly and verification of the mandate of the Members of the Assembly
Article 9
Providing the constitutive session is not called by the outgoing President, the session shall be held on the 21st day from the day of completion of elections, at 10:00 hours, and shall be called by the most senior Member of the Assembly by years of age. If the most senior Member of the Assembly by years of age refuses to call the session, that right passes on to the next most senior Member of the Assembly elected, in line up to the elected Member of the Assembly who accepts to call the first session.
The Member of the Assembly who called the first session (the Chairperson) shall preside over the Assembly's session until the newly elected President or one of the Vice-Presidents takes on the duty.
Article 10
The Chairperson presiding over the first session appoints two of the elected Members who shall, subject to need, replace the Chairperson in presiding over the session.
The Chairperson shall by a roll-call of the elected Members verify the number of the attending elected Members.
The Assembly may be established if the majority of the elected Members are attending the session.
Once the quorum is established, the President and Members of the Assembly's Verification Committee (Verification Committee) are elected.
Article 11
The mandate of the Members of the Assembly shall be verified by the Assembly at the constitutive session, upon a proposal by the Verification Committee.
Article 12
The Verification Committee shall be elected by the Assembly at the constitutive session, upon a proposal by the Chairperson.
Verification Committee shall be composed of a president and four members from among the Members of the Assembly belonging to various political parties represented in the Assembly.
Article 13
The Verification Committee, on the basis of the report of the State Election Commission shall submit a written report to the Assembly for the election of each Member of the Assembly, with a separate proposal for verification of the mandate of each Member of the Assembly.
Article 14
The Assembly shall thoroughly review the report of the Verification Committee.
Providing the Verification Committee denies the election of a Member of the Assembly, it shall suggest to the Assembly to postpone the verification of his/her mandate. The Assembly shall debate and vote separately for each such proposal.
Article 15
The Assembly can postpone the verification of the mandate of a Member of the Assembly and conclude to require that the State Election Commission conduct the necessary insights to check the legality and accuracy of that election and report in no more than 30 days to the Assembly.
Article16
Until receiving the notification of the State Election Commission, the Member of the Assembly whose verification of the mandate has been postponed, shall not be entitled to attend the Assembly's sessions.
Article17
The verification of the mandate of Members of the Assembly elected from supplementary lists, or that have become Members of the Assembly from the list of candidates for the remaining of the mandate shall be done by the Assembly at the first subsequent session on the basis of the report from the State Election Commission, and upon the proposal of the Committee on Procedural and Mandate and Immunity Related Issues.
Article 18
With the verification, the Member of the Assembly shall be entitled to rights and obligations determined with the Constitution, the law and with these Rules of Procedure.
Article 19
An identity card and a card for electronic voting shall be issued to the Member of the Assembly, whose mandate is verified.
The identity card shall include the right to immunity and the other rights that can be exercised on the basis of the function of a Member of the Assembly.
The President of the Assembly shall pass the more detailed regulation related to the content, shape and method of issuing of the identity cards of the Members of the Assembly, as well as the registry of the issued identity cards.
The Secretary General of the Assembly shall be responsible for the issuing and the registry of the issued identity cards.
2. Election of the Committee on Elections and Appointments
Article 20
At its constitutive session, the Assembly, upon the proposal of at least ten Members of the Assembly, shall elect a Committee on elections and appointments.
An adequate representation shall be ensured in the Committee of Members belonging to the political parties represented in the Assembly.
3. Election of President and Vice-Presidents of the Assembly
Article 21
The Assembly shall elect a President and Vice-Presidents of the Assembly from among its Members.
The number of vice-presidents shall be determined by the Assembly, upon a proposal by the President of the Assembly. The Vice-Presidents shall be elected from among Members belonging to various political parties represented in the Assembly.
One of the Vice-Presidents shall be elected from among the Members belonging to the biggest opposition party represented in the Assembly.
Article 22
Candidates for the President of the Assembly may be proposed by the Committee on elections and appointments, or by at least twenty Members of the Assembly.
A Member of the Assembly can propose only one candidate for President of the Assembly.
Article 23
The proposals for the candidates for President of the Assembly shall be submitted in a writing at the session of the Assembly and shall contain the name and surname of the candidate with biography data and an explanation, as well as the names and surnames of the Members of the Assembly that submit the proposal and their signatures.
The order of the candidates for President of the Assembly shall be determined in accordance with the alphabet order of their surnames.
Article 24
The vote for the election of a President of the Assembly shall be presided by the Chairperson.
If the Assembly decides that the President of the Assembly should be elected by a secret ballot, the Chairperson shall be assisted in the election by the Secretary General and three Members of the Assembly, elected by the Assembly upon a proposal by the Chairperson, from among the Members belonging to different political parties represented in the Assembly.
Article 25
The Member of the Assembly shall be entitled to vote only for one of the proposed candidates for President of the Assembly. Providing the Member of the Assembly votes for more candidates for President of the Assembly, the voting of that Member of the Assembly shall be declared null and void.
Article 26
The candidate winning the majority of the votes out of the total number of Members of the Assembly shall be elected for President of the Assembly.
Providing there is only one candidate proposed and if in the first vote he/she does not win the necessary majority of the votes, the complete election procedure shall be repeated.
If two candidates are proposed for President, and if neither of them wins the necessary majority of the votes during the first voting, the voting shall be repeated.
If three or more candidates are proposed for President of the Assembly, the voting shall be repeated for the two candidates who have won the biggest number of votes in the first round of vote.
If among the candidates with biggest number of votes, there are candidates with the same number of votes, the voting shall be repeated for all the candidates with biggest number of votes.
If during the second round of the voting neither of the candidates wins the necessary majority of votes, the complete election procedure shall be repeated.
Article 27
The provisions of these Rules of Procedure that apply to the proposal of candidates and election of President of the Assembly shall also apply to the proposal of candidates and election of Vice-Presidents of the Assembly.
Article 28
The candidate with the majority votes out of the total number of Members of the Assembly shall be elected Vice-President.
If more candidates are proposed for Vice-Presidents than the number of Vice-President that is to be elected, and if the planned number of Vice-Presidents is not elected, the voting shall be repeated for election of the number of Vice-Presidents that were not elected, from among the candidates that won the greatest number of votes.
If the necessary number of Vice-Presidents is not elected in the second round of voting, the election procedure shall be repeated for the number of Vice-Presidents that are still not elected.
If the number of proposed candidates equals the necessary number of positions, and the planned number of positions is not elected, the complete election procedure shall be repeated for that number of Vice–Presidents that were not elected.
III. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLY
1. Presence at the session and participation in the work of the Assembly
Article 29
The Member of the Assembly shall have the right and responsibility to attend the Assembly sessions and participate in the work and the decision making process.
Article 30
A Member of the Assembly who is prevented from attending an Assembly session shall be obliged to duly inform the President of the Assembly before the start of the Session.
Article 31
The President of the Assembly shall inform the Member of the Assembly who has not attended the Assembly sessions three times in a row, and has failed to inform the President of the Assembly thereof.
For every further unjustified absence, the President of the Assembly shall warn the Member in writing and shall inform thereof the Committee on Elections and Appointments and the Co-ordinator of the parliamentary group.
The Committee on Elections and Appointments adopts an act under which 5% of the salary for each day of absence shall be withdrawn to the Member of the Assembly who has been absent from the Assembly sessions at least three (3) times in a row, and has failed to inform thereof the President of the Assembly.
Article 32
A list of evidence for the presence of the Members of the Assembly at the sessions shall be kept, which shall be opened during the proceedings of the Session, and is at the end of the working day delivered to the President of the Assembly.
Only the Members of the Assembly that are enlisted in the list of evidence are entitled to travel and daily allowances.
The President of the Assembly shall inform the Assembly on the presence of the Members at the Assembly’s sessions, on a six (6) months basis. The Secretary General shall take care of the managing the list of evidence.
2. Parliamentary groups
Article 33
Parliamentary groups shall be established in the Assembly.
One parliamentary group shall be composed of at least five Members of the Assembly that belong to one or more political parties.
The Member of the Assembly shall be a member to only one parliamentary group.
The parliamentary group shall appoint a coordinator of the parliamentary group and no more than two deputies.
The parliamentary group shall submit to the President of the Assembly a list signed by every member of the group, the coordinator and his/her deputy.
The parliamentary group is entitled to expert advice and a separate office, according to the number of Members of the Assembly in the group.
The President of the Assembly shall be informed on any change of the composition of the parliamentary group, the coordinator and his/her deputy, and he shall further inform the Members of the Assembly thereon.
3. The right of the Members of the Assembly to information and adequate conditions for exercising the function of Member of the Assembly
Article 34
All the official publications of the Assembly and the information and documentary materials submitted to the Assembly shall be delivered to Members of the Assembly, in a written or electronic format, with a view to their providing them with thorough information.
A Member of the Assembly shall be entitled to request and receive information from the Secretary General of the Assembly on issues that are important for the exercise of his/her office.
A Member of the Assembly shall be entitled to request and receive information and expert assistance from the Staff of the Assembly on issues related to the work of the Assembly and the working bodies.
A Member of the Assembly shall be entitled to use the library and the documentation of the Assembly in order to perform his rights and obligations.
Article 35
Members of the Assembly shall be entitled to use the offices in the Assembly that are at their disposal for work and meetings, in accordance with the Act on Internal Order in the Assembly that is passed by the President of the Assembly.
Article 36
Members of the Assembly can organise themselves in a Parliamentary Club.
The organisation, tasks, and the method of functioning of the Parliamentary Club shall be determined with the rules of the Club.
4. Parliamentary Questions
Article 37
A Member of the Assembly shall have the right to ask the President of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia (Government), any Member of the Government and other bearers of public functions responsible before the Assembly any question related to their work or issues under their authorities.
The question should be short and precise.
The Member of the Assembly shall be obliged to indicate to whom the question is addressed.
An evidence list shall be kept for the Parliamentary Questions.
Article 38
Questions are asked verbally during the Assembly's session, and in between two sessions in a written form, through the President of the Assembly.
If the question is addressed to a public official, who is not a Member of the Government, the Member of the Assembly shall announce the question to the President of the Assembly at least 24 hours before the beginning of the session.
Article 39
A separate session for parliamentary questions shall be convened every last Thursday of the month.
The President and the Members of the Government shall be present at the session, as well as other public officials for whom there were prior announcements for questions.
A Member of the Assembly is entitled to not more than three (3) questions at the same session.
A Member of the Assembly can ask the question not longer than ten (10) minutes; the Member of the Assembly is entitled to state whether he/she is satisfied with the answer, but not longer than three (3) minutes.
Article 40
Members of the Assembly shall inform the President of the Assembly about asking parliamentary questions, in writing, 24 hours prior to holding of the session.
The President of the Assembly shall determine the order of the parliamentary questions, in agreement with the Parliamentary Group Co-ordinators , in such a manner that will ensure that Members of the Assembly from different parliamentary groups pose parliamentary questions.
Article 41
The President of the Assembly shall deliver the written question, which is in compliance with the provisions of these Rules of Procedure, to the person it is addressed to.
Article 42
The answer to a verbally asked question shall be given at the same session.
Questions addressed to the President of the Government shall be answered by the President of the Government or by a designated representative of the Government; question addressed to a public official shall be answered by that particular public official.
By exception, if the President of the Government i.e. Government representative, its Member, or bearer of a public function, declares himself/herself unable to provide verbal answer at the session due to justified reasons, he/she shall be obliged to present the answer in writing within twenty days.
The written answer shall be delivered to the President of the Assembly, who shall immediately forward it to the person having submitted the question and to all Members of the Assembly, and informs the Assembly of the given answer at the first consecutive session.
Article 43
The Member of the Assembly having asked the question, and after receiving the answer, shall be entitled to a supplementary question, that may last no longer than three (3) minutes.
Article 44
If the answer refers to a question that is considered to be confidential, the Government i.e. public official may propose that the answer be given at an Assembly session without the presence of the public. The Assembly shall decide upon that proposal in accordance with the provisions of these Rules of Procedure.
5. Interpellation
Article 45
An interpellation may be raised by at least five (5) Members of the Assembly for the work of any public official, the Government and each Member of the Government separately, as well as for issues related to the work of the state bodies.
The interpellation motion shall be submitted in writing, signed by all the Members of the Assembly submitting it and it shall contain explanatory notes. The interpellation motion shall be submitted to the President of the Assembly, who forwards it to the person it is addressed to and to the Members of the Assembly.
Article 46
he person who is the subject of the interpellation shall be entitled to submit a written answer to the President of the Assembly within 15 days from the day of receiving the interpellation.
Article 47
The interpellation motion shall be put on the agenda on the first consecutive session of the Assembly, after the expiration of fifteen days from the submission of the answer to the Members of the Assembly.
If the answer is not submitted within the time frame determined in Article 46 of these Rules of Procedure, the interpellation motion shall be put on the agenda on the first consecutive Assembly session.
Article 48
One of the Members of the Assembly who have submitted the interpellation motion shall be entitled to give an explanation of the interpellation, in duration of 20 minutes.
The person that is the subject of the interpellation motion shall be invited at the session and shall be entitled to explain his/her answer or give a verbal answer to the interpellation, in duration of 20 minutes.
Article 49
The debate on the interpellation shall last no more than one (1) working day.
The Members of the Assembly shall inform the President of the Assembly of their participation in the debate on the interpellation motion 24 hours prior to holding of the session.
The order of Members of the Assembly by parliamentary groups and Members who are not organised in parliamentary groups and who shall participate in the debate, shall be determined by the President of the Assembly in agreement with Coordinators of Parliamentary Groups, in such a manner that will ensure that Members of the Assembly from different parliamentary groups shall take part in the debate.
After the closing of the debate, the Assembly shall decide on the interpellation.
If the Assembly endorses the interpellation, it adopts a conclusion containing the position of the Assembly in reference to the contents of the interpellation.
Article 50
Members of the Assembly having submitted the interpellation motion may withdraw it only prior to the beginning of the debate.
Article 51
The debate on the interpellation shall be interrupted if:
- a question of confidence in the Government is raised;
- the Government resigns;
- the President of the Government proposes to dismiss the Government Member who is the subject of the interpellation, and
- the public official resigns.
6. Concealing confidential information
Article 52
Members of the Assembly shall be obliged to conceal the state, official, military and business confidential information (secret).
A secret is considered to be the information that a Member of the Assembly shall learn of at the Assembly session or at a session of the working body, in reference to an issue discussed without the presence of the public.
A secret shall also be considered all the materials that are delivered to the Assembly and the working bodies, marked as such by the proponent of the material.
The methods of handling and storing of the materials considered a secret, shall be determined with a separate act, passed by the President of the Assembly.
7. Immunity of the Members of the Assembly
Article 53
The Member of the Assembly shall be entitled to immunity from the day of verification until the day of the end of the mandate.
A request for approval of detention of a Member of the Assembly shall be submitted to the President of the Assembly by an authorised body. If the request has not been submitted by an authorised body, the President of the Assembly informs the body thereof.
The authorised body shall submit to the President of the Assembly the information of the detention of a Member of the Assembly when caught in a criminal act for which a jail sentence of at least five (5) years is envisaged.
The authorised body informs the President of the Assembly of the detention of a Member of the Assembly even when he/she have not referred to the immunity. The President of the Assembly shall immediately submit the request for detention, i.e. information about a detention of a Member of the Assembly, to the Committee on Procedural and Mandate and Immunity Related Issues. The Committee shall be obliged to review the request, i.e. information, and submit a report to the President of the Assembly within two (2) days.
The Committee shall inform about its session the Member of the Assembly to whom the request refers, as well.
Article 54
On the basis of the report of the Committee on Procedural and Mandate and Immunity Related Issues, the Assembly shall in three (3) days at the latest decide on the detention request.
Following the information on the detention of a Member of the Assembly who has not referred to his/her immunity, the Assembly may decide that the immunity be applied over such Member, if that is deemed necessary for the performance of the function Member of the Assembly.
Article 55
The provisions of these Rules of Procedure with regard to the immunity of the Members of the Assembly respectively apply to the immunity of the President of the Government.
8. Termination and abrogation of the Member of the Assembly’s mandate
Article 56
The mandate of a Member of the Assembly expires and may be taken away only in cases determined with the Constitution, a law and these Rules of Procedure.
Article 57
A Member of the Assembly may submit a resignation.
The Member of the Assembly shall submit the resignation personally at an Assembly session and may explain it.
Without holding a debate, the Assembly shall conclude that the mandate of the Member of the Assembly has ended at the day of holding the session.
Article 58
The notification on a Member of the Assembly who has been sentenced for a criminal act for which at least (5) years of imprisonment is envisaged, shall be sent to the President of the Assembly by the Court having delivered the sentence.
The President shall forward this notification without delay to all Members of the Assembly.
The mandate of a Member of the Assembly sentenced for a criminal act for which at least (5) years of imprisonment is envisaged, shall be terminated. The Assembly, on its first subsequent session, shall acknowledge the termination of the mandate of the Member of the Assembly, as of the day of the deliverance of the sentence and shall notify thereof the State Electoral Commission.
Article 59
The notification on a Member of the Assembly sentenced for criminal or other punishable act which makes him/her inappropriate for parliamentary office, shall be sent to the President of the Assembly by the Court having delivered the sentence. The President shall immediately forward such notification to the Committee on Procedural and Mandate and Immunity Related Issues.
The President of the Assembly shall inform the Committee on Procedure, Mandate and Immunity Related Issues of a Member of the Assembly who has been absent from the Assembly sessions without a justified reason for more that (6) six months.
Proposal for revoke of mandate of a Member of the Assembly in cases of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, shall be submitted by the Committee on Procedure, Mandate and Immunity Related Issues within 15 days from the day of receiving the notification of the President of the Assembly.
At its first consecutive session, the Assembly shall hold a debate upon the proposal for revoking the mandate of a Member of the Assembly submitted by the Committee on Procedure, Mandate and Immunity Related Issues.
The debate may be concluded with a decision for revoking the mandate of the Member of the Assembly or with a conclusion that there is no ground for revoking the mandate of the Member of the Assembly.
IV. PRESIDENT, VICE-PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE ASSEMBLY
1. President of the Assembly
Article 60
The President of the Assembly:
- represents the Assembly;
- convenes and chairs the Assembly sessions;
- ensures the implementation of the Rules of Procedure and gives clarification on its application, for which he/she may request opinion from the Committee on Procedure, Mandate and Immunity Related Issues;
- determines the working body relevant for the review of the issues submitted to the Assembly (relevant working body);
- examines the accuracy of a proposal to start civic initiative for adoption of a law, for calling a referendum on the national level and for submitting proposals for amendments to the Constitution;
- ensures coordination of activities between the Assembly and the President of the Republic and the Government;
- cooperates with the Co-ordinators of Parliamentary Groups;
- on behalf of the Assembly, pursues international co-operation with parliamentary, diplomatic, consular and other representatives of foreign states, international organisations, and other foreign representatives;
- follows the work of the Staff of the Assembly, ensures promotion of its operation and creation of conditions for a modern and efficient parliamentary work;
- delegates implementation of certain tasks to the Secretary General of the Assembly;
- establishes working groups to analyse issues of parliamentary competence;
- passes acts stipulated with these Rules, and
- performs other duties regulated with the Constitution, law and these Rules of Procedure.
2. Vice-Presidents of the Assembly
Article 61
The Vice-Presidents of Assembly shall assist the President of the Assembly and perform other duties in his/her area of competence.
In case of prevention or absence of the President of the Assembly, one of the Vice-Presidents shall replace him/her, in accordance with a previously determined schedule and ensuring equitable involvement of the Vice-Presidents.
Article 62
The President of the Assembly, together with the Vice-Presidents shall:
ensure the exercise of the rights of Members of the Assembly and provision of conditions for their work;
plan the dynamics of the Assembly's sessions;
decide on receiving delegations of parliaments of other states and representatives of other foreign bodies and organisations and about sending permanent or temporary delegations abroad and co-ordinate the activities of the Assembly and the working bodies in reference to this;
accept patronage by the Assembly for celebration of certain events of importance for the Republic and assign parliamentary representatives for those celebrations;
decide on holding meetings and other type of consultations of importance for the work of the Assembly;
Article 63
The President of the Assembly, together with the Vice-Presidents and Co-ordinators of Parliamentary Groups shall:
review issues important for improvement of the work of the Assembly and its working bodies;
review issues and initiatives related to the work of the Assembly; and
plan the activities of the delegations, parliamentary groups for cooperation with parliaments of other states, joint working groups and the Members of the Assembly in carrying out the international cooperation.
The President of the Assembly works with the Vice-Presidents and Co-ordinators of Parliamentary Groups on the basis of reaching agreement of position.
3. Secretary General
Article 64
The Assembly has a Secretary General.
The Secretary General is appointed by the Assembly upon a proposal of the Committee on Election and Appointment Issues.
The Secretary General shall perform the work entrusted to him/her by the President of the Assembly.
The Secretary General shall assist the President of the Assembly in the preparation and organisation of parliamentary sessions and perform other duties determined with these Rules of Procedure.
The Secretary General shall organise and coordinate the work of the Staff of the Assembly and shall adopt guidelines, instructions and other acts regulating the work of the Staff.
Article 65
The Secretary General has one or more deputies appointed by the Assembly upon a proposal by the Committee on Election and Appointment Issues. The Deputy-Secretary General shall assist the Secretary General in the work and shall replace him/her in case of his/ her absence or prevention.
Article 66
The Secretary General and the Deputy-Secretary General are accountable for their work and the work of the Assembly's Staff before the Assembly, and for the work entrusted to them by the President of the Assembly they are also accountable to the President of the Assembly.
V. ASSEMBLY SESSIONS
1. Convening sessions and proposing agenda
Article 67
The President of the Assembly shall convene parliamentary sessions.
The President of the Assembly may convene a session upon request of the President of the Republic of Macedonia, the Government or at least 20 Members of the Assembly.
Article 68
The decision for convening a parliamentary session, together with the draft agenda and the documents for the issues on the draft-agenda, shall be delivered to the Members of the Assembly not later than ten (10) days before the day of the parliamentary session.
In case of emergency, the President of the Assembly may convene a session in less than ten (10) days, and may propose the agenda with the documents at the very session.
The President of the Assembly shall inform the President of the Republic and the President of the Government on the convening of the session and on the draft agenda of the session.
The Assembly session shall take place between 11.00 a.m. and 06:00 p.m., with one-hour lunch break, unless the President of the Assembly decides otherwise for particular sessions.
Article 69
The President of the Assembly shall propose the agenda for the sessions, and the Assembly shall decide thereon at the beginning of the session.
The President of the Assembly shall include in the draft agenda the issues that have fulfilled the relevant conditions determined with these Rules of Procedure.
Article 70
A Member of the Assembly or the Government, in cases of urgent and pressing matters, may propose inclusion of items in the agenda until the decision is made on the Agenda for the session.
The proponents from paragraph 1 of this Article shall be obliged to submit written documents and give explanation for the urgency.
A Member of the Assembly and the Government may, after the convening of the session, propose postponement or withdrawal of items in the agenda and give explanation.
2. Chairing of the sessions
Article 71
The President of the Assembly shall chair the sessions.
In case of prevention or absence of the President of the Assembly, one of the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly shall replace him.
If Vice-Presidents are also prevented or absent, a Member of the Assembly shall be voted at the session of the Assembly who shall chair the session. Until the election of a Member of the Assembly who will chair the session, the session shall be opened and chaired by the most senior Member of the Assembly present at the session.
3. Presence and participation at the session
Article 72
The President of the Republic, the President of the Government, Ministers and an authorised representative of a proponent of a law submitted by at least 10,000 voters may be present and participate in the work of parliamentary sessions.
The President of the Assembly may invite representatives of other bodies and organisations to attend and participate in the work at a session of the Assembly, when it considers issues in their field of competence.
Article 73
The President of the Assembly may invite senior parliamentary and state officials of other countries, international organisations and other prominent foreign representatives as guests or to deliver a speech at a session of the Assembly.
4. Course of the session
Article 74
A parliamentary session shall start as scheduled and with the Members of the Assembly present at the session.
The President shall inform the Members of the Assembly about the persons invited at the Assembly session.
Article 75
Before the adoption of the agenda, the minutes from previous sessions of the Assembly shall be passed.
A Member of the Assembly can put remarks on the minutes and request changes and supplement therein.
The remarks to the minutes shall be voted without a debate.
The President of the Assembly shall declare adopted the minutes without any remarks i.e. minutes to which changes or supplements are made. The adopted minutes are signed by the President of the Assembly or the chair of the session and the Secretary General of the Assembly.
Article 76
Before the adoption of the agenda, the President of the Assembly shall inform the Members of the Assembly on proposals for inclusion, postponement or withdrawal of items in the agenda, in accordance with Article 70 of these Rules.
Article 77
The Assembly shall decide without debate on every proposal for changes or supplements to the draft agenda and on the overall draft agenda for the session.
When a number of changes and supplements are made in the draft agenda, the adopted agenda shall be circulated to Members of the Assembly in the course of the session.
Article 78
The debate on the items in the agenda shall be carried out in accordance with the determined order in the agenda.
In the course of the session, and upon a proposal by the President of the Assembly, the proponent, or a Member of the Assembly backed by at least ten (10) other Members of the Assembly, the Assembly can decide without debate to change the order of enlisted items in the agenda, i.e. to hold a single debate on mutually related items.
Article 79
The Assembly may not debate issues on which the relevant committee and the Legislative Committee have not taken a position, unless otherwise regulated with these Rules of Procedure.
Article 80
At the beginning of the debate, the proponent i.e. representative of the proponent for each item in the agenda may give additional explanation or clarification.
The debate shall be open until the list of parliamentarians who have registered to take the floor is exhausted. The Members of the Assembly shall apply for debate within one (minute) after the opening of the debate. The list of Members of the Assembly may not be changed or supplemented during the debate.
The proponent and the co-ordinators of parliamentary groups may register to take the floor during the debate, as well.
The President of the Assembly shall conclude the debate after he/she determines that the list of speakers has been exhausted.
Article 81
The President of the Assembly may suspend the Assembly session if there is no majority of Members of the Assembly, necessary for passing a decision, and in other cases when he/she deems that necessary.
The President of the Assembly shall suspend the session (break) upon a request by a Co-ordinator of a parliamentary group. A Co-ordinator of a parliamentary group can request a break in the session only once during the day for the duration of one hour.
The President of the Assembly shall suspend the session on a request of a Co-ordinator of a parliamentary group for the purpose of distribution of the shorthand notes of an address or explanation of the proponent, given at the beginning of the debate on particular item in the agenda. The Assembly may decide to suspend the session on a request by a Chairperson of a working body or a Co-ordinator of a parliamentary group, in order to hold a meeting of the working body.
The President of the Assembly shall determine the time of continuation of the suspended session.
Article 82
The Assembly may conclude a debate on each item of the agenda by:
- adoption of an act,
- adoption of a conclusion, or
- simply moving on the following item.
Article 83
When all items of the agenda are exhausted, the President of the Assembly shall declare the session completed.
5. Speeches
Article 84
Nobody has the right to speak at the session without previously asking and getting permission by the President of the Assembly.
Article 85
The President of the Assembly shall ensure that the speaker is not interrupted or by any other act limited in the freedom of speech.
The President of the Assembly shall give the floor to the Members of the Assembly according to the order in the list of application.
A Member of the Assembly who has registered for a debate, and is not present in the Hall at the time he is called to speak, loses the right to speak in the debate for which he/she has registered and may not further apply to speak in the same debate.
Article 86
During the debate, a Member of the Assembly can speak only once for a maximum of ten (10) minutes, a rapporteur of a relevant working body and of the Legislative Committee ten (10) minutes, and a Co-ordinator of a parliamentary group and a proponent, may speak more than once, but in a total duration of no more than 15 minutes.
A Government representative, when not a proponent, may take the floor only once for a maximum of 15 minutes.
Speaking time limitations envisaged in paragraph 1 of this Article do not apply for the procedures for amendment to the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia, adoption of the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia, initiating procedure for determining accountability of the President of the Republic and for the issue of Government confidence.
Article 87
The President of the Assembly shall give the floor to the proponent as soon as requested.
Article 88
The President shall immediately give the floor to a Co-ordinator of a parliamentary group, Deputy Coordinator or Members of the Assembly who are not members of a parliamentary group, wishing to speak on improper implementation of the Rules of Procedure.
The Co-ordinator of a parliamentary group, Deputy Coordinator or Members of the Assembly who are not members of a parliamentary group are obliged to indicate the provision of the Rules of Procedure and explain the points on the improper implementation of the provision. Such speech may not be longer than three (3) minutes. After the speech, the President of the Assembly shall give clarification.
Article 89
The President shall give the floor (reply) to a Member of the Assembly who requests to clarify an incorrectly cited statement, or a statement that caused misunderstanding, as soon as the one who has caused the need for clarification finishes his/her speech.
A Member of the Assembly may register for a reply to a speech of another Member of the Assembly, until the first Member of the Assembly registered for reply starts speaking.
One reply shall be allowed to a speech of a Member of the Assembly. The Member of the Assembly has to limit the speech to the clarification and it may not take longer than three (3) minutes. A reply to a reply shall be allowed once, for up to one (1) minute.
Article 90
The speaker may speak only on the issue of the debate.
If the speaker wanders from the issue, the President of the Assembly shall remind him to stick thereto.
If the speaker continues to wander after the second reminder, the President shall deprive him/her of the right to speak.
The speaker shall be obliged to respect in the speech the dignity of the Assembly.
6. Order maintenance
Article 91
The President of the Assembly shall ensure the maintenance of the order at the session.
The President of the Assembly may warn and deprive a Member of the Assembly of his/her right to speak for reason of violating the order at the session.
Article 92
The President of the Assembly shall warn a Member of the Assembly if with his conduct, by taking the floor without being given permission to speak, by interrupting the speaker or by similar acts, he/she has violated the order at the session.
The President of the Assembly shall deprive a Member of the Assembly from the right to speak, when he/she violates with the speech the order and has been twice beforehand called to respect the order at the session.
Article 93
The President of the Assembly can exclude a Member of the Assembly from the session in cases when despite the warning, i.e. deprival of the right to speak, he/she still continues to violate the order at the session or uses expressions that violate the dignity of the Assembly. A Member of the Assembly thus excluded from the session, shall be obliged to immediately leave the hall where the session is being held. If the President of the Assembly cannot maintain order, he shall announce a short break of the session.
Article 94
The provisions for order maintenance at parliamentary sessions shall apply to all the participants at the session.
7. Decision-making
Article 95
The Assembly can pass decisions if the majority of the total number of the Members of the Assembly is present at the session.
The Assembly shall make decisions with majority votes of the present Members of the Assembly and with at least one third of the total number of the Members of the Assembly, unless the Constitution determines special majority.
The President of the Assembly shall announce the number of Members of the Assembly who voted ‘for’, ‘against’ or ‘abstained’, as well as the total number of Members of the Assembly present.
The President of the Assembly may decide that the number of present Members of the Assembly be determined by counting.
The determined number of present Members of the Assembly shall be considered accurate, until the President or one Member of the Assembly whose request is supported by at least ten (10) Members of the Assembly, do not request that the number of present Members of the Assembly be re-determined.
8. Voting
Article 96
The public vote shall be made by use of technological devices or by raising hands.
The manner of use of technological devices shall be regulated by act passed by the Secretary General of the Assembly.
Article 97
The voting can also be carried out by a roll call of each Member of the Assembly.
The roll call shall be done in order to determine precisely the voting result, upon a request of the President of the Assembly or one Member of the Assembly whose request is supported by at least ten (10) Members of the Assembly, and only if the proposal put to vote has received five (5) votes more or less than the number of votes necessary for its adoption.
The roll call shall be done by each Members of the Assembly declaring “for” or “against” the proposal or by abstaining from vote.
If a Member of the Assembly is not present in the hall at the time when called to vote, he/she has no right to vote additionally.
The Secretary General of the Assembly shall make the roll call.
The President of the Assembly shall announce the voting results at the end of the roll call of the Members of the Assembly.
Article 98
Secret ballot vote shall be done by use of ballots.
The ballot papers have to be of equal size and color.
The secret ballot vote shall be chaired by the President of the Assembly, who shall be assisted by the Secretary General and three Members of the Assembly of different parliamentary groups or from among those not organised in parliamentary groups, voted for by the Assembly upon a proposal by the President of the Assembly.
The seal of the Assembly shall be put on each ballot.
Article 99
Before the start of the secret ballot vote, the President of the Assembly shall give the necessary voting guidelines.
Article 100
The ballot for election i.e. appointment of public and other office holders shall contain the function for which the election i.e. appointment is made, the names and surnames of the individual candidates according to the alphabetical order of their surnames.
A number stating the order of precedence shall be put before the name and surname of each candidate.
During the secret ballot vote for election i.e. appointment of public and other office holders, Members of the Assembly shall vote by encircling the number before the name and surname of the candidate.
A ballot shall be considered null and void if on it, no candidate can be determined with certainty, for whom the Member of the Assembly has given the vote.
Article 101
The name and surname of the public or other function bearer proposed to be dismissed from office shall be indicated in the ballot along with the words "for" and "against".
Members of the Assembly shall vote by encircling of one of the aforementioned words.
The ballot that does not enable clear determination of the vote by a Member of the Assembly shall be considered null and void.
Article 102
A secret ballot vote for a proposal taken as a whole shall be performed by indicating in the ballot the proposal and the words “for” and “against”; the voting shall be done by encircling one of the aforementioned words.
Article 103
After the end of the secret ballot vote, the President of the Assembly shall announce the results and that basis shall declare whether the proposal has been adopted or rejected.
9. Minutes and shorthand notes
Article 104
Minutes shall be kept from parliamentary sessions.
The minutes shall contain basic information on the work of the session, submitted proposals and adopted conclusions related to items on the agenda.
Article 105
As a rule, the minutes shall be distributed to all Members of the Assembly at least three (3) days before the session on which the minutes should be approved.
Article 106
The Secretary General of the Assembly shall take care of the preparation and archiving of the original minutes of the Assembly's sessions.
Article 107
Shorthand notes shall be taken for the work at the parliamentary sessions.
Undelivered speeches of Members of the Assembly submitted in writing at the session shall be an integral part of the shorthand notes, with a notification that they have not been delivered at the session.
The shorthand notes on the work of the Assembly shall be kept in the documentation of the Assembly in writing and in electronic format.
Shorthand notes shall be uploaded on the INTRANET (the internal network of the Assembly) and on the Web page of the Assembly (INTERNET),
The manner of publication of the shorthand notes on the INTRANET and on the web page of the Assembly, the right of the Members of the Assembly to make corrections of the shorthand notes and the deadlines for their publication are regulated with an act passed by the President of the Assembly.
VI. ELECTION, APPOINTMENTS, RESIGNATIONS AND DISMISSALS
1. Election of the Assembly's working bodies, permanent delegations and parliamentary groups for cooperation
Article 108
The election of Chairpersons and Members of working bodies of the Assembly and their Deputies; Heads, Members and Deputy Members of the permanent parliamentary delegations in international parliamentary assemblies, and Chairpersons and Members of the Assembly's groups for cooperation with other parliaments, shall be made from among the Members of the Assembly, upon a proposal of the Committee on Election and Appointment Issues, on the basis of a list proposed by the parliamentary groups.
Appropriate representation of Members of the Assembly from the parliamentary groups and Members of the Assembly who do not have their parliamentary group shall be ensured in the proposal of the Committee.
The Chairpersons and the Deputy Chairperson of the Standing Inquiry Committee for Protection of the Freedoms and Rights of Citizens shall be proposed from among the Members of the Assembly from the opposition.
Each proposal shall contain as many candidates as the number of the members of the working body i.e. the permanent delegation or parliamentary groups for cooperation to be elected.
Each Member of the Assembly shall be entitled to declare the working body of which he/she would like to become a member.
The proposal of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be submitted to the President of the Assembly, who will then have it distributed to the Members of the Assembly.
2. Election of Government
Article 109
The Assembly shall elect the Government in a manner and according to the procedure determined with the Constitution and these Rules of Procedure.
Article 110
The President of the Assembly shall inform the Members of the Assembly on the candidate for President of the Government (mandate holder) within three (3) days from the day of receiving the notification from the President of the Republic.
Article 111
The mandate holder shall within 20 days from the day of being entrusted with the mandate, submit a proposal for composition of the Government and program to the Assembly.
The proposal for composition of the Government shall be submitted in writing. It shall contain the name and surname of the candidate for President of the Government and of the candidates for ministers with their curriculum vitae.
The President of the Assembly shall immediately submit to the Members of the Assembly the proposal for the composition and program of the Government.
The President of the Assembly shall convene a session for election of Government within 15 days from the day of receiving of the proposal.
The mandator shall explain the program and the proposal for composition of the Government at the session for election of the Government.
Article 112
The Assembly shall hold a single debate on the program of the mandator and the proposal for composition of Government. The debate shall last not more than two (2) days.
The President of the Assembly shall determine the order of Members of the Assembly in the debate in a manner that ensures participation in the debate of Members of the Assembly from the different parliamentary groups represented in the Assembly.
The vote on the election of the Government shall be made on the proposal for the composition of Government as a whole and shall be public. The vote shall take place at the end of the debate and not later than 24.00 hours (midnight).
The Government shall be elected if majority of the total number of Members of the Assembly voted for it.
Article 113
The President of the Assembly shall inform the President of the Republic on the election of the Government.
3. Election, Appointment and Dismissal of Public and Other Office Holders
Article 114
The Assembly shall elect, appoint and dismiss public and other office holders according to the Constitution and the law.
4. Resignations
Article 115
Every bearer of a public or other function, elected or appointed by the Assembly is entitled to resign and can explain the resignation, for not longer than 15 minutes. At the first subsequent session, the Assembly shall confirm, without a debate, that the mandate of a bearer of a public or other function has ceased at the day of that session.
VII. SOLEMN OATH
Article 116
The President and the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly, the President of the Government, the Ministers and the judges of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Macedonia, before taking on the office, shall give a solemn oath in the Assembly. The text of the solemn oath reads as follows:
“I declare that I will conduct conscientiously and responsibly the function (state the function) and I will respect the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Macedonia”.
The President of the Assembly or the Chairperson shall read the text of the solemn oath at the session.
The solemn oath shall be signed and handed over to the President of the Assembly.
The other public office holders elected or appointed by the Assembly, shall give and sign the solemn oath in front of the President of the Assembly.
VIII. WORKING BODIES OF THE ASSEMBLY
Article 117
The Assembly shall establish permanent and temporary working bodies.
The working bodies shall review draft laws, draft-regulations and other acts passed by the Assembly, as well as other issues in Assembly's competence and shall perform other duties determined with these Rules of Procedure.
Article 118
The permanent working bodies shall be established by a decision of the Assembly.
The Assembly shall, with a decision, also establish temporary working bodies for particular duties.
The Assembly may, with a decision, also establish inquiry committees in every sphere and for every issue of public interest.
With the decision for establishment of working bodies and inquiry committees, the field of competence and the number of members shall also be determined.
The composition of the working bodies and inquiry committees shall be determined by a decision of the Assembly, subject to the number of Members in parliamentary groups, number of Members of the Assembly that are not organised in parliamentary groups and in accordance with the Law on Equal Opportunities Between Women and Men.
Article 119
A working body shall have a Chairperson, Deputy-Chairperson and a designated number of Members and Deputy-Members.
A working body may have two Members from among the scientists and experts, one of whom shall be elected upon a proposal by the parliamentary groups from the ruling majority and the other one upon a proposal by the parliamentary groups of the opposition parties.
The Members of the working body from paragraph 2 of this Article may not be members of political party organs, and shall participate in the work of the working body without the right to vote.
Article 120
The working body shall work at sessions.
The Chairperson of the working body shall convene the sessions. The Chairperson shall also convene a session if requested by the President of the Assembly or at least one third of the Members of the body, who shall submit materials for the issue they suggest to be inserted in the agenda of the session.
If the Chairperson of the working body does not convene a session when he/she is obliged to do so, the session shall be convened by the President of the Assembly.
The invitation for the session together with the draft agenda and the materials that are to be deliberated at the session shall be delivered to the Members of the working bodies by the Chairperson of the working body as a rule five (5) days prior to the day of holding the session
In emergency cases, the meeting of a working body may be held within a shorter period of time, and the agenda may also be delivered at the very session.
Members of the Assembly are informed about a meeting of the working body through the daily bulletin.
For the convened session, the Chairperson of the working body shall inform the Government and the representative of the proponent on issues and proposals that the working body shall review.
Article 121
A representative i.e. a trustee of the Government or a representative of a state administration body may attend and participate in the session of the working body, when an issue in their field of competence is discussed. Any proponent whose proposal is being discussed may also attend and participate in the working body session.
An authorised representative of the initiator of a law submitted by at least 10,000 voters may also attend the session of the working body.
A Member of the Assembly who is not a member of the working body has the right to be present at the sessions of the working body and to participate in its work, without the right to take part in the decision.
Article 122
In order to perform the tasks within its competence, a working body may request data and information from the bodies of the state administration and from other bodies and organisations.
The working body may invite at its session scientists, professionals and public figures and representative of the municipalities, the city of Skopje, public companies, trade unions and other organisations, institutions and associations in order to present their opinions on issues discussed at the session of the body.
Article 123
The working bodies may not have investigative or other judicial functions.
Article 124
The agenda of the session of the working body shall be determined at the beginning of the session.
Issues proposed by Members of the Assembly, the President of the Assembly and the Government may also be included in the agenda.
Initiative to discuss certain issues at a session of the working body may also be raised by other working bodies of the Assembly, state administration bodies, municipalities, the city of Skopje, institutions and citizens' associations.
Article 125
Drafts of laws and other acts shall be considered by the relevant working body and the Legislative Committee.
Drafts of laws and other acts may also be considered by other working bodies (interested working body).
The relevant working body shall take position on opinions and proposals of the interested working body.
Representative of the interested working body shall be invited at the session of the relevant working body, at which the opinion of the interested working body is debated.
Chairpersons of the relevant working body and the interested working body may agree to hold a joint session. The working bodies shall vote separately at the joint session.
If the relevant working body does not accept the opinion of the interested working body, the rapporteur of the interested working body may present the opinion on a plenary session.
Working bodies may cooperate with corresponding working bodies of parliaments of other states and international organisations.
Article 126
A registry shall be kept about the presence of the members of the working body.
The member of the working body who is unable to attend a session is obliged to inform the Chairperson of the working body in due time.
To a member of the working body who has not attended the sessions of the working body three or more times, and has not informed the Chairperson of the working body, 5% from the salary shall be deducted for each day of absence, the act on which shall be adopted by the Committee on Elections and Appointment Issues.
The working body can propose to the Assembly to discharge a member of the working body who has unjustifiably been absent from the sessions of the body three consecutive times.
Article 127
In order to examine particular issues from their field of competence or prepare draft acts, the working bodies may establish working groups. Members of the working groups are chosen from among the members of the working body, Members of the Assembly, scientists and professionals, public officials, as well as representatives of the state administration bodies and other bodies and organisations.
The working groups shall act within the frames of the working body and may not act independently.
The working groups shall submit reports to the working body.
Article 128
The working body shall take position on each issue on its agenda and shall report to the Assembly.
The debate upon an issue may as well end by simply passing on to the following item on the agenda.
The debate at the session of the working body can proceed regardless of the number of members of the working body present at the session.
The working body takes on a position by a majority vote of its members present, but by at least one third of the total number of its members.
The working body report shall contain the position of the working body with an explanation. All the declared and separate opinions and proposals related to the issue reviewed at the session of the working body shall be included in the report.
The Chairperson of the working body shall sign the report and shall be hold liable for its authenticity.
Article 129
The working body shall appoint a rapporteur. By rule, the rapporteur of the working body shall be the Chairperson, whereas on certain items of the agenda the working body can also appoint other member as a rapporteur.
The rapporteur of the working body shall represent the positions of the working body at the Assembly's session.
The rapporteur may not change the position of the working body or renounce it, unless authorised so by the working body.
Article 130
The relevant working body and the Legislative Committee may propose to the Assembly to postpone the review of certain issue.
Article 131
Minutes shall be kept for the sessions of the working body.
The minutes shall contain the names of the members of the working body, both present and absent, the names of other participants at the session, oral and written proposals, positions of the working body, results of each vote taken, each separate opinion as well as the names of the rapporteurs appointed by the working body.
The Chairperson and the Secretary of the working body shall sign the minutes adopted at the session of the working body.
IX. ADOPTION OF LAWS AND OTHER REGULATIONS
1. Initiating a procedure
Article 132
Every Member of the Assembly, the Government and at least 10,000 voters shall be entitled to propose adoption of a law (authorised initiator of a law).
Article 133
Every citizen, group of citizens, institutions and associations shall be entitled to submit an initiative for adoption of a law may be to the authorised initiators.
The initiative referred to the Assembly shall be forwarded to the Members of the Assembly and the submitter of the initiative shall be informed thereon.
Article 134
If a group of Members of the Assembly is an authorised initiator, one Member shall be appointed as representative of the initiator. If no such representative is appointed, the first Member signed on the proposal shall be considered as representative of the initiator.
2. Content of the law proposal
Article 135
The law proposal shall contain the title, introduction, text of the provisions of the law and explanatory notes.
The introduction shall contain:
- assessment of the conditions in the area that is to be regulated with the law, and the reasons for adoption of the law;
- the goals, principles and basic solutions in the law proposal;
- assessment of the financial implications the law proposal would have on the State Budget and other public finances, and
- assessment of the finances required for the implementation of the law and their sources, as well as data on whether the implementation of the law would impose financial obligations upon particular entities.
The introduction may contain:
- a review of regulations in other legal systems, and harmonization status of the law with the European Union law;
- a review of laws that have to be amended with the adoption of the law and regulations to be adopted for its enforcement;
- other consequences deriving from the proposed solutions.
When the law proposal contains provisions for harmonisation of the legislation with the European Union law, the introductory part shall include data on the original act of the European Union with its full name, number and date.
Along with the law proposal, a harmonisation statement shall be submitted, as well as signature of the competent minister and clear indication of the legal act of the European Union with which harmonisation is being made.
The explanatory notes shall contain explanation of the contents of the provisions of the law proposal, mutual relation among the solutions contained therein and the consequences deriving from the proposed solutions.
If the law proposal contains provisions with a retroactive effect, the initiator is obliged to explain separately the reasons for these provisions.
The initiator of a law proposal by which alterations and amendments are introduced to an existing law, is obliged to submit with the law proposal the provisions of the existing law that are to be altered, i.e. amended.
Article 136
If a law proposal is not drafted in accordance with the provisions of these Rules of Procedure, the President of the Assembly shall, prior to its distribution among the Members of the Assembly, request from the initiator to make it compliant with the provisions of these Rules of Procedure. If the initiator fails to do that within 15 days from the day of the request by the President of the Assembly, the law proposal shall be considered as not having been submitted.
3. Submitting and distributing of a law proposal
Article 137
A law proposal shall be submitted to the President of the Assembly.
The President of the Assembly shall immediately and no later than three (3) working days from the day of the submission, distribute it among the Members of the Assembly, in writing or in electronic format, and by that the legislative procedure shall begin.
Article 138
The President of the Assembly shall submit to the Government a law proposal not proposed by the Government, in order for the Government to give its opinion.
If the Government does not submit its opinion, the Assembly and the working bodies shall consider the law proposal without this opinion.
4. First reading
4.1. Examination of the Law Proposal in the working bodies
Article 139
At least 15 Members of the Assembly may, within seven (7) days from the day of receiving a law proposal, request that the Assembly hold a general debate.
If the request from paragraph 1 of this Article is not submitted, the first reading shall be completed.
Article 140
Before discussing a law proposal at a session of the Assembly, it shall be examined by the relevant working body and the Legislative Committee, within three (3) days prior to the day designated for holding the Assembly's session.
If the law proposal contains provisions for which additional finances are allocated, the proposal may also be examined by the working body under whose competence fall the issues of the budget and finances, with respect to the effect of these provisions on the available finances and the possible sources for financing the proposed solutions.
Article 141
The relevant working body shall examine the law proposal from the point of view of the need for adoption of the law, the principles upon which the law should be based, the basic relations that are regulated with the law, and the proposed method of their regulation.
The Legislative Committee shall examine the law proposal from the point of view of the need for adoption of the law and its compliance with the Constitution.
Article 142
The reports of the relevant working body and the Legislative Committee shall contain their position on whether the law proposal is acceptable and whether it should be put to further reading.
The reports on the law proposal shall be submitted to the President of the Assembly who shall then submit the reports to all Members of the Assembly, to the initiator of the law, and to the Government if it is not the initiator.
4.2. Debate on the law proposal at a session of the Assembly
Article 143
A session of the Assembly on the first reading of a law proposal shall be held within 10 days from the day of passing of the decision to convene the session, but not later than 20 days from the submission of the request by 15 Members of the Assembly.
Article 144
After the general debate, the Assembly shall decide whether the law may be put for second reading.
If the Assembly decides that the law proposal is acceptable and may be put to further reading, the legislative procedure shall continue.
If the Assembly decides that the law proposal is not acceptable and may not be put to further reading, the legislative procedure shall be terminated. The same law proposal cannot be again submitted earlier than three (3) months.
Article 145
On a law proposal of broader public interest, the Assembly, following the general debate, may decide to carry out a public debate and determine a relevant working body to organise the public debate.
Article 146
The working body organising the public debate shall:
- ensure that the law proposal is published and thus made available to the citizens, public organisations, institutions, civil associations, political parties, trade unions and other interested subjects;
- ensure collection and arranging of the opinions and suggestions presented during the public debate;
- prepare report on the results of the public debate.
For implementation of the duties of paragraph 1 in this Article, the relevant working body may establish a separate working group
Article 147
The law proposal put for public debate shall be published in a daily newspaper determined by the relevant working body.
Appeal for presenting opinions and suggestions and the timeframe for their submission shall be announced together with the law proposal.
Article 148
On the basis of the opinions and proposals presented in the public debate, the relevant working body shall prepare a report and submit it to the Assembly together with the law proposal for second reading.
5. Second reading
5.1. Examination of a law proposal in the working bodies
Article 149
The second reading shall be made in the relevant working body and in the Legislative within seven (7) working days after the session of the Assembly is held. If no session is held, the relevant working bodies hold the sessions after the timeframe determined in Article 139 of these Rules of Procedure.
The relevant working body and the Legislative shall separately examine the provisions of the law proposal and the amendments submitted, and shall take a vote on them. The working bodies may also submit their own amendments.
Article 150
A proposal for alterations and amendments to a law proposal shall be submitted in a form of an amendment.
Every Member of the Assembly, parliamentary group or working body may propose an amendment.
The amendment shall be submitted to the President of the Assembly in writing, and it shall be explained and signed by the initiator.
If the amendment contains provisions that require financial means, the initiator of the amendment shall be at the same time obliged to indicate the possible sources for providing those finances.
Article 151
An amendment may be submitted at least two (2) days prior to the day of holding the session of the relevant working body or the Legislative Committee.
If adoption in shortened procedure is requested for a law proposal, amendments may be submitted until the beginning of the session for second reading of the law proposal.
When a law is adopted in urgent procedure, amendments may be submitted until the end of the debate.
By exception, an amendment may be submitted until the end of the debate on a law proposal, if needed to harmonise the provisions in the text that have been changed due to previous adoption of one or more amendments.
Article 152
The President of the Assembly shall immediately distribute the amendments to the Members of the Assembly, the relevant working body and the Legislative Committee.
Article 153
Each amendment shall be examined and voted separately.
If two or more different amendments are submitted on the same provision of a law proposal, the order of voting for the amendments shall be according to the order of their submission.
If one of the amendments proposes removal of a particular provision of the law proposal, vote shall first be taken on that amendment and if it is adopted, there shall be no voting on the other amendments to that provision.
If two or more amendments with a similar content are submitted on a single provision of a law proposal, upon a proposal by the President, the Assembly may decide to hold a single debate, but to vote separately on each amendment.
The initiator of an amendment may alter, amend or withdraw the amendment until the end of the debate on the amendments to the same article.
Article 154
In case when a law proposal alters or amends another law, amendments may be submitted only to the articles that are being altered or amended by the law proposal.
By exception, amendment may be submitted for inclusion of transitional and final provisions of the law proposal.
If an amendment to a law-proposal contains provisions that require additional finances, the President of the Assembly shall immediately submit the amendment to the working body authorised with issues of the budget and finances, in order for the working body to examine the influence of the amendment over the available finances and the possible sources for financing of the proposed solutions and to inform thereof the relevant working body and the Legislative Committee.
Article 155
The relevant working body and the Legislative Committee, following the completion of the debate, and within five (5) days at the latest, shall draft a text of the law proposal incorporating in it the adopted amendments (amended proposal) and explanatory notes.
The explanatory notes shall indicate the differences in the solutions between the text of the law proposal and the amended law proposal, as well as the reasons for those changes. If there are retroactive provisions in the amended law proposal, they shall be explained separately.
If differences arise during the drafting of the amended law proposal bbetween the relevant working body and the Legislative Committee, they shall hold a joint session to harmonise their positions.
If the relevant working body and the Legislative Committee fail to harmonise their positions, the decision thereon shall be taken by the Assembly.
5. 2. Examination of the law proposal on a session of the Assembly
Article 156
In the second reading at a session of the Assembly, only those articles of a law proposal shall be debated that have been altered with amendments at the working bodies and amendments may be submitted only to those articles.
Amendments may be submitted by a parliamentary group, every Member of the Assembly and the initiator, at least three (3) days prior to the day scheduled for holding the session of the Assembly.
If a law proposal is requested to be adopted in a shortened procedure, amendments may be submitted until the beginning of the session for the second reading on the law proposal.
By exception, an amendment may be submitted until the end of the debate on the law proposal, if needed to harmonise the provisions in the text that have been changed due to previous adoption of one or more amendments.
When a law is adopted in urgent procedure, amendments may be submitted until the end of the debate.
Submission and vote on the amendments on a session of the Assembly shall be carried out in accordance with Articles 151, 153 and 154, unless provided otherwise with these Rules of Procedure.
Only the initiator of an amendment shall be entitled to give explanation and speak on the amendment, for not longer than three (3) minutes.
If initiators of an amendment are two or more Members of the Assembly, only one of the initiators may give explanation and speak on the amendment, for not longer than three (3) minutes.
Article 157
If no general debate is held on a law proposal, representatives of parliamentary groups may present the opinion of their parliamentary group on the law proposal at a session of the Assembly, at the beginning of the debate.
The speech may take not more than ten (10) minutes.
Article 158
An amendment shall be adopted by a majority of the votes of the present Members of the Assembly, and by at least one third of the total number of Members of the Assembly, regardless of the majority vote necessary for adoption of the law established in the Constitution.
The amendment submitted by the initiator of a law proposal or an amendment, to which the initiator agrees, shall be considered an integral part of the law proposal.
Article 159
If the relevant working body or the Legislative Committee comes to an opinion that the law proposal is not acceptable for further reading, the Assembly shall decide on the proposal without a debate. If the proposal is approved, the legislative procedure shall be terminated. If the proposal is not approved, the relevant working body and the Legislative Committee shall continue with the second reading.
Before the vote on the proposal from paragraph 1 of this Article, the initiator or his/ her representative may give additional explanation, and the representatives of parliamentary groups may present the opinion of their group. The additional explanation and the opinion may take not longer than five (5) minutes.
Article 160
If amendments are adopted to more than one third of the articles of the amended law proposal, following the completion of the second reading, the text of the law proposal shall be legally and technically prepared and drafted for the third reading.
If the law is submitted by the Government, the Assembly may, in case of paragraph 1 of this article, decide that the Government prepares the text of the law proposal for the third reading.
If the relevant working body and the Legislative Committee acknowledge that particular provisions of the law proposal have, during their adoption in the second reading, not been put into compliance among each other or with the Constitution or any other law, they shall inform the Assembly thereon and shall propose possible solutions.
Article 161
If in the second reading at the session of the Assembly amendments have been adopted to less than one third of the articles in the amended law proposal, the Assembly to hold the third reading of the law proposal on the same session.
The Chairperson shall decide whether the third reading shall begin immediately after the adoption of the decision from the previous paragraph.
Article 162
If during the second reading the Assembly does not adopt any amendments to the amended law proposal, the Assembly shall proceed to vote on the law proposal on the same session.
6. Third Reading
6.1. Examination of the law proposal on a session of the Assembly
Article 163
The third reading on a law proposal shall, as a rule, be held on the first subsequent session following the session of the Assembly for the second reading. The working bodies shall not debate in this phase.
Article 164
In the third reading, the Assembly shall debate and decide only on the articles of the amendment law proposal to which amendments have been submitted and shall decide on the proposal as a whole.
During the third reading on a law proposal, amendments may be submitted only to those articles to which amendments have been adopted in the second reading at the session of the Assembly.
Amendments may be submitted by the initiator and a Member of the Assembly, at least two (2) days prior to the day scheduled for holding the session of the Assembly.
The debate on the amendments shall proceed in accordance with Article 153 of these Rules of Procedure.
7. Vote and pronouncement at the session of the Assembly
Article 165
The President of the Assembly may conclude a debate on a law proposal, amendments or other acts within the competence of the Assembly, and set a date and hour for the vote when the Assembly shall pronounce itself.
The Assembly shall pronounce itself on law proposals, amendments or other acts within the competence of the Assembly without a debate.
8. Majority required for adoption of laws
Article 166
Laws are adopted by a majority vote of the Members of the Assembly determined in the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia and a law.
9. Urgent procedure for adoption of a law
Article 167
By exception, a law may also be adopted in an urgent procedure.
A law may be adopted in an urgent procedure when this is necessary in order to prevent and avoid major disturbances in the economy or when this is required for the interest of the security and defense of the Republic, or in cases of major natural disasters, epidemics or other extraordinary or urgent needs.
The initiator shall be obliged to explain the proposal that the law is adopted in an urgent procedure.
Along with the proposal to adopt the law in an urgent procedure, a law proposal the adoption of which is put forward shall also be submitted.
Article 168
The Assembly shall decide on the justification of the proposal to adopt a law in an urgent procedure without a debate.
If the Assembly decides to examine the law proposal in an urgent procedure, it shall assign the relevant working body and the Legislative Committee to hold debates on the law proposal.
Article 169
When a law proposal is examined in an urgent procedure, there shall be no general debate. The second and the third reading shall be held on a single session. In such case, the second reading shall start with a debate on the law proposal in accordance with the provisions of these Rules of Procedure for the second reading.
When a law proposal is examined in an urgent procedure, time limitations in these Rules of Procedure shall not apply.
The Assembly may request the relevant working body and the Legislative Committee to take position on the amendments submitted following the conclusion of their sessions.
10. Shortened procedure for adoption of a law
Article 170
The initiator of a law proposal may suggest to the Assembly to examine the law proposal in shortened procedure in cases of:
- not complex or extensive laws,
- termination of validity of a certain law or particular provisions of a law, or
- not complex or extensive harmonisation of a law with the European Union legislation.
Article 171
If the Assembly decides to examine the law proposal in a shortened procedure, the President of the Assembly shall immediately assign the relevant working body and the Legislative Committee to examine the law proposal.
When a law proposal is examined in a shortened procedure, there shall be no general debate.
The second and the third reading shall be held on a single session. In such case, the second reading shall start with a debate on the law proposal in accordance with the provisions of these Rules of Procedure for the second reading. Amendments may be submitted at the session, until the beginning of the third reading on the law proposal.
11. Signing and publishing of the acts
Article 172
The text of the law shall not be signed.
The other regulations and general acts adopted by the Assembly shall be signed by the President of the Assembly.
The acts adopted independently by the working bodies shall be signed by the chairperson of the body having adopted the act.
Article 173
The President of the Assembly shall, immediately after its adoption, submit the law to the President of the Republic for signing of the promulgation decree of the law.
If the President of the Republic decides not to sign the decree for promulgation of the law, the Assembly shall again examine the law proposal in a third reading, within 30 days from the day of the adoption of the law.
In the renewed discussion of the law, amendments may be submitted only in relation to the remarks by the President of the Republic.
Article 174
Prior to entering into force, laws, other regulations and general acts shall be published in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”.
The conclusions of the Assembly shall be published in the bulletin of the Assembly, as well as in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”, if the Assembly decides so.
The conclusions of the working bodies shall be published in the bulletin of the Assembly, if the working bodies decide so.
12. Authentic interpretation of a law
Article 175
A request for authentic interpretation of a law can be submitted by each Member of the Assembly, the Government, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Macedonia, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia, the Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Macedonia, the Ombudsman, mayors of the municipalities and the City of Skopje and municipality councils, in case the need for authentic interpretation of the law has arisen in relation to the application of the law in their work.
Article 176
The request for providing authentic interpretation of a law shall be submitted to the President of the Assembly and it shall contain the title of the law, the provisions for which the interpretation is requested, and the reasons for the request.
The President of the Assembly shall send the request for authentic interpretation of a law to the Legislative Committee and the Government.
Following the request, the Legislative Committee may request an opinion by the relevant working body of the Assembly.
After receiving the opinion of the Government and the relevant working body, the Legislative Committee shall estimate whether the request for authentic interpretation is justified.
If the Legislative Committee decides that the request for authentic interpretation is justified, it shall prepare a proposal of authentic interpretation and submit it to the Assembly.
The Assembly shall on the same session debate and decide on the proposal of authentic interpretation of the law and on the possibly submitted amendments.
The proposal of authentic interpretation shall be adopted by the same majority as the one required for the law to which the authentic interpretation is provided.
The authentic interpretation shall be published in the "Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia".
If the Legislative Committee decides that the request for authentic interpretation is not justified, it shall submit a report to the Assembly, which shall decide on the request. The initiator of the request shall be notified of the decision of the Assembly.
13. Procedure for establishing a consolidated text of a law
Article 177
If the law has been changed or amended a number of times, or if the law brings about extensive changes and amendments, the initiator of the law may propose establishment of a consolidated text of the law.
If the Assembly deems that justified, it shall authorise the Legislative Committee to prepare a consolidated text of the law and publish it in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” within 30 days from the day of the publishing of the law introducing alterations and amendments to the law in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”.
The consolidated text of the law shall be drafted by the initiator of the law who shall submit it for establishment to the Legislative Committee within 15 days from the day of publishing of the law introducing alterations and amendments to the law in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”.
14. Procedure on law proposals following the end of the Assembly's mandate
Article 178
The end of the Assembly's mandate shall terminate all legislative procedures and procedures for adoption of other acts initiated in its course.
As an exception, the legislative procedure shall continue for a proposal by 10,000 voters, for a proposal by the Government in case it notifies of such need within 30 days of its election, and for a proposal by Members of the Assembly from the previous mandate, in case it has been taken on within 30 days of the setting up of the Assembly.
15. Procedure for adoption of the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia and the Final Statement of the Budget
Article 179
The Draft Budget of the Republic of Macedonia shall be submitted by the Government, along with the documents necessary pursuant to law.
Article 180
A debate shall be held on the Draft Budget of the Republic of Macedonia as for law proposals in the second reading, with a compulsory general debate.
The debate on the Draft of the Budget shall take a maximum of three (3) days.
During the debate, a Member of the Assembly shall be entitled to speak a number of times in a total duration of up to 20 minutes, and the Co-ordinators of parliamentary groups of up to 30 minutes.
The revised Draft of the Budget, following its examination in the relevant working body and the Legislative Committee, shall be drafted by the Government.
The revised Draft Budget shall be a new integral text in which the Government has incorporated the amendments it had approved and the accordingly required alterations and amendments to the Draft Budget. An explanatory note shall be attached to the revised Draft Budget.
Article 181
The provisions of these Rules of Procedure on the procedure for adoption of a law shall apply accordingly to the procedure for adoption of the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia and the Final Statement of the Budget.
16. Procedure for adoption of the Rules of Procedures of the Assembly and other regulations, general acts and documents
16.1 Rules of Procedure of the Assembly
Article 182
Any Member of the Assembly and the relevant working body are entitled to submit Draft Rules of Procedure of the Assembly.
The provisions on submission and examination of laws shall apply accordingly to the procedure for adoption of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly.
16.2 Declarations, resolutions, decisions and recommendations
Article 183
By a declaration, the Assembly shall express its general position on issues of general political significance.
By a resolution, the Assembly shall point to a state of affairs, difficulties and measures that are to be taken in a particular field.
By a recommendation, the Assembly shall give guidelines for overcoming existing circumstances in a certain area.
Article 184
Every Member of the Assembly, parliamentary group, working body and the Government shall have the right to propose adoption of a declaration, resolution, decision, recommendation and other general acts.
The provisions of these Rules of Procedure regulating the second reading of a law proposal shall apply accordingly in the procedure for adoption of declarations, resolutions, decisions, recommendations and other general acts with a compulsory general debate.
16.3 Debating analyses, reports, information and other documents
Article185
The Assembly may debate on analysis, reports, information and other documents submitted by the Government or other authorised initiators.
The Assembly may also discuss information submitted by the Government to a Member of the Assembly on his/her demand, if the Member of the Assembly proposes this.
A debate on documents mentioned in paragraph 1 and 2 of this Article shall, as a rule, be concluded with adoption of a conclusion.
17. Confirmation and approval of statutes and other general acts
Article 186
The President of the Assembly shall submit to the Legislative Committee and the relevant working body the statutes and other general acts for which, pursuant to law, the Assembly is authorised to give confirmation or approval. The President of the Assembly shall notify the Members of the Assembly that such documents have been received and stored in the Documentation Unit of the Assembly.
The statutes and other general acts shall also be submitted to the Government, which shall give its opinion within 30 days from the day of receiving.
Article 187
The Legislative Committee shall submit the harmonised remarks of the relevant working bodies on the statutes i.e. other general legal act to its initiators, and shall determine a deadline for receiving their remarks.
When the relevant working bodies and the Legislative Committee, after receiving the statutes i.e. other general act, determine that the initiator acted in accordance with the given remarks within 30 days from the day of receiving the act, they shall submit a report and a draft-decision to the Assembly for confirmation.
When the relevant working body and the Legislative Committee determine that the initiator of the statute i.e. other general act has not acted in accordance with the remarks, they shall submit a report on this to the Parliament.
18. Procedure for Ratification of International Agreements
Article 188
Ratification of an international agreement shall be done by a law.
A law proposal on ratification of international agreements shall be submitted by the Government.
The procedure for adoption of a law on ratification of an international agreement is initiated by the Government with the submission of a law proposal on ratification.
The law proposal on ratification of an international agreement contains the text of the international agreement proposed for ratification.
The explanatory note of the law proposal on ratification of an international agreement includes constitutional basis, reasons for proposing ratification of the international agreement, assessment as to whether the international agreement shall require adoption of new laws or modification of the existing ones, as well as an assessment of the need for allocation of funds in the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia for the implementation of the international agreement.
Article 189
The provisions of these Rules of Procedure regulating the procedure for debating on a law proposal in urgent procedure shall apply accordingly in the procedure for debate on a law proposal on ratification of an international agreement.
The text of the international agreement shall not be modified or amended.
Article 190
The laws on ratification of international agreements and the original text of the international agreements shall be published in a special part of the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” - International Agreements.
19. Procedure upon citizens' initiative on a state level
Article 191
Immediately after receiving a proposal to start citizen initiative for adoption of a law, to organise a referendum on a state level or for submitting proposal to proceed to changes of the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia, the President of the Assembly shall submit such proposal to the Legislative Committee and to the Chairperson of the relevant working body.
The Legislative Committee and the relevant working body shall submit their opinion on the orderliness of the initiative to the President of the Assembly within two (2) working days.
Article 192
If the President of the Assembly determines that the initiative is orderly, he/she shall within three (3) days of receiving the opinion of the working bodies notify so the representative of the initiator.
If the President of the Assembly determines that the initiative is not orderly, he/she shall include the issue of the initiative in the agenda of the first subsequent session of the Assembly.
The Assembly shall decide by a conclusion whether the initiative is orderly.
The President of the Assembly shall within three (3) days inform the representative of the initiator on the Assembly's conclusion.
X. PROCEDURE FOR AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
1. Proposal for initiating amendments to the Constitution
Article 193
A proposal for initiating amendment to the Constitution of Republic of Macedonia (Constitution) may be submitted by the President of the Republic, the Government, at least 30 Members of the Assembly or 150,000 citizens.
Article 194
A proposal to proceed to amending the Constitution shall include specific directions for changing and amending of the Constitution and explanatory notes of the reasons for proposing changes and amendments to the Constitution.
Article 195
The President of the Assembly shall convey the proposal to proceed to amending of the Constitution to the Members of the Assembly, the President of the Republic and the Government, when they are not the initiators of the proposal.
Article 196
The Assembly shall, at its session, hold a debate on the proposal to proceed to amending of the Constitution in its entirety.
The Assembly shall adopt the decision to proceed to amending the Constitution by a two-thirds majority vote of the total number of its Members.
After adopting the decision to proceed to amending the Constitution, the Assembly shall by a conclusion determine the deadline by which the initiator of the proposal to proceed to amending the Constitution shall draft the text of the draft amendments to the Constitution.
2. Draft - Amendments to the Constitution
Article 197
The initiator shall submit the draft text of the Constitutional amendments along with an explanation to the President of the Assembly, who shall distribute it to the Members of the Assembly, the President of the Republic and the Government, when not initiators, not later than 30 days before holding the Assembly session.
Article 198
The debate in the Assembly shall be held on the draft text of each amendment separately and opinions and suggestions may be given.
By a majority vote of the total number of its Members, the Assembly shall determine the draft of each amendment to the Constitution separately.
The Assembly shall put the draft amendments to a public debate.
The Assembly shall determine a timeframe for the public debate, the manner of publishing the draft amendments, and the deadline by which the initiator, as a bearer of the public debate, shall submit to the Assembly a report on the results of the debate and the text of the Constitutional amendment proposals.
3. Constitutional amendment proposals
Article 199
The initiator shall submit to the President of the Assembly the text of the Constitutional amendment proposals, together with the explanation and the results of the public debate. The President of the Assembly shall convey the proposals to the Members of the Assembly, the President of the Republic and the Government, when not initiators, not later than 30 days before holding of the session of the Assembly.
Article 200
The initiator, every Member of the Assembly, working body and the Government when not an initiator, may submit amendments to the text of the Constitutional amendment proposals, not later than eight days before the Assembly holds the session on which the amendments of the Constitution are to be adopted.
As an exception, the initiator may submit amendments to the Constitutional amendment proposals until the end of the debate only with a view to harmonising the text of the amendment proposals that have been changed as a result of the adoption of an amendment.
Article 201
A general debate and a debate on the text itself shall be conducted on each Constitutional amendment proposal.
The Assembly shall decide separately on each amendment to the Constitutional amendment proposals, by a majority vote of the total number of Members of the Assembly.
The amendments submitted by the initiator and amendments accepted by the initiator shall be regarded as an integral part of the text of the Constitutional amendment proposals.
The Assembly shall by a majority vote of the total number of Members of the Assembly determine each amendment proposal separately.
4. Adoption and promulgation of Constitutional amendments
Article 202
The amendments to the Constitution shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority of the total number of Members of the Assembly.
The Assembly shall adopt a decision for amendment to the Preamble, the articles on local self-government, Article 131, any provision concerning the rights of the members of communities, including in particular Articles 7, 8, 9, 19, 48, 56, 69, 77, 78, 86, 104 and 109, as well as a decision for adding any new provision related to the issues covered with these provisions and these articles, by a two-thirds majority vote of the total number of Members of the Assembly, which has to include majority vote of the total number of Members of the Assembly belonging to the communities that are not majority in the Republic of Macedonia.
Article 203
The Assembly shall adopt the decision on proclamation of the amendments to the Constitution by a two-thirds majority vote of the total number of its Members.
5. Procedure for adoption of a constitutional law on the implementation of the Constitution
Article 204
The President of the Republic, the Government or at least 30 Members of the Assembly have the right to propose adoption of a constitutional law for implementation of the Constitution.
The provisions of these Rules of Procedure regulating the submitting and debating of a law in the second reading shall apply accordingly in the procedure for adoption of a constitutional law.
A constitutional law shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority vote of the total number of Members of the Assembly.
The Assembly shall adopt a decision for promulgation of the constitutional law by a two-thirds majority vote of the total number of its Members.
XI. PROPOSAL FOR INITIATING A PROCEDURE FOR DETERMINING THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
Article 205
A proposal for initiating a procedure to determine the accountability of the President of the Republic may be submitted by at least 30 Members of the Assembly.
The proposal from paragraph 1 of this Article shall contain explanation for the reasons for initiating the procedure, a description and evidence on the actions by which the President of the Republic has violated the Constitution and the laws in exercising his/her rights and obligations.
If the proposal is not prepared in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article, the President of the Assembly shall, before distributing it to the Members of the Assembly, request from the initiator to adjust the proposal within five (5) days.
The President of the Assembly shall immediately send the proposal from paragraph 1 of this Article to the Members of the Assembly and to the President of the Republic.
Article 206
Within five (5) days of the submission of the proposal, the Assembly shall establish a Committee for assessing the grounds of the proposal.
The Committee shall have a Chairperson and ten (10) members, elected by the Assembly upon a proposal by the Committee on Election and Appointment Issues, and adequately representing the members of parliamentary groups and the Members of the Assembly that are not organised in parliamentary groups.
The Committee shall submit a report to the Assembly within (7) days of its establishment.
Article 207
The President of the Assembly shall immediately inform the President of the Republic on the establishment of the Committee from Article 206 of these Rules of Procedure.
The President of the Republic may submit to the Committee a written statement on the allegations in the proposal for initiating a procedure for determining accountability.
Article 208
The President of the Assembly shall immediately convey the report of the Committee to the Members of the Assembly and to the President of the Republic, and shall convene a session of the Assembly that shall be held within seven (7) days from the day the report was submitted.
Article 209
A debate shall be held on the proposal from Article 205, paragraph 1 of these Rules of Procedure and the report of the Committee.
One of the Members of the Assembly having submitted the proposal shall have the right to give an explanation on the proposal.
The Chairman or a Member of the Committee shall have the right to give an explanation on the Report.
At the session, the President of the Republic may present, in writing or orally, his/her view on the allegations in the proposal and on the report of the Committee.
Article 210
The Assembly shall decide on initiating a procedure to determine accountability of the President of the Republic with two-thirds majority vote of the total number of Members of the Assembly.
The President of the Assembly shall immediately convey the Decision to initiate a procedure to determine accountability of the President of the Republic to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Macedonia and to the President of the Republic.
XII. RELATIONS WITH THE GOVERNMENT
Article 211
The Government shall be represented in the Assembly by the President of the Government.
The representatives in the Assembly and in the working bodies appointed by the Government shall participate in the work of the Assembly and the working bodies and shall present the opinions of the Government.
Article 212
Trustees appointed by the Government shall attend the sessions of working bodies and shall inform and give explanations on the items in the agenda.
Article 213
The Assembly shall exercise political oversight and supervision over the Government in a manner and procedure determined by the Constitution and these Rules of Procedure.
1. A vote of confidence for the Government
Article 214
A vote of confidence for the Government may be initiated by at least 20 Members of the Assembly.
A motion for a vote of confidence shall be submitted in writing and must include an explanation.
A vote of confidence may also be initiated by the President of the Government in writing or verbally at a session of the Assembly.
The President of the Assembly shall immediately convey the motion for a vote of confidence to the Members of the Assembly, the Government and the President of the Republic, and when the President of the Government verbally initiates the vote of confidence at a session of the Assembly, the President of the Assembly shall immediately notify thereon the President of the Republic.
The vote of confidence for the Government may be withdrawn until the beginning of the session of the Assembly on which the vote of confidence is to be debated.
Article 215
The President of the Assembly shall immediately convene a session for a vote of confidence for the Government. The session shall be held on the third day of submission of the motion for a vote of confidence.
The term of paragraph 1 of this Article shall start on the day following the day of submission of the motion for a vote of confidence.
Article 216
A debate shall be held on the motion for a vote of confidence for the Government.
One of the Members of the Assembly having initiated the vote of confidence shall have the right to give an explanation in duration of not more than 30 minutes.
The speaking order of Members of the Assembly in parliamentary groups and Members of the Assembly who do not belong to any parliamentary group and who shall take part in the debate, shall be determined in an agreement between the President of the Assembly and the coordinators of parliamentary groups prior to the beginning of the session.
A Member of the Assembly has the right to speak several times during the debate in total for not more than 15 minutes, and a coordinator of a parliamentary group for a total time of up to 20 minutes.
Article 217
The Assembly shall vote on the no confidence motion after the expiration of the third day from the day of raising the vote of confidence.
In case when the President of the Government raises orally the vote of confidence at a session of the Assembly, the Assembly shall vote on the confidence motion on the same session, without a debate.
The President of the Government may also address the Assembly before the vote.
Article 218
If a no confidence vote for the Government is passed, the President of the Government shall submit a resignation to the Assembly within 24 hours from the no confidence vote.
The President of the Assembly shall immediately notify the President of the Republic on the passed vote of no confidence and the submitted resignation.
2. Resignation of the Government
Article 219
The Government, the President of the Government or a Member of the Government may submit resignation.
The resignation of the Government and of the President of the Government shall be submitted to the President of the Assembly in writing and may include explanation.
The resignation of a Member of the Government shall be submitted to the President of the Assembly through the President of the Government.
The President of the Assembly shall immediately convey the resignation of the Government or the President of the Government to the Members of the Assembly and to the President of the Republic.
The President of the Assembly shall immediately convey the resignation of a Member of the Government to the Members of the Assembly.
Article 220
The Assembly shall on its first subsequent session without a debate declare that the mandate of the President of the Government, the Government or a Member of the Government cease on the day of holding the session.
3. Dismissal
Article 221
The President of the Government shall submit a proposal for dismissal of a Member of the Government to the President of the Assembly in writing and may give an explanation.
The Assembly shall decide upon the proposal for dismissal of a Member of the Government on its first subsequent session, without a debate.
The Assembly may decide to open a debate upon the proposal for dismissal of a Member of the Government. A proposal for a debate may be submitted by a parliamentary group or by at least five Members of the Assembly.
The Member of the Government whose dismissal has been proposed may speak on the proposal for 15 minutes.
Article 222
A Proposal of the President of the Government for dismissal of more than one-third of the Members of the Government shall be submitted to the President of the Assembly.
On the proposal from paragraph 1 of this Article, the Assembly shall decide as for the election of a new Government.
XIII. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION OF THE ASSEMBLY
Article 223
The Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, for the purpose of carrying out international cooperation, shall establish permanent delegations to international parliamentary assemblies to which it is a member i.e. associate member, and parliamentary groups for cooperation with other Parliaments. The Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia may also establish joint working bodies with other parliaments, international parliamentary organisations and institutions, temporary delegations and other structures of cooperation.
The delegations, working bodies, parliamentary groups for cooperation, joint working bodies and Members of the Assembly shall report on the accomplished international cooperation to the President of the Assembly, who shall convey such reports to the Members of the Assembly, and, subject to need, to other state bodies and institutions.
Article 224
The planning of the Assembly's international cooperation shall be carried out within the calendar of activities of the organisations and institutions to which it is a member or with which it cooperates, as well as on the basis of the expressed and harmonised interests for bilateral cooperation.
XIV. PUBLICITY IN THE WORK OF THE ASSEMBLY
Article 225
The Assembly shall provide information to the public regarding its work, and the work of the working bodies and permanent delegations to international organisations.
Article 226
Interested citizens may attend the sessions of the Assembly in compliance with the regulations on the internal order in the Assembly.
Article 227
Representatives of the media may, in compliance with the regulations on internal order in the Assembly, attend the sessions of the Assembly and the working bodies for the purpose of informing the public on their work.
Article 228
Media representatives shall have at their disposal the acts discussed and adopted by the Assembly, the information and documents regarding the issues debated at the sessions of the Assembly and the working bodies, reports on the activities of the working bodies and minutes from the sessions, unless the Assembly i.e. a working body decides to examine particular issue without the presence of media representatives.
Article 229
The manner of exercise of the rights, obligations and duties of media representatives in the Assembly shall be regulated by an act passed by the President of the Assembly.
Article 230
The Assembly and the competent working bodies may decide that a law proposal or proposal of another general act debated in the Assembly, which is of special interest for the public, should be published in the press or in a special edition.
Article 231
The Assembly and the working bodies may decide, for the purpose of informing the public on the work of the Assembly, to issue a press release following an Assembly or a working body session held without the presence of the public, i.e. without the presence of the media representatives, as well as in other cases when the Assembly or the working body decide so.
Article 232
A press conferences regarding the work of the Assembly shall be held when the President of the Assembly, a parliamentary group, working body or head of a delegation following a visit abroad, who shall assign the representative to give the press conference.
Article 233
The Assembly shall have its own Web site with the general information on the Assembly, its working bodies, President of the Assembly, Members, parliamentary groups, delegations of the Assembly, adopted laws, sessions and other activities of the Assembly, the Staff of the Assembly and other data related to the organisation and work of the Assembly.
Article 234
For the purpose of providing information on its work, the Assembly shall issue a bulletin and other publications.
The bulletin shall be sent to each Member of the Assembly and uploaded on the Web site of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia.
XV. STAFF OF THE ASSEMBLY
Article 235
All expert and other undertakings for the needs of the Assembly, working bodies and Members of the Assembly, shall be performed by the Staff of the Assembly (hereinafter: the Staff).
The organisation and duties of the Staff shall be determined by an act adopted by the Assembly in compliance with law and these Rules of Procedure.
The head of the Staff is the Secretary General of the Assembly.
Article 236
Maintenance of order in the Assembly's building and on the premises in which the Assembly performs its activities shall be ensured by a special service.
Without the approval of the President of the Assembly, the authorised officers of state administration bodies may have neither access to the premises referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article nor can undertake measures against Members of the Assembly, members of the Staff or against other citizens.
Carrying weapons in the building of the Assembly shall not be allowed, with the exception by persons authorised to maintain order in the building of the Assembly.
XVI. FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 237
The Secretary General of the Assembly shall be obliged, in a period of 60 days from the entry into force of these Rules of Procedure at the latest, to draft the rulebooks on the organisation and competence and the job description and organisation of the Staff of the Assembly, and to submit the acts to the Committee on Elections and Appointments for an opinion.
Article 238
Pending the application of Chapter IX of these Rules of Procedure - Adoption of laws and other regulations, Chapter X - Adoption of laws and other regulations of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”, No. 60/2002) shall apply on all submitted motions for adoption of laws, law proposals and proposals for other acts.
Article 239
On the day of the entry into force of these Rules of Procedure, the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”, No. 60/2002) shall cease to have effect, with the exception of Chapter IX - Adoption of laws and other regulations, which shall begin to apply three months following the entry into force of these Rules of Procedure.
Article 240
These Rules of Procedure shall enter into force on the day of their publication in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”, whereas the provisions of Chapter IX - Adoption of laws and other regulations shall begin to apply three months following its entry into force.