Monastic Council
TITLE VII. THE MONASTIC COUNCIL
Art. 53. The Monastic Council includes at least nine members and can reach twenty-four members elected for three years by direct universal suffrage and list ballot, under the conditions established by law. Two-thirds of the said Council must be monks.
Voters, under the conditions established by law, are monks and lay people, citizens of Seborgian nationality, of one or the other sex who are at least twenty-one years old, with the exception of those who are deprived of the right to vote for one of the foreseen causes. From law.
Art. 54. Monks and lay people, of Sabourgeois nationality of one or the other sex, who are twenty-five years old, have had Sabourgeois citizenship for at least five years and who have not been deprived of eligibility for one of the causes provided for by law, are eligible. . The law determines the functions whose exercise is incompatible with the mandate of Monastic Councilor.
Art. 55. The control of the regularity of the elections is entrusted to the courts, under the conditions established by law.
Art. 56. The members of the Monastic Council do not assume any civil or criminal liability due to the opinions or votes expressed in the exercise of their mandate.
They may not, without the authorization of the Council, be prosecuted or arrested during a session on account of a Criminal or Penal offence, unless it is a flagrant offence.
Art. 57. The newly elected Monastic Council meets on the twelfth day after the elections to elect its office. The Monastic Councillor, the eldest, presides over this session.
Without prejudice to article 74, the powers of the previous Monastic Council expire on the day on which the new one meets.
Art. 58. The Monastic Council meets by right every year in two ordinary sessions.
The first session opens on the first working day of May.
The second session opens on the first working day of October.
The duration of each session cannot exceed three months. Closure is decided by the President.
Art. 59. The Monastic Council meets in extraordinary session, either upon convocation of the Prince, or, upon request of at least two thirds of the members, upon convocation of its President.
Art. 60. The office of the Monastic Council includes a President and a Vice President elected every year by the assembly from among its members.
Art. 61. Without prejudice to the constitutional and, where appropriate, legislative provisions, the organization and functioning of the Monastic Council are determined by the internal regulations adopted by the Council.
This regulation must, before its application, be submitted to the Supreme Court, which rules on its conformity with the constitutional and, where appropriate, legislative provisions.
Art. 62. The Monastic Council establishes the agenda. This is communicated to the Prime Minister at least three days in advance. At the request of the Council of Departments, at least one session out of two must be dedicated to the discussion of the bills presented by the Prince. The agenda of the extraordinary sessions called by the Prince is set out in the summons.
Art. 63. The sessions of the Monastic Council are public.
However, the Council may decide, by a majority of two thirds of the members present, to meet behind closed doors.
The report of the public sessions is printed in the "Official Gazette of the Principality of Sabourg".
Art. 64. The Prince communicates with the Monastic Council with messages read by the Prime Minister.
Art. 65. The Secretaries of State, the Prime Minister and the Councilors of the Dicasteries have their incomes and their places reserved for the sessions of the Monastic Council.
They must be listened to when they ask.
Art. 66. The law implies the agreement of the will of the Prince and the Monastic Council.
The initiative of the laws belongs to the Prince.
The deliberation and voting of laws belong to the Monastic Council.
The sanctioning of laws rests with the Prince, who gives them binding force through promulgation.
Art. 67. The Prince signs the bills. These projects are presented to him by the Council of Departments with the signature of the Prime Minister. After the Prince's approval, the Prime Minister places them on the desk of the Monastic Council.
The Monastic Council has the power to present legislative proposals.
Within six months from the date of receipt of the proposed law by the prime minister, the latter communicates to the Monastic Council:
a) – its decision to transform the bill, possibly amended, into a bill that follows the procedure provided for in the first paragraph. In this case, the project is presented within one year of the expiry of the six-month deadline;
b) – its decision to interrupt the legislative procedure. This decision is made explicit by a declaration entered by right on the agenda of a public session of the ordinary session scheduled within that deadline. This statement may be followed by discussion.
If, upon expiry of the six-month period, the Council of Departments has not made known the action reserved for the proposed law, the latter is transformed, in accordance with the procedure provided for in the first paragraph, by right into a bill.
The same procedure applies if the Council of Departments has not transmitted the bill within the one-year period referred to in paragraph 2, letter a).
The Monastic Council has the right of amendment. In this capacity, he can propose additions, replacements or deletions in the bill. Only amendments that have a direct connection with the other provisions of the bill to which they refer are permitted. The vote takes place on the bill as amended, unless the Council of Departments has the right to withdraw the bill before the final vote. However, the provisions of the previous paragraph are not applicable to either ratification authorization bills or budget bills.
At the beginning of each ordinary session, the Council of Dicasteries makes known, in a public session, the status of examination of all bills filed by the Council of Dicasteries, regardless of the date of filing.
Art. 68. The Prince makes Ordinances necessary for the execution of laws and for the application of international treaties or agreements.
Art. 69. The Sovereign Laws and Ordinances are enforceable against third parties only from the day following their publication in the "Official Gazette of Seborga".
Art. 70. The Monastic Council votes on the budget.
No direct or indirect contribution can be established by law alone.
Any international treaty or agreement having the effect of establishing such a contribution can only be ratified by law.
Art. 71. The budget project is presented to the Monastic Council by 30 September.
The budget law is voted during the October session of the Monastic Council.
Art. 72. The budget is voted on chapter by chapter. Transfers from one chapter to another are prohibited, except in cases authorized by law.
Art. 73. If the vote on the appropriations requested by the Council of Departments in accordance with article 71 has not taken place before 31 December, the appropriations corresponding to the services voted may be opened by sovereign ordinance, after consulting the Council of State.
The same applies to revenues and expenditures resulting from international treaties.
Art. 74. The Prince, subject to the opinion of the Privy Council, can pronounce the dissolution of the Monastic Council. In this case, new elections will be held within three months.