BRATISLAVA, December 28, (WEBNOVINY) — Parliament should consider tightening the criteria for adoption of bills in shortened legislative proceedings, suggests the Speaker of Parliament, Pavol Hrusovsky (KDH). „It is used often, sometimes even without legal grounds, but always some reason is found, which then the majority supports,“ he said in an interview with SITA news agency. More than the speed of the accelerated procedure, Hrusovsky objects to its outcome, which is often a poor quality bill. The time limits applied in shortened legislative proceedings should therefore be extended to allow serious negotiations, says Hrusovsky, so that space is created for serious discussions about the draft legislation.
Although draft bills coming into parliament are not always well-prepared, according to Hrusovsky, the ultimate responsibility for their final form rests primarily with the parliament itself. „The culprit cannot make up excuses, it must always be the one who decides the fate of the bill. Not the one that the submitted the draft bill, but parliament, which passes it,“ he said.
The parliament’s rules allow the fast-track legislative procedure in cases when there is a risk of serious economic damage or threat to fundamental rights and freedoms. He views as justified the shortened proceedings to pass the vetoed bill to freeze the salaries of MPs and other senior state officials, which will save several millions of euros. „In the time of crisis, it is necessary to save not just millions, but every cent,“ he underlined. He pointed out that according to a ruling of the Constitutional Court, procedural errors in adopting a law are not legal grounds for its annulment.
Hrusovsky further points out that the opinion whether criteria for fast-track legislative procedure are filled is subjective. „We can always argue, but sometimes refusing approval is greater evil than to go beyond the limits of the law that allows such a decision,“ he said, adding that he personally supports strict compliance with the parliamentary order with regard to rules of procedure, because „it is the only thing that leads MPs to some order, to respect for rules.“
The legislative process, including the rules for fast-track legislative procedure, is governed primarily by the Law on Parliamentary Rules of Procedure. The time needed to adopt a draft bill is in particular extended by statutory deadlines. For example, a draft bill must be submitted to parliament at least 15 days before the start of a session and the time between the first and the second reading must be at least thirty days. In the shortened legislative procedure, the deadlines do not apply and a bill can be presented and adopted on the same day. This happened with the amendment to the Constitution, by which MPs respond to collapse of the government of Iveta Radicova. Only the Cabinet may ask parliament to adopt a bill in expedited procedure, which requires subsequent approval of parliament to proceed in this way.
In the current term from June 2010, parliament endorsed accelerated procedure in 23 cases, including six in this year’s last regular session, which was connected with the adoption of the state budget or the doctors‘ strike. This procedure was also used in October to approve shortening the parliamentary term and to hold early elections in March 2012. In record time, on a single day, on October 21, parliament adopted the proposed amendment to the Constitution, which extended the powers of the president in cases that the Cabinet loses a confidence vote in parliament.
SITA