Senate Practice-House of Parliament Spain

Senate.

House of Parliament, which represents the Spanish people (section 66.1 of the Constitution) and which is also the House of territorial or regional representation (section 69.1 of the Constitution). It is made up of Senators who can be elected by electoral districts/constituencies, or appointed by Regional Parliaments. The Senate performs legislative functions, supervises the Government and approves General State Budgets. Its usual role in legislative procedure is to provide a second reading, with the ability to oppose or modify the decisions of the Congress of Deputies by means of vetoes or amendments. In its territorial function, it holds the powers outlined in section 155.1 of the Constitution. In the Senate there is a General Committee of Self-Governing Communities and there are periodic debates held about the National State of Self-Governing Communities.

Senator.

Member of the Senate. To be elected a Senator, the individual must be a Spanish national, of legal age and meet the legally established requirements. Senators can be elected directly by citizens in provincial constituencies/districts and individual candidates, or they can be appointed by a regional Parliament. All Senators have the right to participate in the exercising of Senate functions: legislation, Government supervision, approving the revenues and expenditure of State, and other functions stipulated in the Constitution and by Law.

The Senators enjoy inviolability (sections 71.1 of the Constitution and 21 of the Senate Standing Orders), in other words they enjoy freedom of speech for opinions expressed in the performance of their functions. What might, in other cases, have given rise to non-liability (due to libel, slander, defamation, etc.), is excluded here. The aim is not to inhibit members of Parliament owing to the possible consequences of their interventions, in the consideration that full freedom of speech is necessary for Parliament to perform its duties, especially its critical and supervisory duty. This freedom is absolute (it covers all discourse and statements) and perpetual (even after they no longer have their seat). But it is limited to statements made during Parliamentary sessions and does not include any declarations a Senator might make that are not strictly Parliamentary statements.

Secretariat General of the Senate.

Administrative services that make up the Senate Administration. It is bound by strict criteria of legality, impartiality and professionalism. It provides the services required for the House to perform its constitutional functions. It is governed by regulations approved by the Senate Bureau, to which is it subject at all times, and by the Statute of Parliamentary Staff. It is headed by the Senior Parliamentary Counsellor or Secretary General, appointed by the Senate Bureau, at the proposal of the Speaker, from among the Civil Service unit of Parliamentary Advisers, which oversees the staff at the Secretariat General, made up of Parliamentary civil servants, non-civil service staff at the senate and affiliated staff.

Senate Secretary.

Member of the Senate Bureau, elected at the constitutional sitting of the House from among its members. Secretaries supervise and authorise the minutes from Plenary Sittings and Bureau meetings, with the approval of the Speaker, as well as any certifications issued; they assist the Speaker during sittings and meetings to ensure the agenda of the debate is followed and that ballots are conducted correctly; they contribute to the normal development of work in the House; and they also perform any other functions attributed to them by the Speaker or the Bureau.

Senate Inspection.

Unit within the Senate Secretariat General which carries out internal supervision and control of the execution of Senate accounts.
Senate Plenary Sittings are public, unless a reasoned petition is presented by the Government or by fifty Senators, agreeing for a Sitting not to be, with an absolute majority in the House. They will be secret when so determined by the Senate Standing Orders.

INDEX

• PART ONE. Constitution of the Senate (sec.1 to 9)
  • CHAPTER ONE. Preparatory Sitting (sec. 1 to 3)
  • CHAPTER TWO. Procedure for the constitution of the Senate (sec. 4 to 14)
  • CHAPTER THREE. Scrutiny of incompatibilities and declaration of vacancies (sec. 15 to 19)
    • Subchapter 1. Scrutiny of incompatibilities (sec. 15 to 17)
    • Subchapter 2. Declaration of vacancies (sec. 18 to 19)
• PART TWO. Senators and Parliamentary Groups (sec. 20 to 34)
  • CHAPTER ONE. Parliamentary rights and duties of the Senators (sec. 20 to 26)
  • CHAPTER TWO. Parliamentary Groups and Territorial Groups (sec. 27 to 34)
• PART THREE. Organization and functioning of the Senate (sec. 35 to 103)
  • CHAPTER ONE. Bureau (sec. 35 to 42)
    • Subchapter 1. The Speaker and the Deputy Speakers (sec. 37 to 40)
    • Subchapter 2. The Secretaries (sec. 41 to 42)
  • CHAPTER TWO. The Board of Spokesmen (sec. 43 to 44)
  • CHAPTER THREE. The Permanent Deputation (sec. 45 to 48)
  • CHAPTER FOUR. The Committees (sec. 49 to 68)
    • Subchapter 1. General rules (sec. 49 to 54)
    • Subchapter 2. General Committee on Autonomous Communities (sec. 55 to 56 bis 9)
    • Subchapter 3. Mixed and Joint Committees (sec. 57 to 58)
    • Subchapter 4. Committees of Enquiry or Special Committees (sec. 59 to 60)
    • Subchapter 5. Meeting and functioning of Committees (sec. 61 to 68)
  • CHAPTER FIVE. Plenary and Committee Sittings (sec. 69 to 83)
  • CHAPTER SIX. Right to speak (sec. 84 to 91)
  • CHAPTER SEVEN. Voting (sec. 92 to 100)
  • CHAPTER EIGHT. Parliamentary discipline (sec. 101 to 103)
• PART FOUR. Legislative procedure (sec. 104 to 151)
  • CHAPTER ONE. Ordinary Legislative Procedure (sec. 104 to 128)
    • Subchapter 1. Legislative texts submitted by the Congress (sec. 104 to 107)
    • Subchapter 2. Legislative intiative of the Senate (sec. 108 to 109)
    • Subchapter 3. Debate by the Committee (sec. 110 to 117)
    • Subchapter 4. Debate by the Plenary Sitting (sec. 118 to 126)
    • Subchapter 5. Special rules (sec. 127 to 128)
  • CHAPTER TWO. Special Legislative Procedures (sec. 129 to 147)
    • Subchapter 1. Examination of a bill in a single reading (sec. 129)
    • Subchapter 2. Delegation of the legislative competence to Committees (sec. 130 to 132)
    • Subchapter 3. Urgent procedure (sec. 133 to 136)
    • Subchapter 4. Role of the Senate in the covenants and agreements between Autonomous Communities and in the distribution of the Interterritorial Compensation Fund (sec. 137 to 140)
    • Subchapter 5. Laws harmonizing the provisions of the Autonomous Communities (sec. 141 to 142)
    • Subchapter 6. Statutes of Autonomy (sec. 143)
    • Subchapter 7. International Treaties and Covenants (sec. 144 to 147)
  • CHAPTER THREE. Budget Procedure (sec. 148 to 151)
• PART FIVE. Procedure for constitutional revision (sec. 152 to 159)
  • CHAPTER ONE. Constitutional revision initiated by the Senate (sec. 152 to 153)
  • CHAPTER TWO. Constitutional revision initiated by the Congress (sec. 154 to 157)
  • CHAPTER THREE. Constitutional reform under section 168 of the Constitution (sec. 158 to 159)
• PART SIX. Questions and Interpellations (sec. 160 to 173)
  • CHAPTER ONE. Questions (sec.160 to 169)
    • Subchapter 1. General provisions (sec. 160 to 161)
    • Subchapter 2. Questions for oral reply (sec. 162 to 168)
    • Subchapter 3. Questions for written reply (sec. 169)
  • CHAPTER TWO. Interpellations (sec. 170 to 173)
• PART SEVEN. Motions (sec. 174 to 181)
• PART EIGTH. Communications or reports from the Government or from other State bodies (sec. 182 to 183)
• PART NINE. Relations of the Senate with other constitutional bodies (sec. 184 to 189)
  • CHAPTER ONE. Nomination, appointment and election proposals (sec. 184 to 186)
  • CHAPTER TWO. Constitutional Court (sec. 187 to 188)
  • CHAPTER THREE. Autonomous Communities (sec. 189)
• PART TEN. Publicity of the business of the Senate (sec. 190 to 191)
• PART ELEVEN. Petitions (sec. 192 to 195)
• PART TWELVE. Reform of the Standing Orders (sec. 196)
• ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS (first to sixth)
• TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS (first to second)
• FINAL PROVISION

GO FOR SENATE STANDING ORDER