The Parliament – the Heart of Democracy in a Parliamentary Democracy by Andreas Gross (Switzerland) (Political Scientist/Director Atelier for Direct Democracy St-Ursine, 24 years Swiss MP/ : Leader of the Social Democrats in the PACE Strasburg) Presentation for the Seminar org. by PACE & Parliament of Jordan Amman, May 30 st 2016

Democracy: Mosaic of Hundreds of constitutive Institutions, Rights, Proceedings, values, attitudes, relations, results Defined in the Constitution A never ending Process

The 5 main duties and tasks of a Parliament  Creation/Election  Legislation  Representation  Control  Communication / Dialogue

I. Creation/Election  The Parliament (P) elects the Government (G)  2 Thirds of the P may revise the Constitution  The P can deprive the G from it’s confidence  The P may elect other important bodies (Judges, Ombudsperson, adv. bodies etc.)

II. Legislation  In order to be valid each law has to find a majority in the Parliament  The Parliament’s committees discuss draft laws and may propose changes to the plenary of the Parliament  Each Member of the Parliament has the right to propose new legislation  The MP’s might question the implementation and the respect of any law by the Government

III. Representation I. The MP’s should represent the society  It’s diversity (sociolog. composition)  It’s main different interests  It’s preoccupations, needs, sorrows II. Between the elections the Parliament represents the people’s sovereignty;  It’s the only source of legitimate power It shares the power fairly between each-other

IV. Control I. The P. is the Master of the State’s Budget II. It controls the use of public money III. It has to accept the Gov’s Bill IV. It monitors the work of the government and it’s ministers and held them accountable V. It might create special investigative committees with special powers

V. Communication/Dialogue  The Parliament should set the example for the dialogue, deliberation and respect citizens show to each-other  It organizes Public Hearings on any problems  Actual debates take up public concerns and help him to understand them  By such communicative efforts the P contributes to the integration of the society