Interpellation (politics)

Last updated

Interpellation is a formal request of a parliament to the respective government. It is distinguished from question time in that it often involves a separate procedure. [1] In many parliaments, each individual member of parliament has the right to submit questions (possibly a limited amount during a certain period) to a member of the government. The respective minister or secretary is then required to respond and to justify government policy. Interpellation thus allows the parliament to supervise the government's activity. In this sense, it is closer to a motion of censure. In English, the parliamentary questioning sense of "interpellation" dates from the late 19th century. It has been adopted from French constitutional discourse.

In some countries, for example Finland, Slovenia and Lithuania, interpellations are more or less synonymous with a motion of no confidence because they are automatically connected with a vote of confidence and their express purpose is to determine the confidence enjoyed by the government or a minister. In Finland, the government must reply to an interpellation in a plenary session within 15 days. After receiving the reply to the interpellation, parliament debates the matter and proceeds to vote on whether the government or a particular minister enjoys the confidence of Parliament. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Commons of the United Kingdom</span> Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 members known as members of Parliament (MPs). MPs are elected to represent constituencies by the first-past-the-post system and hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of the United Kingdom</span> Legislative body in the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and the overseas territories. Parliament is bicameral but has three parts, consisting of the sovereign (King-in-Parliament), the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. In theory, power is officially vested in the King-in-Parliament. However, the Crown normally acts on the advice of the prime minister, and the powers of the House of Lords are limited to only delaying legislation; thus power is de facto vested in the House of Commons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Commons of Canada</span> Lower house of the Canadian Parliament

The House of Commons of Canada is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.

A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers, which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be cancelled in exceptional circumstances. Question time originated in the Westminster system of the United Kingdom, and occurs in other countries, mostly Commonwealth countries, who use the system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Finland</span> Head of state of Finland

The president of the Republic of Finland is the head of state of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the Finnish Government and the president, with the latter possessing only residual powers. The president is directly elected by universal suffrage for a term of six years. Since 1994, no president may be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The president must be a natural-born Finnish citizen. The presidential office was established in the Constitution Act of 1919. The incumbent president is Sauli Niinistö. He was elected for the first time in 2012 and was re-elected in 2018.

A vote of no confidence, also variously called a motion of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or management is still deemed fit to hold that position, such as because they are inadequate in some aspect, fail to carry out their obligations, or make decisions that other members feel to be detrimental. The parliamentary motion demonstrates to the head of government that the elected parliament either has or no longer has confidence in one or more members of the appointed government. In some countries, a no-confidence motion being passed against an individual minister requires the minister to resign. In most cases, if the minister in question is the premier, all other ministers must also resign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semi-presidential republic</span> System of government in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet

A semi-presidential republic, or dual executive republic is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a popularly elected head of state; and from the presidential system in that the cabinet, although named by the president, is responsible to the legislature, which may force the cabinet to resign through a motion of no confidence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of Finland</span> Supreme legislature of Finland

The Parliament of Finland is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The Parliament consists of 200 members, 199 of whom are elected every four years from 13 multi-member districts electing 7 to 36 members using the proportional D'Hondt method. In addition, there is one member from Åland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime Minister of Romania</span> Head of the Government of Romania

The prime minister of Romania, officially the prime minister of the Government of Romania, is the head of the Government of Romania. Initially, the office was styled President of the Council of Ministers, when the term "Government" included more than the Cabinet, and the Cabinet was called the Council of Ministers. The title was officially changed to Prime Minister by the 1965 Constitution of Romania during the communist regime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lok Sabha</span> Lower house of the Parliament of India

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of Malaysia</span> National bicameral legislature of Malaysia

The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King), as the head of state, is the third component of Parliament.

Question Hour is the first hour of a sitting session of the Lok Sabha devoted to questions that Members of Parliament raise about any aspect of administrative activity. The concerned Minister is obliged to answer to the Parliament, either orally or in writing, depending on the type of question raised. Questions are one of the ways Parliament can hold the Executive accountable.It is very useful for the Government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council of Ministers (Poland)</span>

The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland is the collective executive decision-making body of the Polish government. The cabinet consists of the Prime minister, also known as the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, the Deputy Prime Minister, who acts as a vice-chairman of the council, and other ministers. The current competences and procedures of the cabinet are described between Articles 146 to 162 of the constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellenic Parliament</span> Unicameral legislative body of Greece

The Hellenic Parliament or Greek Parliament, formally known as the Parliament of the Hellenes and also known as the Hellenic Bouleterion, is the unicameral legislature of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens. The parliament is the supreme democratic institution that represents the citizens through an elected body of Members of Parliament (MPs).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Assembly (Cambodia)</span> Lower house of the Parliament of Cambodia

The National Assembly is one of the two houses (chambers) of the Parliament of Cambodia. It is referred to as the lower house, with the Senate being referred to as the upper house.

In countries with a parliamentary system of government, contempt of Parliament is the offence of obstructing the legislature in the carrying out of its functions, or of hindering any legislator in the performance of his duties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Georgia (country)</span> National government of Georgia

The Government of Georgia is the supreme body of executive power in Georgia that implements the domestic and foreign policies of the country. It consists of the prime minister—the head of the government—and ministers and is accountable and responsible to the Parliament of Georgia. The current powers and responsibilities of the government are governed by the amendments of the Constitution of Georgia passed in 2017 and 2018. From 14 May 1991 to 9 November 1996, the executive government of Georgia was referred to as the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (FTPA) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which, for the first time, set in legislation a default fixed election date for general elections in the United Kingdom. It remained in force until 2022, when it was repealed. Since then, as before its passage, elections are required by law to be held at least once every five years, but can be called earlier if the prime minister advises the monarch to exercise the royal prerogative to do so. Prime ministers have often employed this mechanism to call an election before the end of their five-year term, sometimes fairly early in it. Critics have said this gives an unfair advantage to the incumbent prime minister, allowing them to call a general election at a time that suits them electorially. While it was in force, the FTPA removed this longstanding power of the prime minister.

In July 2022, a motion of confidence in the second Johnson ministry was tabled in the House of Commons. The motion, debated on 18 July, was laid by the government itself after it had refused to allow time for a Labour Party no-confidence motion. The Government won the vote on 18 July, but the Prime Minister resigned in September.

References

  1. Yamamoto, Hironori, ed. (2007). "2.2.3 Interpellations". Tools for Parliamentary Oversight: A Comparative Study of 88 National Parliaments. Inter-Parliamentary Union. pp. 59–61. ISBN   9789291423507.
  2. Parliament of Finland's glossary