RULES OF PROCEDURE AND CONDUCT OF BUSINESS IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, 1992

CHAPTER I

PARLIAMNETARY

1. Short title and commencement.- (1) These rules may be called the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 1992.

(2) They shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions. -(1) In these rules, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-

"amendment" means a motion to amend and earlier motion before that earlier motion is put to the Assembly for its decision;

"Article" means Article of the Constitution;

"Assembly" means the National Assembly;

"Bill" means a motion for making a law;

"Chamber" means the place where the Assembly meets to transact its business;

"Committee" means a Committee constituted under these rules;

"Constitution" means the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan;

"Gazette" means the Gazette of Pakistan;

"Government" means the Federal Government;

"House" means the Assembly;

"Leader of the House" means the Prime Minister or a member appointed by the Prime Minister to represent Government and regulate Government business in the Assembly;

"Leader of Opposition" means a member who, in the opinion of the Speaker, is for the time being leader of majority of the members in the Opposition;

"Lobby" means the rooms and covered corridors adjoining the Chamber and designated as Division Lobbies by the Speaker;

"Member" means a member of the Assembly;

"Member-in-charge" means, in the case of a Government Bill, a Minister and, in any other case, the member who has introduced the Bill or the member authorised by him in writing to assume charge of the Bill;

"Minister" means the Prime Minister, a Federal Minister or a Minister of State, or a Parliamentary Secretary in respect of any function delegated or entrusted to him by a Minister;

"Motion" means a proposal made by a member or a Minister relating to any matter which may be discussed by the Assembly and includes an amendment;

"Orders of the Day" means the list of business to be brought before the Assembly on any day;

"Parliament building" means the building which is used for the purpose of sittings of the Assembly;

"Precincts of the Assembly" includes the Chamber,lobbies, the galleries, offices attached to the Parliament and parking lots, offices which are in use of the Assembly, the places which are part of the Parliament building and such other places as the Speaker may from time to time specify; "Presiding Officer" means, relation to a sittting, any persons who is presiding at that sitting; "Private member" means a member other than a Minister;

"Resolution" means a motion for the purpose of discussing and expressing an opinion on a matter of general public interest and includes a resolution specified in the constitution;

"Schedule" means a schedule appended to these rules;

"Secretary General" means the Secretary General of the Assembly, and includes any person for the time being performing the duties of the Secretary General;

"Senate" means the House of Parliament known by that name;

"Session" means the period commencing on the day of the first sitting of the Assembly after having been summoned and ending on the day the Assembly is prorogued or dissolved;

"Sitting" means a meeting of the Assembly or of a Committee on a day;

"Speaker" means the Speaker of the Assembly and includes the Deputy Speaker or any other member for the time being acting as a Presiding Officer;

"Starred Question" means a question for an oral answer;

"Table" means the table of the Assembly and includes its Library; and

"Unstarred Question" means a question for a written answer.

(2) Words and expression used but not defined in these rules shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meanings assigned to them in the Constitution.

CHAPTER II

SUMMONING, PROROGATION AND QUORUM OF THE ASSEMBLY AND SEATING, OATH AND ROLE OF MEMBERS

3. Summoning of the Assembly.- (1) When the Assembly is summoned, the Secretary General shall cause a notification to be published in the Gazette stating the date, time and place of the meeting and shall also cause to be issued to each member a notice intimating these particulars.

(2) When the period between the summoning of the Assembly and the date on which it is required to meet is of less than ten days, the Secretary General shall also cause the particulars referred to in sub-rule (1) to be announced over the radio and television and through the press and the members shall also be informed through telegrams.

4. Prorogation of the Assembly.- When the Assembly is prorogued, the Secretary General shall cause a notification to that effect to be published in the Gazette.

5. Quorum.- If, at any time during a sitting, the attention of the person presiding is drawn to the fact that less than one-fourth of the total membership of the Assembly is present, he shall either suspend the business of the Assembly until at least one-fourth of the such membership is present, or cause the bells to be rung for five minutes, but if no quorum is available even when the bells stop ringing, he shall adjourn the sitting.

6. Oath of members.- A person elected as member shall, before taking his seat in the Assembly, make, before the Assembly, oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule to the Constitution.

7. Roll of members.- There shall be a Role of Members which shall be signed by every member after making the oath.

8. Seating of members. - The members shall sit in such order as the Speaker may determine:

Provided that, before the election of a Speaker, the order shall be determined by the Secretary General.

CHAPTER III

THE SPEAKER, DEPUTY SPEAKER AND PANEL OF CHAIRMAN

9. Election of Speaker.- (1) At the first meeting of the Assembly, following a general election, after the members have made oath and before the transaction of any other business, the Assembly shall proceed or elect a Speaker by secret ballot in accordance with this rule.

(2) The meeting of the Assembly for election of the Speaker shall be presided at by the out-going Speaker or, in his absence, by a member nominated by the President for the purpose, hereafter in this rule referred to as the Presiding Officer.

Provided that no person shall preside at the meeting for the election in which he himself is a candidate.

(3) At any time before 12.00 noon on the day preceding the day on which the election is to be held, any member may propose another member for election as Speaker by delivering to the Secretary General a nomination paper signed by him and accompanied by a statement by the member whose name is proposed that he is willing to serve as Speaker, if elected.

(4) A member who has been nominated may, in writing, withdraw his candidature at any time before the Assembly proceeds to elect a Speaker.

(5) On the day of election, the Presiding Officer shall read out to the Assembly the names of the members who have been duly nominated and have not withdrawan their candidature, as also the names of their proposers, and, if there is only one such member, shall declare that member to have been elected.

(6) Where, after withdrawal, if any, there remain only two candidates for election, a ballot shall be held between them and the candidate who secures more votes than the other shall be declared to have been elected. If both the candidates secure an equal number of votes, a fresh ballot shall be held between them until one of them secures more votes than the other, and the candidate securing more votes shall be declared to have elected.

(7) Where, after withdrawals, if any, there remain more than two candidates for election, the candidate obtaining more votes than the aggregate of votes secured by the other candidates shall be declared to have been elected. If no candidate secures more votes than the aggregate votes secured by the other candidates, there shall be a fresh ballot at which the candidate who secured the lowest number of votes at the last ballot shall be excluded from the election, and the balloting shall, in like manner, proceed until one candidate secures more votes than the remaining candidate or, as the case may be, the remaining candidates in the aggregate, and such candidate shall be declared to have been elected.

(8) Where at any ballot any three or more candidates secure an equal number of votes and one of them has to be excluded from election under sub-rule (7), the question as to which one of such candidates is to be excluded shall be determined by drawing of lots.

(9) The member elected as Speaker shall, before entering upon office, make before the Assembly oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule to the Constitution.

10. Election of Deputy Speaker. - (1) Immediately after the election of Speaker, the Assembly shall proceed to elect a Deputy Speaker and the procedure prescribed in rule 9 for the election of Speaker shall apply to the election of Deputy Speaker as if references therein to Speaker were references to Deputy Speaker and references to Presiding Office were references to Speaker.

(2) A person elected as the Deputy Speaker shall, before entering upon office, make before the Assembly oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule to the Constitute.

11. Vacancy in the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker.- Whenever the office of the Speaker or Deputy Speaker becomes vacant, an election to fill that office shall be held.

(a) if the Assembly is in session, as soon as possible during the session; and

(b) if the Assembly is not in session, at the commencement of its next session.

12. Removal of Speaker or Deputy Speaker.- (1) A member may give to the Secretary General notice in writing of a motion for leave to move a resolution under paragraph (c) of clause (7) of Article 53 for the removal from office of the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker and the Secretary General shall forthwith circulate the notice to the members.

(2) The motion for leave to move the resolution shall be entered in the name of the member concerned in the Orders of the Day for the first working day after the expiry of seven days from the date of the receipt of the notice under sub-rule (1).

(3) No other item shall be included in the Order of the Day for the day fixed for a motion for leave to move a resolution under sub-rule (2).

(4) The Speaker or the Deputy Speaker shall not preside at a sitting of the Assembly when a resolution for his removal from office, as the case may be, is being considered.

(5) Immediately after the motion referred to in sub-rule (2) has been moved, the Presiding Officer shall call such of the members as may be in favour of the leave being granted to rise in their seats and, if at least one-fourth of total membership of the Assembly does not so rise, he shall declare that the member has not the leave of the Assembly, or, if such membership so rises, call upon the member to move the resolution.

(6) Except with the permission of the Presiding Officer, a member shall not speak on the resolution for more than fifteen minutes:

Provided that the mover of the resolution and the Speaker or, as the case may be, the Deputy Speaker, against whom the motion has been moved, may speak for thirty minutes or such longer time as the Presiding Officer may permit.

(7) The Assembly shall not be adjourned until the motion for leave is disposed of or, if leave is granted, the resolution has been voted upon.

(8) Voting on the resolution shall be by secret ballot which shall be held in such manner as the Presiding Officer may direct.

(9) If the session during which notice has been given under sub-rule (1) has been summoned by the Speaker in pursuance of clause (3) of Article 54, the Assembly shall not be prorogued until the motion has been disposed of or, if leave is granted, the resolution has been voted upon.

(10) The Speaker, as the case may be, Deputy Speaker, shall stand removed from his office on the resolution being passed by majority of the total membership of the Assembly.

13. Panel of Chairman. - (1) At the commencement of each session, the Speaker shall nominate, in order of precedence, from amongst the members a panel of not more than four Chairman and in the absence of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, the member having precedence amongst those present shall take the Chair.

(2) If at any time at a sitting of the Assembly neither the Speaker nor the Deputy Speaker nor any member on the panel is present, the Secretary General shall so inform the Assembly and the Assembly shall, by motion, elect one of the members present to preside at the sitting.

14. Powers and functions of the Speaker. - (1) In addition to the specific functions and powers provided by these rules and subject to sub-rule (4) of rule 12, the Speaker shall take the Chair at every sitting of the Assembly.

(2) The Speaker shall preserve order and decorum, and, in case of disturbance or disorder in the galleries, may cause them to be cleared.

(3) The Speaker shall decide points of order.

(4) Subject to sub-rule (4) of rule 12, in the absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker shall take the Chair at a sitting.

(5) The Speaker may, be order in writing, delegate to the Deputy Speaker all or any of his powers under these rules.

15. Power of member presiding at sitting of Assembly. - The Presiding Officer shall have the same powers as the Speaker when presiding at a sitting; and all references in these rules to the Speaker shall be deemed to include a reference to the Presiding Officer.

CHAPTER IV

THE PRIME MINISTER

16. Ascertainment to be without debate. - (1) after the election of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker following a general election or whenever office of the Prime Minister falls vacant for any reason, the Assembly shall not transact any business unless it has been ascertained which one of the members of the Assembly commands the confidence of the majority of the members.

(2) In the special session summoned for the purpose of clause (2A) of Article 91, the Assembly, to the exclusion of any other business and without debate, shall proceed as follows:-

(i) Any member may propose or second the name of any member for the ascertainment who commands the confidence of the majority of the members of the Assembly, hereinafter referred to as the candidate.

(ii) Every proposal shall be made by a separate nomination paper in the form set out in the First Schedule and shall be signed by the proposer and seconder and also by the candidate stating that he has consented to the nomination.

(iii) A candidate may be proposed by more than one nomination papers but no member shall subscribed to more than one nomination paper either as proposer or as seconder.

(iv) Every nomination paper shall be delivered by the candidate or his proposer or seconder to the Secretary General by 2 P.M. on the day preceding the day on which the ascertainment is to take place.

17. Scrutiny. - (1) The Speaker shall, in the presence of the candidates or their proposers or seconders who may wish to be present, scrutinise the nomination paper and may reject a nomination paper if he is satisfied that-

(a) the candidate is not a member of the Assembly;

(b) any provision of rule 16 has not complied with; or

(c) the signature of the proposer, the seconder or the candidate is not genuine:

Provided that-

(i) the rejection of a nomination paper shall not invalidate the nomination in respect of a candidate by any other valid nomination paper; and

(ii) the Speaker shall not reject a nomination from on the ground of any defect which is not of substantial nature and may allow any such defect to be remedied forthwith.

(2) The Speaker shall endorse on each nomination from his decision accepting or rejecting it and shall, in case of rejection, record briefly the reasons therefor.

(3) The decision of the Speaker accepting or rejecting a nomination paper shall be final.

18. Withdrawal. - A candidate may withdraw his candidature at any time before the ascertainment takes place.

19. The Ascertainment. - (1) Before commencement of the ascertainment, the Speaker shall read out to the Assembly the names of the candidates, validly proposed for the ascertainment who have not withdrawan, hereinafter called the contesting candidates, in the order in which their nomination papers were received and proceed to effect the ascertainment.

(2) If there is only one contesting candidate and he secure the support of the majority of the members of the Assembly, the Speaker shall declare him to be the member commanding the confidence of the majority of the members of the Assembly.

(3) If there is only one contesting candidate and he is not able to secure the support of the majority of the members of the Assembly, all proceedings shall commence afresh for the ascertainment.

(4) If there are two or more contesting candidates, the candidate who secures the support of the majority of the members of the Assembly shall be declared to be member commanding the confidence of the majority of the members of the Assembly.

(5) If no contesting candidate secures of such majority in the first round, a second round shall be held between the candidates who are supported by the two highest numbers of members in the first round and the candidate who is supported by majority of the members shall be declared to be commanding the confidence of the majority of the members of the National Assembly.

Provided that, if two or more candidates are supported by an equal number of members, further round shall be held between them until one of them secures support of the majority of the members.

20. Resolution for vote of confidence in the Prime Minister.- (1) Any member may move a resolution for a vote of confidence in the Prime Minister under clause (3) of Article 91 by giving three days' notice of his intention to do so.

(2) The Secretary General shall, as soon as may be, circulate the notice to the members.

(3) Where more notices than one under sub-rule (1) are given the resolutions shall be taken up in the order in which their notices have been received.

Provided that no other business shall be transacted on the day fixed for moving a resolution under sub-rule (1).

(4) the voting on the resolution shall be recorded in accordance with the procedure set out in the Second Schedule.

(5) If a resolution is passed or, as the case may be, rejected by Assembly, all other such resolutions shall lapse.

21. Resolution for vote of no-confidence against the Prime Minister. - (1) A notice of a resolution under clause (1) of Article 95 shall be given in writing by not less than twenty per centum of the total membership of the Assembly.

(2) The Secretary General shall, as soon as may be, circulate the notice to the members.

(3) A notice under sub-rule (1) shall be entered in the name of the members concerned in the Orders of the Day for the first working day after the expiry of one clear day of receipt of the notice.

(4) Leave, to move the resolution, shall be asked for after questions, if any, and before other business entered in the Orders of the Day is taken up.

(5) When the resolution is moved, the Speaker may, after considering the state of business, allot a day or days for the discussion on the motion.

Provided that the resolution shall not be moved while the Assembly is considering demands for grants submitted to it in the Annual Budget Statement.

(6) The resolution shall not be voted upon before the expiry of three days, or later than seven days, from the day on which the resolution is moved in the Assembly.

(7) The provisions of the Second Schedule shall apply mutatis mutandis to voting on a resolution under this rule.

(8) The Assembly shall not be prorogued until the motion is disposed of or, if leave is granted, the resolution has been voted upon.

22. President to be informed.- After a member has been declared under rule 19 as commanding the confidence of the majority of the members or a resolution for a vote of confidence under rule 20 has been passed or rejected, as the case may be, or a resolution of no confidence under rule 21 has been passed, the Speaker shall forthwith intimate the result in writing to the President.

CHAPTER V

LEAVE OF ABSENCE RESIGNATION AND VACATION OF SEATS IN THE ASSEMBLY

23. Leave of absence from the Assembly.- (1) A member desirous of obtaining leave of absence from any sitting of the Assembly shall make an application in writing addressed to the Speaker stating reasons for his absence.

(2) On receipt of an application under sub-rule (1) the Speaker shall immediately, after the questions, if any, but before any other business of the day is entered upon, put the question, without debate, that leave be granted.

(3) Where a member is prevented or incapacitated from making such an application, leave of the Assembly may be granted on a motion moved by any other member, or on the basis of an application made ex-post facto.

(4) The Secretary General shall, as soon as possible communicate the decision of the Assembly to the member concerned.

24. Lapse of unexpired period of leave.- If a member who has been granted leave of absence under these rules, attends the session of the Assembly during the period of which leave of absence has been granted to him, the unexpired portion of the leave from the date of his resumed attendance shall lapse.

25. Resignation of Seat.- (1) A member may, by writing under his hand addressed to the Speaker, resign his seat.

(2) If,-

(a) a member hands over the letter of resignation to the Speaker personally and informs his that the resignation is voluntary and genuine and the Speaker has no information or knowledge to the contrary; or

(b) the Speaker receives the letter of resignation by any other means and he, after such inquiry as he thinks fit, either himself or through the National Assembly Secretariat or through any other agency, is satisfied that the resignation is voluntary and genuine, the Speaker shall inform the Assembly of the resignation:

Provided that if a member resigns his seat, when the Assembly is not in session, the Speaker shall direct that intimation of his resignation specifying the date of the resignation be given to every member immediately.

(3) The Secretary General shall, after the Speaker satisfies himself that the letter of resignation is voluntary and genuine, cause to be published in the Gazette a notification to the effect that the member has resigned his seat and forward a copy of the notification to the Chief Election Commissioner for taking steps to fill the vacancy thus causes

(4) The date of resignation of a member shall be the date specified in writing by which he has resigned or if no date is specified therein the date of receipt of such writing by the Speaker.

26. Seat becoming vacant.- (1) If a member is absent without leave of the Assembly, for forty consecutive days of its sittings, the Speaker shall bring the fact to the notice of the Assembly and thereupon any member may move that the seat the member who has been so absent be declared vacant.

(2) On consideration of the motion moved under sub-rule (1), the House may defer, reject or accept the motion and if motion is accepted the seat of the member shall be declared vacant:

Provided that no such motion shall be considered before the expiry of seven days from the date on which the motion was moved. (3) If the seat of the member is declared vacant, the Secretary General shall cause a notification to that effect to the published in the Gazett and forward a copy the notification tothe Chief Election Commissioner for taking steps to fill the vacancy thus caused.

27. Attendance register.- The Secretary general shall cause a register to be kept showing the attendance of each member at each sitting and the register shall be available for inspection by the members.

28. Unseating, disqualification and death of a member.- (1) If any member is unseated as a result of an election dispute or becomes disqualified from being a member, the Chief Election Commissioner shall immediately intimate the fact to the Speaker stating the date on which he has been unseated or, as the case may be, disqualified from being a member and on receipt of such intimation the Speaker shall, as soon as may be, after expiry of limitation period of appeal, inform the Assembly that such member has been unseated or disqualified by the Chief Election Commissioner:

Provided that if the Assembly is not in session, the Speaker shall direct that the aforesaid information be given to the members immediately.

(2) In case of the death of a member, the Deputy Commissioner or, as the case may be, the Political Agent concerned shall immediately inform the Speaker and the Secretary General shall, as soon as may be, after the Speaker has received intimation of the death of a member, cause to be published in the Gazette notification stating the name of the member who has died and the date of his death and also forward a copy to the Chief Election Commissioner for taking steps to fill the vacant seat.

CHAPTER VI

SITTINGS OF THE ASSEMBLY AND CLASSIFICATION AND ARRANGEMENT OF BUSINESS

29. Days of sitting.- (1) The Assembly shall sit on such days as the Speaker, having regard to the state of business of the Assembly, may from time to time direct.

(2) Every sitting shall commence with recitation from the Holy Quran followed by its Urdu translation.

30. Hours of sitting and adjournment.- (1) Every sitting of the Assembly shall commence at such hour as the Speaker may direct.

(2) Subject to the other provisions of these rules the Speaker may-

(a) adjourn a sitting of the Assembly; and

(b) if the thinks fit, call a sitting of the Assembly at a time or date different from that to which it was earlier adjourned and the change shall be intimated to the members through announcement on radio and television.

31. Class of business.- (1) Business of the Assembly shall be classified as-

(i) Government business; and (ii) Private members' business.

(2) Government business shall include Bills, resolutions, amendments and other motions introduced or initiated by a Minister.

(3) Private members' business shall include Bills, resolutions, amendments and other motions introduced or initiated by private members.

32. Allotment of time for transaction of business.- On Tuesday private members' business shall have precedence, and on all other days no business other than Government business shall be transacted except with the consent of the Leader of the House.

Provided that if there is no sitting on Tuesday, private members' business shall have precedence on the next working day:

Provided further that, if any Tuesday is allotted by the Speaker for the presentation of the Budget or for any stage of the Budget, a day in lieu of such Tuesday shall be set apart by the Speaker for private members' business:

Provided further that the Speaker may allot different Tuesdays for the disposal of different classes of private members' business and on Tuesday so allotted for any particular class of business, business of that class shall have precedence.

33. Arrangement of Government business.- The Secretary General shall arrange Government business in such order as the Leader of the House or, in his absence, any other Minister authorised by him in this behalf, may intimate.

34. Precedence of private members' Bill.- (1) The relative precedence of private members' Bills shall be determined by ballot to be held in accordance with the procedure set out in the Third Schedule:

Provided that the Speaker may, from time to time, make such variations in the procedure as he thinks fit.

(2) The ballot shall be held on such day, not being less than five days before the day with reference to which the ballot is held, as the Speaker may direct.

(3) Unless the House decides otherwise, on a day on which private member business has precedence, private members Bills shall be taken up in the following order:-

(a) Bills to be introduced;

(b) Bills passed by the Assembly and amended, rejected or not passed by the Senate;

(c) Bills passed by the Senate and transmitted to the Assembly;

(d) Bills in respect of which the report of Committee has been presented;

(e) Bills in respect of which a motion has been carried that the Bill be taken into consideration;

(f) Bills which have been circulated for the purpose of eliciting public opinion thereon; and

(g) Other Bills.

(4) The relative precedence of Bills falling under the same clause of sub-rule (3) shall be determined by ballot to be held in accordance with the procedure set out in the Third Schedule:

Provided that the Speaker may, from time to time, make such variations in the procedure as he thinks fit.

35. Ballot in Respect of Identical Bills:- If notices of two or more identical bills are received, the Bill securing first place in the ballot shall be proceeded with and, in case a motion for leave introduced the bill securing first place in the ballot is moved, the remaining Bills shall not be proceeded with.

36. Precedence of resolutions.- (1) The relative precedence of resolutions, notices of which have been given by private members and which hsve been admitted shall be determined by ballot to be held in accordance with the procedure set out in the Third Schedule, on such day, not being less than five days before the day with reference to which the ballot is held:

Provided that the Speaker may, from time to time, make variations in the procedure as he thinks fit:

Provided further that not more than five resolutions, notices of which have been given by any one member, shall be included in the ballot to be held for any one day and, unless the member has indicated his preference for any five of such resolutions, his first five resolutions in the order of their receipt shall be included in the ballot.

(2) A resolution which does not find place in the ballot shall not lapse but shall be included in the subsequent ballot in the same session of the Assembly.

37. Precedence of motions.- The relative precedence of motions under rule 241, shall be determined in accordance with the procedure laid down in rule 36 with the variation that reference in that rule to resolutions shall be deemed as references to motions under rule 241.

38. Orders of the Day.- (1) The Secretary General shall prepare the Orders of the Day and make a copy thereof available for the use of every member and any other person entitled under the Constitution to speak or otherwise take part in the proceedings of the Assembly.

(2) Save a otherwise provided by these rules,-

(a) the business for the day shall be transacted in the order in which it appears in the Orders of the Day;

(b) business not included in the Orders of the Day shall not be transacted at any sitting without the leave of the Speaker; and (c) no business requiring notice shall be set down for a day earlier that the day following the day on which the period of the notice necessary for that class of business expires.

(3) Unless the Speaker otherwise directs, not more than five resolutions excluding any resolution moved on, and outstanding from a previous day shall be set down in the Orders of the Day for any day on which private members' business has precedence.

(39) Business outstanding at the end of the day.- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in rule 34, rule 36 or rule 37, any private members' business which has been commenced shall be set down for the next day allotted to business of that class and shall have precedence over all other business set down for that day.

(2) Private members' resolutions and motions under rule 241 set down for any day and not moved on that day shall not be set down for any subsequent day, unless it has gained precedence at the ballot held with reference to that day.

CHAPTER VII

PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS AND MESSAGES TO THE HOUSE

40. Definition._In this Chapter, "President's Address" means an address of the President, either before the Assembly or the two Houses assembled together, as contained in the authenticated copy thereof made available by the President's Secretariat.

41. Discussion of President's Address._(1) At the first sitting of the Assembly held after the President's Address is made available by the President's Secretariat, a Minister shall lay a copy of the Address on the Table.

(2) The President's Address may be discussed by means of a motion of thanks moved by a minister or a member and seconded by another member.

42. Appointment of day and allotment of time, for discussion of President's Address._The Speaker shall allot a day or days and time for discussion of the President's Address.

43. Scope of discussion._The Assembly may discuss the matters referred to in the President's Address.

44. Time-limit for speeches._The Speaker may, if he thinks fit, prescribe a time-limit for speeches, after taking the sense of the Assembly.

45. Amendments._Amendments may be moved to a motion of thanks in such form as may be considered appropriate by the Speaker.

46. Government's right of reply._A Minister, whether he has previously taken part in the discussion or not, shall, on behalf of the Government, have a general right of explaining the position of the Government at the end of the discussion.

47. Transaction of other business on a day appointed for discussion of President's Address._(1) Notwithstanding that a day has been allotted for discussion on the President's Address_

(a) a Government Bill may be introduced on such day; and

(b) other business of a formal character may be transacted on such day before the Assembly commences or continues the discussion on the Address.

(2) The discussion on the President's Address shall not be interrupted in the course of a sitting by an adjournment motion.

48. Messages from President._Where a message from the president for the House under clause(2) of Article 56 is received by the Speaker, he shall read the message to the House and give necessary directions in regard to the procedure that shall be followed for consideration of matters required by the message to be taken into consideration. In giving these directions, the Speaker shall be empowered to suspend or vary the rules to such extent as may be necessary.

49. Communication to the President._Communication from the Assembly to the President shall be made_

(a) by formal address after a motion therefor has been made and carried in the Assembly; and

(b) through the Speaker.


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