CHAPTER 3: THE LEGISLATIVE

Art. 126 – The legislative function shall be exercised by a single assembly known as the National People’s Assembly.

The National People’s Assembly shall make laws independently, within the scope of its prerogatives.

It shall enact and vote laws.

Art. 127 – The fundamental mission of the National People’s Assembly is to defend and consolidate the socialist Revolution within the scope of its prerogatives,

The National People’s Assembly shall be inspired in its legislative action by the national Charter that it shall implement.

Art. 128 – The members of the National People’s Assembly shall be elected by universal, direct, and secret suffrage on the proposal of the Party leadership.

Art. 129 – The National People’s Assembly shall be elected for a 5-year term.

This mandate shall only be extended in case of exceptionally grave circumstances that prevent the normal course of elections. Such a situation shall be attested by a decision of the National People’s Assembly on the proposal of the President of the Republic.   

Art. 130 – The methods of election of the deputies, in particular their number, the conditions of eligibility, and the cases of incompatibilities with membership in the Assembly shall be fixed by the law.

The composition of the National People’s Assembly shall be in keeping with the provisions of Articles 8 and 9 of the Constitution.

Art. 131 – The validation of the legislative elections shall fall within the powers of the National People’s Assembly.

The settlement of litigation over legislative elections shall fall within the powers of the Supreme Court.

Art. 132 – The mandate of deputy shall be national.

Art. 133 – The mandate of deputy shall be renewable.

Art. 134 – A deputy who does not meet, or no longer meets eligibility conditions shall incur the loss of his mandate.

Such loss shall be decided by a majority of the members of the National People’s Assembly.

Art. 135 – A deputy shall be accountable to his peers who shall revoke his mandate if he betrays the confidence of the people or commits an act unworthy of his function.  

The law shall stipulate the conditions in which a deputy shall incur expulsion. Such expulsion shall be pronounced by a majority of the members of the National People’s Assembly without prejudice to other common law proceedings.

Art. 136 – The conditions in which the National People’s Assembly accepts the resignation of one of its members shall be fixed by the law.

Art. 137 – Parliamentary immunity shall be granted to a deputy for the duration of his mandate.

No deputy shall be prosecuted, arrested, or in general, undergo any legal or civil or penal action on account of the opinions that he expresses, the statements he makes, or the votes he expresses during his mandate.

Art. 138 – Legal proceedings shall not be undertaken against a deputy for a criminal act without the authorization of the National People’s Assembly that shall decide by a majority of its members the withdrawal of his immunity.

Art. 139 – In case of flagrante delicto, the officers of the National People’s Assembly shall immediately be notified. Any ruling the officers shall judge necessary to issue for the observance of the principle of parliamentary immunity shall have force of law. 

Art. 140 – The law shall determine the conditions of replacement of a deputy in case of vacancy of his seat.

Art. 141- The legislative period shall begin by right on the eighth day following the date of the election of the National People’s Assembly under the presidency of its most senior member assisted by the two youngest deputies.

The National People’s Assembly shall elect its officers and constitute its committees.

Art. 142 – The Speaker of the National People’s Assembly shall be elected for the duration of the legislative period.

Art. 143 – The law shall fix the general principles relating to the organization and functioning of the National People’s Assembly, as well as the budget thereof and the compensations of its members.

The National People’s Assembly shall draw up its Rules of Procedure.

Art. 144 – The sittings of the National People’s Assembly shall be public.

The minutes of such sittings shall be kept and made public under the conditions fixed by the law. The National People’s Assembly may sit behind closed doors on the request of its Speaker, of the majority of its members present, or the Government.

Art. 145 – The National People’s Assembly shall set up its committees within the framework of its Rules of Procedure.

Art. 146 – The National People’s Assembly shall sit in two ordinary sessions per year, each lasting a maximum three (3) months.

The committees of the National People’s Assembly shall be permanent.

Art. 147 – The National People’s Assembly may be convoked in extraordinary session by the President of the Republic or on the request of two thirds of its members.

The closing of the extraordinary session shall take place as soon as the agenda for which it was convoked is exhausted.

Art. 148. – The initiative of laws shall belong concurrently to the President of the Republic and the members of the National People’s Assembly.

To be receivable, private bills shall be presented by twenty (20) deputies.

Bills shall be presented by the Government to the officers of the National People’s Assembly.

Art. 149 – Any private bill whose purpose or effect is to diminish public resources or increase public expenditures shall be irreceivable, unless accompanied by measures aimed at increasing State revenue or making at least corresponding savings on another budget heading of public expenditures.

Art. 150 – The Communal People’s Assemblies and the Wilaya People’s Assemblies may submit a wish to the Government that shall appreciate the appropriateness of drafting it into a bill.

Art. 151 – The National People’s Assembly shall make laws in such fields as may be determined by the Constitution.

The following shall also fall within the scope of the law:

1)      Fundamental rights and duties of persons, especially, public liberties, the safeguarding of individual liberties, and the obligations of citizens within the frame of national defence imperatives;

2)      General rules relating to personal status, family law, especially marriage, divorce, filiation, capacity, and inheritance;

3)      The conditions of establishment of persons;

4)      Basic legislation concerning nationality;

5)      General rules relating to the condition of foreigners;

6)      General rules relating to judiciary organization;

7)      General rules of criminal law, penal procedure, especially the definition of crimes and offences, the institution of corresponding sentences of any kind whatever, amnesty, and extradition;

8)      General rules of civil procedure and ways of enforcement;

9)       The general scheme of civil and commercial obligations;

10)  General rules concerning the electoral system;

11)  The territorial organization and the administrative division of the country;

12)  Basic principles of the economic and social policy;

13)  The definition of the policy of education and youth;

14)  Guidelines of the cultural policy;

15)  The adoption of the national plan;

16)  The voting of the State budget;

17)  The creation, the base and the rate of taxes, duties, and imposts of any kind whatever;

18)  General rules of the customs scheme;

19)  General rules relating to banks, credit, and insurance companies;

20)  General rules relating to public health and population, labour and social security legislation;

21)  General rules relating to the protection of the Mudjahidine and their legal successors;

22)  Guidelines of the national and regional development policy, as well as the environment, the quality of life, and the protection of fauna and flora;

23)  The protection and safeguarding of the cultural and historical patrimony;

24)  The general scheme of forests;

25)  The general scheme of water; and

26)  The creation of State decorations, distinctions, and honorary titles.

Art. 152 – The enforcement of laws shall be determined by regulations.

Matters other than those dealt with by the law shall fall within the scope of regulations.          

Art. 153 – In periods of recess of the National People’s Assembly, the President of the Republic shall have power to make laws by Edicts that shall be submitted to the consent of the National People’s Assembly at the next session.

Art. 154 – Laws shall be promulgated by the President of the Republic within thirty (30) days of their submission to the latter.

Art. 155 – The President of the Republic shall have power to request a second reading of bills passed by the National People’s Assembly within thirty (30) days of their adoption.

In such a case, a majority of two thirds of the members of the National People’s Assembly shall be required for the adoption of the law.

Art. 156 – Once a year, the President of the Republic shall deliver a state of the Nation address before the National People’s Assembly.

Art. 157 – the National People’s Assembly may open a debate on foreign policy on the request of the President of the Republic or the Speaker of the National People’s Assembly.

If need be, such a debate may end by the adoption of a resolution of the National People’s Assembly that shall be transmitted by the Speaker of the National People’s Assembly to the President of the Republic.

Art. 158 – Political treaties, as well as treaties altering a law shall be ratified by the President of the Republic following their express approval by the National People’s Assembly.

Art. 159 – International treaties duly ratified by the President of the Republic under the conditions provided for in the Constitution shall have force of law.    

Art. 160 – Should all or some of the provisions of a treaty be contrary to the Constitution, the authorization of ratification shall only be issued after the revision of the Constitution.

Art. 161 – The members of the National People’s Assembly may interpellate the Government on a current matter.

The committees of the National People’s Assembly may hear the members of Government.

Art. 162 – The members of the National People’s Assembly may address any question exclusively in written form to any member of Government who shall answer in the same form within fifteen (15) days.

Questions and answers shall be published under the same conditions as the minutes of the debates of the National People’s Assembly.

Art. 163 – In a meeting of the authorities of the Party and the Government, the President of the Republic may decide the dissolution of the National People’s Assembly and the holding of early legislative elections.

New legislative elections shall take place within three (3) months.