Dimension: 1.3.1 Rules of procedure

This dimension outlines the specific powers and provisions defined in parliament’s rules of procedure, which codify all procedural aspects of parliamentary business. The rules of procedures should cover all of parliament’s activities, potentially including the following matters:

• The individual actions and conduct of MPs, including the powers and privileges of members of majority and minority parties and groups
• The composition of parliament’s membership 
• The conduct of plenary sessions and debates
• The setting of parliament’s agenda
• Ethics and conflicts of interest
• Political activities and funding
• Independent budgetary authorities
• The establishment and operation of committees
• Staffing and the parliamentary administration, including the appointment of a Secretary General Secretary General Typically the most senior permanent officer of parliament, who advises on procedure and records the decisions of the house. This person is also usually the administrative head of the parliamentary administration. In some institutions, the role of Secretary General and the responsibilities listed here may be performed by more than one individual or by several offices of jurisdiction.  

In unicameral parliaments, there is only one set of rules of procedure for the entire institution. In bicameral parliaments, each chamber may have separate rules of procedure, reflecting their institutional independence. 

Some countries have an overarching legal framework defining the process by which parliament’s actions and mandate are exercised. The rules of procedure should be consistent with the relevant provisions of this legal framework. Parliament Parliament A national body of elected (or sometimes appointed) representatives that makes laws, debates issues and holds the government to account. ’s rules of procedures should be introduced, adopted and amended by parliament alone, and adhered to by all MPs and parliamentary staff.

The rules of procedure should be expressed in plain language that both MPs and the public can easily understand. They should be transparent and publicly available. 

The rules of procedure should be implemented and interpreted consistently and impartially. Past practices and interpretations (such as rulings by the Speaker Speaker The highest authority and principal presiding officer of the parliament, or of the house or chamber in bicameral parliaments. The Speaker is usually an MP elected at the beginning of each convocation by fellow MPs to preside over the parliamentary chamber or, in a unicameral system, to preside over the parliament. ) should be documented in guides, handbooks or other documents made available to MPs. 

The rules of procedure may be reviewed periodically or on an ongoing basis, and proposals for amendments may be submitted by a relevant committee or other group of MPs representing the composition of parliament.

See also Dimension 1.1.1: Institutional autonomy and Dimension 1.1.2: Procedural autonomy.