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[quote="Christopher Wright"]PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE BILL OF 2007

An Act to establish the rules of procedure within sessions of the Parliament of Devonia, including the admittance to Office of Members of Parliament following election, the election of the Prime Minister, the processes required for the proposal, debate and establishment of new legislature, and the maintenance of order within Parliament.

Be it therefore enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

PART I
1. Following the announcement of the results of a Parliamentary election, whether this may be a General Election of Parliament in its entirety or a By-Election deciding one seat or more, all successful, elected candidates shall be granted the title, ‘Member of Parliament’.
2. Within a week of the announcement of the results of a general election, the King shall announce the official opening of Parliament, at which time he shall request Members to swear the oath given in Section 3.
3.
(1) The King shall request that successful candidates swear the following oath: “I, {name of candidate}, affirm that I will support the Constitution and the laws of the Kingdom of Devonia to best of my abilities and to be bound by my conscience in my duties as a Member of the Parliament. I pledge my loyalty to the Kingdom of Devonia and to the {King/Queen}. Long live {reigning Monarch}.” This shall henceforth be known as the ‘Royal Oath of Allegiance’.
(2) Only upon declaring the Oath shall Members of Parliament be entitled to attend sittings of Parliament.
(3) Failure to swear the Oath shall not be considered resignation from office.
A Member may choose to swear the Oath at any point during the Parliamentary Term, upon doing which they shall be immediately permitted to attend Parliament.
(4) Should any Member either directly refuse to swear the oath, or fail to do so by the second Session of that Parliamentary Term, the Prime Minister or their Deputy shall communicate to the electorate that their representative has chosen to do so. This shall not affect the Member’s right to swear the Oath during the second Session.
4.
(1) At the beginning of each Parliamentary Session, Members wishing to participate shall declare themselves Present. A brief, formal statement that one is present shall be a sufficient.
(2) Declaration of the Royal Oath of Allegiance shall also be considered to be a Declaration of Presence. Therefore, during the first session, any Member who has sworn the Oath shall not be required to declare their presence in addition; having already sworn the Oath, Members shall only be required to make a simple Declaration of Presence to attend the second Session. 
(3) Should any elected candidate fail to swear the oath during the first Session, they shall be required to swear the Oath, instead of a simple Declaration of Presence, in order to attend the second Session.

PART II
5.
(1) In accordance with the Constitution, the first responsibility of Parliament shall be to elect a Prime Minister. A period of three days after the Opening of Parliament shall be allowed for Members to swear to the Oath, after which the King shall request that Members wishing to stand for the position of Prime Minister should announce their intention.
(2) All members wishing to stand for election to the position of Prime Minister should announce their intention within three days of the King’s request.
(3) The Prime Minister and shall be elected by a system of direct ballot, by simple majority rule. Each Member of Parliament may place one vote for the Member they wish to be elected. Candidates may vote for themselves. 
(4) Once either a period of three days has passed, or all eligible Members, who have sworn the Oath, have voted, the King shall appoint the candidate with the most votes to the position of Prime Minister.
6. Once the election is complete, the new Prime Minister shall appoint a Member to the position of Deputy Prime Minister. The Deputy may or may not be a member of the Prime Minister’s own party.
7. The Prime Minister may recommend to the King persons who he feels qualified to carry out the duties of all other Ministerial positions, currently including the Royal Chancellor, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Immigration. Members and non-Members of Parliament may be recommended, providing that they hold Devonian citizenship. The final decision shall rest with the King.

PART III
8.
(1) Once all ministerial positions are allocated, the Prime Minister shall request that Members of Parliament and of the Grand Council, and the King, submit to him, either publicly or privately, any and all Bills and/or Amendments they wish to present for debate during the forthcoming Parliamentary Session.
(2) Each submission should include the name of the proposed Bill or the Act to be amended, and a summary of what is aimed to be achieved by it. A draft Bill or Amendment in its entirety need not be presented at this time, although Members should indicate any Bills that are already prepared, will be prepared very shortly, or shall take a considerable length of time to prepare, for the purposes of efficient timetabling. Any Member not wishing to present any Bills at this time should declare so to the Prime Minister, in order to save time.
9. The Prime Minister shall allow a maximum period of one week, after which he shall begin writing the Parliamentary Agenda. Should all present Members respond before the expiration of this period, the Prime Minister may begin immediately.
10. The Agenda shall comprise a list of all legislation proposed for debate during the Session in question, in the order in which they shall be presented and subject to debate in Parliament. Each entry should include the name of the Bill and summary produced by its author, and the name and position of the author of the Bill.
11. Upon completion, the Prime Minister shall present the Agenda to Parliament, providing a copy to the King who shall in turn present it to the Grand Council. The first item may be presented before Parliament once the Agenda has been read in Parliament and a copy provided to the King.
12. As soon as a Member of Parliament or the Grand Council, or the King has completed a Bill or Amendment listed on the Agenda, they shall place it in the Hopper, where all current legislation shall be stored.
13. When the time comes for an item on the Agenda to be presented, the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister shall call upon its author to read the appropriate Draft Bill or Amendment in Parliament. This shall be called the First Reading. The author may choose to make an Introductory Speech to the piece of legislation before or after the Reading, or not at all, as he pleases.
14. 
(1) After the First Reading, the Debate shall begin, during which all Members of Parliament may discuss the proposed legislation, ask its author questions, with intent to decide whether this legislation will be beneficial to the Kingdom, highlight any weaknesses, and to suggest any improvements that could be made.
(2) In accordance with the Constitution, Members of the Grand Council shall be entitled to attend and participate in these debates.
15.
(1) After a reasonable period of time, when debate is drawing to a close, the Prime Minister shall ask for Members of Parliament to vote ‘Aye’ or ‘No’ to whether they wish the Bill or Amendment to receive a Second Reading. No longer than a period of twenty four hours shall be allowed for Members of Parliament to vote. Members of the Grand Council may not vote, unless they are also Members of Parliament.
(2) If the majority vote Aye, then the author shall be allowed to make any necessary amendments to the Bill or Amendment, and a Second Reading shall be added to the Agenda after the next scheduled item.
(3) If the majority vote No, the Bill or Amendment shall be considered Rejected. It shall be removed from the Hopper, and may not be reintroduced until the next Session.
16. When the time comes for a piece of legislation to be presented to Parliament for its Second Reading, the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister shall call upon its author to read the appropriate Bill or Amendment for the second time. The author shall read the revised version of the piece of legislation; they may choose to make an Explanatory Speech to highlight and explain the changes made before or after the reading, or not at all.
17. After the Second Reading, the Prime Minister shall call for the piece of legislation to be voted on. Members may vote ‘Aye,’ ‘No,’ or ‘I Abstain.’ Members of the Grand Council may not vote, unless they are also Members of Parliament. The Vote shall continue for three days, or until all Members of Parliament who are Present have voted.
18.
(1) Once the Vote has concluded, the Prime Minister shall announce the result. A simple Majority of  ‘Ayes’, of over fifty percent, not including votes of Abstention, shall be required for the Bill or Amendment to be Passed by Parliament.
(2) Should a Majority be achieved, the Prime Minister shall present the Bill or Amendment to the King for Royal Assent. Once the King has granted the Bill or Amendment Royal Assent, it shall be considered Enacted, and shall become Law, and shall be removed from the Hopper and placed in the Parliamentary Library, labelled as Enacted.
(3) Should a Majority not be achieved, the Bill or Amendment shall be considered Rejected. It shall be removed from the Hopper and placed in the Parliamentary Library, labelled as ‘Rejected’.
19. Once an item has been Passed or Rejected by Parliament, the next item on the agenda shall be dealt with, by the process described in Sections 13-18.

PART IV
20. During sittings of Parliament, Members or Parliament are to be addressed as ‘my Right Honourable friend’.
21. It shall be the responsibility of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister to maintain order in Parliament.
22. Discussion in Parliament shall not digress from the topic of debate.
23. Although intense political debate shall be allowed, Members shall not make use of profane language, or direct inappropriate personal insults at other Members.
24. Members shall not make any attempt to impede or hinder the functioning of Parliament.
25.
(1) Should any member begin to behave in a way that impedes the functioning of Parliament, the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister shall politely request that they cease such behaviour, and focus on the topic of debate.
(2) Should a Member repeatedly defy such reasonable requests, and continue to conduct themselves in a manner that impedes the functioning of Parliament, the Prime Minister shall ask for a Vote to be called to Expel the Member from Parliament. If over fifty percent of Members vote ‘Aye,’ the Member in question shall be temporarily Expelled, and the case brought before the High Court of Devonia, which shall judge whether the Member should be permanently Expelled from the body, Expelled for the remainder of the Term or Session, or reinstated.[/quote]

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