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Article 49 of the French Constitution
Article 49 of the French Constitution is an article of the French Constitution, the fundamental law of the Fifth French Republic. It sets out and structures the political responsibility of the government (the executive branch) towards the parliament (legislative branch). It is part of Title V: "On relations between the parliament and the government" (Articles 34 through 51), and with the intention of maintaining the stability of the French executive the section provides legislative alternatives to the parliament. It was written into the constitution to counter the perceived weakness of the Fourth Republic, such as "deadlock" and successive rapid government takeovers, by giving the government the ability to pass bills without the approbation of the parliament, possible under Section 3 of Article 49.
The article, which comprises four paragraphs, was designed to prevent crises like those that occurred under the Fourth Republic. Its best-known provision, paragraph 3 (Article 49.3), allows the government to force passage of a law without a vote, unless the parliament passes a motion of no confidence. A motion of no confidence rarely passes, since it also entails the dissolution of the legislature pending new elections. Article 49 paragraph 3 provides for:
Article 49 paragraph 2 outlines a censure spontanée (spontaneous motion of no confidence), as opposed to the following paragraph 49.3, which outlines a motion of no confidence in some way "provoked" by the executive branch. Such a motion requires an absolute majority of members to vote for its adoption, and thus this provision changes the burden of proof and forces the Assemblée Nationale to reject the entire administration. The government cannot be overturned by counting the votes of undecided Assembly members who would simply abstain. This paragraph of Article 49 has only come into play once, in 1962 against Georges Pompidou, who then had to resign, but returned to power with newfound support after winning a decisive majority in the ensuing legislative elections.
Articles 50, 50.1 and 51 relate directly to Article 49, since Article 50 complements 49.2, Article 51 provides technical detail about the implementation of Article 49.3, and 50.1 gives the executive an option for a declaration with an ensuing debate.
Article 49 of the constitution was amended by the constitutional legislation of 4 August 1995 and of 23 July 2008.
The original version of the article, when there were two legislative sessions a year, stated: "if a vote of no confidence is rejected, its supporters cannot introduce another in the same session." Since 1995 there has been a single (ordinary) session a year, apart from extraordinary sessions; a deputy may sign no more than three motions of censure in a single ordinary session and an additional such motion in an extraordinary session. In the original version, no limit was placed on the administration's use of engagement of responsibility. Since 2009, the prime minister can only use the administration engagement of responsibility for
On 27 August 1958 Michel Debré, then the Minister of Justice and one of the principal drafters of the new constitution, introduced the draft project in the General Assembly of the Council of State. Section 49 was mentioned in a brief passage that set out its spirit and motivations:
"The difficult procedure for a motion of no confidence must temper the defect that we know well, and for too long. The question de confiance (question of confidence) is the weapon of the administration, and it alone. Deputies can use only the motion of no confidence, and such a motion is surrounded by conditions discussed only by those who do not want to remember. Experience has led, moreover, to provide a somewhat unique disposition to ensure, despite maneuvers, passage of an essential piece of legislation."
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Article 49 of the French Constitution
Article 49 of the French Constitution is an article of the French Constitution, the fundamental law of the Fifth French Republic. It sets out and structures the political responsibility of the government (the executive branch) towards the parliament (legislative branch). It is part of Title V: "On relations between the parliament and the government" (Articles 34 through 51), and with the intention of maintaining the stability of the French executive the section provides legislative alternatives to the parliament. It was written into the constitution to counter the perceived weakness of the Fourth Republic, such as "deadlock" and successive rapid government takeovers, by giving the government the ability to pass bills without the approbation of the parliament, possible under Section 3 of Article 49.
The article, which comprises four paragraphs, was designed to prevent crises like those that occurred under the Fourth Republic. Its best-known provision, paragraph 3 (Article 49.3), allows the government to force passage of a law without a vote, unless the parliament passes a motion of no confidence. A motion of no confidence rarely passes, since it also entails the dissolution of the legislature pending new elections. Article 49 paragraph 3 provides for:
Article 49 paragraph 2 outlines a censure spontanée (spontaneous motion of no confidence), as opposed to the following paragraph 49.3, which outlines a motion of no confidence in some way "provoked" by the executive branch. Such a motion requires an absolute majority of members to vote for its adoption, and thus this provision changes the burden of proof and forces the Assemblée Nationale to reject the entire administration. The government cannot be overturned by counting the votes of undecided Assembly members who would simply abstain. This paragraph of Article 49 has only come into play once, in 1962 against Georges Pompidou, who then had to resign, but returned to power with newfound support after winning a decisive majority in the ensuing legislative elections.
Articles 50, 50.1 and 51 relate directly to Article 49, since Article 50 complements 49.2, Article 51 provides technical detail about the implementation of Article 49.3, and 50.1 gives the executive an option for a declaration with an ensuing debate.
Article 49 of the constitution was amended by the constitutional legislation of 4 August 1995 and of 23 July 2008.
The original version of the article, when there were two legislative sessions a year, stated: "if a vote of no confidence is rejected, its supporters cannot introduce another in the same session." Since 1995 there has been a single (ordinary) session a year, apart from extraordinary sessions; a deputy may sign no more than three motions of censure in a single ordinary session and an additional such motion in an extraordinary session. In the original version, no limit was placed on the administration's use of engagement of responsibility. Since 2009, the prime minister can only use the administration engagement of responsibility for
On 27 August 1958 Michel Debré, then the Minister of Justice and one of the principal drafters of the new constitution, introduced the draft project in the General Assembly of the Council of State. Section 49 was mentioned in a brief passage that set out its spirit and motivations:
"The difficult procedure for a motion of no confidence must temper the defect that we know well, and for too long. The question de confiance (question of confidence) is the weapon of the administration, and it alone. Deputies can use only the motion of no confidence, and such a motion is surrounded by conditions discussed only by those who do not want to remember. Experience has led, moreover, to provide a somewhat unique disposition to ensure, despite maneuvers, passage of an essential piece of legislation."