Oireachtas

The Parliament of Calaré forms the legislative arm of the central government of Calaré. The Parliament also know as the Oireachtas consists of the King, the Seanad, and the Dail Calaréann whose powers and functions derive from the Constitution of Calaré, enacted on the 1st October 2001 and subsequently amended twice. The Parliament is a descendant of the British and Australian parliaments from which many of the traditions, procedures and conventions are still used.

The power and functions of the parliament are regulated by Chapter III of the Constitution. The parliament consists of two houses of elected representatives who are responsible for passing laws and regulating government expenditure through the national budget. Most members of the parliament belong to political parties, who represent the different policy opinions of the people. There also exist a small number of MPs who sit as independents. Membership of the parliament is moderated by regular elections, usually held every three years.

Chambers
The Parliament of Calaré is a bicameral legislature, with both chambers required to debate and pass bills before they can become assented into law.

Seanad
For more, see Senate of Calaré.

The Seanad (Senate) is the upper house of the Parliament of calaré and was formed by an amendment to the Constitution in 2009. Consisting of 64 members, the Senate shares the sole authority to debate and enact legislation, although it cannot initiates or amend bills relating to appropriation. Senators are elected from ten multi-member regions under a system of party-list proportional representation every six years. The Senate was created to play an active role in the drafting and scrutiny of legislation, and through this process, hold the government to account.

Dail Calaréann
For more, see House of Representatives.

The Dail Calaréann (House of Representatives) also called the Dail, is the lower house in the Parliament of Calaré, and consists of 125 members. The House, along with the Senate, has the sole authority to debate and enact legislation. By convention, the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition must both be members of the House. Elections are held every three years, with members elected from constituencies using the Preferential Vote method of election. A government is formed after an election by the party or coalition of parties which can command a majority of the votes in the chamber.

Term
After each general election, a parliament is formed by all members elected. As with all Westminster democracies, the person who can command either a majority or plurality of members on the floor of the House of Representatives is asked by the King to form a government.

Each parliament is divided into three sessions, each running for one year. If required, an extra session can be called in an emergency. Each session of parliament always begins with the State Opening of Parliament, with the first session commencing eight days after Easter in the year of an election. Any bill before either house at the end of a session is deemed to have expired if is not passed. Likewise, if parliament is prorogued, all bills and motions are expunged.

Each session of parliament is in turn divided into four sittings. These sitting are known as Opening, Budget, Independence and Final. Each sitting is separated by blocks of anywhere up to 14 weeks where members return to work in their constituencies.

Although elections for the Dail have usually corresponded to half-elections of the Seanad, the rules which determine when the elections occur differ:


 * The Dail lasts no more than three years after it first meets, but may be dissolved earlier. After the House is dissolved, the next House must meet within 140 days. The maximum period between elections is therefore 3 years, 140 days, and the minimum approximately a month.


 * The terms of senators representing the Provinces are of fixed duration (unless a double dissolution occurs), and elections must occur within a year before the term expires. The terms of senators representing the territories are not fixed, and are tied to the dates of elections for the House of Representatives.

Where a House is dissolved early, House and Seanad elections may be asynchronous until either the House is again dissolved sufficiently early or a double dissolution occurs.

Enacting formula
Each Act commences with the following introduction, known as an enacting formula:

"Be it enacted and declared by the King's [Queen's] Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Seanad and House of Representatives of Calaré in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows—"

Privileges
Senators and Members are not above the law, and all Acts of Parliament apply equally to parliamentarians and the general public alike. Senators and Members also lack any form of legal immunity, and can be arrested and tried for any offence.

However there remains the right of Parliamentary privilege for all Senators and Members. Anything a Senator or Member says in Parliament about each other or about persons outside the Parliament is exempt from laws of libel. This privilege extends to reporting in the media of anything a Member or Senator says in Parliament. The proceedings of parliamentary committees, wherever they meet, are also covered by privilege, and this extends to witnesses before such committees.

Parliamentary offices
The Parliament also maintains control over several agencies, who act wholly independent from the workings of the executive and are responsible only to the Parliament. In most cases, the heads of these agencies are appointed by the King on the advice and consent of the Seanad, and are required to furnish annual reports to both Houses every year. As of June 2011, these agencies are:


 * Office of the Auditor-General of Calaré
 * Office of the Chief Ombudsman of Calaré
 * Parliamentary Budget Office