An amendment is a proposal to change a text that is being examined by Parliament.
An amendment is used to add, delete or alter a provision. It may be tabled by parliamentarians or by the Government, then examined in committee or in a public sitting.
An amendment that adds material inserts new words, a paragraph or a provision. A deletion amendment removes all or part of a provision. An amendment that alters material replaces one wording with another.
These changes may be very short or more substantial. To understand them, you need to read both the part of the text concerned and the proposed wording, not only the amendment’s title.
The right of amendment belongs to members of Parliament and to the Government. In the National Assembly, a deputy may table an amendment alone or with other signatories.
An amendment must comply with admissibility rules and retain a sufficient connection with the text under examination. Financial rules may also result in an amendment being ruled inadmissible.
The responsible committee examines the text and the amendments that have been tabled. The rapporteur and the Government may give an opinion. Committee members debate and then vote on the amendments considered.
Committee work prepares the public sitting and, depending on the applicable procedure, may already alter the text that will form the basis of the public debate.
In a public sitting, the author may defend the amendment. The rapporteur and the Government generally give their opinions, after which deputies decide if it is put to a vote.
The order of examination depends on where amendments relate to the text and how they relate to one another. Adopting one amendment may make other proposals moot.
An adopted amendment is incorporated into the text at the stage concerned. A rejected amendment does not change the text. Its author may also withdraw it before the vote.
An amendment may be ruled inadmissible if it does not comply with the applicable rules. It may also “fall”, for example when a decision on another amendment makes it moot. These situations are different from rejection in a vote.
An article provides that a measure will apply on 1 January. An amendment proposes replacing that date with 1 July to allow more time for implementation.
If the amendment is adopted, the new date enters the version of the text under discussion. If it is rejected or withdrawn, the wording remains unchanged at that stage.
When information about an amendment is visible in CIVIX, first identify the text and article concerned, then the author, the purpose of the change and any result. Also read the exact subject of the vote: it may concern the amendment itself.
CIVIX displays information available from public sources. The absence of a named vote does not mean that no amendment was discussed: not every vote is recorded as a detailed public ballot.
No. The formal right to table an amendment belongs to deputies, senators and the Government. A citizen may, however, put a proposal to an elected representative.
No. Some are withdrawn, ruled inadmissible or become moot before a vote.
Not necessarily. The text continues through the procedure and the provision may change again at later stages.