The recent decision by José Pedro Aguiar-Branco was documented in an order accessed by Lusa news agency and dated Monday.
The proposal for a special parliamentary inquiry committee to investigate Luís Montenegro’s adherence to the rules during his tenure as Prime Minister was tabled by the Socialist Party (PS) on October 10.
However, a vote of confidence presented by the XXIV Constitutional Government was rejected by the PS, Chega, Left Bloc, PCP, Livre, and PAN, leading to the automatic resignation of the PSD/CDS executive headed by Luís Montenegro.
Consequently, as outlined in the dispatch by the Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic, it is concluded that the subsequent act of dissolution has structural internal effects reflected in the activities of the parliamentary body, particularly affecting the functioning of parliamentary inquiry committees, which do not continue to operate post-dissolution of parliament.
“Therefore, it is decided not to admit the request for the mandatory constitution of the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee, submitted by the PS; nor to review the legality and constitutionality of the request, due to redundancy,” reads the order signed by José Pedro Aguiar-Branco.
Despite the Legal Framework of Parliamentary Inquiries mandating the formation of inquiry committees, such a requirement, according to the Speaker, does not waive a preliminary assessment of legality and constitutionality.
“In brief, mandatory requests only compel the Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic to form a parliamentary inquiry committee if the respective subject and grounds do not clearly show any failure to meet formal and substantial requirements,” the order notes.
According to the former social-democratic minister, although the constitutional norms on the effects of dissolution are sparse, it follows from the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic and constitutional doctrine that dissolution implies the cessation of normal functioning of the Assembly of the Republic, with a general weakening of the function of the sovereign body, leaving only the MPs’ mandates and the functioning of the standing committee intact.
Moreover, in this context, it is observed that “the status of the Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic and his legal-constitutional position remain intact, albeit within a general reduction of parliament’s role.”
The Speaker elaborates, stating that “the dissolution has, thus, internal structural effects concerning the suspension of the functioning of some bodies, such as the plenary, parliamentary committees, or inquiry committees.”
Regarding parliamentary committees, Aguiar-Branco argues that, “be they permanent or temporary, they do not continue to operate after parliamentary dissolution.”
“The rationale lies in the constitutional function attributed to parliamentary committees, as they engage in the intermediate phase of the legislative process, between the initiative and the final decision, which becomes irrelevant in the context of dissolution,” he asserts.
The same principles, according to Aguiar-Branco, apply to parliamentary inquiry committees.
With the dissolution of the Assembly of the Republic, all intermissionary work loses its purpose because “the Assembly will no longer function,” he adds.
[News updated at 15:36]
