|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Publications: Legislature
 Executive Summary Introduction The Egyptian Case
The Government’s and Parliament’s Role
in the Legislative Process
The Parliament’s Legislative Activity during the
Sixth Legislative Phase (1990-1995)
The Parliament’s Legislative Activity in the
Seventh Legislative Phase (1995-2000)
Evaluating the Parliament’s Legislative Performance during the Study’s Duration
The Lebanese Case
The Legislative Power’s Composition
Assessment of the Lebanese Parliament’s Legislative Performance
The Kuwaiti Case
An Overview of the Relationship between Powers in the Kuwaiti Constitution
The Parliament’s Situation in the Kuwaiti Political System
The Decree on Women’s Political Rights as Part of
The Political Struggle between the Parliament and the Government
The Moroccan Case
The First Parliamentary Experience (1963-1965)
The Legislative Yield of the Third and Fourth Parliamentary Sessions (1977-1984), (1984-1992)
The Field and Limits of the Moroccan Parliament’s Jurisdictions
The Yemeni Case
The Nature of the Regime or the Political System in the Yemeni Republic
The First Parliamentary Council after Unification
The Second Council (1993-1997)
The 1997 Parliament
Conclusion
Notes
|
by Dr. Azza Wehbe The Kuwaiti Case: An Overview of the Relationship between Powers in the Kuwaiti Constitution Though many jurists view the Kuwaiti political system as neighboring the parliamentary one due to its adoption of the principle of separation and cooperation of powers (the governing principle for parliamentary systems), yet in actual practice, the executive powers’ hold has been given precedence to that of the legislative one. The prince participates with the parliament (called Majlis Al-Umma, meaning “council of the nation”) in the legislative process in accord with the text of Article 51 of the constitution. Article 106 gives the prince the right to postpone the parliament’s assembly via a decree for a maximum of one month and for one time. Article 1071 states that the prince has the right to dismiss the parliament with a decree demonstrating his reasons for doing so, but the parliament may not be dismissed again for the same reasons . The parliament was dismissed twice: the fourth parliament (of 1976) and the sixth one (of 1986). The Kuwaiti constitution does not give the parliament either the right to give to the cabinet its confidence on the latter’s formation after the announcement of election results or the right to withdraw trust from the government if it does not perform its assigned duties. The constitution is content with making the prince a judge when a case of non-cooperation between the legislative and executive powers is referred to him by the Prime Minister. In this case, the prince resorts to either removing the ministers from office or dismissing the parliament. On the other hand, actual practice has clearly confirmed the executive power’s hegemony over political life in Kuwait. In addition to the previously mentioned examples, it can be noted that the constitution stipulates the necessity of conducting elections within a maximum of two months after the parliament’s dismissal, but the executive power did not abide by that, resulting in many situations in which the country witnessed periods lacking any elected executive power. On another hand, political practice has been carried out based on the compounding crown prince and Prime Minister posts, and this is what has made the country witness many political and constitutional crises. Since the constitution stipulates that the crown prince be declared by fealty by the parliament and the ability to hold the Prime Minister accountable through the mechanism of non-cooperation, and since the crown prince himself is the Prime Minister, this creates a situation lacking logical harmony between constitutional texts when the parliament decides not to cooperate with the Prime Minister, who is simultaneously the crown prince .
|
