Constitution

Niger 2010 Constitution (reviewed 2017)

Table of Contents

TITLE V. OF THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE EXECUTIVE AND THE LEGISLATIVE POWERS

Article 95

The National Assembly informs the President of the Republic and the Government of the agenda of its sessions, of its sittings, as well as that [the agenda] of its commissions.

Article 96

The President of the Republic can, at any time, communicate with the National Assembly, either directly or through messages that he has read by the President of the National Assembly.

These messages do not give rise to any debate.

Article 97

The members of the Government have access to the plenary and to the commissions of the National Assembly. They are heard either at the demand of these, or at their own demand.

They may be [se faire] assisted by their collaborators.

Article 98

The members of the National Assembly, either individually or collectively, may interpellate the Prime Minister or any other member of the Government by means of a petition [requête]. These may not remove themselves from this obligation.

The members of the National Assembly may equally obtain, by means of written or oral questions, all information about the activities or the acts of administration of the Government. The interested Ministers are obligated to provide them.

Article 99

The law establishes the rules concerning:

  • citizenship, the civil rights and the fundamental guarantees for the exercise of public freedoms;
    the constraints imposed in the interest of the national defense, of public security and of assistance to the citizens, on their persons and on their assets.

    nationality, the state and the capacity of the persons, the matrimonial regimes, inheritance and gifts;

    the procedure according to which customs [coutumes] will be declared and brought into harmony with the fundamental principles of the Constitution;

    the determination of crimes and misdemeanors as well as of the penalties applicable to them, the penal procedure and amnesty;

    the organization of the jurisdictions of all orders and the procedure to be followed before these jurisdictions, the creations of new orders of jurisdiction, the statute of the magistrates, of the ministerial officers and of the auxiliaries of justice;

    the base [l’assiette], the rate and the modalities for recovering of taxes [impositions] of any nature;

    the regime of emission of the currency;

    the creation of categories of public establishments;

    the nationalization of enterprises and the transfers of property of enterprises from the public sector to the private sector;

    research, the exploration and the exploitation of the oil and gas resources, [and] the mineral resources, [both] natural and [of] energy;

    the acquisition, the storage, the handling, the transportation, [and] the transit of radioactive substances and the disposal of radioactive waste;

    the general statute of the Public Function;

    the autonomous status;

    the regime of treatments, indemnities and other advantages granted to the national deputies;

    the regime of treatments, indemnities and other advantages granted to the responsible [persons] of the institutions of the Republic;

    the statute of the Deputies

    the statute of the military personnel and of the National Gendarmerie, [and] of the Forces of Security and similar [forces];

    the status of the traditional leadership [chefferie];

    the general organization of the Administration;

    the territorial organization, the creation and the modification of the administrative circumscriptions as well as the electoral divisions;

    the creation, the status, and the functioning of the independent administrative authorities;

    the State of Emergency and the State of Siege;

    communication;

    the regime of the associations;

    the charter of the political parties;

    the Statute of the Opposition.

    the organs and mechanisms of control and of regulation of the public markets.

Article 99bis

The electoral regime of the President of the Republic, of the members of the National Assembly, [and] of the local assemblies is established by an organic law.

It is the same for the referendum

Article 100

The Law determines the fundamental principles:

  • of the organization of the national defense;
    of the free administration of the territorial collectivities, of their competences and of their resources;

    of the protection of the freedom of the press and of the access to public information and to administrative documents;

    of training [l’enseignement], of technology and of scientific research;

    of health and of public hygiene;

    of the policy of the population;

    of the housing policy;

    of the protection of the family;

    of the protection of consumers;

    of the protection of the elderly persons and of the integration of handicapped persons;

    of the protection of the environment and of the conservation of the natural resources;

    of the protection, of the conservation and of the organization of the airspace [l’espace];

    of the protection of the cultural patrimony;

    of the organization of civil protection;

    of the regime of property, of real rights and of civil and commercial obligations;

    of the right to work [droit du travail], of social security, of the syndical right and of the right to strike;

    of the alienation and of the management of the domain of the State;

    of insurance [mutualité] and of savings;

    of the regime of transport, of the posts and of telecommunications;

    of the public accounting regime;

    of the penitentiary regime;

    of education;

    of the Rural Code;

    of the Water and Food Security Code;

    of the Construction and Housing Code;

    of the Code of the leases to rent [du code des baus á loyer];

    of public procurement [commande publique/public contracts];

    of public private partnership.

Article 101

The law of finance of the year specifies and authorizes, for each civil year, all [l’ensemble] of the resources and the charges of the State.

The laws of finance called corrective [rectificatives] [laws] may, in the course of the year, modify the provisions of the law of finance of the year.

The law of regulation declares the financial results of each civil year and approves the differences between the results and the projections [prévisions] of the law of finance of the year.

The program laws [lois de programme] establish the objectives of the economical and social action of the State.

Article 102

The treatments, indemnities and/or diverse benefits granted to the President of the Republic, to the Prime Minister, to the Ministers, to the Deputies and to the responsible [persons] of the other institutions, are determined by an organic law.

They must take into account the financial situation of the State and the general level of revenues of the Nigeriens.

Article 103

The matters other than those in the domain of the law have a regulatory character.

The texts of legislative form intervening, in these matters, before the entry into force of this Constitution may be modified by decree issued after the opinion [avis] of the Constitutional Court.

Article 104

The declaration of war is authorized by the National Assembly.

When the National Assembly is dissolved and the country is [a] victim of external aggression, the declaration of war is made by the President of the Republic in the Council of Ministers.

The sending of troops abroad is authorized by the National Assembly.

Article 105

The State of Siege is decreed in the Council of Ministers after the opinion [avis] of the Bureau of the National Assembly. The National Assembly meets of plain right if it is not in session.

The extension of the State of Siege over fifteen (15) days may not be authorized except by the National Assembly.

The National Assembly may not be dissolved during the State of Siege.

Article 106

The Government may, for the execution of its program, request of the National Assembly the authorization to take by ordinance(s) for a limited time period, the measures that are normally of the domain of the law.

This authorization takes the form of an enabling law [loi d’habilitation].

The ordinances are taken in the Council of Ministers after the opinion [avis] of the Constitutional Court. They enter into force on their publication but become lapsed if the bill of law of ratification is not deposited before the National Assembly before the date established by the enabling law.

At the expiration of the time period mentioned in the first paragraph of this Article, the ordinances may only be modified in their provisions that are of the domain of the law.

Article 107

The responsibility of the Government may be engaged before the National Assembly either by the vote of a motion of censure, or by a vote of no confidence.

The National Assembly engages [mettre en cause] the responsibility of the Government by the vote of a motion of censure. Such a motion is not receivable unless it is signed by one-fifth (1/5), at least, of the Deputies. The vote may only take place forty-eight (48) hours after its presentation. Only the votes favorable to the motion of censure are counted which may only be adopted by the absolute majority of the Deputies. If the motion is rejected, its signatories may not propose a new one during the course of the same session.

The Prime Minister can, after deliberation of the Council of Ministers, engage the responsibility of the Government before the National Assembly by posing the question of confidence on the vote of a text. The text is considered adopted if it receives the absolute majority of the votes.

Article 108

When the National Assembly adopts a motion of censure, disapproves of the program or of a declaration of general policy of the Government or denies to it its confidence on the occasion of the vote of a text, the Prime Minister remits to the President of the Republic the resignation of the Government.

Article 109

The Government has the initiative of the laws concurrently with the members of the National Assembly.

The Deputies and the Government have the right of amendment and that, regardless of the origin of the text.

Article 110

The proposals, bills and amendments that are not of the domain of law, [and] that infringe good morals are irreceivable. The irreceivability is pronounced by the President of the National Assembly.

In the case of dispute [contestation], the Constitutional Court, referred to [the matter] by the Prime Minister, by the President of the National Assembly or by one-tenth (1/10) of the members of the National Assembly[,] decides within a time period of eight (8) days.

Article 111

The bills and the amendments deposited by the Deputies are not receivable when their adoption would have as consequence, either a diminution of the public resources, or the creation or the aggravation of a public charge, unless it is accompanied by a proposal of augmentation of receipts or of equivalent economies.

Article 112

The discussion of the bills of law focuses on the text presented by the competent commission of the National Assembly.

At the demand of the Government, the commission must bring to the cognizance [porter á la connaissance] of the National Assembly the points on which there is disagreement with the Government.

Article 113

The National Assembly votes the bill of the law of finance within the conditions determined by the law.

Article 114

The National Assembly is referred to [the matter] of the bill of the law of finance from the opening of the budgetary session; the bill of the law of finance must specify the receipts necessary for the complete coverage of the expenses.

The National Assembly votes the budget in equilibrium.

If the National Assembly has not decided within sixty (60) days of the presentation of the bill, the provisions of this bill can be put into force by ordinance.

The government refers [the matter], for ratification, to the National Assembly convoked in extraordinary session, within a time period of fifteen (15) days.

If the National Assembly has not voted the budget at the end of this extraordinary session, the budget is definitively established by ordinance.

If the bill of the law of finance could not be presented in a timely fashion to be promulgated before the beginning of the fiscal year [exercice], the Prime Minister demands of urgency of the National Assembly the authorization to continue to receive the taxes and to continue with expenditures, the budget of the preceding year by provisional twelfths.

Article 115

The National Assembly governs [règle] the accounts of the Nation following the modalities specified by the law of finance.

The law of regulation [règlement] must be deposited with the Bureau of the National Assembly at the budgetary session of the year following that of the execution of the budget to be debated at the next parliamentary session and adopted[,] at the latest[,] the thirty-first (31) of December of the second year that follows the execution of the budget.

The National Assembly may demand of the Court of Accounts to lead [mener] all inquests and studies related to the execution of the public receipts and expenses.