General Provisions

General Provisions

General Provisions

General Provisions

- Constitution of Somalia

Title One: General Provisions

Article 55. The Houses of the Federal Parliament

(1) The Federal Parliament of the Federal Republic of Somalia consists of:
(a) The House of the People; and
(b) The Upper House.
(2) The House of the People of the Federal Parliament and the Upper House of the Federal Parliament shall carry out their legislative duties in accordance with Title Four of this Chapter of the Constitution on the National Legislative Procedures.

Article 56. Performance of the Federal Parliament

The Houses of the Federal Parliament:
(a) Shall jointly perform their shared duties;
(b) Shall each individually perform the duties specific to them.

Article 57. Joint Sittings

(1) When the need arises, the House of the People of the Federal Parliament and the Upper House of the Federal Parliament shall hold joint sessions, which shall be chaired by the Speaker of the Upper House of the Federal Parliament, or any member of the Federal Parliament, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Houses of the Federal Parliament.
(2) While chairing the joint sessions, the Chair of the Joint Session shall not have a vote, unless there is a tie in the votes.
(3) Without interfering with the powers of the Federal Parliament to organise its activities, the President of the Federal Republic may, if deemed necessary, request the Speaker of the House of the People of the Federal Parliament and the Speaker of the Upper House of the Federal Parliament to hold a joint session of the Federal Parliament:
(a) To formulate procedures that guide the activities of the joint committees of the two Houses of the Federal Parliament;
(b) To execute procedures for implementing decisions reached by the joint committees of the Federal Parliament;
(c) To amend and review the Constitution in accordance with Chapter 15.

Article 58. Membership Criteria for the Federal Parliament

(1) In order to be eligible for membership of the Federal Parliament of the Federal Republic of Somalia, a person must:
(a) Be a citizen of the Federal Republic of Somalia, of sound mind, not younger than 25, and a registered voter;
(b) Not have had their citizenship suspended by a court order in the last five (5) years;
(c) Have a minimum of secondary education or equivalent experience.
(2) Before the candidature of a person is accepted, the National Independent Electoral Commission shall verify whether the candidate meets the criteria set out in this article.

Article 59. Disqualification of Membership of the Federal Parliament

(1) Membership of the Federal Parliament can be lost as a result of:
(a) Death of the member;
(b) The member consistently failing to perform his or her duties;
(c) The acceptance of a resignation submitted by the member to the House he or she is a member of;
(d) Failing to attend two consecutive ordinary sessions of his or her House without a reasonable excuse;
(e) The member accepting to hold a government position other than a ministerial post;
(f) The member’s citizenship rights having been suspended in accordance with the Constitution.
(2) If a member of the Federal Parliament loses their membership, the runner-up in the last election shall take up the position.
(3) The electoral law shall regulate the procedure for determining the runner-up, who should be sworn in within 30 days of the day of the loss of membership of the Federal Parliament of the member he or she is replacing.

Article 60. Term of Office

(1) The term of office of the Federal Parliament is 4 years from the day of the announcement of the election results.
(2) A member of Federal Parliament may be re-elected.

Article 61. Responsibilities of Members of the Federal Parliament

(1) When fulfilling his or her duties, every member of the Federal Parliament shall be guided by the best interests of the nation as a whole.
(2) While fulfilling his or her duties in accordance with Clause (1) of this Article, every member of the House of the People of the Federal Parliament has a special responsibility to represent the constituency he or she has been elected from, regardless of their political or party affiliations.
(3) Every member of the Upper House of the Federal Parliament has a special responsibility to represent the interests of the Federal Member State that the member represents, and to safeguard the federal system, whilst acting in the spirit of inter-governmental cooperation.

Article 62. Joint Committees of the Federal Parliament

(1) The two Houses of the Federal Parliament may form joint committees to facilitate their work.
(2) Joint rules of procedure passed by the two Houses shall determine the number of joint committees to be formed, and the procedure of their work.

Constitution of Somalia

Declaration of the Federal Republic of Somalia
Fundamental Rights and the Duties of the Citizen
General Principles of Human Rights
Rights Basic Personal Liberties and its Limitations
Duties of Citizens
Land Property and Environment
Public Representation
General Principles of Public Representation
Elections
Devolution of the Powers of Government
Federal Parliament
General Provisions
House of the People of the Federal Parliament
Legislative Powers of the Upper House
Legislative Procedures In Parliament
President of the Federal Republic
Executive
Judicial Authority
Independent Commissions
Civil Service
Federal Member States
Public Finance
Peace and Security
Final and Transitional Provisions
Amending the Constitution
Miscellaneous Provisions
Somali Flag
Somali Emblem
Proposed Amendments to the Constitution
First Term of the Somali Federal Parliament
Priority Laws to be Enacted in the First Term
Constitution Somalia General Provisions 2024
Situation in Somalia - Report of the Secretary-General (S/2024/129) [EN/AR/RU/ZH] - Somalia ReliefWeb
The 2024 Executive Power Survey – Joe Biden The New York Times
Somalia - United States Department of State Department of State
The Courts of "Absolute Power": Fair Trial Violations by Somalia's Military Court | HRW Human Rights Watch