constituteproject.org • Replacement of legislators PDF generated: 04 Jan 2016, 20:27 Article 47 An organic law determines the number of Deputies, their indemnities, the conditions of eligibility, the regime of ineligibilities and incompatibilities, the modalities of the ballot, and the conditions in which there is reason to organize new elections in case of vacancy of seats of Deputies. The Constitutional Council decides in case of dispute concerning the regularity of the election of the Deputies and concerning their eligibility. Article 48 Each Deputy is the representative of the Nation. Any imperative mandate is null. An organic law may authorize, exceptionally, the delegation of the vote. In such case no one may receive the delegation of more than one mandate. Article 49 The National Assembly is composed of the entirety of the representatives of the national community. • Immunity of legislators Article 50 The members of the National Assembly enjoy parliamentary immunity. No Deputy may be prosecuted, investigated, arrested, detained or judged for reason of the opinions or votes emitted by him in the exercise of his functions. No Deputy may, during the time of the sessions, be prosecuted or arrested, in a criminal or correctional matter except in the case of flagrante delicto, without the authorization of the National Assembly. No Deputy may, outside the sessions, be arrested without the authorization of the Bureau of the National Assembly, except in the case of flagrante delicto, of authorized prosecution or of definitive condemnation. The detention or the prosecution of a Deputy is suspended if the National Assembly requires it. • Public or private sessions Article 51 The National Assembly meets of plain right in two ordinary sittings per year. The first ordinary commences on March 1 and the second begins on October 1. • Length of legislative sessions The duration of each ordinary session is of four months. The Bureau of the National Assembly may however decide to prolong it by a period that shall not exceed fifteen days to permit the consideration of proposals of law of parliamentary origin which could not be taken up in the course of the Ordinary Session. The sittings of the National Assembly are public. • Publication of deliberations The complete record of the debates in public sittings is published in the Journal Officiel. However, the National Assembly can meet in closed sittings according to the modalities provided for by the Internal Regulations. • Finance bills Djibouti 1992 (rev. 2010) The Law of Finance of the year is considered in the course of the second ordinary Session, called the Budgetary Session. Page 11