constituteproject.org • Removal of individual legislators PDF generated: 23 May 2016, 16:14 Article 72 During his mandate, the Deputy may not, under penalty of forfeiture, change political group to affiliate with a new group, other than the one in the name of which he has been elected. In the case of infraction of the preceding paragraph, the sanction is forfeiture that is declared by the High Constitutional Court. The Deputy elected without belonging to a party may affiliate with the parliamentary group of his choice within the Assembly. The forfeiture of a Deputy may also be declared by the High Constitutional Court if he deviates from the line of conduct of his parliamentary group. The regime of forfeiture and the rules of ethics and of deontology are determined by the law on the political parties and the regulations in the matter of the financing of the political parties. • Immunity of legislators • Standing committees Article 73 No Deputy may be prosecuted, investigated, arrested, detained or judged for the opinions or the votes emitted by him in the exercise of his functions. A Deputy may, during the sessions, only be prosecuted and arrested in criminal or correctional matters, with the authorization of the Assembly, except in the case of flagrante delicto. No Deputy may, out of session, be arrested without the authorization of the Bureau of the Assembly, except in case of flagrante delicto, of authorized prosecutions or of definitive conviction. Any person justified by an interest may refer in writing the Permanent Bureau of the National Assembly to the matter of accusing a Deputy. The Bureau must give a detailed response within a time period of three months. • Leader of first chamber • Standing committees Article 74 The President of the National Assembly and the members of the Bureau are elected at the beginning of the first session for the duration of the legislature. Nevertheless, they can be removed from their respective functions of members of the Bureau for grave reason by a secret vote of two-thirds of the Deputies. • Budget bills • Length of legislative sessions Article 75 The National Assembly meets of plain right in two ordinary sessions per year. The duration of each session is established at sixty days. The first session begins on the first Tuesday of May and the second, consecrated principally to the adoption of the law of finance, the third Tuesday of October. • Extraordinary legislative sessions Article 76 The National Assembly meets in extraordinary session, on a determined agenda, by decree of the President of the Republic taken in the Council of Ministers, either by the initiative of the Prime Minister or at the demand of the absolute majority of the members composing the National Assembly. Madagascar 2010 Page 19