The Government shall be composed of the Head of Government and the Ministers.
It may include Secretaries of State.
Rules relating, in particular, to the organization and conduct of government business and the status of government
members shall be set forth in an organic law.
The organic law shall also determine cases of incompatibility with the duties of a Government member,
as well as rules limiting the number of offices that may be held and the rules for dispatching current business
by the Government whose term of office has been terminated.
After the appointment of government members by the King,
the Head of Government shall submit and set out before the two Houses of Parliament,
in a joint session, the program he intends to carry out.
This program shall outline the policy that the Government plans to implement in various areas of national activity,
particularly those relating to economic, social, environmental and cultural policies and foreign affairs.
This program shall be discussed in each House.
The debate shall be followed by a vote at the House of Representatives.
The Government shall be inaugurated after its program has been endorsed by an absolute majority vote of the members of
the House of Representatives.
The Government shall exercise executive power.
The Government shall, under the authority of the Head of Government, carry out its program and ensure the execution of laws.
Administrative facilities shall be placed at its disposal.
It shall also supervise the work of state-owned corporations and companies.
The Head of Government shall exercise regulatory power.
He may delegate some of his prerogatives to the ministers.
Regulatory decisions by the Head of Government shall be countersigned by the ministers in charge of their implementation.
The Head of Government shall make appointments to civil public offices and high-ranking positions
in state corporations and companies, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 49 of the Constitution.
The Head of Government may delegate this prerogative.
Under the chairmanship of the Head of Government, the Government Council shall discuss:
- The State's general policy before its presentation to the Council of Ministers;
- Public policies ;
- Sectoral policies ;
- Motion of confidence at the House of Representatives to enable the Government to carry on with its mission,
- Topical issues related to human rights and to public order;
- Draft bills, including the Finance Bill, before they are presented to the Bureau of the House of Representatives,
without prejudice to the provisions of Article 49 of the Constitution;
- Decree-laws
- Draft regulatory decrees;
- Draft decrees referred to in Article 65 (paragraph 2), Article 66 and Article 70 (paragraph 3) of the Constitution;
- International conventions, before their submission to the Council of Ministers;
- Appointment of Secretaries general and central directors in the civil service, presidents of universities, deans and directors of higher education schools and institutes.
The organic law referred to in Article 49 of the Constitution may complement the list of positions to be filled
at Government Council meetings; it shall, in particular, determine the principles and criteria to be observed
in such appointments, mainly those relating to equal opportunity, merit, competence and transparency.
The Head of Government shall inform the King of the conclusions of the deliberations of the Government Council.
Ministers shall, within their field of competence, and in keeping with the principle of joint governmental responsibility,
be in charge of the implementation of government policy.
Ministers shall discharge the missions assigned to them by the Head of Government and shall report thereon to the Government Council.
They may delegate part of their prerogatives to Secretaries of State.
Cabinet members shall be criminally responsible before the courts of the Kingdom for crimes and
offenses committed in discharging their duties.
The procedure for establishing such responsibility shall be determined by law.
The King may request a second reading of any draft bill or proposed law by the two Houses.
The second reading shall be requested in a message. The request for a second reading shall be honored.
After consulting with the President of the Constitutional Court, and informing the Head of Government,
the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Speaker of the House of Councilors,
the King may dissolve one or both Houses of Parliament, by Royal Decree.
The dissolution shall be effective following an address by the King to the nation.
The election of the new Parliament or the new House shall take place two months, at the latest, after the dissolution.
In case a House is dissolved, the House succeeding it may not be dissolved until one year has elapsed since its election,
unless no governmental majority has emerged within the newly elected House of Representatives.
A declaration of war, for which a decision was made at a Council of Ministers meeting,
in accordance with Article 49 of the Constitution, shall be issued after a message thereon has been addressed by the King to Parliament.
In each House, there shall be one weekly session devoted on a priority basis to questions from the members of the said House,
and to answers by the Government.
The Government shall give its answer within twenty days after the question was addressed to it.
Answers concerning questions related to general policy shall be given by the Head of Government.
One session shall be devoted to such questions each month. Answers pertaining to them shall be presented before the relevant House,
within a period of thirty days following the date of their transmission to the Head of Government.
The Head of Government shall deliver, before Parliament, a progress report on Government action, at his initiative,
or at the request of one third of the members of the House of Representatives,
or of the majority of the members of the House of Councilors.
Parliament shall devote an annual session to the discussion and evaluation of public policies.
The committees concerned in each House may request to hear senior executive officers from civil service departments
or state corporations and enterprises.
The hearings shall take place in the presence and under the responsibility of the ministers under whose authority they work.
The Head of Government may commit the responsibility of the Government before the House of Representatives,
over a general policy statement, or a vote of confidence regarding a bill.
Confidence shall be withdrawn and a bill rejected only by an absolute majority vote of the members of the House of Representatives.
The vote may only be held three clear days after the confidence issue was raised.
Withdrawal of confidence shall entail the resignation of the entire Government.
After consulting with the King, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Constitutional Court,
the Head of Government may dissolve the House of Representatives, by decree adopted in a Council of Ministers session.
The Head of Government shall make a statement before the House of Representatives indicating, in particular,
the reasons and the purpose of the decision.
The House of Representatives may call into question the pursuance of the Government's responsibility by voting a motion of no confidence.
The motion shall be accepted only if it is signed by at least one-fifth of the members of the House.
A motion of no confidence shall be endorsed by the House of Representatives only if voted by the absolute majority
of the members of the House.
Voting shall take place three clear days only after the introduction of the motion.
The vote for a motion of no confidence shall entail the resignation of the entire Government.
Should the Government be censured by the House of Representatives, no other motion of censure in that House shall be
accepted until a year has elapsed.
The House of Councilors may call the Government to account by means of a motion of no confidence signed by at
least one fifth of its members.
Three clear days after it has been introduced, it may only be voted by the absolute majority of the House.
The text of the interpellation motion shall be sent forthwith by the Speaker of the House of Councilors
to the Head of Government who shall, within six days, present the Government response before the House.
Such reply shall be followed by a debate without a vote.
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