convocation and session
- The regular meetings are held twice a year, July 5 and November 28, with the period of the temporary session lasting 15 days or less at the request of the city mayor or one thirds of or the incumbent council members who are present. The session of annual meetings, including regular and temporary ones, does not exceed 90 days.
General Meeting Operation
- The provincial council is not operating all the year long, but operates during a certain designated period. The session refers to the event where the members convene in a certain place to carry out the functions of the council.
- The period of the session is decided at the vote of the council members. The first and the second regular meeting are held on July 5 and November 28 annually, respectively, with the period of the temporary session lasting 15 days or less. Accordingly, the session of annual meetings, including regular and temporary ones, does not exceed 90 days.
- The temporary meeting is convened when it is requested by the head of the local autonomous government or by more than one thirds of the council members. The chairman is required to convene the meeting within 15 days. The notice for the temporary meeting will be announced five days prior to the meeting and the chairman should notify the event to all the members after the request for the meeting is made.
- The regular session opens just through the announcement without particular request. The parliamentary politics begins with the regular session and the period is called the "session."
- Prior to the meeting, the agenda and the materials related to the proceedings and the order of the schedule is distributed to the seats and the meeting starts with the participation of more than one thirds of the members.
- The opening ceremony is held on the first day, usually participated by the mayor and the public servants of the executive council. The opening ceremony is followed by the announcement of the opening of the session and the agenda to be dealt with. The proceedings are made according to the agenda. The first day of the regular session deals with the comparatively simple affairs including the opening ceremony, the decision of the session periods, and the selection of the members who sign the proceedings.
- The plenary session starts from the decision of the agenda, explanation of the proposals, the report of the preliminary screenings, followed by a vote based on questions and answers and the discussions.
- In case of the questions, the chairman who has screened the agenda or the pertinent members give the supplementary explanations. In case of the proposal, the members who have proposed the agenda or explained them will answer the questions. The discussions are proceeded in the order of the opposition and the consents. After the discussions. the proceeding for a vote is announced.
Regular meeting
| Meeting | The regular meetings are held twice a year, July 5 and November 28, and when the day is the holiday, the meeting is held on the following day. (Local Autonomy Act 41) |
|---|---|
| Session | Twice of year (1st regular session, 2nd regular session) |
| Major activities |
- Question and answer for general administrative policies - Deliberations on the city budget for the next year - Dealing with the other agenda including ordinances |
Temporary session
| Meeting | The meetings are held at the request of the city mayor or one thirds of or the incumbent council members who are present. The session of annual meetings, including regular and temporary ones, does not exceed 90 days. (Local Autonomy Act 39) |
|---|---|
| Session | 15 days or less |
| Major activities | - Questions and answers are made after the explanations of the executive council over the major issues - Screening the pending agenda including ordinances |
Principles of the meeting
The principle of the open session
It is a principle that the council holds an open session. The deliberation process of the agenda is made public and the details include the freedom of attending and the freedom of recording, announcement and reporting the meeting activities.
The principle of continuing the session
- The ordinances or other agenda submitted to the session will not be abrogated under the reason that they are not voted during the current session. Although the council can perform its activities during the session, but the council.
The principle of not deliberating the same measure twice during the same session
- An agenda once rejected cannot be deliberated twice during the same session as long as it is not proposed or submitted during the same session. It is because when an agenda once rejected cannot be deliberated twice during the same session, it will hamper the smooth operation of the meeting. The principle is also aimed at preventing filibustering by the minority.
Quorum
Quorum for meeting
A quorum for meeting is the minimum number of people that a committee needs in order to open a meeting. A meeting opens with the participation of one thirds of or the incumbent council members who are present.
Quorum for voting
- A quorum for voting is the minimum number of people that a committee needs for voting.
- 1. A general quorum for voting : Except some special occasions, the City Council decides the vote of the general agenda with the attendance of the majority of the incumbent members and by a majority vote of the members in attendance. The vote is rejected in case of the equal number of votes.
- 2. A special quorum for voting : The local autonomy law defines the requirement for a special quorum for voting as the following, unlike the case of a general quorum for voting.
-Consent by more than two thirds of the incumbent members: decision on the expulsion or the disqualification of a member.
-Consent by the majority of the incumbent members: Voting on the non-confidence resolution of the chairman and the vice-chairman
-Attendance of the majority of the incumbent members and the consent by more than two thirds of the incumbent members in attendance.
The System of Utterances
Questions for Parliamentary Politics
Members of the council can ask questions to the executive committee over the general or particular issues of the parliamentary politics during a certain period of the general meeting, and the time alloted for each member is 20 minutes. The system of questions presupposes the faithful answers of the executive committee, so the members who ask questions should submit the questions to the executive committee 24 hours prior to the meeting in order that the committee can have time to prepare for the answers.
Urgent pending questions
- There are urgent pending questions even though they are not raised at the question-and-answer session during the meeting. The city council can allow the questions to be answered by the executive committee in order to reflect the opinions of the citizens to parliamentary politics at the most appropriate time possible.
Speech
- Speech is made in the meeting over the issue of the method of meeting and the personal opinions. Speech on the meeting is broader in contents and can be used for filibustering, so the gist of the speech should be notified to the chairman and be permitted in advance.
Personal opinions
- With regard to personal details, the pertinent member can clarify his or her positions. When the member subject to disciplinary action clarifies the position, he or she can make utterances when the issue becomes the agenda.
Voting system
The meaning of voting
At the request of the chairman, the members can expression their yes-or-no opinions over the agenda and the combine the number in total.
The basic principle of voting
- The principle of preventing the absent members from voting : The members who don't attend the session cannot participate in voting.
- The principle of preventing the change of opinions : An opinion, once expressed, cannot be changed in voting.
- The principle of preventing conditional voting : Voting is different from discussions and does not require the reasons for yes or no, so no condition can be attached to it.
The method of voting over the major agenda
- When a major agenda is subject to voting under the suggestion of the chairman or the agreement among the members, they are voted in either a secret or an open ballot.
- An open vote : The name of the member and the member's yes-or-no opinions should be marked on the ballot paper.
- A secret vote : The member's yes-or-no opinions, but not the name of the member, should be marked on the ballot paper.
Confirmation of the existence of the objection
- When the all members of the council in attendance consent on the agenda, the chairman proclaims the passage after the confirmation of the existence of the objection. When the agenda is simple and light and when it is acknowledged that there would be no objection over the speech, this system is utilized to seek for the rapid proceeding and the clarification of the session.