The main representative body of Hungary, which has been a member of the European Union for 20 years now, is the freely and directly elected, unicameral Hungarian National Assembly consisting of 199 members.
Parliamentary elections take place every four years; votes can be cast for individual candidates per constituency and for national party lists. In order to ensure the representation of national minorities resident in Hungary in the National Assembly, registered voters of the given national minority may also vote on national minority lists in addition to individual candidates. Depending on the number of votes cast, the given national minority is represented in the National Assembly by a national minority MP or a national minority advocate.
Members of Parliament may form a parliamentary group (faction) to coordinate their activities. By default, at least 5 Members belonging to the same party are entitled to form a faction. There are currently a total of 9 parliamentary groups in the National Assembly, of which 2 are from the governing party and 7 from the opposition. In addition, there are currently 3 independent Members of Parliament and one (German) national minority MP.
The officers of the National Assembly are: the Speaker, the Deputy Speakers, the Principal and the Notaries. Sittings of the National Assembly are presided over by the Speaker and the Deputy Speakers, assisted by the Notaries.
The National Assembly holds two ordinary sessions a year: from 1 February to 15 June and from 1 September to 15 December. The National Assembly and its committees meet regularly during the sessions and their sittings are, as a rule, open to the public. At the written request of the President of the Republic, the Government or one-fifth of the Members of Parliament, the National Assembly shall be convened in extraordinary session or in an extraordinary sitting.
The House Committee, the National Assembly's most important preparatory body is responsible for preparing the parliamentary working order and the agenda for each plenary sitting. It is chaired by the Speaker and its members are the Deputy Speakers, the leaders of the parliamentary groups and the Principal, a position that is equivalent to the rank of First Deputy Speaker; only the heads of the factions have voting rights.
The main functions of the National Assembly are to adopt the Fundamental Law as the constitutional power; to legislate, especially to adopt the budget and the appropriation accounts; to control the activities of the Government; to elect certain public officials, such as the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the members and the President of the Constitutional Court, the Prosecutor General, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights and their deputies.
The National Assembly's committee system is basically made up of the standing committees, the Committee on Legislation and the Committee Representing National Minorities in Hungary. In addition, the National Assembly may set up an ad hoc committee to deal with a specific matter, and a committee of inquiry to examine a specific question, on the initiative of one-fifth of its members. In the standing committees and in the Committee on Legislation, the proportion of committee members and officers is, as a general rule, based on the breakdown of parliamentary seats by political group. In one standing committee, the Committee on Immunity, the number of members from the governing party and the opposition should be equal, as in the case of committees of inquiry (parity committee), taking into account its specific tasks and powers. Independent MPs should also be allowed to sit on at least one standing committee or the Committee on Legislation.
There are currently 14 standing committees in the National Assembly; their remit is typically aligned with government functions. The main tasks of the committees are to conduct detailed debates on bills, including amendments submitted by MPs, and to monitor the Government, culminating in hearings of ministers. A standing committee may discuss and take a position on any matter within its remit, either at the request of the National Assembly or on the basis of its own decision.
The Committee on Legislation is responsible for enforcing the coherence of laws and the principle of prudent, quality legislation. The gravity of the Committee on Legislation is indicated by the fact that its chair is also the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly responsible for legislation. The members of the Committee on National Minorities in Hungary are the national minority MP(s) and the national minority advocates. The primary role of this committee is to represent the rights and interests of national minorities.
