ART. 6. The senators of the departments and of the colonies shall be elected for nine years and renewable by thirds every three years.

At the beginning of the first session the departments shall be divided into three series containing each an equal number of senators. It shall be determined by lot which series shall be renewed at the expiration of the first and second triennial periods.

ART. 7. The senators elected by the Assembly are irremovable.

Vacancies by death, by resignation, or for any other cause, shall, within the space of two months, be filled by the Senate itself.

ART. 8. The Senate shall have, concurrently with the Chamber of Deputies, the power to initiate and to pass laws. Money bills, however, shall first be introduced in and passed by the Chamber of Deputies.

f

ART. 9. The Senate may be constituted a Court of Justice to try either the President of the Republic or the ministers, and to take cognizance of attacks made upon the safety of the state.

ART. IO. Elections to the Senate shall take place one month before the time fixed by the National Assembly for its own dissolution. The Senate shall organize and enter upon its duties the same day that the National Assembly is dissolved.

ART. II. The present law shall be promulgated only after the passage of the law on the public powers.

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW ON THE RELATIONS OF THE PUBLIC POWERS

(July 16, 1875)

ARTICLE I. The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies shall assemble each year on the second Tuesday of January, unless convened earlier by the President of the Republic.

The two chambers shall continue in- session at least five months each year. The sessions of the two chambers shall begin and end at the same time.

On the Sunday following the opening of the session, public prayers shall be addressed to God in the churches and temples, to invoke his aid in the labors of the chambers.1

ART. 2. The President of the Republic pronounces the closing of the session. He may convene the chambers in extraordinary session. He shall convene them if, during the recess, an absolute majority of the members of each chamber request it.

The President may adjourn the chambers. The adjournment, however, shall not exceed one month, nor take place more than twice in the same session.

ART. 3. One month at least before the legal expiration of the powers of the President of the Republic, the chambers shall be called together in National Assembly to proceed to the election of a new President.

In default of a summons, this meeting shall take place, as of right, the fifteenth day before the expiration of the term of the President.

In case of the death or resignation of the President of the Republic, the two chambers shall assemble immediately, as of right.

In case the Chamber of Deputies, in consequence of Art. 5 of the law of February 25, 1875, is dissolved at the time when the presidency of the Republic becomes vacant, the electoral colleges shall be convened at once, and the Senate shall assemble as of right.

ART. 4. Every meeting of either of the two chambers which shall be held at a time when the other is not in session is illegal and void, except in the case provided for in the preceding article, and that when the Senate meets as a court of

1 This clause was repealed by the constitutional law of August 14, 1884.

justice; in the latter case, judicial duties alone shall be performed.

ART. 5. The sittings of the Senate and of the Chamber of Deputies shall be public.

Nevertheless either chamber may meet in secret session, upon the request of a fixed number of its members, determined by the rules.

It shall then decide by absolute majority whether the sitting shall be resumed in public upon the same subject.

ART. 6. The President of the Republic communicates with the chambers by messages, which shall be read from the tribune by a minister.

The ministers shall have entrance to both chambers, and shall be heard when they request it. They may be assisted, for the discussion of a specific bill, by commissioners named by decree of the President of the Republic.

ART. 7. The President of the Republic shall promulgate the laws within the month following the transmission to the government of the law finally passed. He shall promulgate, within three days, laws the promulgation of which shall have been declared urgent by an express vote of each chamber.

Within the time fixed for promulgation the President of the Republic may, by a message with reasons assigned, request of the two chambers a new discussion, which cannot be refused.

ART. 8. The President of the Republic shall negotiate and ratify treaties. He shall give information regarding them to the chambers as soon as the interests and safety of the state permit.

Treaties of peace and of commerce, treaties which involve the finances of the state, those relating to the person and property of French citizens in foreign countries, shall be ratified only after having been voted by the two chambers.

No cession, exchange, or annexation of territory shall take place except by virtue of a law.

ART. 9. The President of the Republic shall not declare war without the previous consent of the two chambers.

ART. IO. Each chamber shall be the judge of the eligibility of its members, and of the regularity of their election; it alone may receive their resignation.

ART. II. The bureau2 of each chamber shall be elected each year for the entire session, and for every extraordinary session which may be held before the regular session of the following year.

When the two chambers meet together as a National Assembly, their bureau shall be composed of the president, vice-presidents, and secretaries of the Senate.

ART. 12. The President of the Republic may be impeached by the Chamber of Deputies only, and may be tried only by the Senate.

The ministers may be impeached by the Chamber of Deputies for offenses committed in the performance of their duties. In this case they shall be tried by the Senate.

The Senate may be constituted into a court of justice, by a decre of the President of the Republic, issued in the Council of Ministers, to try all persons accused of attempts upon the safety of the state.

If proceedings should have been begun in the regular courts, the decree convening the Senate may be issued at any time before the granting of a discharge.

A law shall determine the method of procedure for the accusation, trial, and judgment.

ART. 13. No member of either chamber shall be prosecuted or held responsible on account of any opinions expressed or votes cast by him in the performance of his duties.

ART. 14. No member of either chamber shall, during the session, be prosecuted or arrested for any offense or mis

"The bureau of the Senate consists of a president, four vice-presidents, eight secretaries, and three questors; the bureau of the Chamber of Deputies has the same composition.

demeanor, except upon the authority of the chamber of which he is a member, unless he be taken in the very act.

The detention or prosecution of a member of either chamber shall be suspended for the session, and for the entire term of the chamber, if the chamber requires it.

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW REVISING ART. 9 OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OF FEBRUARY 25, 1875

(June 19, 1879)

Art. 9 of the constitutional law of February 25, 1875, is repealed.1

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW PARTIALLY REVISING THE CONSTITUTIONAL LAWS1

(August 13, 1884)

ARTICLE I. Paragraph 2 of Art. 5 of the constitutional law of February 25, 1875, on the Organization of the Public Powers, is amended as follows:

"In that case the electoral colleges shall meet for new elections within two months and the Chamber within the tea days following the close of the elections."

ART. 2. To paragraph 3 of Art. 8 of the same law of February 25, 1875, is added the following:

"The republican form of government shall not be made the subject of a proposed revision.

"Members of families that have reigned in France are ineligible to the presidency of the Republic.'

ART. 3. Arts. I to 7 of the constitutional law of February 24, 1875, on the Organization of the Senate, shall no longer have a constitutional character.2

This article fixed the seat of government at Versailles. The seat of government was removed from Versailles to Paris by a law of July 22, 1879; see p. 309.

1 The amendments to the constitutional laws have also been inserted in their proper places.

'These articles were repealed by way of ordinary legislation, on December 9, 1884; see p. 310.