LAW FORMATION PROCESS

The right of initiative or initiative of law is the first step in the process of
How is a Law formed? What process? What successive steps or actions must be taken
to do so?
In countries where this right is granted to individuals, the drafting of laws requires that
a legislator endorse the idea and undertake to give it the necessary form so that it
can be heard by Congress in a mechanism that brings representative democracy
closer to direct democracy.

The B ILL is the text that is submitted to the National Congress for discussion and,
if approved, is forwarded to the Executive Branch so that it may continue the
process of formation; as long as said process is not exhausted, it maintains the
quality of a bill.

According to the Constitution, the initiative of draft laws corresponds to the Deputies,
to the President of the Republic, through the Secretaries of State, to the Supreme
Court of Justice, the latter can only initiate laws in matters within its competence, as
well as the National Elections Tribunal, the body in charge of electoral acts and
procedures.

The bill must be accompanied by an exposition of motives, which is the name

given to the set of ideas expressing the foundations and reasons that have been
kept in mind when preparing said bill, and the National Congress passes it to a
commission of its own, that is, to a commission of deputies, for its study.

If the project deals with judicial matters, for example, reforms, or repealing
provisions contained in the codes of the republic, the opinion of the Supreme Court
of Justice must be heard for greater understanding.

It is the judgment on a certain matter issued by someone or a commission with the

authority on the matter. Once the study is concluded (and after hearing the opinion of
the Supreme Court of Justice if that is the case), the project is submitted to

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discussion of the Chamber of Deputies, each of which presents its views on the
matter.

DISCUSSION. It is done in three deliberations or debates, to be held on different

days; however, if there are serious or special reasons, it is possible, at the request
of any deputy, to agree on the urgency of the law, for which the favorable vote of
the majority of the attending deputies is required; if this occurs, the bill will be
discussed in a single debate.

Once the discussion has been exhausted, a vote is taken by a show of hands, with a
majority of votes, composed by half plus one, being sufficient for the approval of the
project, if approved, the corresponding decree is issued, authorized by the President
and the two Secretaries of the Congress. The bill is sent to the Executive Branch,
within three days of having been voted on at the latest, for its sanction and
promulgation.

SANCTION AND PROMULGATION The sanction is the act of confirming a law

that, as an attribution, has the President of the Republic, and the promulgation is
the publication of such law in the official periodical called "La Gaceta".The sanction
or confirmation of a law is made by the President of the Republic, placing at the
foot of the law the following formula or reason: "Therefore Execute".However, the
President of the Republic does not always confirm or sanction and publish a law, in
fact, invoking reasons of public convenience for not issuing the law that is being
communicated to you, he may return it, within ten days, to the Congress, with this
formula.This is what is called "veto" or "right of veto", and the President may send
it back to Congress within ten days, with the formula, "Return to Congress", with a
statement of the reasons for his disagreement. To veto a law is, therefore, to
properly reject a bill and prevent it from becoming a binding law, a constitutional
power assigned exclusively to the President of the Republic.
Once the bill has been returned to Congress, the latter shall submit it to new
deliberation, if
If the Executive Branch considers the reasons of the Executive Branch to be valid, it
shall reconsider the bill; otherwise, it may ratify it in all its parts; but for the ratification
to succeed, it must have a two-thirds affirmative vote, after which the ratified law
shall return to the Executive Branch, with this formula "Constitutionally Ratified".

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If the vote has been based on the grounds that the bill is unconstitutional, the
Congress must first hear the Supreme Court of Justice; the latter will issue its opinion
within the term indicated by it, after which a new deliberation will be made.If a law is
constitutionally ratified, it must be promulgated without delay by the Executive Branch
in accordance with Article 221 of the Constitution. The law becomes binding by virtue
of its promulgation and after twenty days of its publication in the Official Gazette "La
Gaceta" have elapsed; however, the 20-day term may be shortened or extended in
the same law, and in special cases, another form of publication or promulgation may
be ordered.
DECREES THAT CANNOT BE VETOED

Pursuant to Article 218 of the Constitution of the Republic, the following cases and
resolutions shall not require the sanction, nor shall they be subject to veto by the
Executive Power:

1. In the elections that the National Congress makes or declares, or in the

resignations that it admits or rejects;
2. In the declarations of the existence or not of a cause of action;
3. In the decrees that refer to the conduct of the Executive Branch;
4. In the regulations issued for its internal regime;
5. In the Decrees it approves to transfer its headquarters to another place in the
territory of Honduras temporarily or to suspend its sessions or to convene
extraordinary sessions;
6. In the Budget Law;
7. In treaties or contracts approved by the National Congress: and

8. 8. In the reforms that are enacted to the Constitution of the Republic.

9. (See in Annexes Decree No. 307-98 of Amendments to the Constitution of the
Republic on the National Congress).

10. In these cases the Executive shall promulgate the law with this formula:
"THEREFORE PUBLIOUESE".

DECREES ON CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS

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11. Decrees containing amendments to the Constitution of the Republic must be
approved in ordinary sessions with a two-thirds vote of the totality of its members,
and must be ratified in the following legislature by an equal number of votes in
order to enter into force (Article 373 of the Constitution of the Republic).
12. The previous Article, the constitutional articles that refer to the form of
government of the national territory, the presidential term, the prohibition to be
President of the Republic again, the citizen who has served under any title and the
article referring to those who cannot be President of the Republic for the
subsequent term, may not be amended in any case.

ORGANIZATION AND POWERS OF THE NATIONAL CONGRESS

13. The National Congress shall meet in ordinary sessions in the capital of the
Republic on the twenty-fifth day of January of each year, without the need for a call,
and shall close its sessions on the thirty-first day of October of the same year.
14. The Board of Directors consists of the President, Vice Presidents, Secretaries
and Assistant Secretaries; there are also alternate Vice Presidents and substitute
Secretaries. The Board of Directors is currently composed of thirteen
parliamentarians.
Sessions may be extended for such time as may be necessary by resolution of
the Congress or at the initiative of one or more of its members or at the request of
the Executive Branch.

The recesses shall be established in the Internal Regulations (Art. 189 Const.).

The National Congress will meet in extraordinary sessions:

1. When requested by the Executive Branch

2. When summoned by its Standing Committee, and
3. When so agreed by half plus one of its members.

In these cases, it will only deal with the matters that motivated the respective Decree
of convocation (Art. 190 Const.).

The following powers correspond to the National Congress:

1. To create, decree, interpret, reform and repeal laws;

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2. To convene, adjourn and close its sessions;
3. To issue its Internal Regulations and apply the sanctions established therein
for those who violate them;
4. To call extraordinary sessions in accordance with this Constitution;
5. Incorporate its members with sight of credentials and receive their constitutional
pledge;
6. To call the alternate deputies in case of absolute, temporary or legitimate
impediment of the owners or when the latter refuse to attend;
7. To count the votes and declare the election of the President, Presidential
Appointees and Deputies to the National Congress, when the National Tribunal of
Elections has not done so.

When the same citizen is elected to several offices, he/she shall be declared elected to
only one of them, according to the following order of preference;
a) President of the Republic;
b) Appointed to the Presidency of the Republic;
c) Deputy to the National Congress; and
d) Member of the Municipal Corporation.

8. To accept or not the resignation of deputies for just cause;

9. To elect for the constitutional period, nine proprietary magistrates and seven
alternate magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice and to elect its President;

10. To make the election of the Chief of the Armed Forces:

11. To elect the Comptroller and Deputy Comptroller, the Attorney General
and Deputy Attorney General of the Republic, the Director and Deputy Director of
Administrative Probity;
12. To receive the constitutional promise of the President and
Appointees to the Presidency of the Republic, declared elected, and to the
other officials he chooses to grant them leave of absence and to admit or
not their resignation and to fill vacancies in case of absolute absence of
any of them;
13. To grant or deny permission to the President and Appointees to the
Presidency of the Republic to be absent from the country for more than fifteen

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days;
14. Change the residence of the State Powers for serious causes;
15. To declare whether or not a case has been filed against the
President, Presidential Appointees, Members of the National Congress,
Magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice, Members of the National
Electoral Tribunal, Chief of the Armed Forces, Secretaries and
Undersecretaries of State, Heads of Diplomatic Missions, Comptroller and
Deputy Comptroller, Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General of the
Republic and Director and Deputy Director of Administrative Probity;
16. To grant amnesty for political and related common crimes, except in
this case the National Congress may not issue resolutions by way of grace;
17. To grant or deny permission to Hondurans to accept positions or
decorations from another State;
18. Decree prizes and grant temporary privileges to authors or
inventors and to those who have introduced new industries or perfected existing
ones of general utility;
19. Approve or disapprove contracts involving tax exemptions,
incentives and concessions or any other contract that will produce or extend its
effects to the following period of the Government of the Republic;
20. Approve or disapprove the administrative conduct of the Executive
Branch, the Judicial Branch and the National Elections Tribunal, the Office of the
Comptroller General of the Republic, the Office of the Attorney General of the
Republic and decentralized institutions;
21. Appoint special commissions for the investigation of matters of
national interest. Appearance at the request of such commissions shall be
mandatory under the same constraints as those observed in judicial proceedings;
22. To question Secretaries of State and other officials of the central
government, decentralized agencies, state enterprises and any other entity in which
the State has an interest, on matters relating to public administration.
23. Decree the restriction or suspension of rights in accordance with
the provisions of the Constitution and ratify, modify or disapprove the restriction or
suspension issued by the Executive Branch in accordance with the Law;
24. To confer the rank of Major to Major General, at the proposal of
the Chief of the Armed Forces at the initiative of the President of the Republic;

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25. To fix the number of permanent members of the Armed Forces;
26. Authorize or deny the transit of foreign troops through the country's
territory;
27. Authorize the Executive Branch to authorize the departure of troops
of the Armed Forces to serve in foreign territory, in accordance with international
treaties and conventions;
28. Declare war and make peace;
29. Authorize the reception of foreign military missions for technical
assistance or cooperation in Honduras;
30. Approve or disapprove international treaties entered into by the
Executive Branch;
31. Create or suppress jobs and decree honors and pensions for
relevant services rendered to the Fatherland;
32. To annually approve the General Budget of Revenues and
Expenditures based on the project submitted by the Executive Branch, duly itemized,
and to decide on its modification;
33. Approve annually the budgets of the decentralized institutions,
duly broken down by income and expenditures;
34. To decree the weight, law and type of the national currency and the
standard of weights and measures;
35. Establish taxes and contributions as well as public charges;
36. Approve or disapprove borrowings or similar agreements related to
public credit, entered into by the Executive Branch.

In order to contract loans abroad or those which, although agreed in the country, are
to be financed with foreign capital, the respective project must be approved by the
National Congress;

37. To establish by means of a law the cases in which subsidies and

grants may be granted for public utility purposes or as an instrument of economic
and social development;
38. To finally approve or disapprove the accounts of public expenditures
based on the reports submitted by the Office of the Comptroller General of the
Republic and the observations made by the Executive Branch;
39. To regulate the payment of the national debt, at the initiative of the

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Executive Branch;
40. Exercise control over public revenues;
41. Authorize the Executive Branch to alienate national assets
or their application to public use;
42. Authorize ports; create and suppress customs and free zones at the
initiative of the Executive Branch;
43. To regulate maritime, land and air commerce;
44. Establish the national symbols; and
45. Exercise such other powers as are provided by this Constitution
and the laws. (Art. 205 Const.)

The powers of the Legislative Branch are non-delegable except for the power to
receive the constitutional promise to the high officials of the Government, in
accordance with this Constitution.

The Board of Directors of the National Congress, before closing its sessions, shall
appoint from among its members, nine proprietary members and their respective
alternates who shall form the Permanent Commission during the recess of the
National Congress.

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 CONCLUSION

In the previous work we talked about the steps to follow to make a

new law in the country, understanding that in order to enforce a
law it is necessary to go through the 3 branches of government
since they are interdependent.

In the first instance the bill is submitted for discussion by the

National Congress, and if the bill includes judicial matters, the
opinion of the Supreme Court of Justice is consulted.

Subsequently, if the bill is approved, it is sent to the executive

branch for approval and enactment.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY .

www. Wikipedia.org
Web site that serves as an encyclopedia that allows you to review,
write and order articles.

www.congresonacional.hn
Website showing information related to the laws and decrees of
honduras.

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