Structural components and heads of the institutional functioning of the Chamber of Deputies

 The National Congress works in proper periods of time, and "Legislatura" (Legislature) is the period of four years during which the Congress exercises the attributions established in the Constitution.

 Each legislature is divided into four legislative sessions. Each ordinary legislative session begins on the fifteenth of February, is interrupted on the thirtieth of June, re initiates on the first of august and ends on the fifteenth of December.

 The House Rules are an extremely important instrument in the Country's lawmaking process. The House Rules, in a general sense, is a law with rules and principles destined to determine the structure, organization and functioning of the Chamber of Deputies and, as an infra constitutional norm, is subject to the Constitution. 

 The Board of Direction (Head Table) has the jurisdiction of leading the legislative and administrative services of the House. It is a collegiate organ, integrated by seven deputies, elected by the parliament members.  The Board has specific jurisdictions as, for example, to promulgate, together with the Federal Senate's Board, the amendments to the Constitution, and also to propose alterations in the House Rules. The Board has a two years mandate.

 The Speaker is the representative of the Chamber of Deputies in the  collective pronouncements, and is the supervisor of its services and its order. The Speaker must be a Brazilian born citizen. His main duty is to define the list of propositions to be discussed and voted in the plenary session. Among other attributions, the Speaker substitutes for the President of the Republic and integrates the Counsel of the Republic and the National Defense Counsel.

 The General Secretariat  of the Board of Direction is assigned to assist and advise the Board of Direction in all the legislative services, and the Presidency in the exercise of the constitutional and regimental attributions; to direct , coordinate and orient all the legislative activities of the Chamber of Deputies, according to what is prescribed in the Federal Constitution and in the House Rules, as well as to accompany and to assist the plenary sessions and other events of technical and political nature, related to the legislative activities.

 The Plenum is the highest organ of deliberation of the Chamber of Deputies, where the people's representatives discuss and vote the various propositions in course, fulfilling  sovereignly the constitutional function assigned to the Legislative Power, which is the elaboration of the juridical ordainment and the financial and budget oversight. 

 In the Committees, the proposals are debated by smaller groups of Parliament members, trying to deepen the discussion so as to apply more agility to the voting process, almost always with the possibility of recurring,  so that the subject may be submitted to the analysis  of the Plenum.  Committees may be permanent, temporary or mixed (2). It is worth emphasizing the Commission of Participative Legislation, for it is with this Commission that the Chamber of Deputies opens to the society the doorway to the lawmaking system, bearing laws that will  integrate the juridical ordainment of the Country. This way, it permits that civil organizations and companies take directly to the Parliament their perception of the problems, demands and necessities of the real and daily Brazilian life.

 Majority is the party or parliamentary block made up by the majority of Deputies. As the actual number of federal deputies is 513, the Majority must have 257 deputies. However, once the government system adopted is presidential, it becomes hard to build up a party or parliamentary block with  majority in the House. That’s why the House Rules establishes that if there is no party with such composition, the party or parliamentary block with the highest number of deputies will be considered Majority.

 Minority is the biggest party or parliamentary block in opposition to the thought of the Majority in relation to the Federal Government (Executive Power). So, if the Majority is favorable to the Government, the Minority will be the biggest party among those contrary to the understanding of the Government.  

 The deputies, gathered in their party representations or Parliamentary Blocks, elect their leaders that, among other attributions, orient the vote casting in the Committees and, in the Plenum, may speak in the session at any time that is destined for the debate of  subjects of national relevance, to defend a specific political line. The leaders also indicate deputies to compound the Technical Committees and register the candidates to run for the seats at the Board of Direction. The President of the Republic may indicate a Deputy to exercise the Government Leadership, made up by one Leader and five Vice-Leaders.

 As a political discussion and negotiation organ, the Leaders Collegiate is fundamental for the legislative process, for it strikes bargains among the different interests of the categories represented in the National Congress. It is composed by the Majority's Leader, Minority's Leader, Leaders of the Parties, Leaders of Parliamentary Blocks and the Government's Leader.

 When the Chamber, its organs and members are negatively affected in their honour or image, the Parliamentary Attorney provides juridical and extra juridical defense for the House by means of lawyers, General Attorney or the Union's General Advocate. If it happens that any press or communication organ releases offensive subject in relation to the House or its members, it sees to provide a wide reparation publicity, with right to answer, right to pecuniary compensation for moral or material damages. It is composed by 11 members, appointed by the Speaker, with a two years mandate. The parliamentary Attorney works in collaboration with the Board of Direction. 

 After elected, the Board appoints four of its effective members to be responsible, in the exercise of the office of corregedor (3) and substitute corregedors, for the maintenance of the decorum, the order and the discipline in the House. The inquiries involving deputies are presided by the corregedor.  

 The Counsel of Ethic and Parliamentary decorum of the Chamber of Deputies is the organ that is responsible for the disciplinary procedures related to penalties applied in the cases of  parliamentary decorum rules violation. The Counsel of Ethics and Parliamentary decorum' services are established by a proper rule that contains the procedures to be observed in the parliament disciplinary process, according to what is prescribed in the Code of  Ethics and Parliamentary decorum and in the House Rules of the Chamber of Deputies. The Counsel, in the cases of disciplinary process, will follow the orientation of the Board of Direction. It is assigned to the Counsel, among other attributions, to zeal for the observance of the ethical precepts, working for the preservation of the parliamentary dignity; to open a disciplinary process and take all the actions that are necessary to its proceeding; to answer to the Board of Direction, Committees and Deputies'  consultations on subjects of its jurisdiction.

 The  Ombudsperson Office receives, examines and presents denouncements against common people and juridical entities about irregularities or illegalities perpetrated in the Public Administration. It has the duty to respond to the citizens or entities about questions on measures taken by the Chamber of Deputies, besides sending complaints or petitions to the Attorney General, the Union's Court of Account or another organ. Composition: 1 General Ombudsperson and 2 substitutes, designated by the Speaker, with a two years mandate with no reelection. The actions of the Parliamentary Ombudsperson Office are widely spread by the communication organs or the House's press.

 With the objective of giving support to the legislative services, the Chamber of Deputies'  functional structure is composed by the General Directory, that supervises the planning, the coordination and the control of the administrative activities of the House, and is helped by other three directories — Administrative, Human Resources and Legislative. There are also nine departments, three centers, three advisory offices, two secretariats and two consultancies that integrate the administrative structure of the institution.

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