Gondolatok a független képviselők helyzetéről de lege lata és de lege ferenda

Abstract

This study examines the situation of independent members of the Hungarian Parliament from a de lege lata and de lege ferenda perspective, reflecting on the constitutional principle of equal mandates. The authors' starting point is that all MPs have the same rights and obligations, regardless of whether they belong to a parliamentary group. In practice, however, due to the parliamentary dominance of factions, independent MPs are disadvantaged in many areas. The article analyzes these disadvantages in detail, including nominations for committee membership, the allocation of speaking time, the more limited exercise of the right of interpellation and questioning, and the inaccessibility of certain rights exercisable only by factions (e.g., rights related to summary amendment proposals). The authors also make international comparisons, presenting, for example, the much more faction-centered and less favorable regulation for independents in the German Bundestag. The study also points to the incomplete regulation of the status of faction leaders and the problems arising from it. The de lege ferenda proposals include ensuring direct access for independent MPs to the House Committee, bypassing the faction leader, the proportional allocation of committee seats, and the abolition of discriminatory house rules. They raise the possibility of creating a "mixed group" (based on the Spanish and Italian models), where independents could function as a quasi-faction, or introducing a system where independents would define themselves as pro-government or opposition independents. The authors stress that independent MPs must be taken into account, and ensuring their full parliamentary rights is essential for the realization of MPs' equality and democratic pluralism.