Editing Congress of Deputies (section)

== Constitutional position ==
=== House makeup ===
==== Composition ====
Section 68.1 of the [[Constitution of Spain|Spanish Constitution]] establishes that the Congress of Deputies must be composed of at least 300, and no more than 400 deputies. At present, the house has 350 deputies which is determined by the 1985 ''Electoral Act''.

==== Electoral system ====
[[File:Provinces of Spain - 2023 apportionment.svg|left|thumb|250x250px|Deputies per constituency set for the [[2023 Spanish general election|general election of 2023]]]]
The Spanish Constitution establishes that the deputies are chosen by [[Universal suffrage|universal]], free, [[Equal suffrage|equal]], [[Direct suffrage|direct]], and [[secret suffrage]]. The election is held every four years or earlier in case of [[snap election]]. The members of the Congress are elected by proportional representation with [[closed list]]s in each constituency.

There are 52 constituencies for the Congress of Deputies corresponding to the 50 [[provinces of Spain]] and two [[Autonomous cities of Spain|autonomous cities]] ([[Ceuta]] and [[Melilla]]).{{Sfn|Spanish Constitution|1978|ref=CITEREFSpanish_Constitution1978|loc=art. 68.2}} According to Spanish electoral law, the number of seats in each constituency can change in each election and it is specified when writs of election are issued.{{Sfn|Electoral System Act|1985|loc=art. 162}} Each province is guaranteed a minimum allocation of two seats, and one seat each for Ceuta and Melilla for a total of 102 seats. The remaining 248 seats are allocated proportionally according to the population using the [[Hare quota]].{{Sfn|OSCE/ODIHR|2012|p=7}}

After the [[Elections in Spain#General elections|General Election]], seats are assigned to the electoral lists in each constituency separately, using the [[D'Hondt method]]; parties receive seats in approximate proportion to the number of votes each received in the constituency. A strictly proportional system would result in fractional seats; the D'Hondt method resolves this by favoring parties receiving larger votes.

For provinces that elect at least 24 deputies, the 1985 Electoral Act establishes a 3% minimum valid votes by constituency requirement (blank votes count towards the total votes, but invalid ballots do not count) for a party to participate in the seat distribution for a constituency.  At present, this condition applies only to [[Province of Madrid|Madrid]] and [[Province of Barcelona|Barcelona]].

In March 2011, the Electoral Act was modified to require parties that are not represented either in Congress or in the [[Senate of Spain|Senate]] to collect signatures to support their candidacy to be able to run in the election. One-tenth of a percent of those registered to vote in a constituency are required to be on the ballot and each citizen can sign only once for a party candidacy. The [[Junta Electoral Central|Electoral Board]] establishes the regulations for the collection of signatures.

==== Mandate ====
The deputies' term of office finishes four years after their election or when the [[Cortes Generales|Cortes]] are dissolved, which can take place jointly or separately with the dissolution of the Senate. Only the [[Monarchy of Spain|Monarch]] can dissolve Parliament on the request of the [[Prime Minister of Spain|President of the Government]] after the deliberation of the [[Council of Ministers (Spain)|Council of Ministers]]. The dissolution of the Cortes also takes place if there is a failed legislature or two months after a failed investiture session, in this case, the Monarch dissolves the house with the countersign of the [[President of the Congress of Deputies]]. During their mandate, the deputies have some guarantees and privileges to carry their responsibilities out according to Section 97 of the [[Spanish Constitution of 1978|Spanish Constitution]].

=== Bodies of the Congress ===
[[File:Congreso de los Diputados (1850) heute Palacio de las Cortes span Parlament Madrid España - Foto Wolfgang Pehlemann P1250289.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|{{Lang|es|Congreso de los Diputados}} (built 1850): ''Palacio de las Cortes''. Seat of the Spanish Parliament in Madrid (2016)]]
Exercising the autonomy recognised by the [[Constitution of Spain|Constitution]] to the Congress of Deputies, the house is regulated by some internal rules established by itself in 1982 and it configures different government bodies to carry the pertinent competencies out.

==== Governing bodies ====
The governing bodies of the Congress of Deputies are the bodies which under their authority the House is manage. Those bodies are the [[President of the Congress of Deputies|President]], the [[Bureaus of the Cortes Generales#Congress of Deputies Bureau|Bureau]] and the [[Board of Spokespersons#Congress of Deputies|Board of Spokespersons]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is the Congress of Deputies? |url=https://www.congreso.es/en/cem/func |access-date=7 July 2024}}</ref>

The '''President of the Congress of Deputies''' is the highest authority and it represents the House and it is, de facto, the whole parliament leader. As head of the Congress, it also chairs the Bureau, the [[Board of Spokespersons]] and the Permanent Deputation, and is the maximum responsible authority of the Congress's Police.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The President of the Congress of Deputies |url=https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/lang/en/presidente/biografia/Paginas/index.aspx|access-date=7 July 2024}}</ref>

The '''Bureau of the Congress of Deputies''' is the collective body that represents the House and manages the day-to-day of the Chamber, preparing the budget and making all the necessary decisions to allow the proper functioning of the functions of the Congress.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Current membership of Bureau |url=https://www.congreso.es/en/web/guest/mesa |access-date=7 July 2024}}</ref>

The '''Board of Spokespersons of the Congress of Deputies''' is the collective body formed by representatives of the parliamentary groups and normally, government representatives, that establishes the agenda of the House.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Current membership of Board of Spokespersons|url=https://www.congreso.es/en/junta-de-portavoces|access-date=7 July 2024}}</ref>

==== Working bodies ====
The working bodies of the Congress of Deputies are the Plenary, the [[Committee]]s, the [[Permanent Deputation]] and the [[Parliamentary group (Spain)|Parliamentary Groups]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Parliamentary Groups |url=https://www.congreso.es/en/grupos/composicion-en-la-legislatura|access-date=7 July 2024}}</ref>

The '''Plenary''' is the central body of the Congress of Deputies which allows the house to exercise their choices. It is the sitting of all the members of the Parliament when half plus one of its members are attending the house. This body represents the unity of the house and it works through the plenary sessions which can be ordinary or extraordinary.

The ordinary sessions take place during the two meeting terms: September to December and February to June. The extraordinary sessions are convened at the request of the [[Prime Minister of Spain]], the Permanent Council or the absolute majority of the house. In this kind of session a particular agenda is presented, and the session ends when all items have been discussed.

The '''Committees''' are the basic working bodies of the Congress designed to facilitate the work of the house.  The committees have the same powers as the Plenary: to legislate by delegation of the plenary or at the request of the Bureau, and to check the Government by requesting information of the Administration or by requesting the appearance of any member of the Government or Administration.

There are two types of committees: standing and non-standing. The standing committees are defined by the Congress's standing orders{{sfn|Congress Standing Orders|loc=Section 46}} and non-standing committees, created by the Plenary. The standing committees examine bills and make amendments. The Plenary of the Congress can confer upon them full legislative power in relation to a matter, so they can approve or reject any bill. There are 23 permanent (standing) legislative committees and 8 permanent (standing) non-legislative committees which have responsibilities for House administration. The Plenary can create additional non-legislative committees at the beginning of each legislature. The non-standing committees are created with a specific purpose and their themes and duration are determined by the Plenary.

The members of the committees are chosen by the Parliamentary Groups with the number of members proportional to the number of seats in the House, which means they are not effective checks on the Government when the party in office has a parliamentary majority.{{sfn|Fernandes|Riera|2019|page=83}} Once the committees are created they must elect in their first meeting the bureau of the committee, composed of a chair, two deputy chairs and two secretaries.  In practice, the largest party always enjoys a clear over-representation in the distribution of chairpersons.{{sfn|Fernandes|Riera|2019|page=83}}

Subcommittees can also be created by the Plenary at the request of the committees. There are two types of subcommittees, the ordinary subcommittees, the purpose of which is to discuss and report on a specific issue, and the reporting subcommittees, the purpose of which is to write a draft bill to be discussed in the committee. The members of the subcommittees are designated by the committee.

The '''Permanent Deputation''' is a body created in order to have a permanent constituted legislative power. It is responsible for safeguarding the powers of the house between the legislative sessions (January, July and August) or when their term has finished because of termination or dissolution. In these three cases, the Permanent Deputation is a temporary extension of the house. The Permanent Deputation is presided by the [[President of the Congress of Deputies|President of the Congress]]. It is composed of a proportional number of deputies depending on the numerical importance of the different Parliamentary Groups.

All members of the house are assigned to one of the '''Parliamentary Groups''' reflecting their party affiliation or ideology. The formation of the parliamentary groups takes place at the beginning of each legislature. The deputies (members) who cannot satisfy the rules for forming a group are placed together in their own group (called the Mixed Group) so that they can still participate in the functions of Parliament.