The difference between the complementary law and the ordinary law lies in two aspects:
- At the field of matter, that is, what will be covered by the law;
- At the approval quorum, which refers to how many votes are needed for a law to be passed.
The complementary law will regulate matters already reserved for it by the Federal Constitution, that is, which are already predetermined.
The ordinary law will deal with any other matters that are not regulated by a complementary law, by legislative decree or by resolutions.
| Complementary law | ordinary law | |
|---|---|---|
| Matter | The supplementary law deals with matters provided for in the Federal Constitution. | Ordinary laws may deal with any matter, as long as these are not reserved for the complementary law, legislative decrees and resolutions. |
| approval quorum | Absolute Majority: More than half of all members must approve. |
Simple or relative majority: More than half of all those present must approve. |
Difference in approval quorum
The supplementary law requires an absolute majority quorum, provided for in article 69 of the Federal Constitution. Meanwhile, ordinary law requires a simple or relative majority quorum, which is provided for in article 47 of the CF.
Initially, we must consider the installation quorum of the voting session, that is, how many members are needed for voting to take place. This quorum is the same for the complementary law and for the ordinary law, and must have an absolute majority of the members.
For example, if there are a total of 100 members, absolute majority tells us that at least 51 of them must be present for the vote. Suppose there are 70 members present. As the quorum is greater than half, voting could take place both for a supplementary law and for an ordinary one.
The difference is in the number of votes each one needs to be approved.
While in the complementary law, of these members, at least 51 would need to vote yes (more than half of the 100 members, that is, the absolute majority).
In the case of ordinary law, half of those present would need to vote yes. In this case, they would need 36 votes to be approved (more than half of the 70 members, which are the simple majority).
See also the difference between executive, legislative and judiciary: the three powers.
Hierarchy between complementary and ordinary laws
According to the Federal Supreme Court (STF), there is no hierarchy between these two types of law, as they operate in different fields.
However, if a complementary law conveys matter in the field of ordinary law, this law will only be considered formally complementary, but its status will remain ordinary. In this case, that law may be subsequently repealed or modified by an ordinary law.
See also the difference between Natural law and positive law.
