Parliamentary decorum is a legal term that characterizes the individual conduct or posture that a person with a political office or mandate must adopt in the exercise of their mandate.
This type of conduct must be adopted by all elected representatives and it is expected to be exemplary, following the moral norms of society, such as honesty, decency, honesty, etc.
Each sector of the Brazilian National Congress has its own bylaws based on parliamentary decorum.
It is also mentioned in article 55 of the Brazilian Federal Constitution when stating that the “perception of advantages improper rights" and the "abuse of the prerogatives granted to a member of the National Congress" are not compatible with decorum parliamentary.
breach of parliamentary decorum
Every action taken by parliamentarians, which is not in accordance with the expected conduct, is called breach of parliamentary decorum.
For example, when a public figure who is in political office engages in corruption, he will be violating parliamentary decorum.
Among other actions that can harm parliamentary decorum are:
- Use of expressions that constitute a crime against honor or that encourage its practice;
- Power abuse;
- Receipt of undue advantages;
- Practice of serious irregular act when performing their duties;
- Disclosure of the content of debates considered secret by the legislative assembly; between others.
In these cases, if the representative violates any of the rules of conduct, he must be punished. When this happens, he runs the risk of losing his mandate, as determined by item II, article 55 of the Federal Constitution.
Congress is responsible for organizing the votes that serve to judge and cancel the mandate of the political representative who acts in a way that is declared to be incompatible with parliamentary decorum.
See also the meaning of Decorum and Cassation.