Parliament of Austria-Hungary (Twilight of a New Era)

THe Federal Parliament is the supreme legislative and constituent body of Austria-Hungary. The Parliament is a bicameral legislative body composed of the Imperial Council (Reichrat) and the House of Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus). All federal laws must be approved by the Parliament. The Federal Council of Ministers is answerable to the House of Representatives and can be forced to resign by a motion of no confidence


 * The Imperial Council (Reichrat) is integrated by the delegates of the state governments and vote upon their orders. Each state has a given number of votes according to its populations and votes in block. The Reichsrat as the right to veto federal laws passed by the House of Representatives. Moreover in most cases a Imperial Council's veto is just suspensive, meaning the House of Representatives can override it, passing the law again by ordinary resolution of at least half of its members. In the following cases, though, the Imperial Council's approval is mandatory:
 * Constitutional laws or regulations limiting the competencies of the federal states
 * Laws relating to the rights of the Federal Council itself
 * Treaties concerning the jurisdiction of the federal states.


 * The House of Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus) is integrated by the directly elected deputies by proportional representation, according to population. Each state is divided in electoral districts according to population). The House of Representatives as a mandate of five years, unless dissolved within one year of its elections bringing about immediate new elections.