Interim Exploratory Missions

Section 4 of Title 8 of Part II of the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives, concerning "the Principles and rules regulating the bodies of the House," defines the role of interim exploratory missions.

In this respect, Article 107 states that a standing committee may, at the request of its chairperson, and upon the approval of its bureau, the chairperson of a parliamentary group or caucus, or one-third of the committee members,  run an interim exploratory mission on the conditions of implementation of a legal text, a matter of general interest, or a matter related to a Government or administrative activity, or a public enterprise, upon approval of the Board of the House.

The subject of the interim exploratory mission must be related to the sectors, areas, and institutions that fall under the committee's competence.

The Board of the House establishes a set of rules that organize the works of these exploratory missions.

In practice, the chairperson of the concerned committee who requests the launch of an exploratory mission extends a request for task assignment to the House's Speaker. The request should include the reason for the mission and its delimitations, including the issues it intends to resolve, its date and time, and a description of the human and material resources required for its performance.

Article 108 sets the number of deputies in charge of running the exploratory mission. Their number must not exceed 13, nor be inferior to 2.

The parliamentary groups and caucuses may appoint one or two representatives from outside the committee that formed the exploratory mission.

The appointment of the members of the exploratory mission should take into consideration expertise and specialization.

The exploratory mission members designate a chairperson and a rapporteur, one of which is from the opposition, in alignment with the principle of proportional representation. Also, they appoint a deputy chairperson and vice rapporteur. The priority in designating the chairperson and the rapporteur is given to the deputy who requested the mission, considering the alternation principle.

The exploratory mission members must commit to performing their tasks following the conditions stipulated in the task assignment deposited with the Board of the House. In this respect, they draft a report upon completing their mission and refer it to the committee's bureau.

Article 109 stipulates the procedure to be followed in examining the report on the exploratory mission. Thereby, the report is referred to the Board of the House and the competent standing committee within 60 days of the start of the first measure. The exploratory mission's rapporteur presents the report before the committee members for the discussion, and the Government is invited to attend and participate in the discussion. The standing committee must prepare a summary of the discussion attached to the report on the exploratory mission and deposit it with the Board of the House, who decides whether to submit it to the plenary sitting.

In the case of the presentation of the report in the plenary sitting, the Government may attend the sitting to respond to the related questions.

It should be noted that impartiality and independence must be ensured in the performance of the exploratory missions by deputies, following the provisions of Articles 361 to 363 of the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives. Any risk of conflict of interest that might jeopardize the smooth running of the mission must be brought to the attention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives before launching the mission (Article 362).