Parliament of Italy (Kingdom of Italy)

The Parliament of Italy (Parlamento d'Italia) is the national parliament of Italy. It is a bicameral legislature with 800 members. It is composed of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations, with 500 members (Consiglieri), and the Grand Council of Fascism, with 300 members (Consiglieri). Both houses share some duties and powers, while each house has its specific functions. The Grand Council is the upper house.
The Parliament is the representative body of the Nation in the republican Institutions: the two Houses of the Parliament share some rights and powers.
The two Houses are independent from each other and never meet jointly except under circumstances specified by the Constitution. The Chamber of Fasces and Corporations has 500 members, while the Grand Council of Fascism has 300 members.
The main prerogative of the Parliament is the sharing with the Government of legislative power. For a text to become law, it must receive the vote of both houses independently in the same form. A bill is discussed in one of the houses, amended, and approved or rejected: if approved, it is passed to the other house, which can amend it and approve or reject it. If approved without amendments, the text could be promulgated by the Duce of the Republic and becomes law.
The Parliament in joint session hears messages of the Duce of the Republic and three (one fifth) members of the Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale).
In Parliament of Italy the Grand Council of Fascism focuses on scrutinizing and vetoing the decisions of the lower house. The upper house is the result of appointments, while the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations is indirectly elected.
The Parliament of Italy has a legislative power in co-operation with the Government. This means that no bill may be enacted if the Government has expressed its opposition, and that Government bills are treated in a strongly preferential way. Moreover, the Government can impose some urgency procedures in order to hurry up the passing of its bills.
Alongside the ordinary laws, Government can enact its own decrees, which could be either renewed or transformed in ordinary laws: only the conversion has to pass through the Parliament.

Grand Council of Fascism

The Grand Council of Fascism (Gran Consiglio del Fascismo) is the highest collective authority within the National Fascist Party, as well as the upper house of the national legislature. Its 300 members are selected once every five years by the Duce of the Republic, within the holders of certain offices.

Functions

The Grand Council of Fascism acts both in capacity of party body, being the highest collective body within the PNF, and in capacity of upper house of Italian legislature.
As Party body, the Grand Council of Fascism proposes to the Duce many of the most powerful officials, including the Political Secretary and the members of the Political Directory, Standing Committee and National Republican Guard General Command. It is to note that the current Grand Council of Fascism is completely different from the original body with the same name: the latter, infact, was disbanded immediately after the Mussolini's death, fearing that the Triumvirate would be excessively controlled and weak. The current Grand Council was re-established by the current Duce of the Republic, as part of his constitutional reforms.
The Grand Council deliberates about the list of Councilors of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations, about the statutes, laws and policies of the National Fascist Party, about the appointment and removal of the Secretary, the Vice Secretaries, the Administrative Secretary and members of the Political Directory of the National Fascist Party. In the Party capacity it has not binding powers.

The Grand Council of Fascism also exercise its authority as the upper house of the national legislature, holding the legislative and consultative power over a range of questions. The Grand Council also advises the government on ordinary politics. It must be heard on all matters of a constitutional nature, among which are included the composition and functioning of the two Houses of Parliament, the powers and prerogatives of the Chief of Government, corporate and union sorting.
The main political function assigned to the upper house is to review bills and to give voice to the less corporatist elements in society. Therefore, the Grand Council and is also an important State body in that it contains the leading figures of the Party, Party's militia, State, and Armed Forces.
It is to note that, in its capacity of a branch of national legislature, the Grand Council is the body with more political connotations than the Chamber of the Fasces and Corporations, which is composed of "economic" and "social" representatives.

Membership

The Grand Coincil of Fascism consists of 300 Councilors (Consiglieri) appointed among Party hierarchy, partly appointed by law and by being appointed to the other offics, partly appointed in their personal capacity. The Political Secretary is, by law, both member and President of the Grand Council of Fascism; also the 110 Federal Secretaries are members by law. The Commandant General, the Deputy Commandant General and the Chief of Staff of National Republican Guard, along with the Commandants of Autonomous Republican Guards, are members of the Grand Council by law; the Deputy Chiefs of Staff could be eligible to the membership.

Political Directory

The Political Directory is a group of 25 people who oversee the National Fascist Party activities. The Political Directory is appointed by the Duce. The agenda for the meetings is controlled by the Political Secretary and decisions are made by consensus rather than by majority vote.

Chamber of Fasci and Corporations

The Chamber of Fasci and Corporations is the lower legislative house of the Italian Social Republic.

Functions

The Chamber of Fasci and Corporations shares legislative power with the Government and the Grand Council of Fascism. The Chamber discusses and approves in plenary session, on the report of the relevant committees, the only bills listed in the establishing law:

• Those of a constitutional nature
• The general legislative powers
• Projects budget and actual statements of the State

All other bills are reviewed and approved by the commission, unless the Government or the same room, which is authorized by the Head of the Government, ask for discussion and vote in the plenary. The Head of Government may also determine that, for reasons of urgency motivated, to be adopted by the committee also bills for which it was ordinarily expected competence of the Plenary Assembly.
The Chamber can provide advice on any question interested domestic production and, in particular, on a range of subjects including:

• The implementation and integration of the principles contained in the Charter of the work;
• Proposed legislation concerning the regulation of the production and labor;
• Framing union of the various categories;
• The recognition of trade unions and their activities to protect the interests of trades and welfare.

Recognized Trade Unions may apply to the room, sitting in plenary assembly, the right to determine the rates for the professional services of their representatives to enact regulations and professional mandatory for all members of the class. It is also for the Chamber of Fasci and Corporations:

• On request of the Chief of Government, the formation of rules for coordination of care, the disciplines of labor relations established by collective agreements and any other regulatory activities of the corporations;
• On request of the trade unions, the formation of rules for the regulation of economic relations between the collective interests represented and ratification of agreements concluded between the same for such purposes.

Membership and structure

The Chamber of Fasci and Corporations is chaired by the Chief of Government or, by his deputy, the Minister of Corporations. The Presidency of sections, subsections and permanent special committees may be delegated to Secretary of State of the Ministry of Corporations. A director general of the Ministry is the Secretary General.
The total number of the Councilors is 500. The members are:

• The Presidents of the fascist Trade and Employers Unions and representatives designated by them;
• Ministers, State Secretaries and Directors General of the Ministries economic and social;
• Secretary of the National Fascist Party;
• The President of the National Recreational Club;
• Experts in trade union organization, law and economics and other disciplines of interest to the corporate production, appointed by the Minister of Corporations.

The Chamber is divided into:

• Seven sections (free professions and arts, crafts and industry, agriculture, trade, internal communications, maritime and air transport, banking and insurance), some of which are divided into subsections;
• Permanent special committees, constituted for the transaction of individual subjects of general and technical;
• The Central Corporatist Committee, where only the presidents of trade unions and employers, the Minister of Corporations, the Secretary of the Fascist Party and the Chief of Government sit in, with the task of directing the activities of the Chamber, of taking urgent decisions in place Plenary Assembly in the interval between its sessions and giving advice to the policy guidelines of Unions;
• Plenary Assembly, competent to decide on matters interesting the whole sort of association and corporate of the State, without prejudice to the possibility to submit to the same issues on which they had already debated sections or subsections.