Overview and context

The DRC has a bicameral parliamentary system, where legislative power belongs to the National Assembly and the Senate. The 108 members of the Senate are elected by provincial assemblies (since 2007), while the 500 members of the National Assembly are elected from open lists using proportional representation (since 2006). Members of both the Senate and the National Assembly are elected for five-year terms. Last National Assembly election was held in 2011 and the next is expected in 2016. The President is the head of state and appoints the members of the cabinet, while the Prime Minister is the head of the government.

The Constitution, adopted in 2006 and modified in 2011, is the highest ranking norm. It establishes a strict separation between “laws” and “regulations”. Laws determinate general principles and rules in domains explicitly quoted in the Constitution, such as civil or economic rights, property rights, forest management, mining, protection of the environment and energy. After a law is approved by both Houses, it is sent to the President, who must sign (promulgate) the law. The Constitutional Court might return a law considered unconstitutional to the Parliament to be modified and voted on again. On the other hand, regulations (decrees) establish rules outside of the ‘law’s domain’ determined by the Constitution or specify the implementation of the laws.