constituteproject.org PDF generated: 18 Apr 2016, 15:22 The rights and duties of citizens, during war or in case of invasion or attack of the national territory by foreign forces, are made the subject of a law. • Emergency provisions Article 144 In application of the provisions of Article 85 of this Constitution, the state of siege, like the state of urgency, is declared by the President of the Republic. The National Assembly and the Senate then convene of right. If they are not in session, an extraordinary session is convoked to this effect in accordance with Article 116 of this Constitution. The closing of the ordinary or extraordinary sessions is[,] of right[,] delayed to permit, as the case may be, the application of the provisions of the preceding paragraph. The state of urgency or the state of siege may be proclaimed for all or part of the territory of the Republic for a time period of thirty days. The ordinance proclaiming the state of urgency or the state of siege ceases[,] of right[,] to produce its effects after the expiration of the time period specified in the [fourth] paragraph of this article, unless the National Assembly and the Senate, referred to [the matter] by the President of the Republic on decision of the Council of Ministers, have authorized its extension for successive periods of fifteen days. The National Assembly and the Senate can, by way of a law, end at any moment the state of urgency or the state of siege. • Emergency provisions Article 145 In case of a state of urgency or of state of siege, the President of the Republic takes, by ordinances deliberated in the Council of Ministers, the measures necessary to respond to the situation. These ordinances are, on their signature, submitted to the Constitutional Court which, ceasing other matters, declares if they derogate or not from this Constitution. Article 146 The Prime Minister can, after deliberation in the Council of Ministers, engage before the National Assembly the responsibility of the Government, on a declaration of general policy or on the vote on a text. The National Assembly may challenge the responsibility of the Government or of a member of the Government by a vote on a motion of censure or no confidence. The motion of censure against the Government is receivable only if it is signed by a quarter of the members of the National Assembly. The motion of no confidence against a member of the Government is receivable only if it is signed by a tenth of the members of the National Assembly. The debate and the vote can only take place forty-eight hours after the deposit of the motion. Only the votes favorable to the motion of censure or of no confidence are counted, which can only be adopted by an absolute majority of the members composing the National Assembly. If the motion of censure or of no confidence is rejected, the signatories cannot propose a new one in the course of the same session. The program, the declaration of the general policy or the text referred to in the first paragraph is considered adopted unless if a motion of censure is adopted under the conditions specified in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this article. The Prime Minister has the faculty to demand the Senate for the approval of a declaration of general policy. Congo (Democratic Republic of the) 2005 (rev. 2011) Page 39