Submission of a direct question

1.

(a)

A Member of the Knesset is entitled to address a direct question to a Minister⁹ on a factual matter, which is within the sphere of the questioned Minister's duties. Should it not be clear to the questioner who the Minister, within whose sphere of duties the subject matter of the question lies, may be, he shall address the direct question to the Prime Minister, in order to have it referred to the Minister concerned.

Questions should not be addressed to more than one Minister on the same subject.

(b)

The direct question shall be worded in brief, in the form of a question, in three copies, shall be signed by the questioner, and be submitted to the Secretariat of the Knesset.

(c)

A direct question shall not contain:

(1)

Any argument, judgment, or offensive epithet or expression;

(2)

A request for an opinion, or for a solution to an abstract legal question, or for an answer to a hypothetical proposition;

(3)

Any offence to the Knesset’s dignity, or to accepted morals.

The Minister’s answer

2.

(a)

The Minister's answer to the direct question shall be given to the Knesset Member within 21 days of the question being received. A copy of the answer shall be given to the Speaker.

(b)

Should the Minister be unable to answer within 21 days of receiving the question, he shall inform the Speaker, and the questioner, in writing, before the 21 days have elapsed, of the reason for the delay, and of the time when he shall give the answer, as long as such time is no later than a further 14 days.

Refusal to answer

3.

The questioned Minister is entitled to refuse to answer the direct question if, in his opinion, the answer may be harmful to State affairs. He must note in a written answer, that the refusal is due to this reason.

Appeal of refusal

4.

(a)

Should the Minister find that the direct question is worded contrary to the provisions of article 1c above, he is entitled to refuse to answer the direct question, and in his answer to the questioner he shall indicate his reasons for the refusal.

(b)

A questioner, whose direct question the Minister concerned has refused to answer in accordance with article 4a above, is entitled to appeal this to the Speaker, and the decision of the Speaker on this matter shall be final.

Turning into regular question

5.

(a)

Should the questioner fail to receive an answer to a direct question within the time prescribed by article 2 above, he shall approach the Speaker with a request to act upon the direct question as if it were a regular question.

(b)

The Speaker shall inform the Minister concerned, as to the time when the question shall be read out in the Knesset plenum.

Submission of question

6.

(a)

A Member of the Knesset is entitled to address an oral question to a Minister on a factual matter, which is within the sphere of that Minister's duties; Should it not be clear to the questioner, who the Minister is within whose sphere of duties the subject matter of the question lies, he shall address the question to the Prime Minister, in order to have it referred to the Minister concerned. Questions shall not be addressed to more than one Minister on the same subject.

(b)

The oral question shall be worded in writing in the form of a question, shall be signed by the questioner, and shall be submitted to the Speaker in three copies.

(c)

An oral question shall not contain:

(1)

The publication of any name or disclosure, whose publication is not necessary for understanding of question;

(2)

Any argument, judgment, or offensive epithet or expression;

(3)

A request for an opinion, or for a solution to an abstract legal question, or for an answer to a hypothetical proposition;

(4)

Any offence to the Knesset’s dignity, or to accepted morals.

Time of answer

7.

(a)

Answers to oral questions shall be given during regular sittings of the Knesset on every Wednesday, at the beginning of the sitting (hereinafter referred to as question time). Should the Government decide to make an announcement to the Knesset on that day, or present a budget bill, or should a motion of no-confidence have been submitted, and is to be debated on that day - the answers to oral questions shall be deferred to some other time, which the Speaker shall set.

(b)

An oral question submitted to the Speaker by Monday at 12:00, and referred to the Minister questioned on the same day by the Speaker, shall be answered by the Minister on Wednesday of the same week, unless he has notified the Speaker that he is unable to do so, for reasons found satisfactory by the Speaker. The Speaker may, at his discretion, and under special circumstances, refer a question to a Minister even if it has been handed to him on Tuesday by 12:00.

(c)

A Minister is entitled to be represented in answering by his Deputy or by another Minister.

Quota of questions

(amendment of 1996/7)

8.

(a)

At question time every week, up to four question shall be raised, provided that the time devoted thereto will not exceed one hour; At the end of the said time, the Speaker shall stop the deliberation of oral questions, even if only part of them have been answered.

(b)

Every Member of the Knesset shall have an equal quota of oral questions during each parliamentary year. The Speaker shall determine which oral questions shall be raised at oral question time, and in what order.

(c)

Two oral questions on the same subject shall not be raised at question time.

Advance notice

9.

Every Wednesday in the morning, the Speaker shall publish on the Members’ bulletin board, the oral questions that shall be raised on that day. The text of the questions shall be laid on the Knesset’s table on the same day.

Inadmissible questions

10.

(a)

The Speaker shall revoke any oral question which is contrary to the Rules of Procedure, to the precedents or to this resolution.

(b)

An oral question may not be published until after having been raised in the Knesset.

(c)

Should an oral question be published before being raised in the Knesset - it shall automatically be revoked.

(d)

An oral question on a subject raised in a question up to four weeks previously, shall not be accepted.

(e)

Should the Speaker revoke an oral question, he shall so inform the questioner in writing, with the reasons.

Harm to State affairs

11.

The Minister questioned may refuse to answer an oral question if, in his opinion, the public answer may be harmful to State affairs. He must indicate in a written answer, that his refusal stems from this reason.

Order of raising questions and

12.

(a)

Oral questions referred to the Ministers shall be numbered by the Speaker in accordance with the order of their approval.

answers (amendments 1994/95 & 1996/97)

(b)

The Speaker shall call out the number of the oral question and the name of the Member who has asked the oral question coming up on the agenda.

(c)

Should the questioner be absent from the Chamber - he shall be deemed to have waived the question.

(d)

The Member shall read out the text of the question as approved by the Speaker, at a length of no more than forty words.

(e)

The answer of the Minister shall be given from the Government table, and shall be within a time limit of three minutes. All the restrictions prescribed in article 39 of the Rules of Procedure shall apply to the Minister's answer.

(f)

After having heard the Minister's answer, the questioner may ask an additional question, within the time limit of one minute.

(g)

After the Knesset Member asking the question has spoken, the Speaker is entitled to enable two other Members to each ask a short additional question, within a time limit of one minute; As far as possible, one of them shall be from the parliamentary groups supporting the Government, and one shall be from the parliamentary groups opposing the Government.

(h)

The Minister shall answer the additional question within the time limit of one minute.

(i)

The regular restrictions prescribed in this resolution shall apply to the additional questions.

(j)

The Minister being questioned may refuse to answer an additional question for the reason mentioned in article 6 above, or defer his answer to the additional question to a later stage of the sitting, or to one of the following sittings.

(k)

The Speaker shall interrupt the questioner or the Minister, should the question or the answer diverge from the provisions of this resolution.

(l)

Should the questioner or the Minister diverge from the time allotted to him - the Speaker shall interrupt him.

(m)

Should the questioner fail to comply with the instruction of the Speaker, the Speaker shall instruct the Minister not to answer the question or the additional question.

Prohibition of interjections

13.

No interjections are allowed during question time.

Nomenclature

14.

Questions under this resolution shall be called: oral questions.

Application

15.

The application of this resolution shall be for the term of office of the fifteenth Knesset.

Quota

16.

As long as this resolution remains in force, the provisions of articles 38 to 45 shall continue to have effect, and subject to every Member of the Knesset being allowed no more that 18 questions in every Winter session, and 12 questions in every Summer session. This quota cannot be transferred to any other Member.

The Speaker of the Knesset may inform the Knesset of the holding of a time for questions on a certain day, to be directed to a Minister as determined by the Speaker. The Speaker shall also determine 2-4 subjects in the sphere of responsibility of the Minister, around which the questions shall focus. Regarding each of the subjects, the Speaker shall decide on a Member, who shall ask one question, and the Minister shall answer. This shall repeat itself, until the Speaker decides to pass on to the next subject. The question shall be within the time limit of up to one minute, and the answer within the framework of up to two minutes. The Minister is entitled to provide the Knesset Member with a written answer or additions to his oral answer, within one week.

The provisions of articles 38(b), 39, and 42 in the Rules of Procedure, shall apply to questions under the said resolution, with the necessary adaptations, as well as the resolution of the House Committee of 23 July 1997.

1.

(a)

The Speaker shall set, in coordination with the Government, and within the framework of the Knesset sittings, times when members of the Government shall answer fast questions, posed to them by Members of the Knesset.

(b)

At every fast questions sitting, at least seven of the Ministers shall participate, as long as each of the Minister shall participate at such a sitting at least once a month.

(c)

At least once every one and a half months, and at a time coordinated with him, the Prime Minister shall also participate at a fast questions sitting, and shall answer questions directed to him or to the other Ministers.

2.

The Knesset Member wishing to pose a fast question to the Prime Minister, or to one of the Ministers, is entitled to submit it to the Knesset Secretariat, in order to have it referred to the Government Secretariat, at least 48 hours before the time of the sitting; The questions referred in advance to the Government, shall constitute at least two thirds of the fast questions at that sitting.

3.

The debate on fast questions shall not last for more than an hour and a half; The time at the disposal of the questioner shall not exceed one minute; The time at the disposal of the Prime Minister or the answering Minister shall not exceed two minutes for every question; Should the speaker exceed the time allotted to him, the Chairman of the sitting shall instruct him to return to his place, and turn off the microphone from which he is speaking.

4.

This resolution shall remain in force for half a year from the time of its adoption.

5.

This resolution replaces the resolution of the House Committee on the subject of fast questions of Sunday, 7 February, 2000.

¹ See resolutions of the House Committee regarding direct questions, oral questions and questions at the end of the chapter. (HCR -

4.8.1992)

² A question shall not contain more than 50 words. (HCR - 30.11.1994 and 2.1.1995)

³ A Member of the Knesset submitting a question relating to the personal affairs of an individual (as distinct from a matter

connected with the performance of a public function), shall refrain from mentioning in the question the name of the individual, or other particulars, which facilitate his identification, and shall furnish the Minister with the required details separately. (HCR - 26.2.1964)

⁴ On the basis of an approach by the Speaker regarding a question referred to a Minister, having to do with matters that occurred, or

things that were said, during the term of a Minister who preceded him, as well as such questions having to do with actions and matters that occurred a considerable time previously, and one might argue that they are “history”, the House Committee decided that approval of the question is under the authority and discretion of the Speaker, subject to what is said in the Rules of Procedure. (HCR - 11.2.1975)

⁵ The answer of the Minister shall be within a time limit of two minutes. (HCR - 30.11.1994 & 2.1.1995)

⁶ Within a time limit of one minute. (HCR - 30.11.1994 & 2.1.1995)

⁷ Within a time limit of one minute; Should the Minister be of the opinion that his answer requires a longer length of time, he is

entitled to add a written answer to the minutes. (HCR - 30.11.1994 & 2.1.1995)

⁸ Of the 4.8.1992, 30.11.1994, 2.1.1995, 5.11.1995 & 18.1.2000

⁹ The quota of direct questions that a Member of the Knesset is entitled to refer to a Minister shall be 60 questions per parliamentary

year, and 30 questions per session . (HCR - 4.8.1992)

¹⁰ HCR - 17.11.1997

¹¹ HCR - 8.3.2000