Legislative Branch
The Parliament of Austria (Parlament) consists of two chambers. The National Council (Nationalrat) has 183 members, elected for a five year term by proportional representation. It is the predominant of the legislature's two chambers. To be represented in parliament a party needs to either win at least four percent of votes across the nation or win a seat (Direktmandat) in one of the 43 regional constituencies.
The politically much less significant Federal Council (Bundesrat) currently consists of 62 members, elected by the state legislatures (Landtage). The number and distribution of seats is recalculated after each census. The power of the Federal Council is rather limited, since in most cases it has only got a suspensive veto, which can be overruled by the National Council. However some cases, like laws limiting the competences of the provinces, require the approval of the Federal Council.
The Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung), which is formed by National Council and Federal Council in joint session, is largely a ceremonial institution, its main responsibility being the swearing in of the Federal President. It can also call a referendum on the removal of the president from office or bring the president before the Constitutional Court if it concludes that the president violated the constitution, and is ultimately responsible for declaring war.
Following the accession to the European Union the parliament had to cede some of its power to European Union institutions.
A convention, the Austrian Convention (Österreich Konvent) was established in 2003 to suggest proposals for a reform of the Austrian constitution and central institutions. It presented a report in 2007, with some of its proposals adopted by parliament.
Read more about this topic: Politics Of Austria
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