Page:British and Foreign State Papers, vol. 144 (1952).djvu/404

380 1. A State Council be constituted as a consultative body of the President of the Republic and as an accessory controlling organ in the framework of the provisional administration of the Czechoslovak Republic.

2. The State Council has 40 members as maximum, nominated by the President of the Republic for one year. The mandate of the members of the State Council remains in force unless it is rescinded by the President of the Republic or the State Council itself on the proposal of the Disciplinary Committee (Par. 8) or unless it is resigned by the Member himself.

3. The functionaries of the administration or the members of the armed forces nominated members of the State Council shall, if they accept the mandate, be given permanent leave by the appropriate authorities to exercise the mandate.

4. The Chairman and three Vice-Chairmen of the State Council are appointed by the President of the Republic. The President convenes and concludes the session of the State Council. The members are authorised to take part in the deliberations of the State Council only after having confirmed to the President of the Republic the acceptance of their mandate, at the same time, handing him a written vow of allegiance which reads as follows: “I promise by my honour and conscience to be faithful to the Czechoslovak Republic and to its provisional administration recognised on the soil of Allied England and I promise to perform conscientiously and impartially my duties and to fulfil the tasks imposed on a member of the State Council by the common struggle for a complete liberation of the home country and to remain in the war against Nazism and its associates till final victory.”

5. The final approval of the rules of procedure accepted by the State Council, and subsequent alterations or additions as well, appertain to the President of the Republic.

6. Members of the State Council if they are, at the same time, members of the Government retain all rights accruing from membership of the State Council but cannot vote. The Chairman of the State Council has the right to invite members of the Government to meetings for the purpose of giving explanations asked for by the members of the State Council.

7. It is the duty of the State Council to supply, within a specified time limit, the President of the Republic or the Government with a consultative report on a question or subject which