{ Adopted: 17 Oct 1868 / Status: 23 Dec 1994 }
Article 51 [Parliamentary Democracy, Election, Referendum]
(1) The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is ruled by a system of parliamentary democracy.
(2) The organization of the Chamber is regulated by law.
(3) The Chamber is composed of 60 deputies. A law passed under the provisions
of Article 114 (5) sets the number of deputies to be elected in each of the
constituencies.
(4) The election is direct.
(5) Deputies are elected by straightforward universal suffrage on the party-list system, in accordance with the rules of proportional representation, the principle of the smallest electoral quota, and the rules to be determined by the law.
(6) The country is divided into four electoral districts: the South (Esch/Alzette and Capellen), the Center (Luxembourg and Mersch), the North (Diekirch, Redange, Wiltz, Clervaux and Vianden) and the East (Grevenmacher, Remich and Echternach).
(7) The electors may be requested to pronounce themselves by way of a referendum in cases and under conditions to be determined by law.
(1) To qualify as an elector it is necessary:
1. to be a Luxembourger, man or woman;
2. to enjoy civil and political rights;
3. to have completed 18 years of age.
(2) To these three qualifications shall be added those determined by the law. No tax qualification may be imposed.
(3) To be eligible it is necessary:
1. to be a Luxembourger, man or woman;
2. to enjoy civil and political rights;
3. to have completed 21 years of age;
4. to be resident in the Grand Duchy.
(4) No other condition of eligibility may be imposed.
Article 53 [Non-Qualification]
(1) The following may not be electors nor eligible:
1. persons sentenced to criminal punishment;
2. persons sentenced for minor offenses depriving them of the right to vote;
3. persons of full age under guardianship.
(2) No other exclusion clause may be foreseen.
(3) The right to vote may be restored to persons sentenced by penal courts by
the way of reprieve.
Article 54 [Incompatibilities]
(1) The deputy's mandate is incompatible with:
1. the duties of member of the Government;
2. those of member of the Council of State;
3. those of member of the judiciary;
4. those of member of the Audit Chamber;
5. those of district commissioner;
6. those of State collector or accounting officer;
7. those of career soldier on active service.
(2) Officials involved in a case of incompatibility have the right to choose between the mandate confided to them and their duties.
(3) A deputy called upon to perform the duties of member of the Government and who relinquishes these duties is automatically reinstated as first substitute on the list on which he was elected. The same applies to the substitute deputy who, called upon to perform the duties of member of the Government, renounces the deputy's mandate devolving upon him in the course of these duties. In the event of a contest between two or more rightful claimants, reinstatement shall follow the order of the number of votes polled in the elections.
Article 55 [Other Incompatibilities]
The incompatibilities referred to in the preceding article do not preclude the law from stipulating others in the future.
Article 85 [Political Rights
Jurisdiction]
Disputes over political rights lie within the jurisdiction of the courts except as otherwise provided by law.
Article 107 [Local Authorities]
(1) Communes form autonomous authorities, on a territorial basis, possessing
legal personality and administrating their patrimony and own interests.
(2) In each commune there is a communal council directly elected by the inhabitants;
the conditions to be elector or eligible will be fixed by law.
(3) The council draws up a yearly budget and closes the accounts. It issues
communal regulations, except in case of emergency. It may impose taxes, with
the Grand Duke's approval. The Grand Duke may dissolve the council.
(4) The commune is administered under the authority of the corporate body of
the major and the aldermen who must be chosen among the communal councillors.
The conditions of nationality to be fulfilled by the members of the corporate
body of major and aldermen will be determined in a law passed under the
provisions of Article 114 (5).
(5) Supervision of the communal administration is ruled by law. Certain
decisions of communal authorities have to be authorized by the supervision
authority or may be cancelled or suspended should they be illegal or contrary
to the public interests, without prejudice to the powers of the law courts or
administrative tribunals.