Bureaus of the Cortes Generales

[5] The second model is an individual speakership in which the holder of the office is the sole guarantor of the chamber’s independence and privileges, of which the archetype is the Speaker at Westminster.

The Bureaus broad functions are to supervise administrative matters such as the timetable for public sittings of the House and its committees, and be responsible for the organisation of the parliaments work, such as determining the admissibility of proposals, bills & documents and deciding on the house's order of business.

[6] Other bodies provide advice to the Bureau including the Board of Spokespersons (Spanish: Junta de Portavoces) made up of representatives of all parliamentary groups who must be consulted on the chamber's order of business[7] and the Clerk (chief legal counsel, Spanish: Letrado Mayor del Congreso de Diputados) who is also by convention the Secretary General (Spanish: Secretario General).

The other members are elected using the single non-transferable vote method which ensures plurality, i.e. representation of the largest parties in the Congress.

The Spanish Senate is the upper house of the Cortes Generales and its standing orders were passed on 3 May 1994 and they have been modified at least twenty times.

[2] The Congress of Deputies is the lower house of the Cortes Generales and its standing orders were passed on 24 February 1982 and they have been modified at least twelve times.

[1] Each House of the Cortes Generales has a number of standing committees (Spanish: commissiones) and each is governed by its own bureau.