Impeachment - Other Jurisdictions

Other Jurisdictions

• Austria: The Austrian Federal President can be impeached by the Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung) before the Constitutional Court. The constitution also provides for the recall of the president by a referendum. Neither of these courses has ever been taken, likely because the President is an unobtrusive and largely ceremonial figurehead who, having little power, is hardly in a position to abuse it.
• Brazil: The President of Federative Republic of Brazil may be impeached. This happened in December 30, 1992 to Fernando Collor de Mello, who was removed from the presidency and held ineligible for eight years, due to evidence of bribery and misappropriation. State governors and municipal mayors may also be impeached, though only the latter have actually been removed from office through this procedure.
• Bulgaria: The President of Bulgaria can be removed only for high treason or violation of the constitution. The process is started by a two-thirds majority vote of the Parliament to impeach the President, whereupon the Constitutional Court decides whether the President is guilty of the crime he is charged with. If he is found guilty, he is removed from power. No Bulgarian President has ever been impeached. The same procedure can be used to remove the Vice President of Bulgaria, which has also never happened.
• Croatia: President of Croatia Sabor starts the impeachment process with two-thirds majority in favor of impeachment and then Constitutional Court has to accept that with two-thirds majority of justices in favor of impeachment. This has never happened in the history of the Republic of Croatia.
• Czech Republic: President of the Czech Republic can be impeached only for an act of high treason (which is not specified in the Constitution of the Czech Republic itself). The process has to start Senate of the Czech Republic which only has the right to impeach resident, this passes case to the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic which has to decide whether the President is guilty or not. If the Court decides that the President is guilty than the President loses his office and the ability to be elected President of the Czech Republic ever again. No Czech president has ever been impeached.
• Germany: The Federal President of Germany can be impeached both by the Bundestag and by the Bundesrat for willfully violating German law. Once the Bundestag or the Bundesrat impeaches the president, the Federal Constitutional Court decides whether the President is guilty as charged and, if this is the case, whether to remove him or her from office. No such case has yet occurred, not the least because the President's functions are mostly ceremonial and they seldom make controversial decisions. The Federal Constitutional Court also has the power to remove federal judges from office for willfully violating core principles of the federal constitution or a state constitution.
• India: The President of India can be impeached by the Parliament before the expiry of his term for violation of the Constitution. Other than impeachment, no other penalty can be given to the President for the violation of the Constitution. No Indian President has faced impeachment proceedings. Hence, the provisions for impeachment have never been tested.
• Iran: Member of Majlis representatives and the Leader can remove the President. In January 1980, Abolhassan Banisadr, then the president of Iran, was impeached by the Majlis representatives in June, 1981. The Assembly of Experts can impeach the Leader.
• Italy: The President of the Republic can be impeached through a majority vote of the Parliament in joint session only for high treason and for attempting to overthrow the Constitution. Then, he is tried by the Constitutional Court, integrated with sixteen citizens older than forty chosen by lot from a list compiled by the Parliament every nine years.
• Norway: Members of government, representatives of the national assembly (Stortinget) and Supreme Court judges can be impeached for criminal offences tied to their duties and committed in office, according to the Constitution of 1814, §§ 86 and 87. The procedural rules were modelled on the US rules and are quite similar to them. Impeachment has been used eight times since 1814, last in 1927. Many argue that impeachment has fallen into desuetude.
• Romania: The President can be impeached by Parliament and is then suspended. A referendum then follows to determine whether the suspended President should be removed from office. President Traian Băsescu was impeached twice by the Parliament: in 2007 and more recently in July 2012. A referendum was held on May 19, 2007 and a large majority of the electorate voted against removing the president from office. For the most recent suspension a referendum was held on July 29, 2012.
• Russia: The President of Russia can be impeached if both the State Duma (which initiates the impeachment process through the formation of a special investigation committee) and the Federation Council of Russia vote by a two-thirds majority in favor of impeachment and, additionally, the Supreme Court finds the President guilty of treason or a similarly heavy crime against the nation and the Constitutional Court confirms that the constitutional procedure of the impeachment process was correctly observed. In 1995-1999, the Duma made several attempts to impeach then-President Boris Yeltsin, but they never had a sufficient amount of votes for the process to reach the Federation Council.
• Republic of China (Taiwan): In Taiwan (officially called the ROC) officials can be impeached by a two-thirds vote in the Legislative Yuan together with an absolute majority in a referendum.
• Venezuela: Any elected authority (including governors, vice-president and president) can be impeached after half the period for which the authority was elected. This provided that no less than 20% of the registered voters in the jurisdiction ask for the process to start and afterwards more or the same number of people that elected the authority, vote in favor of the removal of the latter. The president can also be removed from charge if the supreme court rules so, or in case of mental insanity or physical incapacity.