Roles and Permissions

This document is the authoritative reference for all system roles and their permissions. Every role maps directly to an actor defined in the National Assembly Standing Orders (7th Edition) and is enforced at the API layer via Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and a per-permission guard.

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1. System Roles

Role constant	Display name	NAE Standing Order authority
superadmin	Super Administrator	System owner — not defined in Standing Orders
admin	Administrator	System management — not defined in Standing Orders
speaker	Speaker	S.O. 1, 4–12, 18, 78–79, 95, 97, 102, 106–112
deputy_speaker	Deputy Speaker	S.O. 13, 18
clerk	Clerk	S.O. 2, 2B, 3, 5(6), 10, 38–39, 521–524
member	Member of Parliament	S.O. 43, 47, 69, 78–82, 113, 219, 259F
whip	Party Whip	S.O. 547–575 (Majority/Minority Whip)
leader_majority	Leader of the Majority Party	S.O. 19, 19A, 97
leader_minority	Leader of the Minority Party	S.O. 20, 97
committee_chair	Chairperson of a Committee	S.O. 15–17, 178
hansard_editor	Hansard Editor	Internal — production of official record
public	Public / Unauthenticated	S.O. 198, 252–254 (read-only public access)

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2. Role Descriptions and NAE Authority

Speaker (speaker)

The Speaker presides over all sittings of the National Assembly (S.O. 18). The Speaker's authority under the Standing Orders includes:

• Deciding all procedural questions not otherwise provided for (S.O. 1)
• Calling the House to order and adjourning sittings (S.O. 31)
• Granting or denying requests to speak, determining the order of speakers (S.O. 78–79)
• Activating and muting microphones via floor control (S.O. 79, 97)
• Closing debate and putting questions to the vote (S.O. 95)
• Naming and suspending Members for disorderly conduct (S.O. 107–110)
• Controlling broadcast of proceedings (S.O. 252)

Deputy Speaker (deputy_speaker)

Elected by the National Assembly (S.O. 13). Performs all Speaker functions when the Speaker is absent or when the Speaker vacates the Chair (S.O. 18). The Deputy Speaker holds the same in-session permissions as the Speaker.

Clerk (clerk)

The Clerk of the Assembly (S.O. 521–523) is the principal administrative officer. Clerk duties include:

• Obtaining coalition agreements from the Registrar of Political Parties (S.O. 2B)
• Administering Oaths or Affirmations to Members-elect (S.O. 3(3))
• Preparing and circulating the Order Paper (S.O. 38)
• Publishing the Weekly Programme (S.O. 39)
• Preparing ballot papers at least 2 hours before a Speaker election meeting (S.O. 5(6))
• Issuing ballot papers to Members and replacing spoiled ballots (S.O. 6)
• Sealing and taking custody of ballot papers (S.O. 10)
• Destroying ballot papers after 6 months (S.O. 10)
• Managing sitting creation, scheduling, and cancellation
• Managing petitions and documents tabled on the House

Member (member)

Any member of the National Assembly (S.O. 549). Members may:

• Request the floor and participate in debate (S.O. 78–82)
• Give notice of and move motions (S.O. 47)
• Submit questions (S.O. 42A)
• Make statements (S.O. 43)
• Introduce Public Bills (S.O. 113–114)
• Submit and present petitions (S.O. 219–220)
• Vote in divisions (S.O. 69–76)
• Declare interests before speaking on a matter (S.O. 90)
• Serve on committees (S.O. 173)
• Participate in Speaker elections (S.O. 5–7)

Whip (whip)

The Majority Party Whip (S.O. 547) and Minority Party Whip (S.O. 552) are Members designated by their respective parties to manage party discipline and speaking order. In the system, a Whip inherits all member permissions and additionally has visibility over the party's speaking queue management.

Leader of the Majority Party (leader_majority)

Defined in S.O. 532–536. Holds the same parliamentary permissions as a Member but receives an extended speaking time limit under S.O. 97 (60 minutes per contribution, versus 20 minutes for a regular Member).

Leader of the Minority Party (leader_minority)

Defined in S.O. 537–541. Same extended speaking time as the Leader of the Majority Party (S.O. 97 — 60 minutes).

Committee Chairperson (committee_chair)

Elected by the committee from among its members (S.O. 178). Chairs committee meetings, determines quorum (S.O. 178), and signs committee reports submitted to the House.

Hansard Editor (hansard_editor)

Responsible for producing, editing, and publishing the official verbatim record of proceedings. This role is internal and not directly defined in Standing Orders, but the obligation to keep a Hansard record is implied by Standing Order requirements for an official record.

Public (public)

Unauthenticated or public users. Access is limited to endpoints where Standing Orders mandate public transparency:

• Live broadcast of proceedings (S.O. 250, 252)
• Public access to proceedings (S.O. 253–254)
• Published petitions and order papers

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3. Permission Matrix

The table below maps every permission constant to the roles that hold it. A tick (✓) means the role is granted that permission by default. The superadmin holds the all permission and is omitted from individual rows.

User Management

Permission	admin	speaker	deputy_speaker	clerk	member	whip	leader_majority	leader_minority	committee_chair	hansard_editor	public
user:create	✓
user:read	✓	✓	✓	✓
user:update	✓
user:delete	✓

Parliament Terms, Sessions and Calendar

Permission	admin	clerk	member	public
parliament:term:create	✓	✓
parliament:term:read	✓	✓	✓	✓
parliament:term:update	✓	✓
parliament:term:delete	✓
parliament:session:create	✓	✓
parliament:session:read	✓	✓	✓	✓
parliament:session:update	✓	✓
parliament:session:delete	✓
parliament:membership:create	✓	✓
parliament:membership:read	✓	✓	✓	✓
parliament:membership:update	✓	✓
parliament:membership:delete	✓
parliament:calendar:create	✓	✓
parliament:calendar:read	✓	✓	✓	✓
parliament:calendar:update	✓	✓
parliament:calendar:delete	✓

Weekly Programme (S.O. 39)

Permission	admin	clerk	member	public
weekly_programme:create	✓	✓
weekly_programme:read	✓	✓	✓	✓
weekly_programme:update	✓	✓
weekly_programme:delete	✓

Sittings (S.O. 26–33)

Permission	admin	speaker	deputy_speaker	clerk	member	public
sitting:create	✓			✓
sitting:read	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
sitting:update	✓			✓
sitting:delete	✓
sitting:start		✓	✓
sitting:adjourn		✓	✓
sitting:complete		✓	✓
sitting:cancel	✓			✓

S.O. 31 — Adjournment is the Speaker's prerogative. Only the Speaker or Deputy Speaker may call the House to order or adjourn it.

Order Papers (S.O. 38)

Permission	admin	speaker	clerk	member	public
order_paper:create	✓		✓
order_paper:read	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
order_paper:publish	✓	✓	✓

S.O. 38 — The Clerk prepares and circulates the Order Paper. Primary Order Papers must be published at least 12 hours before the sitting; supplementary Order Papers at least 1 hour before.

Floor Control / Speaking (S.O. 78–82, 97)

Permission	speaker	deputy_speaker	clerk	member	whip	leader_majority	leader_minority	committee_chair	public
floor:request_speak				✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
floor:grant_speak	✓	✓
floor:deny_speak	✓	✓
floor:list_requests	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
floor:mic_control	✓	✓

Speaking time limits (S.O. 97):

Speaker type	System constant	Time limit
Leader of Majority / Minority	LEADER_MAJORITY_MINORITY	60 minutes
Regular Member (debate)	REGULAR_DEBATE	20 minutes
Urgency motion mover (S.O. 33)	URGENCY_MOVER	10 minutes
Other urgency speakers	URGENCY_OTHER	5 minutes
Statement (S.O. 43)	STATEMENT	3 minutes
Petition presenter (S.O. 225)	PETITION	5 minutes
Point of Order	POINT_OF_ORDER	No formal limit — Speaker decides

Queue ordering (S.O. 79): When two or more Members rise at the same time, the Speaker calls them in this order: Point of Order floats to the top; otherwise the Speaker determines priority. The system reflects this via SPEAKING_REQUEST_TYPE (POINT_OF_ORDER queue position = 0).

S.O. 81 — No Member may speak after the question has been put.

S.O. 82 — A Member may not speak twice to the same question (except to amendment, S.O. 82A).

Voting and Divisions (S.O. 69–76)

Permission	speaker	deputy_speaker	clerk	member	whip	leader_majority	leader_minority	committee_chair
vote:create	✓	✓
vote:cast				✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
vote:read	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
vote:tally	✓	✓	✓

S.O. 69–70 — Voting is ordinarily by electronic means. A roll-call division may be claimed (S.O. 72). Decorum during division: no Member may enter, pass through, or leave the Chamber after the question is put (S.O. 76).

Motions (S.O. 46–60)

Permission	admin	speaker	deputy_speaker	clerk	member	whip	leader_majority	leader_minority
motion:create					✓	✓	✓	✓
motion:read	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
motion:update				✓	✓
motion:approve		✓	✓
motion:delete	✓			✓

S.O. 47 — Notice of any motion must be given by a Member before it may be moved, except for motions that may be moved without notice under S.O. 52.

Committees (S.O. 171–202)

Permission	admin	speaker	clerk	member	committee_chair
committee:create	✓	✓	✓
committee:read	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
committee:update	✓	✓	✓		✓
committee:delete	✓

S.O. 178 — The quorum of a select committee is one-third of its membership. S.O. 173 — Members are nominated to committees. S.O. 184 — A Member adversely mentioned in a matter may not sit on the committee investigating it.

Petitions (S.O. 219–227)

Permission	admin	speaker	clerk	member	public
petition:read	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
petition:update	✓		✓
petition:manage	✓	✓	✓

S.O. 219 — Any person has the right to petition the National Assembly. S.O. 225 — The relevant committee must respond within 60 calendar days. S.O. 227 — The Assembly or committee must respond within 60 calendar days.

Questions (S.O. 42A–42G)

Permission	admin	speaker	clerk	member
question:submit				✓
question:read	✓	✓	✓	✓
question:admit		✓	✓
question:answer				✓

S.O. 42A — Notice of a question must be given at least three days before the sitting at which it is to be asked (ordinary questions). Urgent questions follow a separate procedure.

Statements (S.O. 43–44)

Permission	admin	speaker	clerk	member	leader_majority	leader_minority
statement:submit				✓	✓	✓
statement:read	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
statement:debate				✓	✓	✓

Debates

Permission	admin	speaker	deputy_speaker	clerk	member	whip	leader_majority	leader_minority	committee_chair
debate:create	✓	✓	✓	✓
debate:read	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
debate:participate					✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
debate:manage		✓	✓

Public Bills (S.O. 113–145)

Permission	admin	speaker	clerk	member	whip	leader_majority	leader_minority
bill:create				✓	✓	✓	✓
bill:read	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
bill:update			✓	✓
bill:delete	✓
bill:status:manage		✓	✓

S.O. 113 — Bills may be introduced by any Member or by the Cabinet. S.O. 124 — Not more than one stage of a Bill may be taken at the same sitting.

Hansard (Official Record)

Permission	admin	speaker	clerk	member	hansard_editor	public
hansard:read	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
hansard:generate	✓		✓		✓

Documents

Permission	admin	speaker	clerk	member	hansard_editor
document:upload	✓		✓	✓	✓
document:read	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
document:manage	✓		✓

Financial Procedures (S.O. 232–241)

Permission	admin	speaker	clerk	member	leader_majority
financial:submit			✓	✓	✓
financial:read	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
financial:approve		✓

Broadcast and Public Access (S.O. 250–254)

Permission	admin	speaker	deputy_speaker	clerk	member	public
broadcast:start	✓	✓	✓	✓
broadcast:stop	✓	✓	✓	✓
broadcast:read	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
broadcast:redact	✓	✓

S.O. 252 — The Speaker controls broadcasting and may order it discontinued. S.O. 253 — The public shall have access to proceedings of the National Assembly. S.O. 254 — The Speaker may exclude persons from the House or committee rooms.

Geographic Data

Permission	admin	clerk	public
geographic:create	✓
geographic:read	✓	✓	✓
geographic:update	✓
geographic:delete	✓

Member Profiles

Permission	admin	clerk	member (own)
member:profile:read	✓	✓	✓
member:profile:update	✓		✓
member:profile:manage	✓	✓

Speaker Election Permissions (S.O. 4–12B)

Permission	clerk	member
speaker:election:create	✓
speaker:election:read	✓	✓
speaker:election:update	✓
speaker:election:delete	✓
speaker:nominate		✓
speaker:nomination:read	✓	✓
speaker:nomination:withdraw		✓ (own)
speaker:vote		✓
speaker:ballot:prepare	✓
speaker:ballot:issue	✓
speaker:ballot:replace	✓
speaker:ballot:seal	✓
speaker:ballot:destroy	✓
speaker:voting:open	✓
speaker:voting:close	✓
speaker:further:ballot	✓
speaker:tie:resolve	✓
speaker:results:read	✓	✓
speaker:results:calculate	✓
speaker:oath:administer	✓
speaker:resignation:create		✓ (own)
speaker:resignation:read	✓	✓
speaker:resignation:notify	✓
speaker:removal:motion:create		✓
speaker:removal:motion:read	✓	✓
speaker:removal:motion:schedule	✓
speaker:removal:motion:vote		✓
speaker:committee:create	✓
speaker:committee:investigate		✓ (committee members)
speaker:committee:report		✓ (committee members)

S.O. 7(1) — A candidate for Speaker must receive at least two-thirds of all Members to be elected on the first ballot. S.O. 5(6) — The Clerk prepares ballot papers at least 2 hours before the meeting. S.O. 10 — Ballot papers are sealed and kept for 6 months, then destroyed by the Clerk.

System Administration

Permission	superadmin	admin
all	✓
system:audit	✓	✓
system:settings	✓	✓
system:backup	✓

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4. Managing Roles and Permissions via API

System administrators assign permissions to roles through the API. Permissions are then evaluated per-request by the PermissionsGuard.

Operation	Method	Endpoint
List all roles	GET	/api/v1/roles
Create a role	POST	/api/v1/roles
Update a role's permissions	PUT	/api/v1/roles/:id
List all available permissions	GET	/api/v1/permissions
Assign role to user	POST	/api/v1/users/:id/roles

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5. Key Constraints from Standing Orders

Rule	Standing Order	System enforcement
Only Speaker/Deputy Speaker may call House to order and adjourn	S.O. 31	sitting:start, sitting:adjourn restricted to speaker and deputy_speaker
Only Speaker/Deputy Speaker may grant/deny floor	S.O. 78–79	floor:grant_speak, floor:deny_speak restricted to speaker and deputy_speaker
Only Speaker/Deputy Speaker may control microphones	S.O. 79, 97	floor:mic_control restricted to speaker and deputy_speaker
No Member may speak twice to the same question	S.O. 82	Enforced in getSpeakingQueue — prior speaker check
No Member may speak after question put	S.O. 81	Enforced at voting session creation — floor locked on vote:create
Leader of Majority/Minority has extended speaking time	S.O. 97	SPEAKING_TIME_LIMITS.LEADER_MAJORITY_MINORITY = 3600 s applied on floor:grant_speak
Point of Order floats to top of queue	S.O. 79	queuePosition = 0 for POINT_OF_ORDER request type
Ballot papers prepared 2 hours before Speaker election	S.O. 5(6)	speaker:ballot:prepare time-checked in service layer
Ballot papers destroyed after 6 months	S.O. 10	speaker:ballot:destroy available to Clerk only
Order Paper published at least 12 h before sitting	S.O. 38	timingWarning returned by order-papers/:id/publish
Supplementary Order Paper at least 1 h before sitting	S.O. 38	Same timingWarning check, isSupplementary = true
Committee quorum is one-third of membership	S.O. 178	committees/:id/quorum endpoint
Committee response to petition within 60 days	S.O. 225, 227	Deadline tracked on Petition model
Gazette notice required for special sittings	S.O. 29	gazetteNoticeRef required when type = SPECIAL
Public access to broadcast proceedings	S.O. 252–253	broadcast:read and hansard:read granted to public