11. The key functions of Parliament

2019 ◽  
pp. 229-254
Author(s):  
Anne Dennett

This chapter identifies Parliament's primary functions of making law and scrutinising government action. Parliament's scrutiny of government has been defined as ‘the process of examining expenditure, administration, and policy in detail, on the public record, requiring the government of the day to explain itself to parliamentarians as representatives of the citizen and the taxpayer, and to justify its actions’. In the absence of a codified constitution and entrenched limits on executive power, the requirement for the government to answer to Parliament for its actions acts as a check and control. The chapter also considers the legislative process, particularly legislative scrutiny. Secondary legislation made by the government can often be subject to much less scrutiny and debate than primary legislation, and sometimes none at all. These scrutiny gaps increase the risk of arbitrary law-making and ‘governing from the shadows’, again raising rule of law concerns.

2021 ◽  
pp. 243-270
Author(s):  
Anne Dennett

This chapter identifies Parliament’s primary functions of making law and scrutinising government action. Parliament’s scrutiny of government has been defined as ‘the process of examining expenditure, administration, and policy in detail, on the public record, requiring the government of the day to explain itself to parliamentarians as representatives of the citizen and the taxpayer, and to justify its actions’. In the absence of a codified constitution and entrenched limits on executive power, the requirement for the government to answer to Parliament for its actions acts as a check and control. The chapter also considers the legislative process, particularly legislative scrutiny. Secondary legislation made by the government can often be subject to much less scrutiny and debate than primary legislation, and sometimes none at all. These scrutiny gaps increase the risk of arbitrary law-making and ‘governing from the shadows’, again raising rule of law concerns.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-81
Author(s):  
Andry Indrady

The Bureaucratic System of the Immigration Department of Hong Kong SAR is one of the legacies from British Colonial Government seen from legal and also immigration bureaucratic perspectives reflect the executive power domination over immigration policymaking. This is understandable since Hong Kong SAR adopts “Administrative State Model” which means Immigration Officer as a bureaucrat holds significant roles at both stages of policymaking and also its implementation. This research looks at transition period of the Immigration Department and its policies since the period of handover of Hong Kong SAR from the British Government to the Government of China especially throughout the concern from the public including academics about the future of immigration policies made by the Department that arguably from colonial to current being used as political and control tools to safeguard the interest of the Ruler. This situation ultimately will question the existence of Hong Kong SAR as one of the International Hub in the Era of Millennium.  


2020 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 51-60
Author(s):  
Martin Škop

This article traces the relationship between the law-making process and narratives. Undoubtedly, how statutes are created is a constitutional question, yet the Constitution regulates only part of this process. Constitution or any statute does not regulate parts of the legislative process implemented by the government (mostly preliminary phases). However, they are important and influence the remaining parts of the law-making process. This government’s activity is the sphere of informal regulation hidden from the primary control of the public. This article explores the importance of the bureaucratic elements of the law-making process with emphasis on a narrative approach: narratives justify legislature. How can we overcome the two lines of narratives – one produced by global capital and the other represented by national experience?


2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 686-702
Author(s):  
Yudhishthira Sapru ◽  
R.K. Sapru

In the current phase of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, and now broadly governance, regulatory administration has acquired growing importance as an instrument of achieving socio-economic objectives. It is through instrumentality of regulatory administration that the government is able to exercise effective political and economic sovereignty and control over the country’s governance process and resources. Governments of nearly all developing countries have initiated policies and procedures to promote and strengthen regulatory bodies and agencies. However, the results of these promotional and regular activities have varied considerably, often reflecting large inadequacies in policies, organisational structures and procedures. Increasing emphasis is now being placed at the national level on a more flexible regulatory administration to enforce compliance with nationally established policies and requirements in various political, economic and social spheres. As a watchdog for the public interest, governments both at central and state levels should engage in activities for the promotion of social and economic justice, so as to ensure the happiness and prosperity of the people.


Author(s):  
Nataliia Zakharchyn

The article considers the creation of the legislative basis regarding the museums’ activity in interwar (1918-1939) Poland. Temporary organization of common government authorities in 1918 suggested subordination of museums of interwar Poland to the Ministry of religion andpopular education. It also describes changes in subordination of the museums and some features of law-making process. In April 1918, the Department of Art of the Ministry processed and offered the first project of temporary law on museums. According to the legislative proposal, state politics in the museum industry had to be implementedusing the special museum abstract within Department of Art. In the draft, there were a few types of museum identified: the main ones (national) and regional, educational and special. It was necessary to legislate on determining andidentifying main directions of the activity, to organizationally form the framework of their functioning, for the sake of museum professional work activization, controlling their activity, help with creation of new collections and support of some old ones. It is stated that his fact was understood by the representatives of the organizations that were either connected to museum industry or played a catalytic role in museum reforms in the interwar period, for instance, The Union of Museums of Poland.It was the Union that the draft law “Onthe trusteeship for the public museums” was prepared by. Apart from the draft law, the project of the implementing regulation to the bill regarding establishment and activity of the Museum State Council was adopted. In the article, the process of establishing the draft law is considered. The article reflects the representation of modified law “On the trusteeship for the public museums” in the Parliament of Second Rzechpospolita Polska. In the parliament, the draft bill was considered as a framework, which determines the concept of a public museum. According to the bill, Minister of religion and education implemented the trusteeship and control of the activity of the public museums and approved theirstatutes. The articlealso reviews the aims and tasks of the adopted law and further implementing regulations, particularly, on the establishment of Museum State Council.


2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Dale Greentree

This article argues that the prerogative of mercy should be retained in New South Wales as a necessary and appropriate power of the Executive. Historically, pardons have provided opportunities for redemption. Currently, the statutory appeals process is limited to cases involving a miscarriage of justice where there is considerable doubt as to a person’s guilt. In cases where a person is guilty but is nevertheless deserving of mercy, the prerogative of mercy is the only avenue available. As a purely executive power, the prerogative of mercy can achieve the aims of the criminal justice system by tempering justice with mercy. The role of the sovereign involves maintaining order, but also enacting some conception of the good, driven by compassion, love, and mercy. Finally, this article argues that grants of mercy should be a matter of public record, for transparency and as a means of demonstrating this compassion to the public.


1947 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Somerville

Two hundred and fifty years ago a record-keeper sat amid the boxes, the cupboards and the shelves which housed his charges, compiling ‘an account of all or most of the records in the Duchy office and how to find them’. The result was invaluable for searchers in the Duchy of Lancaster records, but lacking order and arrangement, as its author was the first to admit, it is not a systematic description of these records and it says very little about their history. There is therefore some justification for attempting a comprehensive view of these records. The rich diversity of interest which the Duchy bears is fully reflected in the range of its records. It has indeed been said that ‘what the records of the United Kingdom are at large, these records of the Duchy are in miniature’. That is a bold assertion, difficult to sustain. For one thing, the Duchy never knew the complicated processes of the royal exchequer, and it must be obvious that the Duchy could not repeat in parvo the whole pattern of the nation's life. Yet the analogy gives a hint of the records' scope, and it becomes closer if we take the Duchy records to include those of the Palatinate of Lancaster. It is true that in the Public Record Office, which contains most of the records under discussion, the two series are treated separately, and the Guide, repeating a distinction drawn in 1868 in the Deputy Keeper's Report, says that the Duchy records ‘are entirely distinct from the records of the County palatine, which, although public, are purely local, whilst the Duchy Records, though private, concern the government and jurisdiction of the entire dominion of the Duchy and embrace the County Palatine as a subordinate regality’. This statement, which the grammarian finds imperfect as an example of the chiastic construction, is equally unsatisfactory to the archivist or historian if we understand it to refer to the palatinate, and not to the administration of the modern county council. We ought no more to segregate the palatinate simply because it was an organ of public administration than we should, say, a private hundred, and the description itself recognises the county palatine as a component part of the Duchy. How the judicial records of the court of Duchy chamber were any less public than those of the chancery court in Lancashire, is not explained. The distinction, in fine, is fallacious.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-196
Author(s):  
Andela Anggleni

Public Service-Based Information Technology and Communication (ICT), Electronics Neighborhood/Pillars of Citizens (e-RT/RW) (Study of e-Government in Kelurahan Talang Semut Kecamatan Bukit Kecil Kota Palembang). This study is based on the new way to manage public sector-oriented management services to the community forward, rather than the interests of the government. E-Government Program is a program of e-RT/RW Surabaya. The results showed the program e-RT/RW sourced from Palembang Mayor Factors supporting the program e-RT/RW in the Kelurahan Talang Semut, Bukit Kecil, Palembang is the full support of the government and relevant parties, the basic service standards and infrastructure are qualified. Whereas the inhibiting factor is the public interest, a lack of internal party support, and lack of maintenance of infrastructure. From the research, the researchers suggest that the necessary socialization harder, but not merely socialization but also training to people to operate online. Transparent financial accountability. Holding intense communication forum, addition of website content, and control of technical problems with a thorough evaluation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sugimin Sugimin

This article explains the urgency of an audits performance (value for money audits) in creating of performance accountability at cityor district government instance. This study was conducted by literature study with reference to a number of previous study and related regulations. The results of the study indicate that performance is a formal evaluation instrument for the government program. It helps to increase the public accountability by providing information concerning the government performance that may not be accessible to the public. The understanding of this concept and its implementation will enable to achieve optimal accountability for the public sector. It is concerned about performance audits centered on economic achievement, efficiency, and effectiveness depend on the existence of regulation, planning, assessment, authorization and control over the use of its resources. It is the responsibility of the public policy makers to establish the arrangements and to ensure that they are functioning appropriately. The responsibility of the internal auditor is to independently verify that execution of activities by policymakers have complied with the basic standards.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document