Political Control and Parliamentary Committees of Inquiry: Strengthening the Quality of Democracy

Matthias Keppel

doi:10.1007/s13132-021-00883-x

Abstract

In Austria and Germany’s parliamentary system, committees of inquiry represent the most comprehensive political control instruments. With the help of these committees, members of parliament can gain precise insight into the work of the government. These insights are necessary when suspicious cases are brought to public attention, from which the government’s actions and the abuse of power come to light. Based on a first-ever qualitative case study of investigative committees in Austria and Germany, this article focuses on the results of these parliamentary committees. By scrutinizing these authorities and institutions, the members of parliament acquire extensive knowledge of the actions. This assists in reforms and leads to innovative effects on the democratic quality of the political systems. By comparing these results and with the help of the central analytical framework of Hans Joachim Lauth’s 15-field matrix, this study discovers that committees of inquiry can influence all areas of politics, law, and society. This influence occurs primarily through knowledge generation on real political processes, and provides a significant contribution to knowledge democracy.

Highlights

At the center of the new forms of democracy are constitutions, which enshrine a country’s political system in law, and electoral systems, which provide people with the opportunity to shape policy
One can speak of a higher level of information provided in the German Bundestag and a more public mode of operation of the committee. This is not to diminish the transparency of the committees of inquiry in the National Council; still, the full provision of information to the public by parliament is an essential factor when assessing the dimension of scrutiny
The membership of committees of inquiry in the German Bundestag is biased in favor of the parliamentary minority, rather than the National Council

Summary

Introduction

At the center of the new forms of democracy are constitutions, which enshrine a country’s political system in law, and electoral systems, which provide people with the opportunity to shape policy. In Austria, this followed the practice of the German Bundestag, which has been applicable for decades This constellation makes it possible to observe the results of the investigations comparatively and pursue the leading research question: What influence do parliamentary committees of inquiry have on the political dimension of scrutiny, and what is the innovative power of this instrument of scrutiny?. 471) Based on these primary classifications and clarifications of the dimension of control, Hans Joachim Lauth (Lauth, 2015, 9ff) sees the need for a strict separation of the abovementioned levels, so that the actors of control can be clearly determined His conception focuses on legal control surrounded by political control. Legal consequences are required only to a limited extent (Lauth, 2004, 346f)

Procedures of decision

Results of Committees of Inquiry

Original German

Conclusion and Considerations