The Constitutional Standards of the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution

Abstract

This report sets out a code of constitutional standards based on the reports of the House of Lords Select Committee of the Constitution. This codification exercise has three principal goals. The first is to draw attention to the normative foundations of the work of the Constitution Committee. The Constitution Committee was established in 2001 following a recommendation of the Royal Commission on the reform of the House of Lords.3 The Committee’s formal terms of reference were set by the House of Lords Liaison Committee and have not changed since then: ‘to examine the constitutional implications of all public Bills coming before the House; and to keep under review the operation of the constitution’.4 The Constitution Committee has used this remit to establish itself as a key constitutional actor. It has done this by producing important investigative reports that contribute to current debates on the constitution, and by publishing reports on the constitutional implications of Government bills, some of which have proved highly influential.5 The Committee’s influence and status derives from its ability to articulate, interpret and develop the norms of the British constitution that are relevant to the scrutiny process.