Parliamentary Control Research Articles

Prokuratura a Sejm

Author argues in the article that under the legal status preceding the 2009 amendment to the Act on the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Sejm’s control over the actions of the Minister of Justice – Prosecutor General found a direct basis in the constitutional norm, which entrusts the Sejm with the control over the Council of Ministers. Under the 2009 prosecution model, where the functions of the Prosecutor General and the Minister of Justice were separated, the Prosecutor General, directing the activities of the prosecution service, was an autonomous body in relation to Council of Ministers, President, Sejm and Senate. The reconnection of the functions of the Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General by the 2016 Act gives the Sejm the possibility of parliamentary control of the Prosecutor General. Author indicates the instruments of parliamentary control emphasizing that the Sejm is entitled only to such powers of control that have been clearly defined in the Constitution and laws. Author justifies the thesis that the diversity of the models of functioning of the prosecutor’s office in Poland, as an institution beyond the framework of the classical Montesquieu classification, does not deprive the Sejm of the right to control the prosecutor’s office, which he realizes with the help of diverse means.

The Supervision of Legality by the Finnish Parliamentary Ombudsman during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article studies the supervisory role of the Finnish Parliamentary Ombudsman during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. A major legal problem during emergencies is that respect for the rule of law tends to get lost in the midst of rapid decision-making procedures. Therefore, in addition to the parliamentary control and the judicial review of courts, the Ombudsman finds a complementary position in supervising the legality of public actions during emergencies. The annual report of the Finnish Parliamentary Ombudsman shows that 931 complaints arrived this Office in 2020, concerning issues on the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases have tested public actions against the Finnish Constitution and other laws during the pandemic. To analyse the legal supervisory role of the Ombudsman during this period, we have selected three themes including restrictions on the freedom of movement, imposing visit bans on care centres, and limiting business activities. This analysis exposes the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic as a societal syndemic, meaning that although the health-related aspect of this crisis prevailed initially, the use of public power may not only endanger the principle of legality, but also cause societal, economic, and political changes, which may last for years after the crisis.

Construction of semantic networks and determining the degree of divergence of texts

The article presents a method for comparing text documents, which is based on the construction and comparison of the corresponding semantic networks. This technique can become the basis for building systems for comparing legal documents in the framework of parliamentary control. An algorithm for constructing semantic networks as one of the types of ontologies is also considered. This algorithm can also be used in systems for automated summarizing legal information in order to generate concise information-rich reports, brief annotations or digests. The proposed technique can be used in processing queries during information retrieval, providing the ability to determine the degree of similarity or difference in the structure and semantics of texts.

Parliamentary control in the system of public administration in Ukraine.

Parliamentary control in the system of public administration in Ukraine.

Can parliament govern the transport transition? How the German Bundestag scrutinizes rail projects

Abstract Background The paper aims to elucidate to what extent the German Parliament exerts control over rail planning. Parliament has the budgetary right, but information asymmetries vis-à-vis the railway company Deutsche Bahn and the Ministry of Transport make parliamentary control difficult. Methods Recently, Germany has instituted a parliamentary review process that allows the Parliament to take up concerns by the public affected by rail projects. We use the principal-agent theory to model this new institution. Parliament delegates rail planning to the Deutsche Bahn, while the Federal Railway Authority serves as a budget watchdog, and parliament uses input from public participation as a deck-stacking procedure. The paper first situates the institutional innovations—the new parliamentary oversight procedure—against the former logic of railway planning. Second, based on the documentation of parliamentary oversight, we analyze for which demands by the affected public the Parliament uses its power to change rail projects. Results The paper showed that public participation matters. The German Parliament introduced expensive changes to rail projects. In particular, demands that had been voiced in well-institutionalized public participation (that is, when municipalities, regional associations, etc., were engaged in long-term institutionalized dialogues with the Deutsche Bahn) were more likely to be addressed. An Extra budget was then allocated to, for example, noise-regulating measures. Conclusions To sum up, the German Parliament uses information gained in public participation in combination with its budget rights to exert control over railway planning for conflictual projects. Thus, Parliament takes a more active role in railway planning. Whether this also leads to more acceptance for rail projects, is an open question.

Violation of the procedure for obtaining reliable evidence, which hinders the work of the temporary investigative commissions of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

The published article is determined for studying such a question as the crimes against the procedure for obtaining reliable evidence, which interferes with the activities of the temporary investigative commissions of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The suggested article includes observing such a question as realization an investigation by temporary investigative commissions of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is one of the leading forms of parliamentary control in Ukraine. The article produces such notions as the temporary investigative commission, the lawful procedure for obtaining reliable evidence, crimes against justice, witness’s testimonies, obligation of a witness to testify to the temporary investigative commission. The main attention is given to the methods of obstruction of the investigation of the temporary investigative commission, which are used by the witnesses. The key note concerns such issues as qualification of a witness’s refusal to testify by a temporary investigative commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as disrespect for the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. This study is an оriginal proposal to solve the current problem of criminal law protection of the legal procedure for conducting an investigation by a temporary investigative commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

The inter-parliamentary cooperation as a solution to mitigate the democratic deficit within the European Union

1979년 유럽의회(European Parliament)가 직접보통 선거를 도입한 결과로 발생한, 유럽의회와 회원국 의회 간의 단절이 유럽의회와 회원국 의회 간 협력의 필요성을 낳아, 그 협력이 꾸준히 증가해왔다. 유럽의회가 유럽연합이사회(Council of the European Union)와 동등한 정책결정기구로서 참여하는 공동체 방식(Community method)이 아닌, 회원국 간 지속적인 정치적 타협과 이해조정을 요구하는 정부 간 협의 방식(Intergovernmental method)에 의해 채택된 유럽 정책이 증가함으로써, 유럽연합의 활동들에 관한 의회 통제의 사각지대가 확장되고 있는 것이 현실이다. 본 연구는 유럽의회와 회원국 의회 사이에 존재하는 상호보완성(complementarity) 덕분에, 의회 간 협력이 유럽연합의 활동들에 대한 민주적 정당성을 강화하는 장치가 될 수 있음을 보여 준다. 본 연구는 유럽연합 내 다양한 의회 간 협력회의들을 EU회원국 의회 내 EU담당위원회 간 회의인 COSAC (Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union) 그리고 EU회원국 의회의장 간 회의인 EUSC(Conference of Speakers of the EU Parliaments)와 같은 모든 종류의 유럽연합 이슈들을 전방위적으로 다루는 의회 간 협력회의들과, 특정 분야에 집중된 분야별 의회 간 협력회의들(유럽연합 공동외교안보/공동안보방위 정책을 위한 의회 간 협력회의인 IPC for CFSP/CSDP, 유럽연합 내 안정, 경제적 조정 및 거버넌스에 관한 의회 간 협력 회의인 IPC on SECG 그리고 유로폴에 관한 공동의회조사 그룹인 JPSG on Europol)로 나누어서 검토하고, 강점(Strengths), 약점(Weaknesses), 기회(Opportunities) 및 위기(Threats)를 검토하는 SWOT 분석을 통해, 유럽연합 내 의회 간 협력을 종합적으로 검토함으로써, 유럽연합 내 의회 간 협력의 한계와 가능성에 대한 이해를 제고한다. 또한 본 연구는 유럽연합 내 의회 간 협력에 관한 연구를 통하여, 한·중·일 동아시아 3국 의회 간 협력의 발전가능성 및 한국에 주는 함의를 도출한다.Resulting to a large extent from the gap between the European Parliament and the national parliaments as a result of the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage introduced in 1979, the necessity of the inter-parliamentary cooperation (IPC) has progressively increased. In the context where the blind angle of the parliamentary control on the EU expands, resulting from the development of the European politics taken by the intergovernmental method instead of by the community method, this study shows that the IPC can be a device which could lead to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the EU’s acts thanks to the complementarity between the European Parliament and the national parliaments. This article examines the IPC by dividing it into two types of IPC: on the one hand, IPCs dealing with subjects related to general EU affairs (*COSAC and *EUSC); on the other hand, IPCs dealing with subjects which are focused on a certain sector (*IPC for CFSP/CSDP, *IPC on SECG and *JPSG on Europol). In assessing the IPC through a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis, this study leads us to understand the limits and the potential benefits of the IPC. In addition, through a study on the IPC within the EU, this article seeks to extend possibilities for the development of the IPC in three East Asia countries (South Korea, China and Japan) and makes us to learn a lesson for South Korea. COSAC: Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union * EUSC: Conference of Speakers of the EU Parliaments * IPC for CFSP/CSDP: Inter-Parliamentary Conference for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defense Policy * IPC on SECG: Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Coordination and Governance in the EU * JPSG on Europol: Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol

THE LEGAL VALUE OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATIONS OF BUDGETARY FEDERALISM AND CURRENCY SOVEREIGNTY IN PROTECTING RUSSIA'S INTERESTS UNDER SANCTIONS

Introduction. The article examines in a broad context the legal value of the constitutional provisions on the stabilizing role of budgetary federalism and Russia's currency sovereignty in the context of US and Western sanctions against Russia. The article deals with topical legal problems of counteraction of the Russian economy to foreign sanctions using the ideas of ensuring security and economic growth laid down in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Within the framework of constitutional and financial law, currency, budgetary, unified economic public-authoritative measures of protection against sanctions are determined. They are based on the doctrinal and conceptual foundations of the stability of the constitutional order and the rule of law of the state. The legal value of the constitutional principles of protecting the monetary, financial, budgetary, economic sovereignty of Russia in the wording of the Constitution of the Russian Federation of 07/04/2020 is noted. It is emphasized that the updated Constitution of the Russian Federation strengthens the financial and stabilization function of the national currency with the planning and coordinating role of budgetary federalism and a single public financial mechanism for ensuring the stability of the financial system and the economy of the state. Materials and methods. The method of legal analysis of the norms of constitutional and financial law emphasizes the legal «value» of protecting budgetary federalism, currency sovereignty, citizens' rights to indexation of budget payments and other norms of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The goal-setting social and security impact of general and special principles of constitutional law as priorities for the financial and economic stability of the state in the face of external threats was revealed. When considering anti-sanction measures of the President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation for 2020-2022 noted their focus on increasing the role of budgetary federalism, currency sovereignty, the unity of action of public authorities in financial and budgetary relations. Results. The effectiveness and consistency of anti-sanctions legal measures developed by the state over the past three years are shown. The growing influence of special constitutional and legal methods of protecting monetary and financial sovereignty, budgetary and tax federalism, parliamentary control of a balanced interbudgetary and interdepartmental distribution of budget revenues is noted. Discussion and conclusions. Being a constitutional and legal category of financial law, the constitutional principles of budgetary federalism, currency sovereignty, and unity of public authority are applied as a general doctrinal national idea of countering sanctions. In this sense, the constitutional foundations are significant, that is, «valuable» for the implementation of an effective foreign and domestic policy of the state, in the socio-economic, political, defense-strategic, financial and other spheres.

The Fix is in? Parliamentary Scrutiny of Appointments of the Heads of Brazilian Regulatory Agencies

Abstract This manuscript analyses the parliamentary scrutiny of the presidential appointments to the direction of independent Brazilian Regulatory Agencies from an in-depth case study of the heads of the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency—ANVISA, between 1999 and 2021. In Brazil, the Senate has the final decision on these appointments, exercising a dual function: parliamentary control over presidential patronage and selecting future heads of agencies. The objective of this article was to explain how the parliament exercises these functions and interferes in the appointment process. The results indicate that, although the formal process of parliamentary scrutiny seems like a game of marked cards, where it is already known in advance that the result will be approval, the Parliament plays an anticipatory role of presidential decisions, interfering in the timing of appointments and the possibility of influence over the choice of nominees.

New Zealand Subsoil Using Legal Regime

The object of the study is the relations of subsurface use in New Zealand, the subject is the legal regulation of the exploitation of New Zealand natural resources contained in the subsurface and on the seabed - in sulfide fields. The author examines in detail the state mechanism of environmental management, paying special attention to the role of local authorities and the indigenous Maori population in the procedure for granting the right to use mineral deposits, as well as the specifics of the search and production of hydrocarbons on the continental shelf, the legal regime of Antarctica, New Zealand subantarctic territories and water areas. The article examines the institution of ownership of land and subsoil, the permissive procedure for the use of natural objects. The relevance of the work is due to its practical significance and reflects domestic economic interests in Oceania. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the originality of the work containing fundamentally new information on the subject of research - the only one in Russia and one of the few published scientific works on New Zealand natural resource law in the world. The publication analyzes the laws in the current year's edition, it can be used for comparative jurisprudence, in the legislative process, for educational, scientific and other purposes, the article contains conclusions on the text and at the end of the study. The conclusion about the sovereignty of the British Crown over the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf of New Zealand, the proclamation of the New Zealand sovereign as the owner of the natural resources of the relevant waters, contrary to the norms of international maritime law, is important for ensuring peace and global security. The experience of municipal and parliamentary control, specialized environmental justice of New Zealand can be used by the Russian Federation.

PROTECTION OF CYBERSPACE IN POLAND AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC – THE ROLE OF SECRET SERVICES

Secret services are the key elements in the field of cyber security in Poland. Two of the national CSIRTs (Computer Security Incident Response Teams), i.e. CSIRT GOV and CSIRT MON are run by the following services: the Internal Security Agency and Military Counterintelligence Service. In the Czech Republic, CSIRTs/CERTs at the national level are operated by civilian entities and coordination in the event of a threat is the responsibility of the civilian National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NUKIB). The Polish Act on the National Cyber Security System does not provide for parliamentary control of the activities of national CSIRTs. In the Czech Republic, a special standing committee was established to control the activities of NUKIB. Fundamental differences in the structure of the cyberspace protection system in Poland and the Czech Republic may result from the adoption of different priorities in terms of values by political actors.

COVID-19 and United Kingdom’s legal regulation

There has been an unprecedented impact on the all spheres of society from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As it has rapidly become a global pandemic, states around the world had to implement appropriate measures for responding to it containment and control. The different countries have used various approaches to responding to the pandemic. This article explores the UK's approach to the COVID-19 health emergency. More precisely, it will be analysed two main aspects: on the one hand, the acts that were adopted in the context of the health crisis and its assessment; on the other hand, it will be analysed attention is focus to the issue related to the limitation of fundamental human rights and freedoms. In the early stages of epidemic, UK implemented herd immunity strategies and its danger was initially underestimated by the authorities. Nevertheless, watching how things unfolded, from March 2020 onwards UK took drastic measures to prevent the spread of the virus. including country-wide lockdown and the powers of public administration entities are expanded. The sagnificant of these measures have been implemented using acts of soft law or non-binding guidelines and recommendations, the legal status of which is not entirely clear. In addition, preference was given to the adoption of new legislation to combat the pandemic, regardless of the existing legal basis for emergency situations. At the same time, the authority to take measures to contain and spread СOVID-19 was transferred to the executive authority with minimal parliamentary control.

Status and prospects of development of the management system of a parliamentary institution as a basis for improving the organizational and legal mechanism of parliamentary control

The article, based on a comparative analysis of the constitutional practices of European parliaments, outlines current trends in national parliamentary practice to optimize the parliamentary institution management system in the current government coalition model. The organizational and legal management mechanism peculiarities of a parliamentary institution as an integrated component of ensuring the implementation of internal and external parliamentary control are described.

Inadequate Parliamentary Control Over Public Revenue


 
 
 
 The purpose of this paper is to study the level of parliamentary control over public finance in India for ensuring accountability and transparency expected in a democratic form of governance. As per the Constitution of India, neither any money shall be collected nor the collected money be spent without the approval of the Parliament or the State Legislature, as the case may be. The accountability and transparency expected in spending should equally apply to revenue collection also, as they are the two sides of public finance. While the parliamentary control over public spending is complete with the system of parliamentary approval for spending and monitoring of the spending against its approval, through Appropriation Accounts, such control is not complete in respect of public revenue, as there is no parliamentary procedure to monitor the realisation of all revenues authorised by it. Consequently, crores of rupees of public revenue authorised by Parliament/Legislature could remain uncollected without its knowledge. Introduction of a Receipts Accounts showing the details of unrealised revenues with reasons and its presentation to Parliament/Legislature would fill the gap in parliamentary control and transparency in realisation of public revenue.
 
 
 

Parliamentary Control over the Decisions of the Special Committee of the Political Prisoners Foundation in Iraq

Parliamentary control over the executive authority is non-judicial. It is based on the Articles of the constitution. The political regime of any country determines the extent and the nature of parliamentary control. The supervisory authority in the parliamentary regime expands. It is based on mutual control by the legislative and executive authorities. The government is responsible before the parliament, which may lead to the withdrawal of confidence. In return, the government has the right of resolving the parliament. Parliamentary control is the evaluation of the executive branch with the purpose of detecting its actions to address violations that affect the basic rules drawing by the law from its administrative activity to determine the response in order to be questioned by the parliament. The present study tackles the role of parliamentary control over the decisions of the Special Committee of the Political Prisoners Foundation and implementing its rules by relevant government agencies.

Committee on Human Rights, Deoccupation and Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories in Donetsk, Luhansk Oblasts and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Sevastopol, National Minorities and International Relations as a domestic institution for

Civil law by its legal nature are precisely those rights, the protection of which must be constantly guaranteed and ensured at all levels of activity of any domestic institution.
 The degree of civil rights is the main criterion for determining the level of the rule of law in a state.
 Such protection should also take place when the committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine perform their functions within the framework of parliamentary control and carry out the main activities of such committees through subcommittees established from among their members.
 It should be understood that underestimating the functions of the Ukrainian parliament, in particular the control function of the profile committee and the activities of its subcommittees, loses the importance of civil rights in the parliamentary control exercised by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
 We believe that the activities of the profile committee - the Committee on Human Rights, Deoccupation and Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories in Donetsk, Luhansk Oblasts and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the City of Sevastopol, National Minorities and International Relations - should focus on citizens right. Such concentration should be reflected, in particular, in the development of draft laws, preliminary consideration and preparation of conclusions and proposals on draft laws submitted by the subjects of the legislative initiative to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Immediate measures should also be taken to send materials for appropriate response within the limits established by law, bodies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, state bodies, and their officials in order to protect civil rights. It is necessary to carefully analyze the practice of application of legislative acts in the activities of state bodies, their officials on issues related to the subjects of this profile committee, preparation and submission of relevant conclusions and recommendations to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
 Strengthening the role of the drafting and control functions of the profile committee will help prevent violations of civil rights and strengthen the mechanism for their protection.
 Interaction of the profile committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine with the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, as one of the manifestations of the control function, plays an important role in the field of protection of civil rights.

Die parlamentarische Kontrolle der Nachrichtendienste. Bilanz und Ausblick

For several decades, a juridification process of the work of the intelligence and secret services has been taking place in all Western democracies . During the mid-1970s, the Federal Republic of Germany, under a social-liberal coalition, began to create the legal basis for these special security authorities, namely to legally determine tasks and powers and to regulate their control . This process is still ongoing . In its more recent jurisdiction the Federal Constitutional Court required the legal regulations and the effectiveness of the control practice to be evaluated on a regular basis (BVerfGE 154, 152) . Despite four comprehensive reforms (1992, 1999, 2009 and 2016) as well as a few minor changes and without first evaluating the efficiency of these reforms, the current coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP intends to further reform the parliamentary control of the activities of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), the Intelligence Service for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), and the Federal Office for the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) . The article presents and assesses the developments to date, contains an outlook on the forthcoming reform, and names the desiderata .

ВЗАЄМОДІЯ СУБ'ЄКТІВ У СИСТЕМІ ДЕМОКРАТИЧНОГО ЦИВІЛЬНОГО КОНТРОЛЮ НАД СИЛАМИ ОБОРОНИ : ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ПРАВОВОГО РЕГУЛЮВАННЯ

A scientific and legal study of the peculiarities of the legal regulation of the interaction of subjects in the system of democratic civilian control over the defense forces, as well as the current legislation and subordinate regulatory legal acts in the relevant field, was carried out. The concept of democratic civil control in the national legislation of Ukraine is studied. It was established that the presence of effective mechanisms of democratic civilian control is a guarantee of guaranteeing the constitutional foundations of a democratic, legal state in the field of national security and civilmilitary relations. Attention is focused on the fact that in the context of the general provisions of democratic civil control, without coordination and interaction it is not possible to ensure the mission of this activity. The category "interaction" was studied. Three main approaches to understanding the concept of interaction in legal science are distinguished, in particular: 1) functional; 2) communicative; 3) operational. Subjects in the system of democratic civilian control over the defense forces are singled out, which include: 1) President of Ukraine; 2) Supreme Rada of Ukraine; 3) National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine; 4) Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine; 5) bodies of executive power; 6) local self-government bodies; 7) courts; 8) public institutions. The issue of the meaning of control functions is highlighted. The control activity of the President of Ukraine and the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine is disclosed. The place of parliamentary control as a component of the mechanism of democratic civilian control over the defense forces is emphasized. The essence of the concept of public supervision as a type of civil control is revealed. Attention is focused on the need to ensure the interaction of subjects in the system of democratic civilian control over the defense forces. Emphasis is placed on the positive international experience of introducing the mechanism of democratic civil control.

La governance del Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza: questioni critiche e nuove prospettive

The paper examines the governance of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan in order to explore critical issues and new perspectives. The task of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, that will monitor the progress in the implementation of the Plan and will be the only point of contact with the European Commission, is crucial. The “Control Room” under the Prime Minister’s Office, that will ensure the intervention’s coherence with the overall strategy, performs a core function of coordination. The governance of the Plan envisages direct responsability of national administrations and local authorities for carrying out the reforms and investments. The paper aims to analyses the impact of the PNRR on the form of government, in particular on the determination of national policy direction and on the relationship between Parliament and Government. The powers of direction and coordination of the President of the Council are enhanced to the detriment of the function of the Council of Ministers of determination of the general policy. This centralised governance, based on the Prime Minister’s Office, should be tempered by adequate forms of parliamentary control and monitoring in order to increase the role of Parliament and to safeguard Government accountability. Besides, the PNRR affects the balance between technocratic and political component in the decision-making process at national and european level. The paper investigates on PNRR consequences on the form of state, in particular on the relationship between State and Regions, taking into account of the goal of reducing territorial asymmetries. A cooperative approach is necessary to foster the participation of regional and local autonomies in the implementation of the Plan. Furthermore, the papers intend to demonstrate that in the design of PNRR the strengthening of administrative capacity and the digitalization and interoperability are finalized to ensure the right to a good administration. In short, the PNRR is a driver of innovation for public institutions.

Forms and methods of parliamentary control according to the form of government

Forms and methods of parliamentary control according to the form of government