PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY - Inter-Parliamentary Union

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consensus and the corresponding enforceability of any code of practice. Yet it could serve as a reasonable rule of thumb that, the more conflicts of interest are a matter of public concern in a particular country, the more the need for a clear and enforceable register of interests, and for an impartial figure to adjudicate such matters, in order to restore or maintain public confidence. On the matter of mechanisms for enforcing codes of conduct, it is worth quoting here a paragraph supplied by National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) from its work on international standards for democratic legislatures: Self-regulation is often insufficient to effectively enforce ethics regulations. For this reason, many countries have tasked an independent or non-partisan entity to monitor compliance with ethical codes – as in the case of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards in the United Kingdom. The code of conduct is enforced by the Committee on Standards and Privileges, and it is the duty of the Commissioner to advise the Committee, maintain the Register of Members’ interests, advise members, confidentially, on registration matters, monitor the operation of the code and the register; and finally, receive and, if appropriate, investigate complaints from legislators and citizens. Whilst the Commissioner cannot impose penalties, a power left to the Committee, he or she brings to the role greater levels of impartiality than might reasonably arise from the self-monitoring of an ethics committee. Parliamentary attendance Most parliamentary codes of conduct concern themselves mainly with financial matters and potential conflicts of interest. However, these are not the only issues that may affect the confidence of electorates in their representatives. Also of concern, for example, is the issue of parliamentary attendance. As has already been noted, TV pictures of largely empty chambers for plenary sessions can convey a misleading impression, since members may well be absent on other legitimate parliamentary and constituency business. Most parliaments regulate their members’ attendance at committees and plenary sessions through their standing orders, which typically require notification to the Presiding Officer of reasons for absence. Penalties for ‘unreasonable absence’ may include any or all of the following: ■ publication of an attendance/absence list; ■ censure or ‘call to order’; A parliament that is accountable I 103
104 I PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY ■ forfeiture of part of a member’s salary; ■ temporary suspension; ■ forfeiture of the parliamentary mandate. More exceptional is the provision in the USA and the Philippines for the Sergeant-at-Arms to arrest the offending member and/or have them conveyed by force to the assembly (source: Marc Van der Hulst, The Parliamentary Mandate, IPU, 2000, pp.107-12). Further online reading about codes of conduct and conflicts of interest: Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments (1998). Codes of conduct for parliamentary staff, in Constitutional and parliamentary information, N° 175 European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation (2001). Parliamentary codes of conduct in Europe: an overview. National Conference of State Legislatures (nd). Model code of conduct for legislative staff. National Democratic Institute (1999). Legislative ethics: a comparative overview. Stapenhurst, R. and Pelizzo, R. (2004). Legislative ethics and codes of conduct. World Bank Institute Party and campaign financing Not every issue of parliamentary accountability that has been a matter of concern to the public over the past decade or more is covered by codes of conduct that apply to members of parliament as individuals. There has also been concern over the way in which political parties competing for public office are financed. With the increasing cost of election campaigns on one side (the so-called ‘electoral arms race’), and the relative paucity of contributions from membership dues on the other, political parties have been forced to seek financial support from wealthy individuals and institutions. This has raised
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Electoral systems A representative
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Election rules and procedures to en
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A representative parliament I 27 Fu
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Foreign Affairs in the Norwegian St
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ment to following through a process
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An effective parliament (II): Parli
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Japan’s ODA is effectively reachi
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8. Facing the future Facing the fut
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Figure 8.1: Sources of Parliamentar
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Facing the future I 187 State: give
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and also to allow for increased par
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strengthening of both legislative a
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As regards the practicability and c
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3. Technology assessment. This has
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Australia Austria Belarus Belgium B
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Organization’s programmes aimed a
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MS. MARTA LAGOS CRUZ-COKE Executive
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MS. DULCE MARIA SAURI RIANCHO Membe
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Commonwealth Parliamentary Associat
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Non-governmental organisations Cent
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Index Note: Page numbers in bold in
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types of, 8, 15-17, 69 voter partic
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Myanmar, 176 Namibia, 77, 110 Natio
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Sweden, 63, 75, 110, 112, 165 gende
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