PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY - Inter-Parliamentary Union

122 I PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Improving the legislative process
Many parliaments have been experimenting with different ways of
organising the legislative process, so that time constraints do not curtail the
effective scrutiny of bills, and at the same time priority can be given to those
parts of proposed legislation that are more important or controversial. The
Italian Chamber of Deputies, for example, has recently undertaken a more
rigorous timetabling of legislation, since it had found the process being
swamped by amendments, and sessions having to be extended to unacceptable
lengths. The problem has been resolved by means of a programming timetable
for bills, and requiring parliamentary groups to select a number of amendments
to be put to the vote, according to their respective size.
This approach addresses various demands: on the one hand, the need
to work quickly and to establish how much time is allowed for discussion,
thus preventing the Assembly from spreading itself too thin with
a plethora of often repetitive votes, and on the other hand, the need to
allow the Assembly to concentrate on those aspects of bills or proposed
amendments that it considers are of the most political importance.
Thanks to this reform and also the programme reforms, the Chamber
of Deputies has been able to address and shorten the length of debates,
which over the years had become increasingly problematic, thus
guaranteeing that the legislature can respond more quickly to the
country’s needs.
Similarly, the UK House of Commons, through the proposals of its
Modernisation Committee, has undertaken a systematic programming of
legislation, with an agreed timetable for the different clauses of each bill, so
as to ensure greater predictability and avoid having to guillotine discussion
because time has run out.
There are a number of ways in which programming, when it is done
well, assists the scrutiny of legislation. It provides Members with a
clear idea which parts of a bill will be debated when, allowing them to
concentrate on those parts of a bill in which they are most interested……The
greater certainty of timing is also beneficial for outside
groups. Knowing, at the beginning of the committee stage, when that
part of the bill will be debated makes it easier for them to plan the
delivery of briefing material to members of a standing committee.
Programming should allow the House and committees to plan their