PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY - Inter-Parliamentary Union

126 I PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
delegation granted by statute law,’ with the likelihood of frequent recourse to
judicial review. To deal with this problem a number of parliaments require that
specific powers of delegated legislation or regulation granted to the executive
be subject to a specific time-limit (so-called ‘sunset clauses’), to enable the
regulations to be systematically reviewed; and that any emergency regulations
enacted beyond these powers be confirmed by parliament within a short
time-span.
A second issue is the need for systematic monitoring of the implementation
of legislation, both as to whether it is being effectively implemented and what
its consequences are in practice. According to the submission from the South
African Parliament, ‘the legislative function does not cease with the passage
of a bill and, thus, only by monitoring the implementation process can
Members of Parliament uncover any defects and act to correct misinterpretation
of legislation or maladministration within a government department.’ One
common reason why legislation is not effectively implemented is that
adequate financial provision has not been made; hence the importance, already
mentioned, of the fiscal implications of proposed legislation being clearly
spelt out and also followed up in budget appropriations.
Both these issues closely touch on the oversight function of parliament,
which will be considered in the next section.
Further online reading about im proving the legislative process:
Global Centre for Information and Communication Technology in Parliament
Inter-American Development Bank (2006). Political Parties, Legislatures, and
Presidents, in Economic and social progress in Latin America, 2006 Report
(Chapter 3).
Inter-Parliamentary Union, United Nations Development Programme (2003).
Ten years of strengthening parliaments in Africa, 1991-2000. Lessons learnt and the
way forward.
United Nations Development Programme (2003). Parliamentary Development
practice note.
U.S. Agency for International Development (2000). USAID Handbook on
Legislative Strengthening.