PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY - Inter-Parliamentary Union

Oversight through parliamentary questions
and “interpellations”
An effective parliament (I): The national level I 133
In parliamentary systems and others where ministers are also members of
the legislature, the parliamentary questioning of ministers on a regular basis,
both orally and in writing, forms an important mechanism of oversight. Oral
questions in plenary session can often turn into a party dogfight generating
more heat than light, with questioning by ruling party members bordering
on sycophancy, and replies degenerating into point-scoring against the opposition.
Written replies can also be carefully crafted by civil servants to avoid
revealing anything substantial. Nevertheless, when working properly, parliamentary
questions are a significant investigative and oversight mechanism.
For ministers to have to explain and justify their policies to parliament on a
regular basis, and to answer publicly for any shortcomings, is a salutary
discipline and an important contribution to accountability, as this comment
from the Zambian Parliament confirms:
The purpose of the questions in the House is first to give an opportunity
for Members to solicit information on matters of public importance.
Secondly, questions press for Government action – that is,
through a question in the House, the Government is called upon
either to start or complete a project, to provide certain facilities or to
take action on any public affair. Other salient features about parliamentary
questions include allowing Members a chance to put across
the views and mood of the public to the Government, especially on
current issues, thereby testing the calibre of Ministers and their
officers by the way they handle questions especially supplementary
ones. Questions force Ministers to be more alert for fear of exposing
their failures; and questions generally help to keep the Government
on its toes.
These aims are more likely to be realised, the more systematically the
process of questioning is organised. Here, for example, is the procedure for
the Irish Dail:
The Taoiseach (Prime Minister) answers questions of which notice has
been given (and supplementary questions asked without notice) for
90 minutes each week; and also answers questions from the leaders of
the parties in opposition without notice for a further 40 minutes each
week. Other members of the Government answer questions in rotation