PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY - Inter-Parliamentary Union

190 I PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
tively, has had a particular bearing on the revision to parliamentary procedures.
The Israeli Knesset ‘is constantly engaged in reforms and changes’,
most recently to streamline its internal procedures and improve its standing
with the public. The Italian Parliament is currently engaged in a wide-ranging
reform of the constitution, affecting such things as the balance between the
two chambers in the legislative process, a reduction in the number of members
in each chamber and in the minimum age for voters and candidates. The
Portuguese Parliament has been involved in a substantial recent programme of
reforms, intended to strengthen oversight of the executive, to monitor implementation
of the laws and to bring parliament closer to the people. In the
United Kingdom, the logic of democratisation has generated numerous
reforms since 1997, including the abolition of the hereditary element in the
Upper House, the creation of a devolved parliament for Scotland and assemblies
for Wales and Northern Ireland, the introduction of a Human Rights Act,
and many others.
Facilitators and obstacles to reform
It should be clear from what has been said above that the process of parliamentary
reform under the different influences described is a self-generating
one, whether it take the form of a large-scale programme or an accumulation
of small-scale changes. However, the process can be considerably facilitated
by external assistance, especially for those parliaments which are weak in
resources and expertise. For the parliaments reporting in this study the UNDP
has been a particularly significant resource, but there are many other international
agencies involved in such support, including of course the IPU itself.
A list of the main international, regional and bilateral agencies involved in
parliamentary support, with a description of their characteristic emphases, is
provided in the Annexes. A standard feature of such assistance is the preparation
of an agreed programme of parliamentary reform, with clear priorities and
means of implementation.
Examples of such assistance include Burkina Faso, which agreed a ten-year
programme of parliamentary development from 2004 with UNDP, concentrating
on addressing an identified deficiency of information and communication
between parliament and public. Cote d’Ivoire’s agreed programme of support
from the same quarter covers the installation of a cyberspace in the library and
the recruitment of national experts to service parliamentary groups. In Fiji
support is directed to strengthening the Parliamentary Secretariat and committee
back-up, and improving support services for members and constituencies.
An agreement made by the Lebanese Parliament in 1999 comprises the