Permanent Legislative Committees

Abstract

The Parliamentary Committees are working bodies of the Chambers that have an ever-increasing role in the parliamentary work, as a consequence of the proliferation of legislation in modern Parliaments. There are different types: Permanent ones (constituting the essential core and to which the current Article refers) and especial ones. Within the first mentioned category, there are legislative and non-legislative Committees. The 1978 Constitution contains some brief references to these Parliamentary Committees, although it is for the Parliamentary Standing Orders to develop their regime.

Permanent legislative committees are usually similar to ministerial departments.
Their functions relate to three differentiated fields:
– legislative (mostly dedicated to government bills, and private members’ bills), where the main highlight is the possibility of passing bills with full legislative competence and the work of reporting sub-committees;
– control over the Government, translated into Government’s appearances
–at the request of a committee or at their own request– or other appearances by authorities or experts, information requests, non-legislative motions, or any other motions or questions to be answered orally;
– institutional activity, which consists of contacts with civil society and other institutions, within the framework of the subject relevant to their mandate.
There has been a historical evolution in the number and work carried out by the committees, which have admittedly been in crescendo and with clear variations in the legislative production depending on whether there were manifest parliamentary majorities or not...