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In parliamentary systems, private members (i.e. backbenchers) with formal titles and roles can affect the institutional system in which politicians, civil servants and interest groups are embedded. Packing legislative institutions with backbenchers who act as agents of the government but who are not in Cabinet puts certain Members of Parliament in a privileged position with the core executive. We hypothesize that influential positions in Canada's House of Commons, notably a parliamentary secretary tasked with supporting a minister or a chair of a parliamentary committee, bring increased external pressure from interest group lobbyists. We test these assumptions with data on communications between MPs and interest group lobbyists gathered from the federal Registry of Lobbyists and open data lists found on the website of the Parliament of Canada. Our results show that a parliamentary secretary position or a seat on a standard committee exposes MPs to higher lobbying volumes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1917, not least in consequence of the First World War, political and institutional reforms were advanced in Germany which requested the democratization of the suffrage in Prussia and aimed at strengthening the role of the national parliament (Reichstag). Confronted with the resistance shown by the existing powers, the majority parties including the Social Democrats, the Progressive People's Party and the Centre Party (with the intermittent presence of the National Liberals) created an Intergroup Commission which initially was thought to face the question of a negotiated peace, but it rapidly extended its tasks by enhancing cooperation among the parties and by promoting a reform policy. The novelty of the Intergroup Commission resides in its being informal and fluid, with flexible delegations as well as unbureaucratic procedures, and in maintaining contact with the public by means of press releases. The Intergroup Commission's activity and significance progressively increased until it became a fundamental interlocutor of the German governments of the time and in October 1918 its programme was set in motion and its reforms were implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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It has been noted that despite relatively young generation of leaders were elected in the ABG 2020 General Elections, the youths stay at a distance and do not communicate with the elected leaders. The present research explores the factors affecting the participation of youths of Buka Town in the parliamentary processes. This is a qualitative study which used semi-structured interviews for data collection. Six focus group discussions with 44 participants and 10 individual interviews were conducted. Gender balance was kept. The findings indicate that there is minimal youth participation in parliamentary process at the current stage. The factors affecting youth participation in the parliamentary process are associated with governance and leadership, social, economic, education, culture and personality of individual youths. Importantly, the Autonomous Bougainville Government needs to develop a policy and legislative framework to address the factors through its governance framework where the Department of Community Development would take lead in defining the pathways for youths to take part in policy and legislation development. For short term remedial, Parliamentary Service may conduct civic education programs to educate the young people on the parliamentary process so they can effectively participate by contributing towards development of the society. The research has also identified the outstanding issue of the education disparity caused by the Bougainville conflict, and the need for developing a curriculum for school children on the role of the Bougainville House of Representatives to fill the gap between the youths and the Parliament. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) specialise in legislative behaviour? How do MEPs use their specialisation in legislative activities? This article investigates these overlooked topics in literature and, in particular, it suggests that two factors induce specialisation in the European Parliament (EP): committee service and personal experiences. The empirical analysis centres on original dataset of 4925 parliamentary questions tabled by Italian MEPs during the sixth EP term. Results show that Italian MEPs ask more questions to Commissioner sharing the same policy portfolio and in those areas in which they have personal expertise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studies in Politics & Society / Polityka & Społeczeństwo is the property of University of Rzeszow and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Zeszyty Prawnicze Biuro Analiz Sejmowej is the property of Kancelaria Sejmu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The legislative process is comprised by all the operations that are to be performed by an entity that wants a law to be adopted. As in most democracies, in Romania laws are generally initiated by Parliament, the ministries or other authorities concerned. After being written, the draft legislative initiative goes through several stages of approval and consultation with the public opinion and then enters the debate in the Parliament. This paper aims to examine two of the most important aspects of the legislative power in a state. The case studied here is the Romanian one, emphasizing on how these elements operate under the 1991 Constitution, revised in 2003. During the first part we will analyze the path that a legislative proposal has to undertake until it becomes law, and in the second will analyze the organization and functioning of parliamentary committees.

The power of the presidium of the committee to determine the agenda of a committee sitting is limited only in two cases -- a minority request to convene a sitting and an initiative of the Presidium of the Sejm. The chairperson of the committee establishes the agenda of the committee meeting only in the case in which he executes the minority's request. No provision of the Standing Orders of the Sejm l allows the chairman of the committee to set the agenda for a committee meeting without the involvement the presidium of the committee. Producing minutes documenting a sitting of the presidium is not required, nor there are any procedural requirements regarding the rules for convening these sittings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]