Treaty Scrutiny: Working Practices
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Synopsis of the Meeting Held in Strasbourg on 21 January 2013
BUREAU OF THE ASSEMBLY AS/Bur/CB (2013) 01 21 January 2013 TO THE MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLY Synopsis of the meeting held in Strasbourg on 21 January 2013 The Bureau of the Assembly, meeting on 21 January 2013 in Strasbourg, with Mr Jean-Claude Mignon, President of the Assembly, in the Chair, as regards: - First part-session of 2013 (Strasbourg, 21-25 January 2013): i. Requests for debates under urgent procedure and current affairs debates: . decided to propose to the Assembly to hold a debate under urgent procedure on “Migration and asylum: mounting tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean” on Thursday 24 January 2013 and to refer this item to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons for report; . decided to propose to the Assembly to hold the debate under urgent procedure on “Recent developments in Mali and Algeria and the threat to security and human rights in the Mediterranean region” on Thursday 24 January 2013 and to refer this item to the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy for report; . decided not to hold a current affairs debate on “The deteriorating situation in Georgia”; . took note of the decision by the UEL Group to withdraw its request for a current affairs debate on “Political developments in Turkey regarding the human rights of the Kurds and other minorities”; ii. Draft agenda: updated the draft agenda; - Progress report of the Bureau of the Assembly and of the Standing Committee (5 October 2012 – 21 January 2013): (Rapporteur: Mr Kox, Netherlands, UEL): approved the Progress report; - Election observation: i. Presidential election in Armenia (18 February 2013): took note of the press release issued by the pre-electoral mission (Yerevan, 15-18 January 2013) and approved the final composition of the ad hoc committee to observe these elections (Appendix 1); ii. -
'UK-USA Mutual Defence Agreement'. House Of
UK-USA Mutual Defence Agreement Standard Note: SN/IA/3147 Last updated: 30 July 2004 Author: Paul Bowers International Affairs and Defence Section The Agreement between the UK and the USA for Cooperation in the Uses of Atomic Energy for Mutual Defence Purposes 1958, also known as the Mutual Defence Agreement (MDA), allows the USA and the UK to exchange nuclear materials, technology and information. It was the result of an amendment to post-War US non-proliferation law, which exempted allies that had made substantial progress in developing nuclear weapons from the general ban on exchanges that might lead to nuclear proliferation. The most important part of the MDA is time limited, and it is due to expire at the end of 2004. The UK and the USA have signed a new treaty to extend this deadline to 2014. This treaty must be ratified by both states. Critics argue that the MDA as amended contravenes the parties’ obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons 1968 (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT). Further information on the NPT is in SN/IA/491, Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, 23 March 2004, at: http://hcl1.hclibrary.parliament.uk/notes/iads/snia-00491.pdf The procedure in the USA allows Congress an opportunity to veto the ratification. No such opportunity exists in the UK. This Note describes the MDA, its history, the current amending treaty, the procedures surrounding ratification of that treaty, and the concerns over its relationship with the NPT. Contents A. MDA 3 B. -
Norwegian Parliamentary Elections, 1906-2013: Representation and Turnout Across Four Electoral Systems
Norwegian Parliamentary Elections, 1906-2013: Representation and Turnout Across Four Electoral Systems Jon H. Fiva ∗ Daniel M. Smithy February 15, 2017 Abstract Since gaining full independence in 1905, Norway has experienced more than a cen- tury of democratic elections, and has reformed its electoral system three times, most notably with the switch from a two-round runoff system to proportional rep- resentation in 1919. This article introduces a new data set featuring all candidates running for parliamentary (Storting) elections from 1906 to 2013, and document patterns over time and across electoral systems in the development of the party sys- tem; candidates' gender, age, occupation, and geographic ties; and voter turnout. Scholars interested in using the data set can gain access to it through the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD). ∗BI Norwegian Business School. E-mail: jon.h.fi[email protected] yHarvard University, E-mail: [email protected] 1 Norway is one of the world's oldest and most stable democracies. Officially, the starting point of modern Norwegian democracy is May 17, 1814, when the Constitution was adopted. The Constitution of 1814 is the now the oldest codified constitution in Europe, and is second globally only to that of the United States (Narud and Strøm 2011). Although formally in a union with Sweden from 1814, Norway enjoyed over a hundred years of quasi-independent growth and political development before full independence was declared in 1905. The separation was peaceful, and subsequently approved by a national referendum. A second referendum in 1905 established Norway as a constitutional monarchy. The first electoral system used for the Norwegian Storting (parliament), introduced by the 1814 Constitution, was based on indirect elections with plurality rule. -
Good Government Nordic and East Asian Perspectives
Good Government Nordic and East Asian Perspectives Geir Helgesen and Uichol Kim in collaboration with Good_Govt.pm6 1 20/08/02, 10:16 First published in 2002 by NIAS Press Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Leifsgade 33, DK–2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark tel: (+45) 3254 8844 • fax: (+45) 3296 2530 E–mail: [email protected] • Website: http://www.niaspress.dk/ in collaboration with the Danish Institute of International Affairs (DUPI) Typesetting by NIAS Press Printed and bound in Denmark by Hertz bogtrykkergården a/s Cover design by Nanna Bild © Geir Helgesen and Uichol Kim 2002 All rights reserved. No part of this volume may be reproduced in whole or in part without the express permission of authors and publisher. The responsibility for facts and opinions expressed in this publication rests exclusively with the authors, and their interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. Publication of this book was made possible thanks to economic support from the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies and the Danish Institute of International Affairs British Library Catalogue in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 87-91114-16-0 Good_Govt.pm6 2 20/08/02, 10:16 Contents Preface 5 The Research Network 6 Sponsors 6 East Asian Ideals: Harmony with Nature, Acknowledgementss 6 Self and Others 40 Introduction 7 Confucianism 41 Why is it important to understand East Asian societies 43 other societies? 7 Confucianism in modern East Asia 45 East Asia and the Nordic countries: Socialization -
Redressing the Democratic Deficit in Treaty Law Making: (Re-)Establishing a Role for Parliament
Redressing the Democratic Deficit in Treaty Law Making: (Re-)Establishing a Role for Parliament Joanna Harrington* Treaties are a significant source of law on a wide Les traités sont une importante source de droit dans range of subjects, but traditionally do not become domestic bien des domaines, mais ne s’intègrent traditionnellement law without national implementation. Nevertheless, the pas au système juridique intérieur sans une mise en œuvre legal character of treaty rules does place pressure on a nationale. Quoi qu’il en soit, le caractère juridique des state’s domestic institutions to ensure compliance. Given règles issues d’un traité exerce une certaine pression sur les the influence of treaty law, several Commonwealth states institutions nationales afin d’en assurer le respect. Étant provide a role for Parliament in treaty making even though donné l’influence du droit des traités, plusieurs états du at common law, the decision to make a treaty clearly rests Commonwealth accordent au Parlement un rôle dans with a government’s executive branch. Such reforms to the l’élaboration des traités, même si d’après le droit commun, treaty-making process attempt to address complaints that a la décision de rédiger un traité appartient clairement à “democratic deficit” exists, including an additional “federal l’exécutif du gouvernement. De telles réformes du democratic deficit” in federal states arising from the processus d’élaboration des traités tentent de répondre aux absence of a requirement for consultation between the critiques suivant lesquelles il existe un «déficit central and regional bodies. A review of the experiences in démocratique», en plus d’un «déficit démocratique fédéral» Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia leads to dans des états fédéraux, issu de l’absence d’une obligation several suggested reforms to secure greater legislative de consultation entre l’état central et les gouvernements scrutiny, enhance public awareness, and improve locaux. -
ESS9 Appendix A3 Political Parties Ed
APPENDIX A3 POLITICAL PARTIES, ESS9 - 2018 ed. 3.0 Austria 2 Belgium 4 Bulgaria 7 Croatia 8 Cyprus 10 Czechia 12 Denmark 14 Estonia 15 Finland 17 France 19 Germany 20 Hungary 21 Iceland 23 Ireland 25 Italy 26 Latvia 28 Lithuania 31 Montenegro 34 Netherlands 36 Norway 38 Poland 40 Portugal 44 Serbia 47 Slovakia 52 Slovenia 53 Spain 54 Sweden 57 Switzerland 58 United Kingdom 61 Version Notes, ESS9 Appendix A3 POLITICAL PARTIES ESS9 edition 3.0 (published 10.12.20): Changes from previous edition: Additional countries: Denmark, Iceland. ESS9 edition 2.0 (published 15.06.20): Changes from previous edition: Additional countries: Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden. Austria 1. Political parties Language used in data file: German Year of last election: 2017 Official party names, English 1. Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs (SPÖ) - Social Democratic Party of Austria - 26.9 % names/translation, and size in last 2. Österreichische Volkspartei (ÖVP) - Austrian People's Party - 31.5 % election: 3. Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ) - Freedom Party of Austria - 26.0 % 4. Liste Peter Pilz (PILZ) - PILZ - 4.4 % 5. Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative (Grüne) - The Greens – The Green Alternative - 3.8 % 6. Kommunistische Partei Österreichs (KPÖ) - Communist Party of Austria - 0.8 % 7. NEOS – Das Neue Österreich und Liberales Forum (NEOS) - NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum - 5.3 % 8. G!LT - Verein zur Förderung der Offenen Demokratie (GILT) - My Vote Counts! - 1.0 % Description of political parties listed 1. The Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs, or SPÖ) is a social above democratic/center-left political party that was founded in 1888 as the Social Democratic Worker's Party (Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei, or SDAP), when Victor Adler managed to unite the various opposing factions. -
Report of the President of the Osce Parliamentary Assembly
REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY Mr. George Tsereteli Winter Meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly VIENNA, 20-21 February 2020 Report of the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Dear colleagues and friends, Following my re-election as President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly during our Luxembourg Annual Session, I have continued to be active on your behalf to promote our work with leaders from our national parliaments and partner institutions, affirm our role within the OSCE family, and highlight some key priorities, in particular conflict resolution. I appreciate your strong support and the valuable assistance and advice provided by the Secretariat in both Copenhagen and Vienna. This has been crucial to provide parliamentary responses to a broad OSCE agenda and aim to meet our most pressing challenges. Detailed information on my work as President is listed in this report. In addition to these primary activities, I have met on several occasions with Heads of OSCE institutions to improve co-ordination at headquarters and in the field and ensure that our activities complement each other. I have also met with numerous PA delegations on the margins of my travels to ensure that all voices are heard and reflected in the work of our Parliamentary Assembly. Finally, together with a small group of Members, the Bureau and the International Secretariat, we have continued to hold regular discussions to consider changes in the Assembly’s work, in order to make it more effective and more visible. I want to thank those parliaments that have hosted my visits, but also particularly applaud and thank OSCE staff. -
Parliament's Role in Ratifying Treaties
BRIEFING PAPER Number 5855, 20 January 2017 Parliament's role in By Arabella Lang ratifying treaties Contents: 1. The Government makes treaties 2. Parliament makes any implementing legislation 3. Parliament can object to ratification 4. No requirement for a debate or vote 5. Role of devolved executives and legislatures 6. Different rules for specific types of treaty 7. More parliamentary scrutiny of treaties? www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | [email protected] | @commonslibrary 2 Parliament's role in ratifying treaties Contents Summary 3 1. The Government makes treaties 5 2. Parliament makes any implementing legislation 7 3. Parliament can object to ratification 8 3.1 Introduction 8 3.2 The Government must lay treaties before Parliament 8 3.3 The Commons can block ratification 9 3.4 Limits of the 2010 Act 9 4. No requirement for a debate or vote 10 5. Role of devolved executives and legislatures 12 6. Different rules for specific types of treaty 13 6.1 Exceptional cases 13 6.2 Memorandums of Understanding 13 6.3 EU Treaties 13 Treaties that amend the EU Treaties 13 EU external agreements 14 6.4 Double taxation agreements 14 7. More parliamentary scrutiny of treaties? 16 7.1 Introduction 16 7.2 Other countries 16 7.3 More debates and votes? 16 Affirmative resolution procedure 16 Other formal requirements for a debate 17 7.4 Before signature? 17 No formal role for Parliament before signature 17 Proposals 18 Cover page image copyright Click & browse to copyright info for stock image 3 Commons Library Briefing, 20 January 2017 Summary The Government makes treaties, but Parliament has a role Although the UK Government is responsible for negotiating, signing and ratifying international treaties, Parliament has a statutory role in ratifying them, and can also be involved in other ways. -
Parliamentary Liaison Subcommittee
Parliamentary Liaison Subcommittee Parliamentary visit of the Legislative Council to Finland, Norway and Denmark from 14 to 21 September 2014 14 September 2014 (Sunday) AM Arrival at Finland 15 September 2014 (Monday) AM Visit to Pelimanni Primary School AM Tour of the Eduskunta Presentation of the Eduskunta's administration AM by the Administrative Director Visit to the Department for the Americas and PM Asia of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Visit to Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for PM Innovation 16 September 2014 (Tuesday) Meeting with the Constitutional Law AM Committee of the Eduskunta Meeting with the Committee for the Future of AM the Eduskunta Meeting with the Vice-Speaker of the AM Eduskunta PM Observing Budget Plenary Session Lunch meeting with the Finland-Hong Kong PM Trade Association Evening Departure for Norway 17 September 2014 (Wednesday) Meetings with Members of Storting of AM different political parties Lunch meeting with representatives of the AM Ministry of Finance on Norwegian sovereign wealth fund Visit to the Parliamentary Ombudsman's Office PM including meeting with the Parliamentary Ombudsman PM Dinner with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 18 September 2014 (Thursday) Tour and introduction to the Storting and AM Norwegian politics by the Storting Secretariat Joint meeting with the Standing Committee on Local Government and Public Administration AM and the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs Meeting with the President of the Norwegian PM Storting 2 Meeting with academic of -
The Parliamentary Mandate
THE PARLIAMENTARY MANDATE A GLOBAL COMPARATIVE STUDY THE PARLIAMENTARY MANDATE A GLOBAL COMPARATIVE STUDY Marc Van der Hulst Inter-Parliamentary Union Geneva 2000 @ Inter-Parliamentary Union 2000 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not be a way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold hired or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent publisher. ISBN 92-9142-056-5 Published by INTER-PARLIAMETARY UNION Headquarters Liaison Office with the United Nations Place du Petit-Saconnex 821 United Nations Plaza C.P. 438 9th Floor 1211 Geneva 19 New York, N.Y. 10017 Switzerland United States of America Layout, printing and binding by Atar, Geneva Cover design by Aloys Robellaz, Les Studios Lolos, Carouge, Switzerland (Translated from the French by Jennifer Lorenzi and Patricia Deane) t Table of Contents FOREWORD ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xi INTRODUCTION l PART ONE: NATURE AND DURATION OF THE PARLIAMENTARY MANDATE I. NATURE OF THE PARLIAMENTARY MANDATE 6 1. The traditional opposition between national sovereignty and popular sovereignty 6 2. The free representational mandate 8 3. The imperative mandate 9 4. A choice motivated by pragmatic rather than ideological considerations? 10 II. DURATION OF THE PARLIAMENTARY MANDATE.. -
Treaty-Making and the British Parliament -Europe
Chicago-Kent Law Review Volume 67 Issue 2 Symposium on Parliamentary Participation in the Making and Operation of Article 9 Treaties June 1991 Treaty-Making and the British Parliament -Europe Chicago-Kent Law Review Templeman The Right Honourable The Lord Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Chicago-Kent Law Review Templeman The Right Honourable The Lord, Treaty-Making and the British Parliament -Europe, 67 Chi.-Kent L. Rev. 459 (1991). Available at: https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview/vol67/iss2/9 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarly Commons @ IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Chicago-Kent Law Review by an authorized editor of Scholarly Commons @ IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. TREATY-MAKING AND THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORD TEMPLEMAN* I. INTRODUCTION Under English law the capacity to negotiate and conclude treaties falls entirely to the executive arm of government. Nominally Parliament plays no role at all in this process. This paper will explain the British system, the different functions of the executive and legislature, the pro- cess of concluding and implementing treaties, and finally the role played by the courts in upholding this system. An understanding of how trea- ties are entered into and implemented in British law depends on an ap- preciation of the division between the international aspects of treaty- making and the domestic aspects of implementation. -
Appendix D – Speech by the Hon Alexander Downer MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs
D Appendix D – Speech by the Hon Alexander Downer MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs The Lobby Restaurant, Canberra, Thursday 30 March 2006 (unchecked against delivery) Ladies and gentlemen, Fellow Parliamentarians. Whichever party we come from or support, Liberal, National, Labor or a minor party, I believe we share common ground in wanting to see democracy thrive. Abroad, we see democracy being exercised by millions previously subjected to tyranny and oppression. Australia is playing its part in this liberation. It is equally important that we safeguard democratic principles and institutions at home. Tonight, we gather to put aside party differences for a moment and celebrate the strength of the Australian Commonwealth and our democratic traditions on this, the tenth, anniversary of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties. 138 TREATY SCRUTINY: A TEN YEAR REVIEW It was back in May 1996 that I set out in Parliament the case for a package of reforms aimed at improving parliamentary scrutiny and public consultation in Australia’s treaty-making process. JSCOT was a major part of that package and has, in its ten years, helped fill what had been seen as a “democratic deficit”, which was undermining public confidence. No longer can Australian Governments legitimately be accused of entering into binding international obligations without adequate democratic consultation. At the same time, the Executive’s capacity to act decisively to further the national interest has been maintained. Tonight, I would like to pay tribute to the key contributions to the public good made by JSCOT and the parliamentarians who have served on it. Ladies and gentlemen, It was with great conviction that the eminent 18th century jurist, Sir William Blackstone, declared that legislative assemblies should never be involved in the conclusion of treaties.