Committee system of English Parliament
Introduction;-
The committee system means referring legislative measures to a number of committees for mature deliberation and speedy disposal. Much of the work of the house is done through the committees. Members of the parliament have neither the time nor the special knowledge to discuss the details of all bills that come before the house. The committee system is employed by all the legislatures of the world.
Reason for Committee System;-
Following are the reason which led to the increasing use of committee.
a. House of commons is a huge body and the true purpose of measures introduced in the house cannot be properly understood unless it assigns preliminary (Beginning First round) work to certain committees.
b. Complication in the legislation and the desire of the members to speak.
c. The great pressure of legislative work, which cannot be furnished without help from small committee.
Selection of Committees;-
All the committees excluding the committees of the whole house are selected by the committee of selection. The members of the committee are chosen at a conference between the government and opposition leaders.
Kinds of Committees;-
The committees of the house of commons are of five main types. Details are given below.
1)The committee of the whole house;-
It consists of all the members of the House of Commons. The chairman of the committee chosen in the beginning of each parliament presides. Following are the features which distinguish it from the sittings of the House itself viz.
(1) A member can speak as many times as he like. They are allowed to speak any number of times on the same question.
(2) No closure (Conclusion, finish, end) motion can be moved.
(3) The rules of procedure are relaxed.
(4) The mace (Stick) which is the symbol of the speaker’s authority is placed under the table.
(5) When the work of the committee is finished the chairman leaves chair and the speaker resumes his duty.
Types of Committees of the Whole House;-
Different types of committees of the whole house are reflected in the following headings.
- Ordinary Committee of the Whole House on a bill;-
It comes into being when the House resolves that any ordinary bill shall go to the committee of the whole rather than to a standing committee or a select committee.
- Committee of the Whole House on a Money Resolution;-
It deals with the financial legislation matters.
The function of committee of supply is to discuss the expenditures.
- Committee of Ways and Means;-
It comes into being to consider revenue measures.
(2)Standing Committee;-
It is an important committee and almost all public bills except money bills go upstairs to a standing committee. Standing committees are five in number one of which is exclusively for Scottish bill and the other four are know alphabetically as A,B,C and D. The chairman of the standing committee is appointed by the speaker out of a panel of chairman. Each standing committee consists of twenty regular members. But for the consideration of any particular bill another twenty to thirty members can be added to its membership. Scottish committee consists of all members from Scotland.
(3)Select Committee;-
The function of Select committee is to discuss the special bills. They are appointed to consider and report on specific measures which involve some new principle. The committee has the power to collect evidence, examine witnesses and in other way obtain necessary information and report it to the house. The selection committee sects its own Chairman. A select committee usually consists of 15 members. These are created from time to time and come to an end when their purpose is fulfilled. The select committees are also called Adhoc Committees.
(4) Private Bills Committee;-
Private bills committee is appointed to dispose off the private bill in parliament. It works quite impartially (Neutrally) and its report whether for or against the bill is always accepted by the house. In the house of commons the number of members of a private bill committee is four while in the house of lords it is five.
(5)Joint Committees;-
The joint committees consists members from both houses of parliament. They mutually consult and consider about the bill in a collective way which relates to the both houses.
Conclusion;-
The committees play a very important part in legislation. They save the time of the parliament. Committee stage is very important in the life of a proposed bill after the second reading the bill is handed over to one of the concerned committee so that details views of bill may be completed and the house considers the bill later at the report stage in the light of the report of committee.
