Foreword to Model Law for Independent Parliaments

FOREWORD

Hon. Emilia Monjowa Lifaka MP Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Cameroon

Today, more than ever, Parliaments are facing many challenges to their effectiveness. At the time of publishing, the COVID-19 global pandemic is stretching the capacity of Parliaments across the Commonwealth to remain fully functional, requiring costly resources and specialist services as well as the ability to be rapidly adaptive to new ways of working. Parliaments need the independence to remain functioning and continue to hold the Executive to account. To survive such pressures, Parliaments need to have robust leaders, services and finances to respond to such challenges.

As part of its commitment to the Latimer House Principles, as well as its work in benchmarking Parliaments against international standards, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association has developed this Model Law to help empower Parliaments to take control away from the Executive to ensure it has the administrative, operational and financial resources it needs to function effectively.

The Model Law is designed as a Parliamentary Service Commission Bill which seeks to create a parliamentary corporate body to oversee the institution of Parliament. It has also been structured to accommodate as many versions of the ‘Westminster System’ Parliament as possible. The Model Law can be adapted to suit an array of different types of Parliaments, large or small, unicameral or bicameral.

The Model Law has been developed with expert and experienced input from leading Commonwealth legislative drafters and Parliamentary Clerks.

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association hopes you will find this publication an invaluable resource in strengthening your parliamentary institution for the betterment of democracy within your jurisdiction and beyond.

Visit www.cpahq.org/cpahq/modellaw to download a copy