Committees: The Basis of Activity of Legislatures By P.Kyslyi, 1997 

Available in Ukrainian only, only Hard copy Available

Table of Contents

Introduction…..3

Section I – General Information on Parliaments

1. Historical Look at the Development of Parliaments….5

2. History of Formation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine….8

3. Place of Parliaments in Government Admnistration….13

3.1. Constitutional Basis of the Verkhovna Rada’s Authority…13

3.2. Constitutional Basis of Authority of Certain Foreign Parliaments…17

Section II – Structure and Management of Parliaments

4. Structure of Parliaments in Democracies….22

4.1. Administration……………….23

4.2. Parliamentary Research Groups….27

4.3. Parliamentary Oversight Groups….27

5. Structure of the 13^th Convocation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine…..29

Section III – Structure and Activity of Parliamentary Committees

6. Basic Concept of Committees….33

7. Types of Committee Systems…..34

7.1. Strong Committees – US Congress….35

7.2. Weak Committees – UK Parliament….37

7.3. Transitional Committee Systems – Congresses of Latin American Countries….39

8. Organization of Parliamentary Committees in Various Countries….41

8.1. Creation and Liquidation of Committees….41

8.2. Representation of Factions in Committees…42

8.3. Staffing of Committees….43

9. Drafting Legislation in Committees…45

10. Hearings in Committees…..47

11. Committee Information Collecting…..49

12. Oversight Authority of Committees…50

13. Committee Authority to Hold Hearings with Executive Officials….51

14. Parliamentary Question Hour…..53

15. Citizen Access to the Legislative Process……55

16. Disseminating Information….56

Section IV – Structure and Activity of Verkhovna Rada Committees

17. Legal Foundation of Verkhovna Rada Committee Organization….58

17.1 Constitutional Basis of Verkhovna Rada Committee Formation…58

17.2 Creation and Authorization of Committees Under the Verkhovna Rada Rules and Regulations…59

17.3. Activity of Committees According to the Verkhovna Rada Permanent Commission Law…60

18. Introduction of New Bills in Verkhovna Rada Committees….62

18.1 Committee Hearings…66

19. Oversight Authority of Verkhovna Rada Committees…67

20. Deputy Inquiries….68

21. Ukraine Government Day….69

22. Investigations…70

23. Conclusions on Oversight Functions of the Verkhovna Rada and its Committees…71

Section V – Some Thoughts on the Organization of Committees and Their Role in Government Administration

Appendix 1

Apparatuses of Parliaments of Various Countries….78

Appendix 2

Permanent Committees of the 13^th Convocation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine…80

Appendix 3

Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine…82

Appendix 4

Case Management in the Verkhovna Rada….83

Appendix 5

Sample Committee Provisions ..84

Appendix 6

Recommendations on Procedures for Committee Hearings in the Verkhovna Rada …88

Appendix 7

Regulations on Ukrainian “Government Day”….92

References…94