Publication: Strengthening Oversight by Legislatures
Date
2002-10
ISSN
Published
2002-10
Author(s)
Abstract
About 90 percent of the world's
nearly 200 sovereign states have national legislatures or
parliaments. With the spread of democracy and the rise of
multiparty political systems, these bodies are playing
larger roles in government. Increasingly, legislatures and
their members perform four important functions of
governance: o Making policies and laws. Legislatures are
representative bodies for collective decisionmaking, working
with the executive branch to deliberate policies and make
laws. Representing citizens. Legislators give voice to
individual citizens, civil society organizations, and
business groups, representing the needs of local
constituents in policymaking. Overseeing the executive.
Legislatures oversee policy implementation by the executive
branch, scrutinizing its work and holding it accountable.
Recruiting future leaders. Legislatures are stepping stones
and training grounds for senior positions in the executive
branch. Transcending these formal functions, legislatures
also provide an arena where competing political forces can
debate and reach consensus on national policies and laws.
This note addresses the oversight function because of its
significance for government transparency and accountability,
and because the Bank has initiated pilot projects to support
this function.
Citation
“Manning, Nick; Stapenhurst, Rick. 2002. Strengthening Oversight by Legislatures. PREM Notes; No. 74. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/5b457e7c-9b65-59c6-992f-8284ec192224 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”