| CODE | PPL2017 | ||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | Parliamentary Studies and Legislation | ||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 8 | ||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Policy, Politics and Governance | ||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The study-unit is organised in four main parts. The first part delves into the organization of Parliament, its administration (role of the Speaker) and governance, composition and supporting bodies such as committees (standing, joint and select). The second part focuses on law-making (legislative cycle) and its legislative instruments (standing orders, rulings, ordinances and private member bills). The third part analyses parliamentary behaviour (party whips, role of backbenchers), scrutiny (media and parliamentary questions) and accountability. In the fourth part, attention is shifted to challenges (such as public engagement, modernization and gender representation), petitioning and supranational parliaments (e.g. European Parliament). Study-Unit Aims: The aim of this study-unit is to help students understand the role of Parliaments in a democratic political system. Lectures will shed light on the: - politics of law-making (legislative); - role of the various players involved in passing legislation (behavioural); - the tools and instruments used (administrative); and - the relationship of Parliaments with citizens (engagement). Students will learn about different Parliaments at both national (domestic) and supranational (e.g. European Parliament, Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean) level. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Understand the relationship between Parliament and Citizens; - Explore the organization of Parliament (composition and roles); - Draw the salient aspects of law-making (parliamentary procedure); - Appraise parliamentary accountability, scrutiny and standards of behavior; - Learn the role of Parliamentary (Standing and Select) Committees; - Analyze media scrutiny and public engagement of parliament; - Compare parliamentary democracy between national and supranational level; 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - identify the effect of electoral laws on legislative behavior; - evaluate the main differences between single and bicameral chambers; - comprehend the key stages of law-making, from drafting to enactment of legislation; - develop research skills into Parliamentary artefacts and documentation; - understand different types of voting into law-making (e.g. roll calling). Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Adonis, A. (1990), Parliament Today, Manchester University Press. - Erskine May's Treatise on The Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament, 23rd ed., LexisNexis (2004) - Frendo, M. (2013) "Malta: The Parliament of Malta", in Baldwin, N.D.J. (ed.) (2013), Legislatures of Small States, Routledge, pp. 74-80 - Leston-Bandeira, C. (ed.) (2013), Parliaments and Citizens, Routledge. - Leston-Bandeira, C. and Thompson, L. (2018), Exploring Parliament, Oxford University Press. - Pirotta, G.A. (2006), Malta's Parliament - An Official History, Department of Information. Supplementary Readings: - Giddings, P. and Drewry, G. (eds.) (1996), Westminster and Europe: The Impact of the European Union on the Westminster Parliament, St Martin's Press, Inc. - Laban, M. (2013), Mr Speaker: The Office and the Individuals since 1945, Biteback Publishing. - Leston-Bandeira, C. and Thompson, L. (2018), Exploring Parliament, Oxford University Press. - Martin, S. et al. (eds.) (2014), The Oxford Handbook of Legislative Studies, Oxford University Press. - Parlament ta' Malta, https://parlament.mt/ - Rush, M. (2001), The role of the Member of Parliament since 1868 - From Gentleman to Players, Oxford University Press. - Rush, M. and Giddings, P. (2011), Parliamentary Socialisation: Learning the Ropes or Determining Behaviour?, Palgrave Macmillan. - Seidle, F.L., and Docherty, D.C. (2003), Reforming Parliamentary Democracy, McGill-Queen's University Press, pp. 3-24. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Mario Thomas Vassallo George Vital Zammit (Co-ord.) |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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