The standing committee on foreign and European affairs and its implications on the parliamentary supremacy doctrine : a comparative analysis

Abstract

The thesis aims at providing a detailed examination of the role of the Standing Committee on Foreign and European Affairs in the light of Malta's accession to the European Union. Laws enacted by the European Community are given internal legal effect by means of the European Union Act, 2003, thus shifting the Maltese Parliament's legislative powers in sectors that formerly lay in their domain. In light of this, the thesis deals with the different aspects of the parliamentary supremacy doctrine as expounded by jurists and with Malta's position with regard to Parliament's role as a supreme law making body. The consequences of the European Union Act on the Maltese Parliament's role as legislator and controller of the Executive are also examined in Chapter 1. The democratic deficit experienced by the Maltese Parliament also exists on a European level. The thesis analyses the involvement of national parliaments in the different phases of the policy formation process of the European Union (EU). The thesis looks briefly at the role of national parliaments in European constitutional and institutional development. Presently, the Maltese Parliament takes on the duty imposed by the Protocol to the Amsterdam Treaty in the scrutiny of the EU' s pipeline acquis communautaire. It also assumes the responsibility to scrutinise Government policy with respect to European affairs. The Standing Committee on Foreign and European Affairs exercises these roles on behalf of the House of Representatives. The Committee's characteristics, procedure and function are analysed and compared to the Danish Parliament's European Affairs Committee and the Italian Committees for EU Policies in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The thesis concludes by highlighting the importance of the Standing Committee's important constitutional role, and based on a comparative analysis, recommends arrangements to the Committee's structure to ensure parliamentary efficiency, effectiveness and transparency.