Dimension: 1.11.3 Foreign affairs and international agreements
This dimension concerns parliament’s mandate to determine and oversee foreign-policy priorities and to ratify international agreements.
Parliamentary powers with regard to foreign policy vary considerably. Almost all parliaments have a foreign affairs committee with a broad oversight mandate. In some countries, the executive is required to consult with this committee before important decisions are taken on foreign-policy issues.
International agreements on issues such as environmental policy, trade and security have a direct impact on the public and affect the rights and obligations of all. It is therefore important that such agreements are subject to transparent decision-making processes at the national level.
Agreements that include significant national obligations usually require parliamentary approval or ratification. Powers in this area differ, with parliaments variously able to accelerate the ratification process, amend the text, express reservations, or refuse to ratify the agreement and return the matter for new negotiations. Parliament Parliament A national body of elected (or sometimes appointed) representatives that makes laws, debates issues and holds the government to account. can also put pressure on the executive to ratify outstanding agreements, and can use oversight mechanisms to receive answers and updates on progress.
Parliamentary committees should have an active role in scrutinizing agreements with international financial institutions, including ensuring that development assistance has a lasting impact and is conflict- and gender-sensitive. Parliament Parliament A national body of elected (or sometimes appointed) representatives that makes laws, debates issues and holds the government to account. should have the power to accept or reject international loan agreements or send them back for amendment.
Aspiring goal
Assess your parliament against this dimension
Assessment criteria
No 1: Mandate
The legal framework clearly establishes parliament’s role with regard to foreign policy. Parliament has a committee with a broad mandate to oversee government policy and action on foreign affairs.
No 2: International agreements
Parliament is legally responsible for the ratification of international agreements that include significant national obligations. The executive is required to report to parliament on the implementation of international agreements. Where the State is required to report to an international body, the report is debated in parliament first. Parliament also plays an active role in scrutinizing agreements with international financial institutions.
No 3: Resources
Parliament has in-house expertise on foreign policy issues and has access to information and regular updates from the executive on such issues, including on the preparation of international agreements.
How to complete this assessment
This dimension is assessed against several criteria, each of which should be evaluated separately. For each criterion, select one of the six descriptive grades (Non-existent, Rudimentary, Basic, Good, Very good and Excellent) that best reflects the situation in your parliament, and provide details of the evidence on which this assessment is based.
The evidence for assessment of this dimension could include the following:
- Provisions of the constitution establishing parliament’s role in determining and overseeing foreign-policy priorities, and in ratifying international agreements
- Provisions of international treaties, conventions or agreements mandating regular reporting by the executive to parliament
- The terms of reference of parliamentary committees indicating their role in overseeing foreign-affairs policy
- Committee Committee See: Parliamentary committee Parliamentary committee A body comprised of MPs who are appointed, on either a temporary or a permanent basis, to debate or closely examine matters closely related to specific policies, issues or circumstances, in line with the committee’s scope of work. The theme, structure and nature of parliamentary committees are established by a chamber’s rules of procedure. Depending on the these rules, the composition of a committee may reflect that of the whole parliament or include diverse party representation. In some parliaments, the term “commission” is used instead of, or interchangeably with, “committee”. . reports on foreign-affairs issues
- Research briefings and informational material on foreign affairs produced by parliamentary research services or other bodies of the parliamentary secretariat
Where relevant, provide additional comments or examples that support the assessment.
Sources and further reading
- Alexander Carius and others, A Foreign Policy Perspective on the Sustainable Development Goals (2018).
- Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), “Parliamentary Involvement in International Affairs”, in Second World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments (2005).
- IPU and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Guidelines for enhancing the engagement and contribution of parliaments to effective development cooperation (2020).
- IPU and World Bank, Parliamentary Oversight of International Agreements and Related Processes (2013).
- Seppe Tiitinen, Role of Parliament Parliament A national body of elected (or sometimes appointed) representatives that makes laws, debates issues and holds the government to account. in the conduct of foreign relations (1996).
- Wolfgang Wagner, Parliaments and Foreign Policy (2017).
Get help with this assessment
The assessment of indicators involves diagnosing and considering strengths and weaknesses, i.e. the things parliament is doing well, and the things it could do better or more effectively, taking into account established good practices that are described in the indicators.
Read the assessment guidance to find out what to consider when conducting an assessment against the Indicators. Find out how to prepare, how to set the objectives of the assessment, how to organize the process, and more. Contact the project partners for expert advice.
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