This dimension concerns the role of parliament in the area of defence policy, which covers declarations of war, states of emergency, the deployment of armed forces, sales and exports of arms, and the protection of civilians during conflict.

This dimension concerns the role of parliament in security policy and governance. State security providers are the security institutions established by the State and authorized to use force on its behalf. The use of force includes the threat to use force and the limitation of certain basic rights under specific circumstances defined by law. Every security sector is different, but typical State security providers include:

This dimension concerns the relationship between parliament and subnational levels of government, such as states and/or provinces, and local and municipal governments. The nature of this relationship may vary significantly depending on a nation’s legal framework and the representational status of parliament. This dimension therefore covers the key issues that generally apply to the relationship between parliament and subnational levels of government in all countries, whether they are federations, unitary States or somewhere in between.

This dimension concerns the relationship between parliament and the judiciary which, owing to the political nature of the former and the political impartiality of the latter, should be strictly separated under the constitution. This relationship entails both parliament’s responsibility for law-making and the judiciary’s responsibility for interpreting and applying the law.

This dimension concerns the relationship between parliament and the executive. In democratic systems, parliament and the executive have distinct and autonomous roles with established mechanisms for a well-functioning working relationship.

This dimension covers the various means by which the opposition may perform its functions in a democratic parliament. Parliament Parliament A national body of elected (or sometimes appointed) representatives that makes laws, debates issues and holds the government to account. is the institution that embodies society in the diversity of its composition and its opinions, and the opposition in parliament is a necessary and indispensable component of democracy.

This dimension concerns the interaction between MPs and the people they represent. The primary responsibility of an MP is to represent all constituents, including those who did not vote for them or did not vote at all.

This dimension concerns the supreme audit institution (SAI) as the body responsible for auditing public financial administration and the management of public funds. The SAI plays a central role in the efficient, effective, transparent and accountable use of the public resources approved by parliament through the annual budget process.

This dimension concerns the expert support available to MPs to enable them to effectively scrutinize the budget, and government financial management and performance. In this specialist area, parliament needs information and expertise in order to hold the executive to account for the use of public resources.

Although the executive is expected to provide detailed and transparent information to parliament about the budget, parliament needs its own sources of expertise, including to help it evaluate this official information.

This dimension concerns the role and activities of the Public Public All the members of a community in general, regardless of their citizenship status. Accounts Committee Committee See: Parliamentary committee. (PAC), budget committee, or the equivalent body that is responsible for, or has a role in, scrutiny of the budget both before and after its