Parliament - Powers, Functions & Privileges : A Comparative Constitutional Perspective (2 Vol. Set)

‘Parliament: Powers, Functions & Privileges - A Comparative Constitutional Perspective’ focused on the Indian polity with comparative insights of the principles, practices and experiences of various liberal democracies. India having given itself a basic governing document in the form of ‘The Constitution of India’, an apt model of ‘nation state’ to be imitated and followed. The Parliament of India is the creature of the Constitution of India. It is the supreme legislative body which is a reflection of the representative democracy and is elected through an adult suffrage in a free and fair election, in tune with the constitutional principles. Though there is abundance of literature on the working of the parliament and parliamentary governance under (un)written constitution(s), however, there was a vacuity in the existing pool of literatures (treatises, books, compendiums, cases and materials etc. on the working and functioning of the Parliament) which covers all the three important aspects i.e. Powers, Functions & Privileges. This book is the modest attempt to fill the existing vacuum in the world of academia. The present edition has sixteen chapters, including five new chapters namely Chapter 2 - UK Parliament: Development; Chapter 8 - Parliamentary Committees; Chapter 9 - Constitutionalism and Basic Structure; Chapter 10 - European Parliament; and Chapter 11 - US Constitution: Amendment Process. The Parliament of India is a magnificent manifestation of the democratic ethos and is the repository of the constituent power which occupies central position in democratic polity. The voluminous work begins with a narrative on historical evolution of parliamentary institutions in England and India traversing through the evolution of the ‘rule of law’ as central pillar of the modern democratic governance through Magna Carta and the evolution of parliamentary privileges and its codification particularly ‘The Bill of Rights of 1689’. The Constituent Assembly of India which formulated the Draft Constitution of India and adopted the same - its journey, codification(s) and debate(s) are examined carefully and critically. As India is preparing to implement the adequate women’s representation through reservation in legislative bodies (including Parliament and State Legislatures) – the experience from Rwanda in implementing the policy of gender equality through reservation-cum - representation can be helpful. The working of EU Parliament, its composition after Brexit and privileges attached to its members/ representatives has been examined by the author in great detail. A special chapter has focused on the working(s) of the UK Parliament and the constitutional developments strengthening the rule of law including  the creation of the Supreme Court for the UK through the Constitutional Reforms Act 2005, the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, the House of Lords Reform Act 2014, the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 and the House of Lords (Expulsion and Suspension) Act 2015 are examined. The powers and functions of Parliament, election of its constituents’ members, their inter-relationship, reduction of legislative working of the legislative house(s), its composition in other countries, e.g., UK, Canada, United States of America, Australia, South Africa, Japan, People’s Republic of China, Switzerland, and Russia have been analyzed comprehensively by the Author. The elections of key constitutional functionaries including of the President(s), Vice-President(s), members of the Parliament, and Political Parties has been dealt separately and distinctively by the author. The various kind of legislative functions including, extent of legislative power(s), money bill(s), functions, disqualifications of members, defection(s), split of the political parties, corruption and judicial response thereto has been examined in detail with a comparative perspective. The experience of UK, USA, Ireland, Canada, Australia, South-Africa, Africa and India has been suitably analysed throughout the different chapters.

The second volume is especially devoted to the privilege(s) of the legislature(s), its committees and members and there is a separate chapter on ‘Constitutionalism and Basic Structure’ which recognizes the supremacy of the Constitution which seeks to impart justice and to realize various fundamental rights and enumerated rights. A Constitution is a set of fundamental principles, basic rules and established precedents. Judicial review of the amendments to the Constitution, theory of Basic Structure and its transplant cum- proliferation in foreign jurisdictions including Bangladesh, Belize, Malaysia, Pakistan, Uganda and Singapore are especially dealt with. There is a separate chapter on US Constitution and its amendment process which is important in understanding the process of constitutional change in a rigid constitutional regime. Parliamentary Privileges: meaning, concept of privilege, historic evolution, purpose and objectives of the parliamentary privileges, their justification has been examined. History of Parliamentary privilege in India, its origin in various jurisdictions like UK, USA, Canada, Australia and China have been discussed. Various kinds of parliamentary privileges of members: freedom of Speech (including in debates), its scope and limitations, and of non-members: freedom to attend freely, freedom from arrest and its development has been discussed distinctively in a Pre-UK’s 1688 Bill of Rights and post- UK’s Bill of Rights along with the famous Sir John Eliot’s case. Privileges of the legislative house(s) institutionally, control of its affairs, disciplinary and penal powers, powers of committees in gathering evidence, power to impose penalties: pecuniary penalties, power to issue contempt and their contemporary debates, standards have been examined. The power of the exclusive cognizance, right to publication, proceedings under authority of the House(s), debates and publication of expunged proceedings, power of reprimand or admonition, suspension, disqualifications, expulsion and constitutionality of such expulsion has been examined. Judicial Review & Parliamentary Privileges and Parliamentary Privileges & Media are dealt with in separate chapters. The decision in P.V. Narsimha Rao v. State (1998), recently reviewed in Sita Soren (7J) v. Union of India, (2024) has also been examined. The author has devoted an independent chapter on Expulsion and its Constitutionality and a case study of Raja Ram Pal Case, has been conducted to test the constitutionality of the power of expulsion. The author has argued that the qualifications and disqualifications of the members are specified under the scheme of the Constitution of India and the power of expulsion is exercised as the power of constitution of the House by the UK’s House of Commons which is not available in India and the 7- judge bench while answering Special Reference No.1 of 1964 (re Keshav Singh) has observed that the power of constitution of the House of UK is not available in India. Reason being that the India has a written Constitution which has not left the qualifications and disqualifications of the members to the legislative house(s) to be determined by the legislature and as such, it is an occupied field, hence, the decision in Raja Ram Pal case requires reconsideration under the scheme of the Constitution of India.

The book aims to cater to the need and demand for understanding the Parliament as an institution of national importance and bedrock of the Indian polity. It would be useful for the Legislative Houses, to the members of Bar & Bench, policymakers, researchers, research institutions, libraries, law teachers and students. Besides this, it seeks to attract the readers from various segments of the society who are keen to understand the delicate balance and intricacies of Powers, Functions and Privileges of the Parliament.