Vieira warns: Don't undermine Parliament

INDEPENDENT Senator Anthony Vieira has cautioned that the blurring of the lines of responsibility between an executive and a legislature can have the effect of undermining a parliament.

While this has not happened in TT, he said there must be vigilance to ensure that it never does.

He was contributing to the debate on a private motion on parliamentary autonomy in the Senate on Tuesday.

Despite its small size and limited resources, Vieira said, “This parliament punches way above its weight.”

He described it as “an exceptional institution, one of which everyone in this country can and should be justifiably proud.”

Describing parliamentary autonomy as a key feature of democratic systems across the world, Vieira told senators that autonomy took different forms, depending on a number of factors. Those include a country’s specific constitutional arrangements and political nature.

“When one looks at the different jurisdictions, one finds a continuum.”

At one end of the continuum, he continued, the parliament is relatively independent, with significant powers of oversight and decision-making.

At the other, there are parliaments with more limited autonomy, as the government/executive exercises greater control over the legislature.

Which of these models defines TT’s Parliament?

“I believe our Parliament leans more towards the first aspect, in that it is relatively independent, with significant powers of oversight and decision-making.”

But he added, “That is not to say there is no room for improvement.”

The separation-of-powers concept, which was born in the 18th century (defining the respective roles of the executive, legislature and judiciary in any country) is important to any consideration of parliamentary autonomy.

While this concept seems clear in theory, Vieira argued it might not be so in practice.

In the case of roles of the executive and legislature, he said, “The lines (of responsibility) are not so clear-cut.”

He said in TT and many other Commonwealth countries, the lines are blurred between the executive and the legislature when “members of the political executive are also members of both Houses of Parliament.”

He said this presents “a fusion rather than a separation of powers.”

While TT’s current constitutional arrangements have not caused any instance where the executive can undermine the legislature, Vieira said, “We should not be blind to the possibility that it may be a problem in waiting.”

He told senators consideration should also be given to Parliament’s reliance on the executive for funding and resources “with the associated vulnerabilities in that regard.”

Vieira cited the ritualistic nature of question time to the government in Parliament, and the difficulties of parliamentary committees getting governments to respond to recommendations in their reports, as other challenges related to parliamentary autonomy.

Examining solutions to these challenges, he cautioned against acting hastily and doing anything to remove longstanding safeguards which had prevented any TT government from going rogue.

He said if a government attempts to pass legislation that would infringe any of the constitutional rights of citizens, it must “secure the required majorities (in Parliament) under Section 54 of the Constitution.”

This section, Vieira continued, means the government must get the support of the opposition and independent parliamentarians to pass unconstitutional legislation.

He said the history of TT demonstrates that past attempts by governments to pass unconstitutional legislation in Parliament have been stopped by constitutional safeguards and voices of dissent across the country.

Vieira added that the latter range from “cautions emanating from the parliamentary draftsman’s office and the Law Association to outright condemnation from members of civil society.”