A Framework for Reforming the Independence and Accountability of Statutory Officers of Parliament: A Case Study of Victoria

Considerable attention has been given to the independence of auditors-general in the literature. However, there are other officers of parliament who also have roles that may require protection from the excessive use of power by the executive arm of government. In response to the recent Public Accounts and Estimates Committee Inquiry into a Legislative Framework for Victorian Statutory Officers of Parliament, the study compares the enabling legislation of four Victorian officers of parliament in terms of their powers, independence, funding and mandate as well as the accountability mechanisms available to parliament in terms of their appointment, tenure and oversight. The four officers are: the auditor-general; the ombudsman; the regulator-general; and the director of public prosecutions. A number of notable differences in the enabling legislation are identified and reform options for strengthening such legislation are presented.     

Learning from the Americanists (Again): Theory and Method in the Study of Delegation

European(ist) scholars have largely followed their American(ist) colleagues in the formulation of theories about delegation of powers to non-majoritarian institutions, most notably through the application of principal-agent models of relations between legislative principals and their executive and judicial agents. This article suggests that Europeanists can once again learn from recent developments in both theory and method in the study of delegation in American politics. The first section discusses the methodological challenges of testing hypotheses about the conditions under which agents might enjoy some degree of autonomy from their legislative principals, and draws lessons from the recent Americanist literature. The section examines the development in American politics of a second wave of principal-agent analysis which aims to formulate and test hypotheses about the conditions under which legislative principals might delegate authority and discretion to bureaucratic agents. The third and final section of the article examines some preliminary applications of the principal-agent approach to the European Union and to the comparative study of European parliamentary democracies, and proposes a research agenda for the comparative study of national-level delegation in the parliamentary systems of Western Europe.     

Reparations,Once Again

Reparations whether to blacks for slavery, or to Indians for land theft, or to settle any number of other conflicts, has an interesting political background. Analysts on the left, who are usually no friend of private property rights, nevertheless rely on this doctrine to support their case for reparations. Those on the right, in contrast, who supposedly defend the institution of property rights, jettison them when it comes to reparations. It is only libertarians, such as the present authors, who both favor private property rights in general, and, also, apply them to the issue of reparations, who are logically consistent.

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That Enlightenment Question Again

Sandall’s complaint that the Enlightenment is in danger is not new as it repeats a long standing complaint about “the betrayal of the intellectuals”. But the danger today is not from either the Muslim world or from the marginalized academics who pursue an anti-liberal multicultural agenda that belittles the Western liberal tradition. In the United States the menace comes from the much more powerful far right that has abandoned America’s Enlightenment tradition. It is time for academics to start teaching students what that tradition is all about, and why it needs to be defended, but spreading fear about weak and divided Muslim societies is not the way.

The European Parliament elections

The recent European Parliament elections did not produce the long-feared triumph of illiberal anti-European Union forces, and indicate that voters remain strongly attached to the European project. Yet they highlighted and contributed to increasingly fragmented and unstable national and supranational European politics, suggesting that the EU may become a less effective transatlantic partner and security actor.     

Federalism and the European Parliament

The European Parliament has been a source of controversy sinceits inception. Its direct election was seen as endorsing a federalstructure and political future for the European Community (laterEuropean Union). Changes in its authority and legislative powerswere seen as symptomatic of creeping federalism and the emasculationof member states' national sovereignty. The European Parliament'sconscious contribution to developing federalism and constructinga federal Europe relate to its direct election, its powers,and its proposals to hold a constitutional convention. The Anglo-Saxonmisconception of federalism is analyzed, the role of a billof rights examined, and the failures of democratic legitimacyexposed with a view to see what contribution federal bargainsmay make to close the democratic deficit and to impel a reviewof the current institutional arrangements.