Accountability
Committees answer to the Assembly that constituted them, to the courts, and to the oversight offices of Title IX.
To the Assembly
Any committee of the Assembly may require the attendance of any member of an executive committee and the production of documents. Article 132(3) allows one quarter of the members to constitute a committee of inquiry, whose chair belongs to the members who constituted it.
A motion concerning an executive committee is decided by the Assembly, and the members of that committee are excluded from voting upon such a motion or upon the annual account of the field they execute.
The annual account
| Committee | Account |
|---|---|
| Provision | Laid and debated. Spread between territories reported at 6.4 per cent. |
| Public Works and Transport | Laid and debated. Two committees of inquiry reported on the withdrawal of services and on rolling stock retired early. |
| Justice and the Interior | Laid and debated. One regulation annulled during the year. |
| Education and Knowledge | Laid and debated. One regulation withdrawn following an order of the Defender of Rights. |
| All other committees | Laid and debated without adverse finding. |
To the courts
A regulation exceeding the law it executes is void, and any person may challenge it. Article 43 states the remedies a court may order: declaration, injunction, restoration, performance on a fixed timetable, annulment of the offending act, and reparation. Article 232(1) makes the refusal, delay or conditioning of the execution of a judgment an offence.
To the oversight offices
| Office | What it does in relation to a committee |
|---|---|
| Audit Office | Audits the use of common resources in physical units, and publishes every finding in full before any organ sees it |
| Defender of Rights | Receives complaints about the violation of a right of Title III, and may order a prohibited automated system to cease |
| Office of Democratic Integrity | Verifies declarations of interest, investigates appropriation of public resources, and refers acts within Article 265 |
| Commissioner for Future Generations | Examines what an act transfers forward and may require reconsideration in public sitting |
Functions taken after leaving office
What a member of an executive committee may do after leaving it is fixed by the Constitution, and the Office of Democratic Integrity verifies compliance. One discrepancy of that kind was published this year and the function has ended.
A member of an executive committee is separately disqualified from every pool of Title IX, during office and four years afterwards.