Parlamentarische Kontrolle

Parliamentary Control, next to legislation the most significant function of parliament in a democratic state. Parliamentary control has become particularly important in modern welfare states, where the executive branch usually has enormous resources at its disposal. In the party system, the task of parliamentary control is largely in the hands of the opposition, while the majority parties tend to support the government. For this reason the standards of minority party rights are decisive for the quality of parliamentary control. The scope of parliamentary control has been extended since the mid-1970s. A majority decision of the National Council is still required to set up an investigation committee, but since 1989 five members of parliament can table an emergency motion and 20 members can call for an investigation by the Court of Audit. Admittedly, however, the major problem is that parliamentary control has hardly any practical consequences.