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PANEL DISCUSSION ON THE ROLE OF POLITICAL THEORIES IN CONTEMPORARY INDIAN LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
CONCEPT NOTE
The word ‘parliament’ from the French parler, to speak, was first used in England in the thirteenth century, where it meant an enlarged meeting of the King’s council, attended by barons, bishops and courtiers, to advise the King on law making, administration and judicial decisions.[1] In the contemporary polity, parliament has multifarious role ranging from citizen’s representation to budgetary allocations. It is the sole body empowered to make the fundamental law of the land. Being a representative body, it enjoys unfettered, unconditional and absolute legislative powers in democracy.
It is believed that the objective behind every legislation is to protect the rights and freedoms of the citizens and to show the society a path to attain the fullest development of each individual. Then what are the inputs on the basis of which these laws are made in the parliament. How factors like popular sentiments, public interest, religious sentiments, moral and ethical considerations, majoritarian decision, political ideology and theoretical understanding guide the process of law making? How contradictions are being reconciled in the parliament? In a democracy like India, to what extent the politics of compromise affect the process of will formation? Will it lead directly to corruption and malfunctioning of the system? All these aspects insist us to re-articulate the question of accountability and legislative responsibility? Taking into account of these crucial aspects can we propose some basic theoretical postulates to enrich the process of democratic law making in India?
[1] Kawooya, Denis Kibirige (2010) “Act of Parliament: The Role of Parliament in the Legislative Process: A Commonwealth Perspective” 12 Eur. J.L. Reform, pp 32 -57
BEFORE YOU ATTEND…
Read the following for an Introduction
1. Political Theory: An Overview, read link
2. Otto Gierke, Political Theories of Middles Ages, read link
3. Lawrence M. Mead, Poverty and Political Theory, read link
4. Myles and Quadagno, Political Theories of Welfare State, read link
5. Does Political Theory Still Exist? , read link
6. Attila (et.al), Legislative committees as information Intermediaries, read link
7. Victoria and Jane, The Politics of Legislative Drafting: A Congressional Case Study, read link
8. The Positive Political Theory Of Legislative History: New Perspectives On The 1964 Civil Rights Act And Its Interpretation, read link
9. Philip P. Frickey, Legislative Processes and Products, read link
10. Susan Auckerman, The Law of Lawmaking: Positive Political Theory in Comparative Public Law, read link
11. Sarah Joseph, An Agenda for Political Theory in India, read link
12. Indian Political thought, read link
13. Ruthnaswami, Political Theory of Government of India, read link
14. Anil Chawla, Story of Development of Indian Political thought, read link
15. PRS Discussion Papers, See link
16. ALL bills pending in Indian Parliament, see link
17. Policy Reviews, see link
