The Scrutiny of International Treaties and other internatio… - Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee - UK Inquiry Tracker

The Scrutiny of International Treaties and other international agreements in the 21st century

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 11 May 2022 Closed: 24 May 2024 Parliament page

The Committee is conducting an inquiry into how treaties and other international arrangements (such as Memorandums of Understanding) could be effectively scrutinised in the UK, now that the UK has left the EU. Our particular focus is on the House of Commons.

11 Recommendations

21 Conclusions

1 Report

8 Oral sessions

1 Letter

8 Events

Activity timeline 19 events

14 May
2024

Correspondence

Letter to Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP, Leader of the House of Commons on the Sifting Committee for International Agreements, dated 14.5.24

18 Apr
2024

Report published

Second Special - Parliamentary Scrutiny of International Agreements in the 21st century: Government Response to the Committee’s Second Repo…

29 Jan
2024

Report published

Second Report - Parliamentary Scrutiny of International Agreements in the 21st century

14 Jun
2023

Oral evidence

The Scrutiny of International Treaties and other international agreements in the 21st century

14 Jun
2023

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster

Committee event

10 May
2023

Oral evidence

The Scrutiny of International Treaties and other international agreements in the 21st century

10 May
2023

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 16, Palace of Westminster

Committee event

10 Jan
2023

Oral evidence

The Scrutiny of International Treaties and other international agreements in the 21st century

10 Jan
2023

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 16, Palace of Westminster

Committee event

22 Nov
2022

Oral evidence

The Scrutiny of International Treaties and other international agreements in the 21st century

22 Nov
2022

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 16, Palace of Westminster

Committee event

5 Jul
2022

Oral evidence

The Scrutiny of International Treaties and other international agreements in the 21st century

Oral evidence sessions 8 sessions

14 Jun 2023

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The Scrutiny of International Treaties and other international agreements in the 21st century

David Rutley MP · Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Leonie Lambert · Department for Business and Trade Nigel Huddleston MP · HM Treasury Paul Berman · Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

10 May 2023

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The Scrutiny of International Treaties and other international agreements in the 21st century

Dr Mario Mendez · Queen Mary University of London Professor Emily Jones · Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford Professor Holger Hestermeyer · Kings College London

10 Jan 2023

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The Scrutiny of International Treaties and other international agreements in the 21st century

Angus MacNeil MP · Member of the House of Commons The Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town · Member of the House of Lords

22 Nov 2022

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The Scrutiny of International Treaties and other international agreements in the 21st century

Clare Adamson MSP · Scottish Parliament Huw Irranca-Davies MS · Senedd Cymru / Welsh Parliament Mick Antoniw MS · Welsh Government Rt Hon Angus Robertson MSP · Scottish Government

5 Jul 2022

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The Scrutiny of International Treaties and other international agreements in the 21st century

Penelope Nevill · Kings College London Professor Richard Gardiner · University College London (UCL)

21 Jun 2022

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The Scrutiny of International Treaties and other international agreements in the 21st century

Professor Lorand Bartels MBE · Trade and Agriculture Commission Professor Malgosia Fitzmaurice · Queen Mary University of London

7 Jun 2022

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The Scrutiny of International Treaties and other international agreements in the 21st century

Rt Hon Lord Frost CMG · Cabinet Office

8 Feb 2022

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The Scrutiny of International Treaties and other international agreements in the 21st century

Alexander Horne · Durham University Arabella Lang · Public Law Project Jill Barrett · Queen Mary University of London

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Second Report - Parliamentary Scrutiny of International Agreemen…	HC 204	29 Jan 2024	32	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

3 results

17 Conclusion Deferred

Second Report - Parliamentary Scru…

House of Lords should ideally scrutinise treaties before House of Commons approval vote.

We believe that adequate time should be available for both Houses to conduct meaningful scrutiny of treaties. However, it is a matter for the House of Lords how it chooses to arrange its business, both in its committees and chamber. … Read more

Government Response

The government deflects responsibility, stating it is for the House of Commons to consider establishing a sifting committee for treaties, and draws attention to comparable setups in Australia and New Zealand.

28 Recommendation Deferred

Second Report - Parliamentary Scru…

Strengthen international agreement scrutiny in Commons committees and establish a new bespoke committee.

The current arrangements in Parliament for the scrutiny of international agreements are not commensurate with their constitutional importance. The House of Lords has taken steps to address this constitutional lacuna with the establishment of the International Agreements Committee. By contrast, … Read more The current arrangements in Parliament for the scrutiny of international agreements are not commensurate with their constitutional importance. The House of Lords has taken steps to address this constitutional lacuna with the establishment of the International Agreements Committee. By contrast, the scrutiny arrangements in the House of Commons are currently insufficient to carry out what is a core function of Parliament, namely the scrutiny of international agreements. This core function should be understood to include involvement in the mandate setting and negotiation phases, the ultimate approval of treaties, and holding the Government to account for their exercise of powers to negotiate and reach these agreements. The important work done by the International Trade Committee during its existence has demonstrated the vital nature of a strategic approach to the parliamentary scrutiny of treaties. Furthermore, we are of the view that the statutory changes we have recommended earlier in this report, requiring all treaties to be subject to parliamentary process and, in appropriate cases, expressly approved by the House of Commons, should result in a greater focus from committees on international agreements. It is clear that the House of Commons is well placed to use its existing subject specialism in the departmental committee structure to provide detailed policy-focused scrutiny of international agreements. However, we note that this may not be sufficient by itself. We recommend that the Liaison Committee adds the scrutiny of international agreements to the core tasks of all relevant committees. To further support this aim, we call on the Government to bring forward a motion to amend the Standing Orders to add “scrutiny of relevant international agreements” to the remit of all relevant committees. Moreover, to ensure that scrutiny of international agreements is given the necessary attention in the House of Commons, we further recommend that a bespoke committee is estab Show less

Government Response

The government partially agrees on the principle of parliamentary accountability for treaties but rejects recommendations for parliamentary approval of treaties and largely deflects the specific recommendations for new scrutiny mechanisms to Parliament itself.

29 Recommendation Deferred

Second Report - Parliamentary Scru…

Review additional resources required for effective scrutiny of international agreements in Commons.

Effective scrutiny of international agreements requires both policy expertise and expertise in international agreements and law. We recommend that a review is carried out to consider whether and what additional resource is required to support effective scrutiny of international agreements … Read more

Government Response

The government partially agrees but deflects the recommendation for a review of parliamentary resources, stating that how Parliament chooses to scrutinise treaties and whether to introduce new functions is a matter for Parliament itself.

Government Response AI assessment · 32 of 11 classified

Accepted 5

Deferred 3

Rejected 24

Total 11 recs + 21 conclusions

Correspondence 1 letter

14 May 2024 From committee Letter to Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP, Leader of the House of Commons on the Sifting Committee for International Agreements, dated 14.5.24

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