6 Rejected

Parliament's insufficient engagement with international agreements undermines its core constitutional function.

Conclusion
Parliament is not sufficiently engaged with international agreements. The UK’s parliamentary democracy operates on the basis of the dual constitutional principles of parliamentary sovereignty and parliamentary accountability. As such it must be understood that scrutiny of international agreements is a core constitutional function of the UK Parliament.
Government Response Summary
The government partially agreed that treaty scrutiny is a core constitutional function of Parliament but explicitly rejected the Committee's overarching position that parliamentary engagement with international agreements is insufficient.
Paragraph Reference
31
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government Rejected
4 Government Response Partially agree. The Government agrees that scrutiny of international agreements is a core constitutional function of the UK Parliament. However, the Government does not agree with the Committee’s overarching position that engagement with Parliament is insufficient. parliamentary accountability to be upheld. Further details of this position are provided in response to the specific recommendations below.
Source
Committee Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Inquiry The Scrutiny of International Treaties and other international agreements in the 21st century
Report Second Report - Parliamentary Scrutiny of International Agreements in the 21st century 29 Jan 2024 HC 204
View on Parliament website
Timeline
Recommendation age 2.3 yrs
Report published 29 Jan 2024