23/01/2008 Session
Strasbourg, 23.01.2008 - “The existence of an effective political opposition is crucial if parliamentary democracy is to be viable,” Karim Van Overmeire (, NR), rapporteur for the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities, said today. As he further emphasised, the status of the parliamentary opposition varies from one country to another according to the constitutional framework or the electoral system. It is therefore important that these parliaments update their rules on the rights of the opposition, by drawing up a charter of those rights or defining a proper status for the opposition in parliament.
Today the PACE unanimously adopted a resolution inviting the parliaments of member states to establish a fair legal and procedural framework securing to opposition parliamentarians the right to freedom of expression, the right to supervise and assess government action, and the right to call the government to account or to be informed on a equal footing with the representatives belonging to the parties in power. In its guidelines, the Assembly also recommends that the opposition participate fully in legislative work and in controlling the constitutionality of laws.