1. The Desirable Roles of the Legislature over Defence Colonel Emmanuel Kotia, PhD Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre

2. Introduction In most liberal democratic political systems the Legislature is one of the main three arms of government The other two arms are the Executive and the Judiciary In political systems in which the principle of separation of powers is enshrined in constitutions, legislatures are normally granted the power to raise and support the armed forces of a country Article 210 (2) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana stipulates that only parliament can raise an armed force (Constitution of Ghana, Article 210) Therefore the role of legislatures over defence cannot be over-empahasized

3. Aims and Objectives Initial thoughts and perspectives Discuss defence legislations within the legislature Examine the oversight function of the legislature over defence Assess the roles of the legislature over defence budget, approvals, appointments, promotions and declaration of states of emergencies Discuss some challenges of the legislature in performing its oversight role over defence Draw conclusions

4. Initial Thoughts and Perspectives “The legislature is a workshop of democracy and it goes without saying that the legislature does play a central role in any democracy” (Hans, 2003) - Churchill No defence policy in any country can endure without the support of the public it is supposed to protect Legislators as elected representatives of the people are at the heart of the democratic system. They represent the electorate from whom the armed forces are drawn and whose taxes pay for their upkeep Legislatures perform dual functions in the sense that they must both influence and reflect public opinion – task to explain and justify military expenditure and why military personnel are deployed overseas The roles that legislatures play with regard to defence are many and vary greatly among most democratic states

5. Roles of Legislatures

6. Defence Legislation The traditional function of the legislature worldwide is the legislative function Constitutional and political arrangements in a particular country are influential factors that determine how legislations are shaped by the legislature of any democratic state Another influential factor depends on whether the government of a particular state is practicing a presidential or parliamentary system of government The legislature wields some influence since all issues introduced in the legislature are openly discussed and issues are voted in legislature

7. Defence Legislation Legislatures are responsible for debating and passing defence legislations after the executive have submitted proposals for consideration Some notable areas of defence legislations include: military laws to regulate the Armed Forces, procurements, approval to participate in foreign/international operations, enactment of a defence policy and defence strategic reviews (Herbert, 2001) – RSA, UK Legislatures are key actors in shaping and passing legislations for the modernization of the armed forces – Malaysia, Philippines, Uganda

8. Defence Committees Undertakes most of the oversight functions of the legislature – eg Germany Defence Committees are created in most legislatures to support the work of the legislature with jurisdiction almost matching the Defence Ministry The Committee monitors the expenditure, policy and administration of the Ministry of Defence Defence Committees examine issues more critically and the smaller size of the committee usually facilitates compromises between the political divide Serve to balance the right of the public to be informed and the need for the secrecy that governs some activities and policies in national security issues

9. Approval of Defence Budgets The strength of most legislatures in the world liberal democracies is in the sphere of defence expenditure The historical background of defence budgets can be traced to the Middle Ages in the United Kingdom The legislature as the taxpayer’s representative therefore has the responsibility of stewardship on how moneys are allocated and used Based on its control over defence budgets, most legislatures have powers to dictate the size of armed forces and the equipment to be procured for the military in each particular year Public opinion in a particular country has also had an influence on whether the legislature should increase or decrease defence budgets

10. Procurement of Equipment Equipment procurement worldwide has ceases to be the preserved of the Armed Forces and the Defence Ministry of any democratic state The procurement process in most established democracies is effectively divided between the legislature and Defence Ministries Legislatures demand to be involved and informed about all stages of the procurement process - definition of an operational requirement - research and development - full scale production -entry into service of a piece of military equipment The legislature is therefore better placed to approve estimates for new equipment

11. Appointments and Promotions The legislature may have the duty of vetting and approving of appointments and promotions of officers the armed forces to high command positions – USA, Indonesia, Argentina The public is allowed to raise observations on the reliability of selected individuals by a written petition or any acceptable means to the committee vetting the nominees The screening and selection of officers permits legislatures to send a strong message about the kind of behaviour that is expected of the military

12. Declaration of State of Emergency An emerging role of the legislature in modern democracies is the right of declaration of a State of Emergency and the deployment of the military for internal operations at the request of the executive In the US and Germany, the legislature alone has authority to declare a state of emergency The Filipino constitution requires legislative and judiciary approval for a declaration of a martial law In Ghana, Parliament must approve of a declaration within 72 hours otherwise the state of emergency would be revoked after seven days of coming into force

13. Challenges of the Legislature Lack of access to expertise and information on defence issues – flow of information executive vrs legislature Most members of Defence Committees are naive with defence and particularly military matters Effectiveness of the legislature’s control over defence will depend very much on the expertise and effectiveness of the select committee on defence Lack of qualified parliamentary staff made up researchers, expertise and administrative staff

14. Conclusion

15. The Desirable Roles of the Legislature over Defence Colonel Emmanuel Kotia, PhD Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre