Skip to main navigationSkip to main content
The University of Southampton
Politics and International RelationsPart of Economic, Social and Political Science

International conference on parliamentary investigations

Published: 19 March 2009

Dr Alexandra Kelso was recently invited to deliver a paper to an expert meeting at Maastricht University entitled Parliamentary investigations in a comparative and European perspective, organised by the Montesquieu Institute for European Parliamentary History and Constitutional Development.

The conference, in January 2009, drew together a number of parliamentary and law experts from across Europe to discuss the practice and performance of parliamentary investigations in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and in the European Parliament. Dr Kelso’s paper addressed the role of House of Commons select committees in pursuing investigative scrutiny, and was complemented by the participation of a number of highly informed House of Commons clerks. The event sparked a wide-ranging debate about the nature and purpose of parliamentary scrutiny, the way it presently operates across Europe, and how different systems might learn lessons from each other.

The conference was the first in a series to be run by the Montesquieu Institute, formed in 2007 to prompt international discussion and research across a range of issues related to the functioning of democracy. Dr Kelso was honoured to be asked to participate in this seminal event, and hopes to work with the Institute on future plans.

To find out more, please visit the Montesquieu Institute.

Related Staff Member

Privacy Settings