Addressing oversights in Malta’s parliamentary committee stage

Abstract

Legislative quality constitutes a fundamental component of the rule of law, requiring that laws be clear, coherent, and capable of consistent application. Within this framework, the parliamentary committee stage is intended to operate as the principal mechanism through which draft legislation is subjected to detailed scrutiny prior to enactment. In the Maltese context, however, the effectiveness of this stage has received limited academic attention, despite its central role within the legislative process. This dissertation examines the operation of the committee stage within the Maltese parliamentary system, focusing on its capacity to function as a safeguard against legislative oversight. It argues that, although the committee stage is formally structured to facilitate clause-by-clause examination of bills, in practice it is frequently compressed, amendment-focused, and insufficiently engaged with the entirety of legislative text. As a result, drafting errors, linguistic inconsistencies, and substantive inaccuracies may pass through uncorrected and become embedded in enacted law. Chapters 1 and 2 establish the constitutional and theoretical framework of parliamentary scrutiny, emphasising its relationship with legal certainty, democratic accountability, and the rule of law. Chapter 3 undertakes an empirical analysis of committee stage practice, identifying recurring instances of oversight and demonstrating that such defects are systemic rather than incidental. Chapter 4 adopts a comparative approach, examining committee-stage scrutiny in Scotland, France, and New Zealand. Chapter 5 proposes targeted reforms aimed at strengthening the committee stage through procedural and institutional adjustments. The dissertation concludes that legislative oversight at the committee stage in Malta stems not from deficiencies in formal rules, but from a restrictive approach to scrutiny in practice. Strengthening the committee stage as a substantive mechanism of legislative scrutiny is essential to improving legislative quality, enhancing legal certainty, and reinforcing confidence in the parliamentary process.