The Three Controls Compared
Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Three
Syllabus topic 6, "Legislative Control"
Pages 720 to 725 of 1033
In one line
Legislative control is continuous, political and public but decides nothing; executive control is immediate, expert and effective but is the administration judging itself; judicial control is authoritative and binding but episodic, slow and available only to a litigant with a legal grievance.
In the wording a student can write in an exam: control over administration operates in three forms which differ in who exercises it, on what standard, at whose instance, with what remedy and with what limitation; legislative control is exercised by the House and its committees on standards of its own choosing, continuously and on its own motion, and produces exposure rather than a decision; executive control is exercised within the administration by superiors, by vigilance machinery and by disciplinary authorities, on standards of conduct and efficiency, and produces real consequences for an officer but is administered by the very body whose conduct is in question; and judicial control is exercised by the courts under articles 32, 226 and 227 on standards of legality fixed in advance, at the instance of an aggrieved person, and produces a binding order which the courts cannot follow up.
The three, on six axes
| Legislative | Executive | Judicial | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who | the House and its committees | superiors, vigilance machinery, disciplinary authorities | the Supreme Court and the High Courts |
| Standard | whatever the House thinks relevant | conduct rules, efficiency, financial propriety | legality, fixed in advance |
| Set in motion by | the House itself, continuously | the administration itself | an aggrieved person |
| Remedy | a report and a record | penalty, transfer, prosecution | a binding order |
| Timing | before and after the act | during and after | after, and often long after |
| The characteristic weakness | decides nothing | judges itself | episodic and reactive |
Legislative control: what it is good at and bad at
Good at exposure. Chapter 1160: a question is answered daily, in public, on the record. Chapter 1010: a Secretary is examined on an audit paragraph and the exchange is printed. Chapter 1110: a committee's report is judicially noticeable, admissible and immune from contradiction.
Good at continuity. It does not wait for a complaint. Chapter 1050's committee reads rules as they are made; chapter 1020's committees examine Demands before they are voted.
Good at the general. It can ask whether a policy is working, which no court may ask.
Bad at deciding. Chapter 1270: every device that ends in a division is settled by the Tenth Schedule before the debate. Chapter 1020: rule 277, a report has persuasive value and is considered advice.
Bad at the individual case. It cannot order a licence restored or a dismissal set aside.
Executive control: what it is good at and bad at
Good at consequences. Chapter 700: the Central Vigilance Commission's advice ends in a disciplinary proceeding with a penalty. Chapter 740: an investigation ends in a prosecution. These are the only controls in this paper that reach an individual officer's career and liberty.
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