The functions of Parliament: reality challenges tradition1

The functions of parliaments have been variously described by scholars and in parliamentary documents but there have been few, if any, reported studies of how parliamentary practitioners see their own institutions. This paper reports practitioner perceptions of contemporary functions of fifteen selected national legislatures. The research is embedded in a wider project on parliamentary careers that looks at a total of 60 national parliaments. It investigates what knowledge, skills and abilities assist MPs in successfully fulfilling their responsibilities, the nature and content of professional development programs available to MPs and the effect these programs have on enhancing knowledge, skills and abilities.2 The responsibilities of MPs relate to the functions of the parliamentary chamber to which they have been elected. Hence, for consistency reasons, the research focused only on national parliaments. Definitions, scope and terminologies Mezey (1979, 6) defines a legislature as a ‘predominantly elected body of people that acts collegially and that has at least the formal but not necessarily the exclusiv