Post-Legislative Scrutiny By The Parliament and Congress in the United Kingdom and United States: Comparative Lessons for Nigeria
Thesis
This dissertation was designed to comparatively examine the practice of post-legislative scrutiny by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the Congress of the United States. The motivation for the study stemmed from the fact that in spite of being imbued with the requisite tools and constitutional powers of oversight, the Nigerian National Assembly has been unable to effectively deploy those tools and powers for effective legislative oversight, especially with respect to the implementation and impact of laws. Additionally, while post-legislative scrutiny has been institutionalised as part of legislative practice and procedure across a number of legislatures, the concept which is a veritable aid to the oversight function has not been embraced by the National Assembly. The study sought to ascertain the state of legislative oversight and post-legislative scrutiny in Nigeria, examine the practice of post-legislative scrutiny by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the Congress of the United States, and extract practicable lessons that Nigeria can learn from the practice in both jurisdictions. The justification for the study was hinged on inter alia, broadening understanding of post-legislative scrutiny and assisting legislative practice and procedure in Nigeria. The study adopted the doctrinal legal research methodology which involved theorising and analysing primary and secondary sources of data such as Constitutions, Acts, law journals, case law, textbooks and other materials. The choice of the doctrinal methodology was based on the fact that it was most suitable for the study, especially given the non-empirical nature of the study. The study also applied the comparative legal research approach in its analysis. In respect of the first research objective, the findings of the study indicated that on a general note, the oversight function of the National Assembly is in a poor state as it has been beset by several constraints that challenge its credibility, utility and relevance. The study also found that in respect of the state of post-legislative scrutiny in Nigeria, Nigeria lacks fully institutionalised mechanisms for the evaluation of the implementation and impact of laws. In respect of the second research objective, the study found that the Parliament of the United Kingdom has a fully institutionalised framework for post-legislative scrutiny, while in the Congress of the United States, there is a composite utilisation of several mechanisms which align with those of post-legislative scrutiny. In respect of the third research objective, the study found that there are practicable lessons that the National Assembly can learn from both legislatures, all of which can be seamlessly infused into its practice and procedure. Based on the findings, the study recommended the adoption of post-legislative scrutiny in Nigeria, especially in view of its success in the United Kingdom and the United States which share legislative and other similarities with Nigeria. The study concluded that there is need for the National Assembly to infuse post-legislative scrutiny into its legislative practice in order to strengthen its oversight function that has often been perceived as ineffective, and ensure that laws are implemented as intended and desired impacts achieved.