Transparency in Parliament: A Review of the Procedures and Practices in South Asia along with Recommended Guidelines for Increasing Openness

This paper examines the functioning of Parliaments in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka1 in order to gauge the extent of openness and access from the point of view of both Members of Parliament (MPs) and citizens. The rule books, secondary literature and the websites of Parliament are the chief sources of information. In this paper it is tried to identify the extent of openness in the functioning of Parliaments that is required by their rule books and compared it with what is found in actual practice. Aspects of the working of Parliaments are dealt with under five broad categories. The analysis of openness and access to information in relation to every category of activity is followed up with a set of recommendations containing guidelines which would increase transparency if adopted and fully implemented. [SAHR Reports]. URL:[http://www.southasianrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Tranparency-in-Parliament-Final2.pdf].