Comparing the intensity of scrutiny for ‘domestic’ and implementing bills: does transposition of EU law reduce political contestation in national parliaments?

Abstract:

Research on the role of national parliaments in European Union (EU) matters dominantly concentrates on ex ante scrutiny and mostly neglects that many parliaments are constitutionally obliged to play an important part in the implementation of EU law into domestic legal orders. The low interest is tied to an argument that even if national parliaments are involved in transposition, they only serve as constrained agents of the EU.

This article tests this assumption and inquires whether there are differences between parliaments’ scrutiny of bills (laws) transposing EU impulses and ‘purely domestic’ bills. Analysis is based on quantitative data from the Czech Chamber of Deputies and the Slovak National Council. While the project remains essentially exploratory, results suggest that while the implementing bills are debated considerably less than the domestic bills, for the remaining included indicators the intensity of scrutiny for the former group of bills on average does not differ from the latter group.

The findings might therefore challenge the thesis that that the implementation process is mere formality that consequently reduces political contestation in the legislatures.