The Committee’s main responsibilities

The committee’s duties are set out in § 12, paragraph 9 of the Rules of Procedure:

”The Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs:

The committee shall review and submit recommendations to the Storting on:

a. records of proceedings etc. of the Council of State, cf. Section 75, subparagraph f, of the Constitution,

b. the annual report from the Government concerning the follow-up of resolutions of the Storting containing requests to the Government and concerning Private Member’s Motions submitted by the Storting to the Government for consideration and comments,

c. documents from the Office of the Auditor General, and other matters
concerning the Auditor General’s activities,

d. reports from the Parliamentary Ombudsman for Public Administration and other matters concerning the Ombudsman’s activities,

e. reports from the Storting’s Committee for the Monitoring of Intelligence, Surveillance and Security Services and other matters concerning the committee’s activities,

f. reports from the Storting's Accountability Select Commitee and commissions of inquiry appointed by the Storting.

g. reports from the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s Committee for the Armed Forces and the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s Committee for the Civilian National Service. 

The Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs decides in each case whether a draft recommendation shall be submitted to the appropriate standing committee for comment before the recommendation is presented.

Furthermore the committee deals with constitutional matters, legislation relating to elections, and allocations to the Storting and to the Royal Household.

The committee also deals with matters in which the Storting shall consider the extent to which constitutional responsibility shall be asserted, including whether the Storting’s Accountability Select Committee shall be requested to make the necessary enquiries to determine the basis for such responsibility, cf. the Act of 5th February 1932 no. 2 relating to the Legal Procedure for Offences Indicted before the Court of Impeachment. One-third of the committee’s members may require that the committee shall deal with such a matter on its own initiative. The committee shall make recommendations on the matters it deals with. Should the committee find that circumstances in an external request regarding breach of constitutional duties cannot be prosecuted through the Court of Impeachment, the request shall be referred to the appropriate prosecuting authority. Furthermore, the committee may decide that a request shall not be put before the Storting when it is evident that the circumstances in question will not result in further action. The request shall be put before the Storting in a recommendation if one-third of the committee’s members require this. The party that has put forward the request shall be notified of the result of the matter once it has been dealt with. When a decision has been made to prosecute through the Court of Impeachment, the committee acts on behalf of the Storting during the preparation and implementation of the case.

Before committees other than the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs submit a recommendation that puts forward a proposal that constitutional responsibility shall be asserted or a proposal to implement enquiries as mentioned in Section 45 a, a draft recommendation from the committee concerned shall be submitted to the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs for comment.

The committee may also make any further inquiries within the administration deemed necessary for the Storting’s scrutiny of the public administration. Such a decision shall be made by one-third of the committee’s members. Before the committee itself makes such inquiries, the minister concerned shall be notified and requested to procure the information required. The committee shall make recommendations on the matters it deals with.

One-third of the committee’s members may require a committee hearing to be held on a scrutiny issue pursuant to section 18.

The committee may lay down further rules for its secretariat, including the duties of the secretariat and the use of the secretariat that may be made by individual committee members.”

Supervisory matters

The Storting’s supervisory authority is there to ensure that the Government and public administration implement decisions taken in the Storting. The Storting has established three independent supervisory bodies to assist in this work:

• The Office of the Auditor General is the Storting’s auditory and control body. The Office of the Auditor General is independent of government administration. It is responsible for auditing the central government accounts, monitoring administration of the government’s interests in companies and banks (corporate control) and ensuring that the State’s revenues are paid as intended and that the State’s resources and assets are used and administered in a sound financial manner and in keeping with the decisions and intentions of the Storting (performance audits). The Office of the Auditor General reports to the Storting on these areas. In addition, it issues an annual report.
• The Storting’s Ombudsman for Public Administration (Parliamentary Ombudsman) ensures that individuals do not suffer injustice at the hands of public administration, and that human rights are respected. This work is carried out first and foremost by investigating complaints brought by private individuals. The Ombudsman also takes up issues on his own initiative and carries out inspections and visits to the civil service, prisons, psychiatric hospitals and other closed institutions. In addition to endeavouring to prevent injustice, the Office of the Ombudsman also aims to improve administrative agencies in general and strengthen confidence in public administration. The Ombudsman submits an annual report to the Storting.
• The Committee for the Monitoring of Intelligence, Surveillance and Security Services is a permanent seven-member committee who monitor the Police Security Service, the Defence Security Service and Military Intelligence. The committee is responsible for continuous supervision of the work of these services, and investigates complaints. It also takes up issues on its own initiative where appropriate. The main aim is to protect the security of the individual. The committee reports annually to the Storting.

The Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs makes recommendations to the Storting on issues arising from the Storting’s independent supervisory bodies. These most commonly involve documents from the office of the Auditor General, of which reports on performance audits are the most frequent.

In addition to dealing with supervisory issues arising from one of the independent bodies, the committee reviews other matters which come under the Storting’s monitoring of the Government and public administration. The committee
reviews:

• The Records of the Council of State. These include decisions taken by the King in the Council of State. The records are submitted by the Government twice a year and the committee makes recommendations twice annually, in the spring and autumn.
• The Government’s annual report on the follow-up of decisions of the Storting that contain requests to the Government and on consideration of private member's bills submitted by the Storting to the Government for investigation and comment.

The Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs is distinguished from other committees by the fact that it can take its own initiatives. This means that the committee can instigate investigations into public administration which it finds necessary in order to fulfil the Storting’s supervisory function. The other committees can only deal with issues thar have been referred to them by the Storting in plenary.

At least one-third of the members must vote in favour to allow the committee to open a case on its own initiative. Once such an agreement has been reached the committee must make recommendations to the Storting.

The committee may decide to subject a scrutiny matter to a public scrutiny hearing. Separate rules apply for these hearings. The minister responsible is requested to attend together with other parties whom the committee believes may be able to shed light on the matter. Official reports are kept of public scrutiny hearings.

Constitutional Issues

The Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs reviews and makes recommendations to the Storting on constitutional bills.

A bill to amend the Constitution may be put forward by a member of the Storting or a member of the Government. Article 112 provides that proposed amendments to the Constitution must be submitted during the first three sessions of an electoral term and must be considered during the first, second or third session of the following term. There will therefore always be a general election between the submission of a proposed amendment and the decision whether or not to adopt it. This allows the electorate to make its opinions known.

A two-thirds majority is required to adopt an amendment to the Constitution and at least two-thirds of the members must be present in the Chamber to vote on any constitutional matter.

The committee also deals with electoral legislation issues.