Committees of Inquiry
Some remarks on accountability in practice
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1325Palabras clave:
responsabilidad de las autoridades públicas, comisión de investigación, control parlamentario del gobiernoResumen
Las comisiones de investigación forman parte permanente de los sistemas parlamentarios de la mayoría de los países. Están concebidas como órganos a los que se acude en situaciones extraordinarias en las que una crisis o un escándalo plantean dudas sobre la exactitud y la diligencia de la acción gubernamental y ponen en tela de juicio el funcionamiento de los mecanismos habituales de control del ejecutivo. Por lo tanto, las tareas de las comisiones de investigación constituyen un entorno excelente para la aplicación de la responsabilidad gubernamental por parte del poder legislativo. El documento examina cómo están diseñadas las comisiones de investigación en tres sistemas parlamentarios (Italia, Alemania y Polonia): ¿cuáles son los factores y características cruciales del marco legal para el ejercicio de la responsabilidad? El segundo objetivo es analizar cómo han funcionado y cuál ha sido el objeto de las comisiones de investigación durante las dos últimas décadas. La experiencia de las comisiones en los países seleccionados lleva a la conclusión de que –a pesar de su importante papel en el descubrimiento y la atribución de culpas por faltas y mala administración– están perdiendo su capacidad de hacer cumplir la responsabilidad gubernamental, y los parlamentos parecen haber abandonado la búsqueda de las verdaderas causas de los fenómenos indeseables en favor de la gestión de las culpas y la creación de una impresión de estar involucrados en asuntos de interés para los votantes.
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