Updated August 2023

Procedure

Some of the procedures for the operation of a Committee are set out in Standing Orders.[1] Beyond that, each Committee is in charge of its own procedure. Unless the Standing Orders provide who is to be Chairman of the Committee, the Committee itself chooses one of its members to take this role. A Clerk of the Committee is nominated by the Clerk of Tynwald and, with the assistance of other staff in the Clerk of Tynwald’s Office, the Clerk of the Committee supports the Committee with administration, research and report writing.

Committees have the authority to call for papers, submissions, and witnesses for examination.[2] They may hold private and public sittings to discuss the information they have gathered and question people who may have detailed knowledge about the matter being explored. Government Ministers and senior civil servants often appear before those parliamentary committees whose remit includes scrutiny of government.

Committee reports are usually produced at the conclusion of an investigation.  In the case of a lengthy investigation, reports might be written as the work progresses, or there may be intervals for reporting determined in the Committee remit. These reports, and any recommendations made therein, are laid before the Chamber by which the Committees were appointed, where they may be debated and voted upon.

Types of Committee

There are several kinds of Committees of Tynwald Court and its Branches.

Standing Committees

These are permanent committees constituted under the Standing Orders of Tynwald and its Branches. A Standing Committee of Tynwald or the Legislative Council remains in being despite dissolution of the House of Keys; membership of Tynwald Standing Committees, however, ceases upon the dissolution.[3]

Select Committees

These are ad hoc Committees which are established by Tynwald or the Branches if a Motion calling for a Committee to investigate a topic is approved. In the Branches they may also be set up to consider Bills in more detail. The members are elected when the Committee is formed, and they normally serve for the life of the Committee which ends when the Committee reports.

Joint Committees

These are Committees with members appointed by and from each of the Branches, the House of Keys and the Legislative Council, and not by Tynwald Court. They are appointed by the Council and Keys, by consent of both Branches, when sitting separately. Their reports are presented to each Branch separately.

Policy Review Committees and the Justice Committee

The three Policy Review Committeesare Standing Committees of Tynwald. They each scrutinize the established (but not emergent) policies,[4] as referred to or deemed necessary by each Committee, of the Departments and Offices named in their remits, together with associated Statutory Boards and other bodies. Each Policy Review Committee may take evidence from witnesses from other areas of government in cases where the subject matter cuts across different areas of responsibility of different Departments, Offices, Statutory Boards or other organizations. The Policy Review Committees may also hold joint sittings for deliberative purposes or to take evidence. The Chairs of the Policy Review Committees, who are all members of the Public Accounts Committee, agree on the scope of a Policy Review Committee’s inquiry where the subject cuts across the respective boundaries of the Policy Review Committees’ remits.

The function of the Standing Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs and Justice are similar to those of the Policy Review Committees, but with reference to the administration of justice, legal services, and the work of the Attorney General and constitutional issues.[5]

Elections to Committees of the Legislature

Tynwald

All Members of Tynwald are eligible to serve on its Committees, except for the President of Tynwald. The President does, however, sit ex officio on the Tynwald Management Committee and the Tynwald Ceremony Arrangements Committee.

Members elect fellow Members to serve on Committees whenever there is a vacancy.  This always happens after a General Election, but also whenever a Select Committee is set up, or a vacancy in an already-established Committee arises for any other reason.  Each nomination must be seconded.  If there are more nominations than positions to fill, Members vote on those nominations as one body by ballot. Members must receive a majority of the votes cast to be elected to serve on a committee. The ballot is public, with the details of voting published in Votes and Proceedings.[6]

If a Member ceases to be a member of either Branch, a vacancy occurs in any Committee of which they were a member. However, the existing Member continues until a successor is elected, and may be re-elected to the Committee through the usual nomination process if he or she becomes a member of either Branch before the vacancy has been filled.[7]

House of Keys

After a General Election, whenever vacancies occur, or when Select Committees are set up, Members nominate fellow Members, each nomination being seconded, to serve on the various committees detailed later in this chapter. If there are more nominations than positions to fill, an election is held by ballot. Members must receive a majority of the votes cast to be elected to serve on the committee. The ballot is public, with the details of voting published in Votes and Proceedings.[8]

Legislative Council

All Members of the Legislative Council are eligible to serve on committees of the Council.

The Standing Orders of the Legislative Council do not have specific procedures for electing Members to Committees; such elections are seldom contested.

As the Legislative Council is in continuous existence it only has vacancies in its Standing Committees when members cease to belong to that Branch.

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[1] References to Committees appear throughout the Standing Orders of Tynwald Court and the Branches but specifically: Standing Orders of Tynwald, 4.7-4.8 and V; Standing Orders of the House of Keys, VI; Standing Orders of the Legislative Council, IV(A).

[2] Standing Orders of Tynwald, 5.10(1); Standing Orders of the House of Keys, 6.14; Tynwald Proceedings Act 1876, s.3.

[3] Standing Orders of Tynwald, 5.5(2)

[4] Standing Orders of Tynwald, Schedule, 1.1.

[5] Standing Orders of Tynwald, Schedule 10.1

[6] Standing Orders of Tynwald, 5.3(14).

[7] Standing Orders of Tynwald, 5.5(1)

[8] Standing Orders of the House of Keys, 6.3(13).