In a representative democracy, parliament, which plays the central role in providing democratic legitimacy, is
designed to fulfil a number of different functions: legislation, election and legitimation of other bodies, but also
scrutiny of other bodies. In particular, competences to control government and administration are allocated to that
last function. The aims of the intended study are twofold: First to analyse the parliamentary scrutiny of government
and administration and second to draw general conclusions for the democratic political systems in Europe. On the
basis of a comparative examination of the legal systems of Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom and the
European Union the means by which parliamentary control is exerted will be systematized, and a typology of the
relevant competences will be developed. One main thesis of the study is that parliamentary control was widened
and strengthened in the analysed legal orders and has become more important, while the importance of
parliamentary functions in the legislative procedure has declined. One central reason being the transfer of
legislative power from parliament to other national, supranational and international bodies. Moreover, it is assumed
that the procedures in which parliament scrutinises government and administration have also changed.
Traditionally, parliamentary control is realised mainly by supervising a decision ex post. However, in a new type of
control, parliament actually participates in the decision-making process and, therefore, assumes genuine
responsibility for the decision. These changes call for a thorough examination. They influenced the balance of
powers between institutions and the allocation of powers to the body which is best qualified to exercise the power.
They also have considerable effect on the way legitimacy is conferred by parliament. Hence, the question will be
raised, which consequences follow with respect to the principle of separation of powers and of democracy in
general. These issues will be discussed from the methodological perspective of the general theory of the state
("Allgemeine Staatslehre")