A joint committee is a

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

made up of members of the two chambers of a bicameral legislature. In other contexts, it refers to a committee with members from more than one organization.

Germany

A joint committee ('' Gemeinsamer Ausschuss'') comprises both members of

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Common ...

(two thirds) and representatives of the ''

Länder Länder (singular Land) or Bundesländer (singular Bundesland) is the name for (federal) states in two German-speaking countries. It may more specifically refer to: * States of Austria, the nine federal subdivisions of Austria * States of Germany ...

'' (one third). It exists to ensure a working legislature during a state of defense. A mediation committee (''Vermittlungsausschuss''), consisting in equal numbers of members of Bundestag and representatives of the states, facilitates compromises between Bundestag and Bundesrat in legislation - especially if the consent of Bundesrat is constitutionally required.

India

In India, a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is one type of

ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with '' a priori''.) C ...

Parliamentary committee constituted by the

Indian parliament The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

. A Joint Parliamentary Committee is formed when a motion is adopted by one house and it is supported or agreed by the other house.

Philippines

A bicameral conference committee is formed for each bill where the Senate and the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

have conflicting versions. The committee has the same number of members from each chamber. Once passed, the chambers then have to approve the version passed by the bicameral conference committee in order for it to be sent for the president's signature. If

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

is short on time, a chamber may approve the other chamber's version instead.

Republic of Ireland

A Joint Committee of the Irish Oireachtas (parliament) comprises members of both Dáil Éireann (the lower house) and

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

(the upper house).

United Kingdom

Joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom A joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom is a joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, formed to examine a particular issue, whose members are drawn from both the House of Commons and House of Lords. It is a type ...

is a parliamentary committee consisting of members of both the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

and the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. Joint Committees can be permanent or temporary. Three permanent committees meet on a regular basis to consider

Human Rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

, National Security Strategy and Statutory Instruments. A

Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills The Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills (commonly known as Consolidation Bills Committee) is a joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Committee was first established in 1894 with a remit to consider consolidation bills. ...

, which was first appointed in 1894, considers all bills that seek to consolidate existing statutes. In a similar way, a

Joint Committee on Tax Law Rewrite Bills The Joint Committee on Tax Law Rewrite Bills was a joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee was to scrutinise bills intended to make the language of tax law simpler, while preserving the effect of the exis ...

scrutinizes all bills that seek to simplify tax laws. Temporary committees have considered specific topics ranging from draft bills on financial services and climate change to restoration of the Palace of Westminster. There are two statutory committees that have members from both Houses, the

Ecclesiastical Committee The Ecclesiastical Committee is a statutory joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, created by the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919 to review Church of England measures submitted to Parliament by the Legislative Commit ...

and the

Intelligence and Security Committee The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC) is a statutory joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, appointed to oversee the work of the UK intelligence community. The committee was established in 1994 by the ...

United States

Joint Committee of the United States Congress A congressional committee is a legislative sub-organization in the United States Congress that handles a specific duty (rather than the general duties of Congress). Committee membership enables members to develop specialized knowledge of the ...

is a

congressional committee A congressional committee is a legislative sub-organization in the United States Congress that handles a specific duty (rather than the general duties of Congress). Committee membership enables members to develop specialized knowledge of the ...

consisting of both Senate and House members and having jurisdiction over matters of joint interest. An example of a joint committee is the Joint Committee on the Library. Most joint committees are permanent (as with the Library Committee) but temporary joint committees have been created to address specific issues (such as the

Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War was a United States congressional committee started on December 9, 1861, and was dismissed in May 1865. The committee investigated the progress of the war against the Confederacy. Meetings were held ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

). Joint committees are also a feature for upper and lower houses of State legislatures in some States.

References

{{authority control Westminster system Joint committees of the United States Congress Terminology of the United States Congress Committees * Political terminology Government commissions