Parliament Secretariat Denies Limiting Committee Chairs Powers, Clarifies Operational Guidelines - Thairath English
The Parliament Secretariat explained its operational guidelines, denying that they "limit the powers of committee chairs." It said the guidelines merely clarify legal provisions in practice and emphasized that summoning individuals for information must follow the committee's resolution, not the chair's sole authority alone.
At 19:31 on 3 Nov 2026, the Secretariat of the House of Representatives issued a statement regarding the operational guidelines of the standing committees of the House, following complaints from members of parliament about committee operations. The Speaker brought the issue for discussion in the chairpersons' meeting.
The House of Representatives and the standing committee chairs met on 21 Oct 2026, assigning the legal team of the Secretariat to draft operational guidelines for all 35 standing committees to standardize their work in line with constitutional and related legal provisions. The Secretariat, through its three committee bureaus—Committee Bureau 1, Committee Bureau 2, and Committee Bureau 3—which serve as secretariats to all committees, proposed these guidelines. The Speaker approved the approach, which has since been reported in the media and sparked public commentary.
The Secretariat explained that since the constitution and House rules do not specifically regulate committee meetings in detail, meeting rules generally applied to the House plenary sessions have been analogously applied to committee meetings. However, previously there was no opposition to committee procedures, resulting in a lack of clear operational standards and leading to inconsistent secretariat practices. When disputes arose, the Secretariat developed the current guidelines for the Speaker’s approval to ensure secretariat work follows a unified approach. The Secretariat offers the following clarifications to the public:
1. These operational guidelines do not restrict the powers of committee chairs. They merely clarify legal provisions to reduce disputes among committee members and ensure orderly committee operations.
2. Committee meeting scheduling has primarily been based on committee resolutions. The first committee meeting typically sets a regular weekly meeting day and time, such as Wednesday mornings or Thursday mornings. However, chairs may call special meetings if necessary, for example, if meetings have been suspended for some time.
3. Regarding the committee meeting agenda, since the House rules do not specifically regulate committee agendas, committees have generally divided their agenda into four parts:
(1) Agenda item 1: Matters the chair will announce to the meeting.
(2) Agenda item 2: Approval of meeting minutes.
(3) Agenda item 3: Matters for consideration.
When committees study or conduct work under Constitutional Article 129, which permits committees to summon individuals to provide information, these matters are placed under agenda item 3, matters for consideration. Therefore, actions under this agenda must follow the committee's resolution because summoning individuals under the constitution and House rules is a committee power, not that of the chair alone.
As for the chair’s power to set the agenda, they can only include items explicitly authorized by law—for instance, subcommittee study reports completed, which by House rules must be reported to the committee. In such cases, the chair can place these reports under agenda item 3, matters for consideration.
For other matters not specified by law, the chair may include them under agenda item 1 (announcements) or agenda item 4 (other matters), provided these relate to the committee’s duties. The committee must then collectively resolve how to proceed, such as deciding whether a complaint falls within its jurisdiction or determining operational guidelines. However, the chair cannot summon or invite individuals or agency representatives for information under these agenda items.
4. Regarding summoning individuals or documents, since Constitutional Article 129 grants this power to the committee, such actions must be based solely on committee resolutions. The Constitutional Court ruled in decision 17/2563 that summoning is a form of invitation or request for cooperation. Therefore, regardless of wording, such summons are committee powers, and the chair cannot act unilaterally.
5. On related matters considered by multiple committees, Constitutional Article 129 prohibits duplicate studies but allows related issues to be studied jointly following regulations set by the Speaker. Thus, when multiple committees examine related matters, they must comply with the 2019 House regulations on coordinating fact-finding or studies involving multiple committees. This includes dialogue between the Speaker and relevant committee chairs to find effective oversight solutions that avoid requiring officials to appear before many committees in the same week. These regulations are not intended to cause delays or complications but to ensure compliance with legal and procedural requirements.
