Ethics Committee in Parliament

Oct. 19, 2023

Recently, the Lok Sabha Speaker referred the complaint against a sitting member of parliament to the House Ethics Committee.

About Ethics Committee in Parliament:

The genesis of formation of the Ethics Committee in Parliament can be traced to a resolution adopted at the Presiding Officers Conference held in New Delhi in October, 1996.
Each house of the parliament has its own ethics committee.
Ethics committee in Lok Sabha
- It was first constituted in 2000.
- Composition: It consists of not more than fifteen members and nominated by the Speaker.
- Term: They shall hold office for a term not exceeding one year.
Ethics committee in Rajya Sabha
- It was constituted in 1997.
- Composition: It consists of 10 members nominated by the Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
- Term: They shall hold office for a term not exceeding one year.
Functions
- To oversee the moral and ethical conduct of the Members;
- To examine the cases referred to it with reference to ethical and other misconduct of the Members.
Any person or member may make a complaint relating to unethical conduct of a member to the committee.
In the case of the Ethics Committee only an MP can be examined for misconduct.