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 Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gr ...

legislature. In other contexts, it refers to a committee with members from more than one organization.

Germany

A joint committee (''

Gemeinsamer Ausschuss The Joint Committee (German: ''Gemeinsamer Ausschuss'') is, together with the Federal Convention, one of two non–steady constitutional bodies in the political and federal institutional system of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is designed ...

'') 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 Comm ...

(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''.) Com ...

Parliamentary 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 ...

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 t ...

. 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 A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and the House of Representatives 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 The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the bicameral parliament of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The two houses of the Oireachtas ( ga, Tithe an Oireachtais): ** Dáil Éireann ...

(parliament) comprises members of both

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland rea ...

(the lower house) and Seanad Éireann (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 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 ...

consisting of members of both the House of Commons 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 Westminst ...

. 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 In many countries, a statutory instrument is a form of delegated legislation. United Kingdom Statutory instruments are the principal form of delegated or secondary legislation in the United Kingdom. National government Statutory instrumen ...

. A Joint Committee on 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 Commi ...

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 I ...

United States

A Joint Committee of the United States Congress is a congressional committee consisting of both

and

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

members and having jurisdiction over matters of joint interest. An example of a joint committee is the

Joint Committee on the Library The Joint Committee on the Library is a Joint Committee of the United States Congress devoted to the affairs and administration of the Library of Congress, which is the library of the federal legislature. There are five members of each house on the ...

. 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 Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

). 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