The All Party Parliamentary Group on Democracy and the Constitution.

CONSTITUTION  

Name

1.          The All Party Parliamentary Group shall be called THE ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY ON DEMOCRACY AND THE CONSTITUTION (“the APPG”).

Statement of purpose

2.          The purpose of the APPG will be to disseminate knowledge, generate debate, and facilitate engagement on democratic and constitutional issues amongst members of both houses of Parliament and the public.

Rules

3.          The APPG shall comply in full with the Rules on All Party Parliamentary Groups (“the Rules”) and the most recent edition of the Guide to the Rules on All Party Parliamentary Groups published by the Parliamentary Commission for Standards based on approval by the Standards Committee (“the Guide”). The Rules and The Guide are hereby incorporated into this constitution.

Operations

4.          The APPG shall undertake any operation that it considers appropriate for its purpose.

Membership

5.          Membership of the APPG shall be open to all members of both Houses of Parliament. Persons who are not members of parliament may become associate members within the meaning of the Rules and Guide. Associate members shall not be entitled to vote.

Decisions

6.          The APPG shall make decisions by majority vote. In the event of a tie the chair of the meeting shall have a casting vote.

Officers

7.          The officers of the APPG shall be:

(a)        The Chair;

(b)        No fewer than three officers.

8.          The APPG shall exercise all reasonable endeavours to ensure that all major parties in the House of Commons are represented amongst its officers.

9.          The Chair of the APPG shall chair meetings. In the event that the Chair of the APPG is unavailable to chair a meeting, the officer present who has been a member of the APPG for the longest time shall chair the meeting.

Secretariat

10.       The Institute for Constitutional and Democratic Research (“the ICDR”) shall be the secretariat of the APPG. It shall provide such services as are appropriate to advancing the purpose of the APPG.

11.       The APPG may appoint standing counsel. Such counsel may be supplied by the ICDR. Standing counsel shall be the primary advisor to the APPG on legal, constitutional, and democratic issues.

12.       No person may be appointed as standing counsel to the APPG unless they are a member of the Bar of England and Wales, and/or the Bar of Northern Ireland, and/or the Bar of Scotland. No person may be appointed as standing counsel to the APPG unless they have completed the period of vocational training required by the relevant regulator and been elected to a tenancy (or equivalent).

APPROVED ON 15 MARCH 2021