Chapter 17 - Witnesses
Witnesses
as participants in the legislative process
The legal status of witnesses as
participants in proceedings in Parliament has been noted above. Apart from the
technical legal situation, by providing information to the Senate and its
committees witnesses assist in the process of informing the legislators and the
public and of framing the laws. Public hearings of evidence are a powerful
means not only of discovering, sifting and testing information, but of allowing
citizens to participate in government, which is why they are an important
feature of legislatures in all free countries.
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