The Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments (ASGP) is an international association that brings together the top civil servants of national parliaments from over 150 countries around the world. Membership is open to the Secretary-General, Clerk, and their deputies from both upper and lower chambers of parliaments.[1]
Founded in 1939, the ASGP serves as a consultative mechanism of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in accordance with Section VIII, Article 27 of the IPU Statutes.[2]
Aims and Activities
The Association aims to:
Facilitate personal contacts and professional exchange among its members.[1]
Study the law, practice, procedure and organisation of parliaments.[1]
Propose measures for improving the working methods of different parliaments.[1]
Cooperate with the IPU in assisting parliaments requesting legal or technical support.[2]
Promote cooperation between the administrative services of various parliaments.[1]
Members of the Association publish studies and communications covering constitutional, legal, procedural, organisational, financial, and administrative aspects of parliamentary work, as well as theoretical and practical aspects of democracy and the rule of law. These are made available through the ASGP’s official website and its semi-annual journal, Constitutional and Parliamentary Information.[1]
History
The ASGP held its first session on 16 August 1939 in Oslo, shortly before activities were suspended during the Second World War. Activities resumed in 1946.[3]
Governance
The ASGP is headed by an elected President, assisted by a Vice-President and an Executive Committee. The President reports annually to the IPU Executive Committee.[2]
Recent Developments
In 2017, Dutch parliamentary clerk Geert Jan Hamilton was appointed Acting President of the ASGP following the retirement of the previous president.[4]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
