Note: The first link below connects to the English-langauge version of the article. The second link connects to the French version.

Prepared by the National Democratic Institute (NDI), this document is intended as a basis for discussion within the international community regarding standards for the functioning of democratic legislatures. Just as there is no single, international body that certifies the democratic nature of a given electoral process, there can be no one arbiter of whether a legislature functions properly.

 Note: The first link below connects to the Portuguese-language version of this report. The second link below connects to the English-language version.

The development of a national budget is considered to be a government’s most important activity. This paper examines the legislature’s ability to influence the budget and reviews the budgetary trends of developed and developing democracies. Drawing from the experiences of several countries, this paper discusses the role of the legislature in reviewing and approving the budget.