XI.3 Institutional Framework — Legislative, Executive and Judicial Control

3️⃣ Institutional Framework — 3 Controls over Administration

• 🏛️ Legislative control:
  • law-making & budget approval ("power of the purse");
  • Question Hour, debates, calling-attention motions;
  • Standing Committees;
  • the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) (examines AGP audit reports).
• ⚙️ Executive control:
  • hierarchical supervision; rules of business;
  • postings/transfers & disciplinary powers;
  • budgetary & performance control; ministerial direction.
• 🧑‍⚖️ Judicial control:
  • judicial review (Art 199 writs — mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, quo warranto, habeas corpus);
  • enforcement of Fundamental Rights under the current constitutional framework (including Article 175E(3) and Article 199); distinguish historical Article 184(3) proceedings;
  • doctrine of ultra vires; Service Tribunals (Art 212).
• 🔎 Independent oversight: Auditor-General (AGP) · Ombudsman (Wafaqi Mohtasib, 1983) · NAB & anti-corruption agencies · Election Commission · free media & civil society.

🧠 Memory hook: L-E-J + audit/ombudsman/media = the full accountability web.

Deeper understanding — connect the institutions without confusing their powers

Legislative control provides authorisation and scrutiny; executive control manages implementation; judicial control reviews legality and protects rights within jurisdiction. Audit supplies evidence; an ombudsman addresses maladministration within its mandate; criminal and disciplinary bodies follow their own legal processes.

Original accountability chain: a spending discrepancy is documented → management explains → audit evaluates evidence → the relevant legislative committee scrutinises → responsible authorities implement correction or lawful proceedings. An audit objection is not automatically a conviction.

Constitutional update: use the official text amended to 21 November 2025. Article 184 is omitted; Article 175E provides the Federal Constitutional Court's original jurisdiction, including the specified fundamental-rights jurisdiction under clause (3). Article 199 and Article 212 remain distinct routes with their own limits. Official Constitution.

Institutional precision: media and civil society exercise scrutiny and influence but do not possess the coercive powers of courts or statutory agencies. The Election Commission has a specific electoral mandate, not general supervision of every administrative decision.

Practice outline: three controls → independent oversight → how evidence moves through the system → weaknesses in follow-up → clear, non-duplicative reform proposals.