Recommendation 12

To achieve this end, we recommend that the mechanisms contained in Sections 20 to 25 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 are amended to implement the following arrangements in line with this principle of active approval: The legislation should set out that a Minister of the Crown is required to send all treaties to a parliamentary sifting committee, the composition of which will be determined by the House. This sifting committee will have 21-sitting days to recommend either: i that the treaty can proceed to the floor of the House of Commons for debate and that a vote to approve the treaty or otherwise should take place no less than 21-sitting days after this recommendation is made (standard scrutiny period); or ii that the treaty is of such a nature that it requires enhanced scrutiny, and that an appropriate period should be set for that enhanced scrutiny (to be determined by the sifting committee) before which the treaty cannot be brought to the floor of the House of Commons for a debate and a vote (extended scrutiny period). In a situation where, following the expiry of the 21-sitting day sifting period, the sifting committee does not make a recommendation in accordance with either points (i) or (ii) above, the Government may bring a treaty forward to the floor of the House of Commons for a vote to approve the treaty or otherwise as soon as parliamentary time allows. (Paragraph 65) 62 Parliamentary Scrutiny of International Agreements in the 21st century