Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698081343739.pdf (Solomon Islands)
NATIONAL PARLIAMENT OF SOLOMON ISLANDS FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE National Parliament Office PO Box G.19 HONIARA, Solomon Islands Telephone: (00 677) 23424 Facsimile: (00 677) 23080 Preparing a submission Your chance to have your say One of the ways parliamentary committees investigate an issue is to call for submissions from the public and relevant organisations.

This provides everyone with a valuable opportunity to have their say.
Alerting committee to the facts Submissions alert committee members to facts or information relevant to an inquiry.

Committee reports usually refer to and quote from the information and arguments presented in submissions.

Submissions show how you, your organisation, or your community feel about an issue.

They may also help to decide who should be called to give evidence at the committee hearing.
Addressing the terms of reference Terms of reference describe the issues that a committee will investigate and those for current inquiries can be found on our website or attach documents.

Your submission should address some or all of the terms of reference and may include: • facts • opinions • • arguments recommendations for action.

Presenting your submission It is preferable that a submission is written and in electronic format, although this is not essential.
Other formats such as video and audiotape are acceptable.

If you are making a submission on behalf of an organisation, please indicate who has authorised it, for example, the executive committee, president or chairperson.

Please ensure that your name, address and phone number are included with your submission.

Putting it in writing There is no set format for a written submission.

You can write a brief letter or a substantial research paper.

You can also attach appendices and other supporting documents.
Preferably your submission should be double-spaced and on A4 paper, with page numbering.

If your submission is more than five pages, please include a brief summary and a contents list.

Sending your Submission Select Committees generally require 2 copies of each submission.

You can lodge your submission online at fr@parliament.gov.sb you can also send your submission by post, fax or email to the Committee secretariat.

Contact details are listed on this brochure.


A return address for correspondence and a contact telephone number should be provided with the submission.

Remember to keep a copy of your submission.

You may find it useful if you are called to give evidence.

Keeping it confidential You should not distribute copies of your submission without the committee’s permission.

During an inquiry, a committee may decide to publish some or all of the submissions received.
Submissions made public are usually available on our website.

If you want all or some of your submission to be kept confidential, you must state that clearly in your submission.

The committee will consider your request.

Parliamentary privilege - what you should know Parliamentary committees are an extension of the Parliament.

A committee’s proceedings, including the presentation of submissions and the giving of evidence, are protected by parliamentary privilege.
This means that submissions and oral evidence given before a committee can be made freely and honestly without fear or threat of legal action for defamation.

At the same time, committee hearings and submissions are not an opportunity to make adverse comments about individuals.

Comments made outside a hearing do not receive the protection of parliamentary privilege.
Submissions and evidence given before a committee become committee documents and are confidential until the committee decides to make them public.

Parliamentary privilege extends to submissions and transcripts of evidence that are published by a committee.

Anyone who republishes a committee document apart from the Parliament or its committees is subject to the laws of defamation.
Information on the web You can find submissions, hearing schedules, transcripts, committee reports and other information about standing committees of the current Parliament on our website at http://www.parliament.gov.sb.

From here you can navigate to specific committees and inquiries.

If you need help using the website please contact the relevant committee secretariat.
Contacting the Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee Address: The Chairman, Foreign Relations Committee, National Parliament, P O Box G19, HONIARA, Telephone: Fax: Email: Website: (677) 23424 (677) 23080 fr@parliament.gov.sb http://www.parliament.gov.sb.

Acknowledgement We would like to acknowledge the contribution of the Committee Secretariat of the Parliament of New South Wales towards the production of this fact sheet.