executive to account and also hear relevant testimony, perform budgetary control, approve military missions, examine defence procurement, and approve defence policy and manpower. All these roles can complement the legislative process and some (e.g., approval of military missions and procurement) may be the subject of specific legislation. Some of the general powers that parliaments may exercise in relation to law-making are illustrated in the following box dealing with the case of Poland. 50 Box 7.3 Parliament’s Wider Role: Poland50 Parliament, i.e., the Sejm and the Senate, being the supreme legislative organ, deals with defence-related issues, including those pertaining to the Armed Forces, in the course of the legislative process and when setting the basic course for the state’s activities and establishing its policy principles. These issues also come to the fore when financial plans and normative acts associated with the state budget are being drafted. Furthermore, Parliament passes laws regulating basic defence-related matters, thereby directly influencing the functioning of both the Minister of National Defence and of the Ministry; adopts the defence budget of the state and controls its implementation, with the transparency of both defence budget framing and implementation oversight guaranteed; has a say in appointing to the post of Minister of National Defence a civilian who is a member of a democratically elected government and holds him to account for his discharge of state defence-related responsibilities. Both Parliament and parliamentary committees also exercise specific oversight functions, with state defence in the Sejm being the preserve of the National Defence Committee. The said oversight functions are the responsibility of the Sejm National Defence Committee, the Sejm Committee for Special Services, the Senate Committee for National Defence, as well as of individual Sejm deputies and senators whenever they query government representatives during parliamentary proceedings. The Sejm National Defence Committee’s area of authority and responsibility encompasses national-defence-related matters, especially those falling within the remit of the Armed Forces. It further controls the system and functioning of the country’s Territorial and Civil Defence, and the actual discharge by state organs, co-operative and social organizations, individual citizens, and defence industries of their respective duties to strengthen the defence capability of the nation. Parliament makes political and economic decisions to ensure internal security and establish a system for the state’s internal security. It decides on the principles of the state’s internal security, the authority of public bodies in this respect, and the size of government spending on internal security. Parliament together with its commissions exercises oversight over the internal security forces. It should be noted that individual legislators often perform the additional function of redressing grievances by officially pursuing complaints that are raised by citizens. In a number of states, this function is formalized through legislators’ representation of voters in a specific geographical area or constituency. The more general concern of legislators with maladministration by public bodies, including the armed forces, has led to the establishment in many countries of independent offices such as ombudsmen to investigate individual cases and to report to Parliament. The importance of a number of these offices – especially military ombudsmen — in protecting human rights of members of armed forces is discussed further in Chapter 22. 3. The Scope of Defence Legislation Legislation concerning defence and the armed forces in general may address a wide range of issues, e.g., the role of the military, the chain of command, political neutrality, the status of military personnel, conscientious objection, states of emergency, military discipline and 50  Polish response to the Information Exchange on the OSCE Code of Conduct, 2004. 49 Handbook on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Armed Forces Personnel