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Appendix I
Survey of Foreign Countries
As noted in the report, the Chairman and members of the Committee visited a number of countries early in the study. The advice from academics, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and others was that in the limited time available, the Committee would be able to obtain a useful insight in to the diversity of systems for regulating elections by visiting Germany, Sweden, Canada and the United States.
After the Committee had taken evidence in Northern Ireland it became clear that it would be helpful to our work to have a greater understanding of the arrangements in the Republic. A visit was therefore made to Dublin by members of the Secretariat. The following table details the dates and personnel involved in each of the visits:
Table A1.1 Visits to foreign countries
Date
|
Country visited
|
Committee and Secretariat members attending
|
8-11 February 1998
|
Germany (Bonn)
|
Committee Members: Lord Neill (Chairman), Sir Clifford Boulton, Lord Goodhart, Professor Anthony King and Rt Hon John MacGregor MP.
Accompanied by Richard Horsman, Committee Secretariat
|
11-13 February 1998
|
Sweden (Stockholm)
|
Committee Members: Lord Neill (Chairman), Sir Clifford Boulton, Frances Heaton and Professor Anthony King.
Accompanied by Richard Horsman, Committee Secretariat
|
23-25 February 1998
|
Canada
(Ottawa, Quebec City and Toronto)
|
Committee Members: Lord Neill (Chairman), Lord Goodhart, Frances Heaton, and Rt Hon John MacGregor.
Accompanied by Peter Rose, Committee Secretariat
|
25-27 February 1998
|
United States (Washington)
|
Committee Members: Lord Neill (Chairman), Lord Goodhart, Frances Heaton, and Rt Hon John MacGregor.
Accompanied by Peter Rose, Committee Secretariat
|
22-23 July 1998
|
Republic of Ireland
(Dublin)
|
Peter Rose and Andrew Brewster, Committee Secretariat
|
Further details of people visited in each of these countries is contained in Volume II of this report.
In addition to those countries which the Committee visited information was sought from a wide variety of other countries, viz;
Australia; Austria; Belgium; Denmark; France; India; Italy; Luxembourg; New Zealand; Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands.
This information has been provided both through the embassies of individual countries in London and from British representatives abroad. We have been struck by the generosity with which many people gave both their time and effort in answering our many questions. Their expert knowledge and advice has been of great assistance in compiling much of this section of the report. Inevitably in conducting this sort of paper review over a relatively short time scale the information may be more or less complete. We have, however, included such information as we have, even in the case of those countries where the response was incomplete.
We have also used information from the websites of overseas electoral commissions (for example, the Australian Electoral Commission). We recognise of course that such information may not give a complete picture, but, it is nevertheless very useful.
We have set out the information as we gleaned it, first from our visits and, secondly, from our other researches. In each case, we cover where appropriate:
 the regulation of elections, and the enforcement of election laws,
state aid to political parties,
donations to political parties,
limits on the expenditure of political parties.
A key issue in both Canada and the United States is the question of third party finances. Appendix I draws together some aspects of this issue as far as it affects both countries and highlights relevant judgments.
All references to non-UK currencies have been converted to the Sterling rate as at September 1998.
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