Parliament" it can require such attendance.
(4) "The jurisdiction of Parliament" includes the dependent
territories.
19.
Qualifications on the Powers of Select Committees
Despite the statement in Erskine May (see paragraph 14 above) that the power of Select Committees is more or less unqualified, certain important restrictions do apply to the work of such Committees.
20. (a) Terms of Reference of the Committee
A fundamental restriction on the activity and powers of a Committee
is that its enquiries must relate to the "expenditure, administration and policy" of the department of government which it has been established to monitor. Although in practice the wide discretion of a Committee to interpret its own terms of reference will usually exclude any challenge to a Committee's line of inquiry based on this ground, the qualification has to be borne in mind.
21. (b) Privileges of Members
Members of the House of Commons, and Ministers, are not usually
summoned to a Committee, but are instead invited to attend. Only an Order of the House itself can require a member of Parliament to
attend a Committee.
22.
(c) The Power to Send for Papers is also limited. A Committee cannot require an official to produce papers which, according to the rules and practice of the House, it would not be usual for the House itself to order to be laid before it. (On the other hand, there is
no restriction on the power of Committees to require production of papers by private bodies or individuals provided that such papers
are relevant to the work of the Committee.)
23. (d) Committees Sitting Overseas
As has been noted in paragraph 6, a Committee sitting overseas (ie