The handbook was the result of the 1998 Laurentian Seminar – a joint World Bank Institute and Parliamentary Centre of Canada initiative. The 1998 Laurentian Seminar, “Parliament and Good Governance: The Challenge of Controlling Corruption”, was attended by forty-one participants and observers from twenty two countries representing all regions of the world. Laurentian Seminar participants argued that parliamentarians were essential in not only combating corruption but, more largely, in ensuring a governance system that is infused with the values of transparency and accountability. They also noted that global recognition of the role and importance of parliamentarians in this process was sorely lacking.