Regulatory framework for parliamentary scrutiny of policymaking

Regulations enable the parliament and its committees to debate, scrutinise and amend government-initiated laws

Review of the legislative and regulatory framework, such as the laws on parliament (if any), the rules of procedure of parliament and government, the legal drafting rules and other relevant regulations, methodologies which establish the parliamentary work procedures. Checks carried out to confirm that the mandate and procedures are established for enabling the parliament and its committees to review, scrutinise and amend government-initiated legislation and programmes that require parliamentary approval.

Regulations enable the parliament to carry out its oversight function over the government policymaking

Review of the legislative and regulatory framework, such as the laws on parliament (if any), the rules of procedure of parliament and government, the legal drafting rules and other relevant regulations, methodologies which establish the parliamentary work procedures and rules for lawmaking. At a minimum, the regulations should establish clear procedures for written and oral questions from members of parliament (MP) to ministers and the participation of ministers or their deputies in the work of the parliament when an issue that is within their policy responsibility or a draft law initiated by them is being discussed.

Parliament and government use the same standards and rules for legal drafting when preparing draft laws

Review of the existing procedures of lawmaking and manuals for legal drafting used in the parliament and government during preparation and scrutiny of draft legislative proposals to check if those are the same in terms of technical rules and standards for preparation of legislative proposals and legal texts. Interviews with the parliament administration to check and confirm the availability and use of the same legal drafting manuals during initiation and preparation of draft laws by different MP. The criterion is not fulfilled if the legal drafting manual and rules used in the parliament are different from those used by government when drafting legislation, or when there are several different manuals used by MPs which do not contain the same standards, rules and advice.

Regulations ensure that the parliament systematically consults with the government on all MP-initiated draft laws

Review of the legislative and regulatory framework, such as the laws on parliament (if any), the rules of procedure of parliament and government, the legal drafting rules and other relevant regulations, methodologies which establish the parliamentary work procedures and rules for lawmaking. Checks are carried out whether there is a formal requirement in the regulatory framework for the parliament to send all new draft legislative proposals initiated by members of parliament to the government for their formal review and opinion to inform the parliamentary scrutiny and decision-making. The criterion is not fulfilled if the requirement to consult with the government relate only to certain type of draft laws.

Regulations establish clear criteria and rules when and how non-standard procedures for parliamentary scrutiny and approval can be used

Review of the legislative and regulatory framework, such as the laws on parliament (if any), the rules of procedure of parliament and government, the legal drafting rules and other relevant regulations, methodologies which establish the parliamentary work procedures and rules for lawmaking. Checks are carried out to assess and confirm that the regulations establish clear criteria and rules for requesting and approving parliamentary scrutiny of certain types of draft laws through non-standard (such as shortened/simplified/extraordinary or urgent) procedures. The regulations should also ensure that there are clear procedures in place for the parliament to review and approve each individual request for scrutiny and approval of draft legislation through non-standard procedures.