Quality of law making by members of parliament (MPs)

MP-initiated draft laws are required to be accompanied by evidence which explains the impacts and benefits of the proposal

Review of the relevant legislation and regulations to check whether there is a specific regulatory requirement for members of parliament (MP) to carry out at least some basic analysis of potential impacts and benefits of the proposed new legislation to reflect those in the relevant supporting documents before the draft law is submitted to the parliamentary leadership body for official registration and scrutiny. As a minimum, there should be a requirement for a letter or other supporting documents accompanying draft laws prepared by MPs to describe the policy problem, the rationale for new legislative intervention, and an initial assessment of potential budgetary/fiscal impacts.

MPs consult with key affected stakeholders when preparing draft laws before those are officially registered for parliamentary scrutiny

Review of the relevant legislation and regulations to check if there is a requirement for members of parliament to consult (formally or informally) with key affected groups and stakeholders, including government, during preparation and drafting of new legislative proposals.

MPs have access to research and legal drafting services and support to help them during preparation of draft laws

Review of the rules of procedure of parliament, the organisational structure and functions of parliamentary administration and related services and units, and interviews with officials and selected members of parliament (MP) to check and confirm that MPs have access to expert support during the lawmaking process to carry out specific policy research and legal drafting. Support can be available either through expert services provided through the internal units of parliamentary administration, and/or through funds allocated for MPs to contract and engage external experts.

Quality of initial analysis and consultation carried out during the preparation of MP-initiated laws in practice

The list of all MP-initiated and approved laws in the last full calendar year is established. A sample of three laws initiated and approved by parliament during the last full calendar year is selected for in-depth review, together with all supporting documents (e.g. introductions, explanatory memorandums and/or cover letters accompanying the laws). Draft laws and supporting documentation are checked to assess whether 1) they explain clearly, as a minimum, the policy problem and objectives, as well as the anticipated fiscal impacts; 2) and whether there is evidence of formal or informal consultation with key affected groups and stakeholders (e.g. meetings, hearings, follow-up on a study or research or a public hearing at the committee stage) during preparation of the draft law. If there was no MP-initiated law approved in the last full calendar year, the three most recently approved MP-sponsored laws and supporting documents from the previous years are collected and analysed.

Consistency of consultation with government on draft laws initiated by MPs (%)

Based on a review of the parliamentary reports and statistics on all MP-initiated and approved laws during the last full calendar year, as well as interviews with parliamentary staff and general secretariat staff (or equivalent). First, the full list of all MP-initiated and approved laws during the last full calendar year is established. Parliament and government administrations are asked to inform and confirm that official government opinions were provided on all MP-initiated and approved laws. Information collected from parliament and government will be cross-checked to confirm the accuracy and completeness of evidence. Additionally, the actual government opinions on three MP-initiated and approved laws are requested. For these sample laws, the actual opinions are reviewed and checked. The ratio is calculated by dividing the number of MP-initiated and approved laws on which official government opinions were provided by the total number of all MP-sponsored laws during the last full calendar year, expressed as a percentage. Points are allocated based on the percentage of government opinions provided on all MP-sponsored laws (x): • x < 50% = 0 points. • 50% ≤ x < 100% = linear function. • x = 100% = 6 points.