OSCE/ODIHR workshop in Armenia focuses on regular monitoring of the implementation of laws as an important element of the law-making process
Monitoring the implementation and evaluation of legislation were the focus of a workshop organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in co-operation with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia and the OSCE Office in Yerevan, on 4 and 5 November 2015 in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia.
The workshop gathered 35 representatives from the government, the National Assembly and civil society to discuss ways of how to improve the quality of laws by monitoring their implementation, and possible methodologies that can be used and institutionalized for this purpose.
"Laws are meant to reflect real life situations, and thus need to be reviewed regularly for their relevance, accuracy and compliance with other legislation," said Alice Thomas, Chief of ODIHR’s Legislative Support Unit. "For this, clear mechanisms and methodologies need to be in place, and this workshop aims to provide some good examples and tools in this respect."
Arsen Mkrtchyan, First Deputy Minister of Justice, said: “It is important to elaborate and adopt good quality legislation. One way to achieve this is to follow the actual implementation of adopted legislation to assess whether it essentially achieved the purposes that it was designed to accomplish, and whether it is working in practice. We fully recognize the importance of such monitoring, and will discuss which models can be implemented in Armenia.”
This was the last of four thematic workshops held throughout 2015 on different aspects of the law-making process in Armenia, as envisaged by an agreement signed between ODIHR and the Ministry of Justice in 2014. The previous three workshops focused on policy-making and legislative planning, impact-assessment issues, and public consultation. The recommendations made in each workshop will later form part of a regulatory reform roadmap for Armenia, offering concrete and specific action points for reform.