OSCE/ODIHR workshop in Georgia stresses need for proper impact assessment and monitoring of legislation

Methodologies for assessing the impact of draft legislation and monitoring of adopted legislation were the focus of a workshop organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in co-operation with the Parliament of Georgia, on 19 and 20 November 2015 in Tbilisi.

Some 45 representatives from the Parliament and Government, as well as from independent institutions, civil society and international organizations and agencies discussed methodologies and good practices of impact assessment in the law-making process, ways to improve the quality of laws by monitoring their implementation, and good practices in parliamentary oversight.

"In order to have good quality laws, both assessing the impact of draft laws and monitoring of existing legislation are important elements of the legislative cycle," said Alice Thomas, Chief of ODIHR’s Legislative Support Unit. "Our workshop aims to help improve how this is done in Georgia, by providing examples of good practice and workable solutions."

David Usupashvili, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, said: "Our legislative framework already foresees the impact assessment of draft laws, and monitoring of legislation is also done in a number of cases. However, we do need to make these processes more systematic and useful, and I appreciate ODIHR’s support in these efforts."

This event is the first thematic workshop organized in line with an agreement signed between ODIHR and the Georgian Parliament in 2014, and follows the launch of an ODIHR report assessing the law-making process in Georgia in June 2015. Recommendations made during the workshop will flow into discussions on further reform of the legislative process.