Guidelines on Democratic Lawmaking for Better Laws
The quality of laws is a direct consequence of how they are developed and discussed. Lawmaking procedures and practices should follow democratic principles, adhere to the rule of law and comply with international human rights obligations and standards. At the same time, they should be evidence-based, open and transparent, participatory and inclusive, and subject to effective oversight.
The Guidelines provide an overview of the guiding principles of democratic lawmaking and concrete, practical recommendations on how these principles can be adhered to at each stage of the legislative cycle to achieve high-quality laws, based on the rule of law and human rights. These principles and standards underly the process of preparing, discussing, adopting, implementing and evaluating laws. At the same time, the Guidelines seek to showcase how to make the processes effective.
The views, opinions, conclusions and other information expressed in this document are not given nor necessarily endorsed by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) unless the OSCE is explicitly defined as the Author of this document.