OSCE/ODIHR and partners promote better legislation and regulation in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus at Tbilisi conference

Tools and mechanisms to make legislative processes transparent and laws more effective were discussed at a two-day conference, co-organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), on 20 and 21 October 2011 in Tbilisi.

The conference, which brought together high-ranking public officials from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, as well as prominent experts in this field from Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia and the United Kingdom, highlighted the importance of democratic law-making.

"Only laws developed through a consultative, transparent, inclusive process can underpin a healthy and vibrant democracy," said Marta Achler, the Chief of ODIHR’s Legislative Support Unit.

Participants discussed and exchanged good practices on topics such as conducting effective appraisals of the potential impacts of new regulations, the law-drafting process and implementing better regulation, with the aim of furthering the efforts of countries in transition to reform their lawmaking systems.

The conference was hosted by the Georgian Ministry of Justice and organized by ODIHR in co-operation with the German Society for International Co-operation (GIZ) and the German Foundation for International Legal Co-operation (IRZ-Stiftung).

ODIHR has extensive experience and developed a sound methodology for assessing lawmaking processes in OSCE participating States and providing recommendations for reform. The Office assessed the drafting of legislation and regulatory management in Georgia between 2005 and 2007.