OSCE/ODIHR promotes transparency and public participation in lawmaking at Belgrade workshop

Measures to increase transparency and public participation in the lawmaking process were the focus of a workshop in Belgrade on 26 and 27 March 2012, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Legislative Committee of the National Assembly of Serbia.

Participants from the National Assembly, the Government, the Legislative Secretariat, the Ombudsperson’s Office, judicial bodies and civil society in Serbia discussed how to ensure public participation in the lawmaking process through the effective planning and management of public consultation.

With the support of experts from Slovenia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, participants considered improving communication with civil society and engaging external experts, including non-governmental organizations and advisory groups, in the legislative process.

The workshop is the first in a series of events to address the recommendations made in Law Drafting and Legislative Process of the Republic of Serbia: An Assessment, which was published by ODIHR in February, in co-operation with the National Assembly of Serbia and the OSCE Mission to Serbia.

One of the report’s main recommendations is to make law-drafting procedures more open through public consultation.

“The OSCE/ODIHR Assessment Report is a good starting point,” said Vlatko Ratkovic, the Chairman of the Legislative Committee of the National Assembly. “An effective lawmaking process should be transparent and accessible in practice and, over the last two days, we have worked on developing mechanisms to ensure this.”