The complexity of legislation and the role of parliaments in the era of globalization

Abstract

For the Conference in Lisbon, the Working Group of European Speakers on the quality of legislation, established in Helsinki in 1997, has prepared a document, divided in two sections.

In the first section, the main causes of legislative complexity in the advanced democracies are analysed. The second section sets out a number of policy indications addressing the legislative issue that were approved by the Working Group at its Rome meeting on December 11th. and 12th 1998.

By consensus, the Conference proposed in Lisbon that the document prepared by the working group should be submitted to the Speakers who may decide whether to bring it to the attention of the competent Parliamentary bodies or to individual members of Parliament. The issue of legislative complexity should become an agenda item at the Rome Conference of Speakers and it should be taken forward by an ad hoc Working Group following the method that has been adopted so far.

Annex: Note for the OECD Review of Regulatory Reform Meeting with Parliamentary Administrations: Examples of interinstitutional cooperation procedures in Italy to enhance the quality of the regulatory process (4 May 2000).