Home > Lawmaking

Lawmaking is the process of making and enacting laws. It constitutes a long and often complex process including phases of very different nature such as policy making, impact assessments, the concrete law drafting, consultation procedures, questions of publication and accessibility, as well as more specific issues like possible alternatives to regulation and the roles of specific bodies in the lawmaking process.

The ODIHR has recently produced the following legal opinions:

Legislationline.org will be reconstructed.

We are currently collecting users' feedback. Any kind of suggestions are most welcome. Please feel free to share your comments with us at legislationline@odihr.pl

What's new on legislationline:

In May 2012 legislationline.org was updated with new legislation (in English and/or in Russian, please check appropriate interface) posted for the following topics/sections and countries:

Constitutions for: Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Slovenia, Turkey
Codes for: Iceland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan

Administrative Justice for: Moldova.
Citizenship for: Iceland.
Counter-Terrorism for: Croatia, Belarus, Bulgaria, France, Iceland, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Slovenia.
Elections for: Iceland, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine.
Migration for: Iceland, Turkmenistan.
Police for: Armenia, Moldova, Norway, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, UK, Ukraine.
Freedom of Association - Political Parties for: Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Portugal, Sweden, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.
Access to Information and Data Protection for: Azerbaijan, Canada, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, Tajikistan, Ukraine.
Fair Trial (Right to a) for: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Spain, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, UK, Ukraine.
Independence of Judiciary for: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Finland, Iceland, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Spain, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, UK, Ukraine, US, Uzbekistan.
National Human Rights Institutions for: Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Malta, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan.

Democratic Lawmaking for: Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Uzbekistan.

The OSCE/ODIHR has recently produced the following legal reviews:

Comments on Amendments and Additions to the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic "On Freedom of Religion and Religious Organizations in the Kyrgyz Republic" (22 March 2012)
The Comments, prepared in response to a request from the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, review the compliance of recent amendments to the said Law with relevant OSCE commitments and other international standards. The review was provided in an attempt to enhance the respective amendments’ conformity with international law, while they undergo the President’s consideration, following adoption by the Jogorku Kenesh (Parliament). In order to ensure full conformity with international standards, the Comments recommend that the amendments be reconsidered.

Joint Opinion on the Law on Mass Events of the Republic of Belarus (20 March 2012) was endorsed by the Venice Commission at its 90th Plenary Session on 16-17 March 2012, following the request by the President of the Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 15 December 2011. The OSCE/ODIHR, through its Advisory Panel on Freedom of Assembly, upon invitation of the Venice Commission, joined the opinion. The recommendations proposed in the opinion should be viewed as offering the opportunity to engage in dialogue on necessary changes to the legislation pertaining to the freedom of assembly as well as its implementation.

Opinion on the Calculation of Time Limits in the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan (14 March 2012)
On 6 March 2012, the Head of the Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan addressed the Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana with a request for legal expertise on two questions related to the calculation of time limits in the Constitution of Kazakhstan. One of the questions related to the starting point for the permissible detention period as set out in Article 16 par 2 of the Constitution. As per established procedure, the OSCE Centre in Astana forwarded the request to OSCE/ODIHR. The Opinion was completed and submitted to the Kazakh authorities in mid March 2012.

Law Drafting and Legislative Process in the Republic of Serbia: An Assessment (2011)

On 7 February 2012 the OSCE/ODIHR presented the Assessment of the Legal Drafting and Legislative Process in the Republic of Serbia, which was prepared in co-operation with the Serbian National Assembly and the OSCE Mission to Serbia through the analysis of legislation and procedures as well as meetings with the major stakeholders in the country.

The Assessment was undertaken following an official request from the Legislative Committee of the National Assembly. Covering the entire legislative process from preparation to drafting, publication and evaluation, the Assessment makes a number of recommendations to make law drafting more effective and open, together with the aim of improving the quality of legislation.

It suggests that the legislative process in Serbia can be strengthened through a more precise and effective delineation of the two stages of law making – the policy development and the ensuing drafting of legislation, improved co-ordination between the Government and National Assembly to introduce legislative programming and planning at parliamentary level, a comprehensive and consistent procedure for civil society consultation on Government bills and mandatory policy impact assessments.

ODIHR's work on legislative guidelines:

Second edition of the OSCE/ODIHR - Venice Commission Guidelines on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly (2010), endorsed by the Venice Commission in June 2010, was launched by Legislative Support Unit on 4 October 2010 during a side event at the OSCE Review Conference in Warsaw. The Guidelines are designed for practitioners in many sectors: drafters of legislation and those implementing it, as well as those affected by the implementation. Recognizing the great diversity of country contexts, the Guidelines do not attempt to provide ready-made solutions but, rather, to clarify key issues and discuss possible ways to address them.

OSCE/ODIHR - Venice Commission Guidelines on Political Party Regulation
The Guidelines on Political Party Regulation were developed by the OSCE/ODIHR jointly with the Venice Commission through an extensive consultative process, which included two expert meetings and three thematic roundtables on issues such as women's political participation; public funding of political parties and abuse of state resources; and the participation of political parties in elections and the prohibition and dissolution of political parties. The primary goal of the Guidelines is to assist law-makers and practitioners from various OSCE participating States in the crucial matter of ensuring a fair regulation of political parties. Following the adoption of the Guidelines, in September 2011 the OSCE/ODIHR set up an advisory body, the Core Group of Experts on Political Parties, which will assist it in providing expert assistance to OSCE participating States in the review and assessment of political party legislation.

The ODIHR has recently produced the following legal opinions:

Search international norms and standards on democratic lawmaking

Search EU/EC documents

Lawmaking surveys