Appendix 3 for Chapter 8

Abstract

The requirements for preparation and adoption of laws are elaborated in the Law on Legislative Acts, last amended in 2011. Preparation of bills, according to this law, generally follows the yearly plan of legislative activities, prepared by the cabinet. The plan should be informed by the president's policy statements, proposals from the members of parliament, other government agencies, and representatives of research and civil-society organizations (Article 18 of the law). The bills are prepared, as mentioned above, primarily by relevant ministries and agencies. The law stipulates that the legislative drafts pertaining to certain issues must be subjected to legal, rights, gender, environmental, anticorruption, and other types of scientific expert analysis, depending on the nature of the subject at hand (Article 20). These issues include: constitutional rights and freedoms and responsibilities of citizens, legal status of nonprofit organizations and the mass media, state budget, taxes, environmental security, and regulation of criminal and entrepreneurial activities. The purpose of the analysis is to ensure the draft's quality, effectiveness, reasonableness, timeliness, and compliance with other higher-order legislative documents, as well as its potential negative side effects. To ensure such expertise, the governmental body drafting the bill can invite scientists and specialists from other countries or request international organizations to conduct analysis; individuals who are not involved in the drafting of the bill should conduct such expert analysis (Article 20, emphasis added). The findings of the analysis should be included in the supporting justification to the bill. The bills that directly affect the interests of citizens and entities, including those regulating entrepreneurial activities, must go through a public hearing. The hearing is accomplished by posting a set of documents including (1) the bill, (2) the rationale for the bill/policy, (3) calculations and statistical information, (4) projections, (5) the list of individuals and entities involved in drafting it, and (6) other relevant information that is displayed on the web site of the drafting entity (or in the mass media if it has no web site) for at least one month. The input gathered as a result of this “public hearing” process is then summarized and integrated, and/or the reasons for not integrating the input are elaborated on in the supporting justification document to the bill (Articles 22–23).

Citation

Baimyrzaeva, M. (2012), "Appendix 3 for Chapter 8", Baimyrzaeva, M. (Ed.) Institutional Reforms in the Public Sector: What Did We Learn? (Research in Public Policy Analysis and Management, Vol. 22), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 285-286. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0732-1317(2012)0000022017