OSCE/ODIHR workshop in Armenia stresses the need to conduct proper consultation in policy and lawmaking processes

Transparency and public participation in the lawmaking process was the focus of a workshop in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in co-operation with Armenia’s Ministry of Justice and the OSCE Office in Yerevan, on 14 and 15 July 2015.

The workshop gathered some 20 representatives from the Government, the Ombudsperson's Office and civil society. Workshop participants discussed ways to ensure effective, transparent and accountable public consultations in the law-making process, sought to identify forms and methods of public participation and discussed improvement of inter-institutional co-operation on consultations.

"Public consultation is a very important tool to encourage the public to provide meaningful input into the decision-making process," said Alice Thomas, Chief of ODIHR’s Legislative Support Unit. "If the public is involved, their concerns may be taken into account at an early planning stage when changes may be easier to make, and this may save the State both time and resources."

Arsen Mkrtchyan, First Deputy Minister of Justice, said: "Properly organized and conducted public consultations will help the government collect more information, data and evidence, and identify a range of alternative options on which we could base our policy decisions."

This was the third of four thematic workshops on different aspects of the law-making process in Armenia to be conducted throughout 2015, as envisaged by an agreement signed between ODIHR and the Ministry of Justice last year. The first two workshops held earlier this year focused on policy making and legislative planning, and impact assessment issues. The recommendations made in each workshop will later form part of a regulatory reform roadmap for Armenia, offering concrete and specific action points.