Establishment of Legislation Evaluation Council progresses

In accordance with Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s Government Programme, an independent Legislation Evaluation Council will be established in connection with the Prime Minister's Office.

The aim of the Evaluation Council is to develop the quality of the drafting of statutes and, in particular, improve the quality of government proposals' impact assessment and the culture of legislative drafting in general. It is, however, just one of the measures that will make part of the long-term development of legislative drafting. The Government issued a decree on the Legislation Evaluation Council in its plenary session on 30 December. The decree will enter into force on 1 February 2016.

Duties of the Council

At its establishment stage, the Legislation Evaluation Council will focus on government proposals' economic impact assessment, but it may also assess other effects.  After the entry into force of statutes, the Council may also assess whether the impact of legislation has been as intended. The Council will not carry out impact assessments but it evaluates the undertaken assessments. It selects the government proposals on which it will focus. The Council statements will be public documents.

The Council assessments will focus mainly on the sustainability of the proposals' rationale. In other words, is the knowledge base for the assessment of the draft proposal sufficient and are the conclusions credible. The transparency of the proposals' rationale will also be assessed.  Economic impacts refer to one-off and recurring costs and benefits to businesses, private persons and the public finances resulting from compliance with regulations. The Evaluation Council may state its opinion if a given means seems to be in noticeable imbalance related to the set objectives.

The Council may also issue opinions on the impact assessments of other draft legislation, including significant decree-level provisions or impact assessments relating to EU legislation.

Composition of the Council

The Evaluation Council will have a chairperson and two vice-chairpersons. In addition, a maximum of six persons may be appointed as Council members.

The government plenary session will appoint the Council chairperson and the other members for a period of three years. The Council will select two vice-chairpersons from among its members. The chairperson is to have broad-based expertise in societal steering mechanisms and assessment work. The chairperson will represent the Evaluation Council and provide guidelines for its activities.

Members of the Evaluation Council will be appointed based on their personal expertise. While serving as members of the Evaluation Council, the persons may not represent any stakeholder organisations but they may be employed by such organisations. The Prime Minister's Office will appoint the Council secretaries and possible permanent experts. The chairman of the Council and its members will be appointed in early 2016.

Inquiries: Sanna Helopuro, Senior Adviser for Legislative Affairs, tel. +358 295 160 170, Prime Minister’s Office