UNDP | Virtual Resource Centre - Ex-ante Policy Impact Assessment

Ex-ante Policy Impact Assessment in Serbia

Legal background

The obligation to perform Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) was introduced in the Serbian legislative system in October 2004, when the Government adopted amendments to the Rules of Operation of the Government at the proposal of the Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Finance. For each new law, and other regulatory instruments such as decrees and orders, the responsible Ministry prepares an explanatory memorandum/justification statement with RIA elements, containing answers/analysis to a set of questions developed in accordance with the OECD RIA recommendations.

Key relevant questions for RIA introduced in the Rules of Operation of the Government of Serbia, 2004

What is the problem being addressed?
Why is government action needed to correct the problem?
What are the objectives of government action?
Which options for dealing with the problem are being considered? Why is the proposed option the best approach?
Do the benefits justify the costs? Who is affected by the problem and who is likely to be affected by its proposed solutions?
What are the likely costs for consumers and businesses, including SMEs?
What are the impacts on market entry and exit, and on market competition? (In this section, identify the expected benefits and costs of the proposal. Determine which groups are likely to experience these benefits and costs, and the size of these impacts.)
Have all interested parties had the chance to present their views?
How will the proposal be implemented?

Even though there is no ultimate obligation to perform harmonization with European Union legislation, the proposer of the law is obliged to submit a Statement of Compliance of the law with the regulations of the European Union. In sum, as of 2006 the Explanatory memorandum/justification statement, attached to the draft law, must contain the following explanations:

1) The constitutional, i.e. legal basis;

2) The reasons for adopting the act, also addressing the following:

determination of the problem which the law has to resolve;
the goals being obtained by adopting this law;

3) An explanation of the basic legal instruments and particular solutions;

4) Evaluation of the means necessary for the implementation of the law;

5) An analysis of the impacts of the law, which should answer the following questions:

Who, and in which manner, is likely to be affected by the solutions proposed in the act?
What are the expected costs to the citizens and economy, in particular small and medium size enterprises?
Do the positive effects of adoption of the act justify the costs?
Does the law stimulate the entry of new business entities on the market and does it stimulate market competition?
Have all interested stakeholders had the chance to share their views on the draft law?
Which measures are going to be undertaken during the implementation in order to fulfill the scope of the law?

The proposer has to state the reasons for believing that the explanatory memorandum does not have to contain such an analysis, should that be the case.

6) The public interest for which a retroactive effect is being proposed, if the act contains provisions for which retroactive effect is foreseen;

7) An overview of the provisions which are being amended (the overview is being prepared so that the amended part of the text is crossed out and the new text which replaces or amends the existing one is written with capital letters).

Institutional background

The Government of Serbia adopted the Regulatory Reform Program, including the RIA Process, to be implemented in the four year period from October 2006 to September 2010. The ultimate aim of the program is to give more attention to domestic legislative and regulatory processes that would create an environment supportive of private enterprises and economic growth.

In order to foster regulatory reform, a Council for Regulatory Reform was established by the Government in 2003, and the Regulatory Reform Secretariat at the Ministry of Economy was created as the provisional technical unit of the Council by Decision of the Ministry of Economy on November 12, 2004. The Council for Regulatory Reform shall propose to the Government a Regulatory Reform Strategy, which will be prepared by the Secretariat with the assistance of foreign experts.

In 2003, the Council for Regulatory Reform was established as a temporary body of the Government. The mandate of the Council for Regulatory Reform is to coordinate and assist Ministries in the performance of IA as well as to perform quality control of the Regulatory Impact Assessments prepared by the Ministries. The quality control function occurs during legislative process, when an opinion must be obtained from the Council for Regulatory Reform on each proposed legislative item prior to its submission to the Cabinet. This opinion is an assessment of whether the justification statement of the draft law must contain the Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) and, if RIA is needed, whether that submitted contains all necessary clarifications.

The opinions are not binding on the Cabinet and thus there are no sanctions if the quality of IAs is low. At present, the Council is chaired by the Minister of Economy and Regional Development. In order to perform its tasks, the Council established a Secretariat as the provisional technical advisory unit of the Council, consisting of three members: the Secretary, a Legal Advisor and an Economic Advisor. In November 2004, the Government expanded the functions of the Regulatory Reform Secretariat under the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development to include coordination and quality control of RIA. In practice, the Secretariat of the Council began its work as of October 2006, when the grant was officialy launched.

The Council for Regulatory Reform is still operating as a transitional, not a permanent body of the government and 90% of its funding comes from the World Bank and the Swedish government. The process of appointing the new members of the Council for Regulatory Reform is under way at present, from the high level ranks of ministries (assistant ministers) that are also newly formed. In the term of four Project years in which the operation of the Secretariat of the Council will be financed from the WB grant, it is hoped to become a well established body within the structure of the government.

As an initial safeguard to assure the long-term sustainability of the Secretariat, the Government of Serbia assigned one high-level government official to serve as the Regulatory Reform Expert in the RIA Unit from the beginning of the Project. The Government of Serbia also assigned two qualified government officials to serve as Legal Advisors during the second and third year of implementation of the Project, and Economic Advisor during the third year of implementation. During the fourth year of operation of the Council, all members of the Secretariat will be government officials except for three (Secretary and Principal Legal and Economic advisors). After the period of four years, the Secretariat will then become a permanent RIA unit of the Government.

When drafting a law, the relevant Ministry or other administrative body has to obtain the opinion on the draft law from the following institutions:

Secretariat for Legislation – the legal department of the Government which verifies the compliance of the draft law with the Constitution and the overall legal system;
The Ministry of Finance – when the law requires the engagement of financial means from the budget or if changes to the financial system are proposed;
The Republic’s Public Attorney’s Office – in the case of issues related to protecting property rights and interests of the Republic, i.e. if contractual obligations for the Republic are created by the proposed legislation;
The Ministry of Justice – when the draft law regulates criminal acts or misdemeanors or determines the competence of courts;
The European Integration Office – debating issues of harmonization with European Union regulations.

The Ministry, or some other institution drafting the law, has to list the institutions from which the opinions were sought as well as the proposals that were incorporated in the draft or the reasons for which certain proposals were not accepted.

Relevant areas of IA

RIA is primarily focused on economic aspects of the legislation for attracting foreign investment, although the RIA Secretariat believes that through proper implementation of IA, poverty reduction and an increase of the employment level can also be achieved.

Related activities

The World Bank, in cooperation with the Government, has started to implement the so-called RIA Program, to run from October 2006 to September 2010. The project includes the following components:

Preparation of a Regulatory Reform Strategy to be adopted by the Government (under preparation)
Strengthening the capacity of the Council for Regulatory Reform and its Secretariat to take on the new role of coordination and provision of quality control of RIA (under way)
Capacity Building and RIA Training Program (underway, duration from October 2006 until 2010)
Performing a detailed RIA on 8 laws (at least 2 per year), including the stock and the flow of regulation (one draft law on Restitution is now in RIA process)
Preparation and publishing of a manual for government officials on preparation of the RIA justification statement (in the final stage)
Establishment and Management of a RIA Web Portal aiming to facilitate the dissemination of information and communication with local and foreign experts and stakeholders.

Serbia’s Agency for Business Registers developed a successful pilot on RIA. After the development of the draft legislation by the working group established by the Ministry of Economy (with active participation of the donors such as World Bank, USAID, GTZ) a process of public consultation took place in March and April 2003. Three public hearings were held – two in Belgrade, and one in Novi Sad. These brought together government officials, attorneys, judges, businessmen and entrepreneurs. Southeast Europe Enterprise Development (SEED) assisted in the organization and financing of these conferences. As in the phase when the principles were developed, in drafting the Law on the Agency for Business Registers a detail cost-effectiveness analysis was performed, to ensure that the new Agency will be self-sustainable, at the lowest possible cost for businesses. The fees for registration were set on the basis of the estimates of inflow of registration applications and operating costs of the Agency.

Existing guidelines

A manual on further development of RIA questions is in the final stage of preparation. It is however mainly related to economic legislation affecting the investment climate and the rule of law in Serbia. This manual is dedicated to policy-makers and civil servants in the ministries who are dealing with drafting laws and policy-making issues and is based on international best practices.

Documents, links

Content to be uploaded

Latest News in the Regional Project on Ex-ante Impact Assessment

PIA Mapping available in Serbian

July 2008 Download (2mb)

First regional training on PIA
June 2008 More

Introductory PIA training course in Serbia
5 June 2008 Read

PIA Mapping available in Russian
April 2008 Read

Mapping of Ex-ante PIA Tools and Experiences in Europe published
March 2008 More

Steering Committee meeting in Budapest
29 February 2008 Read

Mapping of ex-ante Impact Assessment Experiences and Tools in Europe
October 2007 Read

Introduction to Impact Assessment training for policy units in Moldova
June 2007, Chisinau Read

Menu Home Library PIA Process and Best Practices UNDP regional project on Ex-ante Policy Impact Assessment Country Overviews Contacts Partners Links World Bank OECD European Union Oslo Governance Centre UNDP Europe & CIS Democratic Governance practice	Ex-ante Policy Impact Assessment in Serbia Legal background The obligation to perform Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) was introduced in the Serbian legislative system in October 2004, when the Government adopted amendments to the Rules of Operation of the Government at the proposal of the Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Finance. For each new law, and other regulatory instruments such as decrees and orders, the responsible Ministry prepares an explanatory memorandum/justification statement with RIA elements, containing answers/analysis to a set of questions developed in accordance with the OECD RIA recommendations. *Key relevant questions for RIA introduced in the Rules of Operation of the Government of Serbia, 2004* What is the problem being addressed? Why is government action needed to correct the problem? What are the objectives of government action? Which options for dealing with the problem are being considered? Why is the proposed option the best approach? Do the benefits justify the costs? Who is affected by the problem and who is likely to be affected by its proposed solutions? What are the likely costs for consumers and businesses, including SMEs? What are the impacts on market entry and exit, and on market competition? (In this section, identify the expected benefits and costs of the proposal. Determine which groups are likely to experience these benefits and costs, and the size of these impacts.) Have all interested parties had the chance to present their views? How will the proposal be implemented? Even though there is no ultimate obligation to perform harmonization with European Union legislation, the proposer of the law is obliged to submit a Statement of Compliance of the law with the regulations of the European Union. In sum, as of 2006 the Explanatory memorandum/justification statement, attached to the draft law, must contain the following explanations: 1) The constitutional, i.e. legal basis; 2) The reasons for adopting the act, also addressing the following: determination of the problem which the law has to resolve; the goals being obtained by adopting this law; 3) An explanation of the basic legal instruments and particular solutions; 4) Evaluation of the means necessary for the implementation of the law; 5) An analysis of the impacts of the law, which should answer the following questions: Who, and in which manner, is likely to be affected by the solutions proposed in the act? What are the expected costs to the citizens and economy, in particular small and medium size enterprises? Do the positive effects of adoption of the act justify the costs? Does the law stimulate the entry of new business entities on the market and does it stimulate market competition? Have all interested stakeholders had the chance to share their views on the draft law? Which measures are going to be undertaken during the implementation in order to fulfill the scope of the law? The proposer has to state the reasons for believing that the explanatory memorandum does not have to contain such an analysis, should that be the case. 6) The public interest for which a retroactive effect is being proposed, if the act contains provisions for which retroactive effect is foreseen; 7) An overview of the provisions which are being amended (the overview is being prepared so that the amended part of the text is crossed out and the new text which replaces or amends the existing one is written with capital letters). Institutional background The Government of Serbia adopted the Regulatory Reform Program, including the RIA Process, to be implemented in the four year period from October 2006 to September 2010. The ultimate aim of the program is to give more attention to domestic legislative and regulatory processes that would create an environment supportive of private enterprises and economic growth. In order to foster regulatory reform, a Council for Regulatory Reform was established by the Government in 2003, and the Regulatory Reform Secretariat at the Ministry of Economy was created as the provisional technical unit of the Council by Decision of the Ministry of Economy on November 12, 2004. The Council for Regulatory Reform shall propose to the Government a Regulatory Reform Strategy, which will be prepared by the Secretariat with the assistance of foreign experts. In 2003, the Council for Regulatory Reform was established as a temporary body of the Government. The mandate of the Council for Regulatory Reform is to coordinate and assist Ministries in the performance of IA as well as to perform quality control of the Regulatory Impact Assessments prepared by the Ministries. The quality control function occurs during legislative process, when an opinion must be obtained from the Council for Regulatory Reform on each proposed legislative item prior to its submission to the Cabinet. This opinion is an assessment of whether the justification statement of the draft law must contain the Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) and, if RIA is needed, whether that submitted contains all necessary clarifications. The opinions are not binding on the Cabinet and thus there are no sanctions if the quality of IAs is low. At present, the Council is chaired by the Minister of Economy and Regional Development. In order to perform its tasks, the Council established a Secretariat as the provisional technical advisory unit of the Council, consisting of three members: the Secretary, a Legal Advisor and an Economic Advisor. In November 2004, the Government expanded the functions of the Regulatory Reform Secretariat under the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development to include coordination and quality control of RIA. In practice, the Secretariat of the Council began its work as of October 2006, when the grant was officialy launched. The Council for Regulatory Reform is still operating as a transitional, not a permanent body of the government and 90% of its funding comes from the World Bank and the Swedish government. The process of appointing the new members of the Council for Regulatory Reform is under way at present, from the high level ranks of ministries (assistant ministers) that are also newly formed. In the term of four Project years in which the operation of the Secretariat of the Council will be financed from the WB grant, it is hoped to become a well established body within the structure of the government. As an initial safeguard to assure the long-term sustainability of the Secretariat, the Government of Serbia assigned one high-level government official to serve as the Regulatory Reform Expert in the RIA Unit from the beginning of the Project. The Government of Serbia also assigned two qualified government officials to serve as Legal Advisors during the second and third year of implementation of the Project, and Economic Advisor during the third year of implementation. During the fourth year of operation of the Council, all members of the Secretariat will be government officials except for three (Secretary and Principal Legal and Economic advisors). After the period of four years, the Secretariat will then become a permanent RIA unit of the Government. When drafting a law, the relevant Ministry or other administrative body has to obtain the opinion on the draft law from the following institutions: Secretariat for Legislation – the legal department of the Government which verifies the compliance of the draft law with the Constitution and the overall legal system; The Ministry of Finance – when the law requires the engagement of financial means from the budget or if changes to the financial system are proposed; The Republic’s Public Attorney’s Office – in the case of issues related to protecting property rights and interests of the Republic, i.e. if contractual obligations for the Republic are created by the proposed legislation; The Ministry of Justice – when the draft law regulates criminal acts or misdemeanors or determines the competence of courts; The European Integration Office – debating issues of harmonization with European Union regulations. The Ministry, or some other institution drafting the law, has to list the institutions from which the opinions were sought as well as the proposals that were incorporated in the draft or the reasons for which certain proposals were not accepted. Relevant areas of IA RIA is primarily focused on economic aspects of the legislation for attracting foreign investment, although the RIA Secretariat believes that through proper implementation of IA, poverty reduction and an increase of the employment level can also be achieved. Related activities The World Bank, in cooperation with the Government, has started to implement the so-called RIA Program, to run from October 2006 to September 2010. The project includes the following components: Preparation of a Regulatory Reform Strategy to be adopted by the Government (under preparation) Strengthening the capacity of the Council for Regulatory Reform and its Secretariat to take on the new role of coordination and provision of quality control of RIA (under way) Capacity Building and RIA Training Program (underway, duration from October 2006 until 2010) Performing a detailed RIA on 8 laws (at least 2 per year), including the stock and the flow of regulation (one draft law on Restitution is now in RIA process) Preparation and publishing of a manual for government officials on preparation of the RIA justification statement (in the final stage) Establishment and Management of a RIA Web Portal aiming to facilitate the dissemination of information and communication with local and foreign experts and stakeholders. Serbia’s Agency for Business Registers developed a successful pilot on RIA. After the development of the draft legislation by the working group established by the Ministry of Economy (with active participation of the donors such as World Bank, USAID, GTZ) a process of public consultation took place in March and April 2003. Three public hearings were held – two in Belgrade, and one in Novi Sad. These brought together government officials, attorneys, judges, businessmen and entrepreneurs. Southeast Europe Enterprise Development (SEED) assisted in the organization and financing of these conferences. As in the phase when the principles were developed, in drafting the Law on the Agency for Business Registers a detail cost-effectiveness analysis was performed, to ensure that the new Agency will be self-sustainable, at the lowest possible cost for businesses. The fees for registration were set on the basis of the estimates of inflow of registration applications and operating costs of the Agency. Existing guidelines A manual on further development of RIA questions is in the final stage of preparation. It is however mainly related to economic legislation affecting the investment climate and the rule of law in Serbia. This manual is dedicated to policy-makers and civil servants in the ministries who are dealing with drafting laws and policy-making issues and is based on international best practices. Documents, links Content to be uploaded	Latest News in the Regional Project on Ex-ante Impact Assessment PIA Mapping available in Serbian July 2008 Download (2mb) First regional training on PIA June 2008 More The first regional training on Cross-cutting ex-ante Policy Impact Assessment issues, with special focus on poverty reduction and ensuring equal opportunities for vulnerable and marginalized groups, will take place on 23-27 June 2008 in Budapest. Introductory PIA training course in Serbia 5 June 2008 Read Introductory training on Ex-ante Impact Assessment has been organized for civil servants, civil society representatives and UNDP staff in Serbia. The training was delivered by Ms. Katarina Staronova, international expert on policy impact assessment; consultant in the regional PIA project. Participants were satisfied with the contents of the training, however, they expressed a wish of having more hours (days) of training on impact assessment and related issues (e.g. instruments). Training was organized in 3 main thematic blocks: 1) introduction to IA framework and concepts within the policy development model 2) analysis of a real case study on impact assessments conducted in UK, where key elements of IA were analysed in relation to recommendation from the European Union (Mendelkern Report) and conditions of Serbia 3) procedural issues on conducting impact assessment europeandcis.undp.org/home/show/6F7D1871-F203-1EE9-B8ED175A1E1D8F62 The training provided a unique opportunity for the start up of a network among UNDP Serbia employees, civil servants responsible for IA introduction in the country and this network should be further developed and followed up. PIA Mapping available in Russian April 2008 Read Данное руководство содержит описание методики и практического опыта проведения предварительной оценки влияния (ОВ) с обращением особого внимания на уменьшение бедности и обеспечение равных возможностей для уязвимых и изолированных групп. Руководство основывется на региональном опыте, накопленном в результате оценки систем ОВ и оценки нужд в обучении, проведённых в четырёх странах (Сербия, Хорватия, Босния и Герцеговина, Молдова), а также на уроках, извлечённых из реального осуществления проектов ОВ в разных странах. Публикация ставит своей целью обеспечить практиков доступными методами и передовым опытом проведения предварительной оценки влияния в Европе и СНГ и, таким образом, посредством улучшенного процесса принятия решений повлиять на уменьшение уровня бедности. Целью руководства также является поддержка развития местного потенциала в области стандартов ЕС. Click for document Mapping of Ex-ante PIA Tools and Experiences in Europe published March 2008 More Designing and Delivering UNDP’s 1st Regional Training on Cross-Cutting Issues of Ex-ante Policy Impact Assessment. Information International Consultant - Quality assurance of the 1st Regional Training on Ex-ante Impact Assessment. Information Steering Committee meeting in Budapest 29 February 2008 Read After discussing the results of the project’s first year and reporting on the status of national projects the Steering Committee accepted the work-plan of the project for 2008. Regarding substantive activities, the following targets have been set: 1. 1st Regional training on cross-cutting issues of IA - June 2008 (estimated time) 2. 2nd regional training – late Autumn (tentative) 3. Supporting CO projects throughout the year 4. Pilot Impact Assessments – based on the needs of the participating countries 5. Build up and roll out the Virtual Resource Centre – including an interactive workspace linked to regional trainings Regarding operational matters, the following has been agreed: 1. Virtual meetings of the Steering Committee will be held throughout the year 2. Regular updates from BRC – every two months – will be sent 3. Searching for more entry points at the CO level besides the one focal project 4. Setting key deadlines Mapping of ex-ante Impact Assessment Experiences and Tools in Europe October 2007 Read A team of two international consultants with the support of national consultants have completed the mapping of ex-ante Impact Assessment experiences and tools in Europe, with special focus on the relevant practices applied in the four participating countries. A Training Needs Assessment has been also carried out in each of the countries. Planning of future regional training has been initiated and a virtual resource centre is being developed. Introduction to Impact Assessment training for policy units in Moldova June 2007, Chisinau Read Introductory training for the newly established policy units in line ministries has been organized in Moldova on June 19, 2007. The UNDP Moldova Country Office approached UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre with the request for support for this introductory training within the framework of the regional project. Ms. Katarina Staronova, an international consultant, has been sent to Chisinau to provide the training. The training was organized in 4 main thematic blocks: 1) Introduction to IA concepts and theories 2) Analysis of real case studies of impact assessments conducted in the UK, where key elements of IA were analyzed in relation to recommendation from the European Union (Mendelkern Report) and conditions of Moldova 3) IA in broader context of policy making processes and management (consultation process, quality assurance, compliance problems, monitoring, etc.) 4) Brainstorming on the mandate of the policy units (coordination horizontal and vertical, vis-à-vis Ministry of Economy, vis-à-vis substantive departments, role in the process of IA, etc.) The participants were satisfied with the contents of the training, and expressed a wish to have more hours (days) of training on impact assessment and related issues (e.g. instruments).
^ top	Copyright © 2008 United Nations Development Programme Information Disclosure Policy

United Nations Development Programme

Virtual Resource Centre - Ex-ante Policy Impact Assessment

Menu

Partners

Links