Impact assessment
Assessment of the impact of legislation
Politicians, administration and scholars and scientists agree on the whole on the requirements for a “good” piece of legislation and its implementation. In general, the following points are demanded:
One possibility for this is provided by impact assessment (IA). This is a process for determining the impact of pieces of legislation and subjecting them to comparative assessment. When it is carried out systematically, IA is a means for
A good IA must also include the impact of a piece of legislation on gender equality and may not ignore gender aspects. Otherwise, the impact assessment would be imprecise and be based on stereotypes and mere assumptions instead of realistic, fact-based prognoses.
You can find more information on gender impact assessment (GIA) here.
Please click here if you are interested in the different kinds of IA – prospective, accompanying and retrospective IA.
We have gathered some information on IA in individual federal states here.
IA as a method for improving the quality of legislation is not only gaining ground in Germany, but also internationally. Countries such as The Netherlands, Great Britain and Switzerland are using the method of IA to optimise their legislation.
You can find a summary in English of the guidelines for “Gender Impact Assessment” in the Netherlands here.
The Women & Equality Unit in Great Britain has drawn up guidelines entitled “Gender Impact Assessment” which can also be applied to legislation.
At the supra-national level of the EU as well, impact assessment is advancing as the standard method for improving the quality of European legislation.
Up to now, IA has been used as a method mostly in the area of the executive, i.e. administration. But it is also of interest in the work of those with the power to actually make the legislation.
If you want to find out more about the role of Parliament in connection with IA, then please look here.
- A piece of legislation should show the intended effect.
- A piece of legislation should encourage acceptance by those at whom it is aimed in the normal case, since this makes it more likely that the piece of legislation will be complied with and enforced.
- The costs of implementing a piece of legislation should be within the planned range.
One possibility for this is provided by impact assessment (IA). This is a process for determining the impact of pieces of legislation and subjecting them to comparative assessment. When it is carried out systematically, IA is a means for
- improving the quality of legislation
- reducing the density of legislation and
- careful use of resources.
- to determine and assess in advance the probable impact and side effects of a prospective piece of legislation (prospective IA) or
- to check whether existing pieces of legislation are doing what they are supposed to (retrospective IA).
A good IA must also include the impact of a piece of legislation on gender equality and may not ignore gender aspects. Otherwise, the impact assessment would be imprecise and be based on stereotypes and mere assumptions instead of realistic, fact-based prognoses.
You can find more information on gender impact assessment (GIA) here.
Please click here if you are interested in the different kinds of IA – prospective, accompanying and retrospective IA.
We have gathered some information on IA in individual federal states here.
IA as a method for improving the quality of legislation is not only gaining ground in Germany, but also internationally. Countries such as The Netherlands, Great Britain and Switzerland are using the method of IA to optimise their legislation.
You can find a summary in English of the guidelines for “Gender Impact Assessment” in the Netherlands here.
The Women & Equality Unit in Great Britain has drawn up guidelines entitled “Gender Impact Assessment” which can also be applied to legislation.
At the supra-national level of the EU as well, impact assessment is advancing as the standard method for improving the quality of European legislation.
Up to now, IA has been used as a method mostly in the area of the executive, i.e. administration. But it is also of interest in the work of those with the power to actually make the legislation.
If you want to find out more about the role of Parliament in connection with IA, then please look here.
Further reading
- Baer, Susanne/ Lewalter,Sandra: Zielgruppendifferenzierte Gesetzesfolgenabschätzung - Ein Aspekt des Gender Mainstreaming und ein Beitrag zu "better governance", in: Die Öffentliche Verwaltung (DÖV), 2007, S. 195-2005.
- Böhret, Carl/ Konzendorf, Götz: Handbuch Gesetzesfolgenabschätzung (GFA), Baden-Baden, 2001.
- Böhret, Carl / Konzendorf, Götz: Leitfaden zur Gesetzesfolgenabschätzung. Moderner Staat – Moderne Verwaltung, 2000. Erstellt im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums des Inneren und des Innenministeriums Baden-Württemberg.
- Bundesministerium des Inneren (Hg.): Moderner Staat – Moderne Verwaltung. Abschlussbericht über den Praxistest zur Erprobung des Handbuches und des Leitfadens zur Gesetzesfolgenabschätzung an ausgewählten Vorhaben der Ressorts, Berlin 2002.
- Bundesministerium des Inneren (Hg.): Moderner Staat – Moderne Verwaltung. Der Mandelkernbericht – Auf dem Weg zu besseren Gesetzen, Abschlussbericht, Berlin 2002.
erstellt von Administrator
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zuletzt verändert:
02.01.2010 20:07