Adherence to good lawmaking principles is linked to the rule of law. To ensure the production of good legislation, provisions of the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament regulate individual issues related to the legislative process and set certain rules that must be followed when drafting and submitting a bill or an amendment for voting (see, inter alia, Articles 74, 75 of the Constitution, Articles 85, 87, 88 and 101 and in general Articles 84-123 and 160 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament). Furthermore, law 4622/2019 regulates, through Articles 57 to 64, issues of legislative procedure and good legislation.
Based on these general rules and Article 59 paragraph 5 of law 4622/2019, the Manual of Legislative Drafting Methodology, issued in 2020, analyses and specifies the rules that must be observed in the framework of the legislative drafting process. This handbook provides, inter alia, instructions and directions regarding: the public consultation process (see, inter alia, p. 12-13, 67-68); amendments (see, inter alia, p. 4, 18, 63, 70-71, 77-78); the issue of repealed provisions (p. 16 and 35), and even the title of a bill (p. 18-19, 47).
On 19 September 2023 at 23:00, a bill entitled “Arrangements for dealing with the pandemic of the COVID-19 coronavirus, strengthening the protection of public health and health services, the electronic system for monitoring the circulation of medicines, the Single List of Surgeries and other urgent provisions” was put to public consultation by the Ministry of Health.
This draft consisted of 23 articles regulating issues relating to the response to the pandemic and the strengthening of social cohesion (Part B, Articles 3-8), the single list of operating theatres and the electronic system for monitoring the movement of medicines (Part C, Chapter A, Articles 9-11), the strengthening of health services (Part C, Chapter B, Articles 12-15), the National Authority for Medical Assisted Reproduction, the Central Council of Health Regions, the Special Commission for Ionising and Non-Ionising Radiation and the National Institute of Neoplasms (Part C, Chapter C, Articles 16-19) and matters falling within the competence of the Ministries of Social Cohesion and the Family (Part D, Chapter A, Article 20) and Culture (Part D, Chapter B, Article 21).
We note that in the Regulatory Impact Analysis accompanying this draft law, the Ministries of i) Health, ii) Social Cohesion and Family and iii) Climate Crisis and Civil Protection were listed as the lead ministries.
The consultation was set to end on 26 September at 13:00, i.e. 7 (almost) days later, without, however, any reference to a reason why the consultation process was curtailed from the required two weeks either in the report on the public consultation posted on the opengov.gr website or in the regulatory impact analysis that accompanied the draft law when it was introduced to the Parliament for adoption.
On 27 September 2023, the bill was submitted to the Parliament for voting, having the same title but consisting of 29 articles. Articles 6, 7, 22, 23, 23, 24, 27 were not present in the bill when it went to public consultation and therefore do not appear to have been subject to the public consultation process. We note also that the bill in itself regulated many different/unrelated issues, falling under the competence of most Ministries (Health, Education, Culture, Environment, Social Cohesion, Digital Governance, Climate Change) and legislative sectors.
On 3 October 2023 at 20:40, amendment 23/3/3-10-2023 was tabled by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. This amendment contained 2 articles, which regulated issues related to the supply of drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 and the extension of the validity of the leasing contracts for work to meet the needs of the e-EFKA.
Later that day at 23:10, amendment 24/4/3-10-2023 was tabled by the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of National Economy and Finance. The amendment contained 2 articles, which regulated issues related to the shipbuilding program and repairs to Fast Attack Missile Vessels under Article 7 and the rates of Value Added Tax.
Both of these amendments were tabled just the day before the law was passed and therefore after the deadline for submitting amendments had already expired and also contained provisions regulating many different issues, most of them not related in any way to the objects of the bill introduced for voting, in violation of good law making considerations.
On 3 October 2023, the Standing Committee on Social Affairs drew up a report recommending the acceptance, by majority vote, of the bill. On 4 October 2023, the bill was debated in the Plenary of the Parliament and Law 5057/2023, consisting of 33 articles, was passed.
In a state governed by the rule of law, the Government and the Parliament must, in the process of preparing and passing legislation, follow the principles of good lawmaking and apply the rules established to promote and ensure it. This is because good lawmaking is linked to the constitutional principles of transparency and legal certainty, and the application of its rules and principles seek to avoid the phenomena of maladministration and omnibus legislation, which are inconsistent with the principles of the rule of law.
In Greece, however, the violation of these rules of good lawmaking appears to be a long-standing and systematic problem, as highlighted by the legislative journey of Law 5057/2023.
Bank Account number: 1100 0232 0016 560
IBAN: GR56 0140 1100 1100 0232 0016 560
BIC: CRBAGRAA
In a time where the very foundations of democracy are gradually being eroded by the rise of extreme nationalism, alt-right movements, the spread of disinformation and corporate capture, the efforts of organisations such as Vouliwatch are more relevant than ever.
We rely on the generosity of each and every one of you to continue with our efforts for more transparency and accounta
By financially supporting Vouliwatch you support our litigation strategy, our campaigns for transparency and accountability in the political system, the development of new civic tech tools, our research projects and last but not least our impartial and accurate
