REPORTS
Unjustified shortening of the public consultation period by the Ministry of Health – February 2023
Articles 57 et seq. of law 4622/2019 contain provisions on the legislative procedure and the principles of good lawmaking. According to Article 61 of the above law, public consultation is to be carried out on legislative bills through the website www.opengov.gr and should last for two (2) weeks.
The consultation period may be shortened by up to one (1) week or extended for one (1) more week, for sufficiently documented reasons, which shall be stated in the regulatory impact analysis accompanying the regulation. As the Handbook of Legislative Methodology states, public consultation “is not just a necessary formal procedure, but an essential stage of the legislative process” which serves the principles of good lawmaking, including democratic legitimacy and transparency (see pp. 13-14).
At the same time, any shortening of the consultation period should take place “only in absolutely exceptional cases and for sufficiently documented reasons” (see p. 68).
At 21:00 on 17/02/2023 the Ministry of Health submitted the draft law entitled “Establishment of a legal entity under private law with the name “Marianna B. Vardinogiannis – ELPIDA”, regulations for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and the protection of public health, and other urgent regulations”, on the website οpengov.gr putting it to public consultation. The consultation period would close at 8:00 on 24/02/2023, i.e. (almost) 7 days later.
However, a) the report on the public consultation has not been published on the opengov.gr website, b) neither in the regulatory impact analysis accompanying the draft law during the consultation, nor in the regulatory impact analysis accompanying the draft law when it was introduced for adoption (see Law 5034/2023), was any reference found as to why the public consultation procedure would last less than the legally required 2 weeks.
Good lawmaking is a constitutional objective linked to the rule of law.
Articles 57 et seq. of Law 4622/2019 include rules related to the legislative process and good lawmaking, which are also detailed in the Manual of Legislative Methodology. These establish that bills should be subject to a public consultation period of 2 weeks, which may be shortened to one week only in absolutely exceptional cases, and for sufficiently documented reasons.
In this particular case, however, the Ministry of Health submitted a bill for public consultation for a period of only seven days, without giving any reasons for the shortening of the consultation period.
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
