A. Legal framework for public consultation
Articles 57 and following of Law 4622/2019 regulate the legislative drafting process and good law‑making.
According to Article 61:
The Legislative Drafting Methodology Handbook further emphasises that good law‑making requires an open and transparent process. Consultation is not a mere formality but a substantive stage intended to improve the bill, verify whether the public understands the proposed regulations and collect comments that may lead to improvements. Legislative committees must be ready to amend the bill based on consultation feedback.
B. Findings for 2025
In 2025, 97 legislative acts were adopted (Laws 5168/2025 to 5264/2025), of which:
A closer examination of 47 of these laws shows that all were placed in public consultation for 14 days or more. This means that, unlike previous years, there were no unjustified or impermissible reductions in consultation periods — a development that is particularly positive.
However, several concerns persist:
1. Non‑publication of consultation reports
Despite Article 61(4):
2. Articles bypassing public consultation
A significant number of provisions appear not to have gone through consultation:
3. Missing preliminary Regulatory Impact Assessments
Some bills were posted for consultation without the required preliminary Regulatory Impact Assessment.
The Economic and Social Council also highlighted delays in posting these assessments, noting that such delays hinder timely and accurate evaluation of proposed regulations.
4. Limited evidence that consultation comments are substantively considered
Doubts remain as to whether comments submitted during consultation are meaningfully taken into account.
This concern is reinforced by:
The dataset underlying these findings is available here.
Further issues regarding the 2025 legislative process can be found in the Joint Report on the State of the Rule of Law in Greece.
Good law‑making is a constitutional objective and is closely linked to the principle of the Rule of Law.
Chapter C of Part C of Law 4622/2019 (Articles 57 and following) sets out rules on legislative drafting and good law‑making, further elaborated in the Legislative Drafting Methodology Handbook. These include the rules and principles governing public consultation.
For yet another year, however, several issues cast doubt on the substantive compliance with Law 4622/2019 and the principles of good law‑making during the consultation stage.
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