Accountability of Public Policy Making

Regulatory framework for access to information and open data

Review of the regulatory framework for access to information, open data and public consultation. National authorities are asked to provide reference to the articles in primary legislation that fulfil the criteria below. Criteria 1 to 8 on access to information and 9 to 11 on public consultation are based on the OECD Recommendation for Enhanced Access and More Effective Use of Public Sector Information (2008) and Council of Europe transparency and open government resolution (2018). Criteria 6 to 7 on open data are based on the OECD Recommendation on Digital Government Strategies (2014), the OECD Recommendation on Open Government (2017), the Open Government Declaration (2011) and Council of Europe transparency and open government resolution (2018).

Regulatory framework for transparency in lobbying, conflict-of-interest and political finance

Review of the regulatory framework for transparency in lobbying activities, management of conflict-of-interest situations and financing of political parties and campaigns. National authorities are asked to provide reference to provisions that meet the criteria below. Criteria 1 to 2 on transparency in lobbying activities are based on OECD Recommendation of the Council on Principles for Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying (2010) and Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the legal regulation of lobbying activities in the context of public decision makingCM/Rec (2017)2. For any of these criteria to be fulfilled the regulatory framework must apply to the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Criteria 3 to 7 on managing conflict-of-interest situations are based on the OECD Guidelines for Managing Conflict of Interest in the Public Sector (2003), the G20 High-Level Principles for Preventing and Managing Conflict of Interest in the Public Sector (2018). Criteria 8 to 16 on financing of political parties and election campaigns are based on the Recommendation 1516 (2001) of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, the Recommendation (2003) 4 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the Council of Europe Venice Commission Guidelines on the Financing of Political Parties, (2001) and Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters (2002); the Guidelines on Political Party Regulation by OSCE/ODIHR and Venice Commission (2010), and the UN Convention Against Corruption.

Coverage of basic functions to implement access to information and open data

Review of information submitted by national authorities regarding basic functions tasked with the implementation of national access to information and open data policies to fulfil the criteria below.

Openness of government decision-making process

Review of documentation provided by national authorities regarding the procedures and practices for decision making at the level of the Government (Council of Ministers or equivalent).

Use of conflict-of-interest prevention mechanisms for senior officials

Review of information submitted by national authorities regarding procedures related to conflict-of-interest management and sanctions and their implementation to fulfil the criteria below. In countries with mandatory interest declaration, the rates for criteria 1-4 represent the actual number of interest declarations submitted as a share of all obligatory submissions, expressed as a percentage. In countries without mandatory interest declaration, the rates for criteria 1-4 represent the actual number of interest declarations submitted as a share of all members (ministers, parliamentarians, high-level judges, top-tier civil servants), expressed as a percentage. Only general interest and/or asset declarations and financial disclosure schemes are taking into account, not ad hoc conflict-of-interest declarations pertaining to specific situations (e.g. declaration of a conflict of interest during a committee or plenary discussion of the Parliament, declaration of conflicts of interest to the head of jurisdiction for judicial officials).

Use of oversight and prevention mechanisms for financing of political parties and election campaigns

Review of documentation provided by the national authorities and the body responsible for political finance.

Transparency of lobbying activities and prevention of undue influence

Review of information submitted by national authorities regarding procedures related to lobbying activities and prevention of undue influence and their implementation to fulfil the criteria below.

Proactive disclosure of datasets

Assessment of websites of state administration bodies to determine the level of disclosure of the relevant information to fulfil the criteria below. National authorities are asked to provide reference to such datasets. This is validated by the OECD.

Legislative stability

The ratio (expressed as a percentage) is calculated by dividing the number of laws originally adopted two years prior to the current calendar year that were amended in the previous calendar year by the total number of new laws adopted in the calendar year two years prior to the current calendar year. The percentage is then subtracted from 100 in order to standardise the values and ensure that 100% is always the most positive outcome. Amendments to older laws and the annual budget law are excluded from this calculation.

Legislative procedural scrutiny

The number of government sponsored laws (new laws and amendments) adopted by the parliament during the full calendar year preceding the assessment in extraordinary proceedings (e.g. in urgent, shortened or simplified proceedings) divided by the total number of government sponsored laws adopted by the parliament within the same full calendar year, expressed as a percentage. The percentage is then subtracted from 100 in order to standardise the values and ensure that 100% is always the most positive outcome. In the event that no extraordinary proceedings exist in the country, the number of laws adopted in 10 days or fewer will be used instead of the number of laws adopted in extraordinary proceedings.

Public share of political parties financing

The total amount of revenues of all political parties divided by the total amount of public funding provided to political parties, expressed as a percentage.

Post employment integrity in practice (ministers)

Measure of the frequency with which ministers changed employment from a ministry to a private sector organisation that operates within the scope of that ministry’s area of competence. The number of ministers employed within two years by a private sector organisation that operates within the scope of the ministry’s area of competence is divided by the total number of ministers that departed the ministries in the past five years. The percentage is then subtracted from 100 in order to standardise the values and ensure that 100% is always the most positive outcome. Such practices indicate risks for conflicts of interest, insider information trading, etc.

Post employment integrity in practice (top officials)

Measure of the frequency with which top-tier civil servants (first level below the minister) changed employment from a ministry to a private sector organisation that operates within the scope of that ministry’s area of competence. The number of top-tier civil servants employed within two years by a private sector organisation that operates within the scope of the ministry’s area of competence is divided by the total number of top-tier civil servants that departed the ministries in the past five years. The percentage is then subtracted from 100 in order to standardise the values and ensure that 100% is always the most positive outcome. Such practices indicate risks for conflicts of interest, insider information trading, etc.

Trust in government

Data sourced from the OECD Trust Survey: https://www.oecd.org/governance/trust-in-government/

Trust in parliament

Data sourced from the OECD Trust Survey: https://www.oecd.org/governance/trust-in-government/