Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31297/hkju.17.1.1
Public Participation in the Legislative Process: The Example of the Finance And Central Budget Committee of the Croatian Parliament
Gordan Struić
orcid.org/0000-0001-6528-4436
; Civil Servant –Advisor in the Committee of the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System of the Croatian Parliament
Vjekoslav Bratić
orcid.org/0000-0002-9295-0286
; (Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Public Finance, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The paper analyses the normative mechanisms of public participation in the legislative process and examines the role of parliamentary working groups, specifically that of the Finance and Central Budget Committee of the Croatian Parliament. The paper attempts to identify the said mechanisms and to investigate the opportunities for the improvement of normative solutions in order to bring about a greater public influence on the legislative process. The conclusions are primarily based on a normative analysis, while the analysis of parliamentary practice reflects the data available for the period from the 5th to the 8th term of office, available on the website of the Croatian Parliament as well as in its e-Doc database. Various public participation mechanisms are identified, such as the right of initiative to propose laws, the right to be informed, the right to advise, and the right to be involved in working groups and bodies. However, it is also
observed that there is room for improvement, because it is ometimes difficult to effectively exercise these rights due to an incoherent normative framework and an absence of norms for particular solutions. Furthermore, the successful use of these mechanisms implies that certain requirements need to be met by the Croatian
Parliament and the parliamentary working groups. It is believed that a comprehensive approach, which would involve interventions at the level of both the normative framework and the parliamentary working groups, would form a solid basis on which public participation mechanisms could effectively be used within the legislative process. This would also render the mechanisms more likely to influence
the quality of the law, and would increase public trust in the legislature.
Keywords
participation; the public; legislative process; Finance and Central Budget Committee; Croatian Parliament
Hrčak ID:
178724
URI
Publication date:
29.3.2017.
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