The draft Code on the organization and functioning of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova unifies all legal norms related to the legislative procedure, organization, functioning of the legislature and the Parliament’s Secretariat and provides clarity, taking into account parliamentary rules and jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court. At the same time, the draft Code contains a series of conceptual shortcomings and problems regarding the organization and functioning of the Parliament, according to experts of the Center for Analysis and Prevention of Corruption (CAPC), who carries out an appraisal of this legislative initiative, IPN reports.
Although there are regulations dedicated to the parliamentary opposition, they are considered declarative norms and the role of the opposition is perceived as formal and marginalized. “The opposition is not involved in the process of adopting draft normative documents registered in Parliament to express its opinion on the new regulations and, as a result, it manifests its protest by leaving plenary sittings. We consider that the lack of parliamentary opposition at plenary sessions affects the legislative process and does not ensure a genuine debate on the adopted bills” says the CAPC’s expert report.
Thus, experts consider it is opportune to institutionalize a mechanism for approving draft normative documents by parliamentary groups so as to know in advance the position of each group and, in case of divergences, they should be discussed on the parliamentary dialogue platform between the majority and the opposition in order to find compromise solutions and ensure a sustainable regulation. The report also highlights the conceptual problem regarding the Parliament’s relations with representatives of the local public administration, namely their consultation in the law-making process.
The CAPC experts also note that the provisions of the new Code should clearly stipulate that no draft normative act can be examined by the Parliament before it is published on the institution’s website, which is of significant importance in the context of ensuring transparency, public participation and strengthening democracy. The Parliament’s Annual Legislative Program must be consulted with civil society before its adoption.
In this connection, CAPC suggests improving the bill both in terms of editing and regulatory details and treating the democratic principles, the dialogue between the various parties involved. In addition, the experts stress the importance of respecting democracy, the principles of political pluralism and a constructive dialogue between the majority and the parliamentary opposition, in line with European standards. At the same time, it is recommended organizing the Parliament’s activities according to a schedule that will enable subjects involved in the legislative process to organize their work more efficiently, and civil society to monitor the activities of the Parliament’s working bodies and contribute to increasing the quality of normative documents examined by the Parliament.
