FAO’S Development Law Service Law and Development at FAO “Sound legal frameworks are essential to achieving sustainable agricultural development and effective natural resource management”

Role of Development Law Service (DLS)  Focal point for the legal aspects of agriculture and natural resource management  Assistance with the design of appropriate legal frameworks

Specific Functions 1) Legal advisory services to Member Countries 2) International legal instruments 3) Legal information 4) Research and studies 5) Capacity building

Principles of Advisory Assistance  Advice tailored to specific national context  Sharing experiences and solutions  National law in compliance with international obligations  Multidisciplinary approach  Involvement of all categories of stakeholders

Comparative advantage of legal assistance from DLS  Legal advice by lawyers on aspects of agriculture  Consistent recommendations across countries  Benefit of comparative experience  Quality control from centralized unit  Independence of ideas and objectivity of advice  Innovative solutions at countries’ disposal

Other reasons for requesting DLS assistance  Too many different issues to address  Lack of time  Lack of lawyers  Lack of knowledge of international context and obligations  Lack of comparative examples

FAO Legal Office work in the veterinary field  Animal Production  Animal Genetic Resources  Animal Movement  Animal Identification  Animal Health  Animal Welfare  Slaughterhouses  Products of Animal Origin  Meat Inspection  Dairy Sector  Animal Feed  Veterinary Drugs  Veterinary Services  Veterinarians and Paraveterinarians  Control Measures for Specific Diseases

Reasons to reform of National Veterinary Legal Frameworks  The legislation is outdated or has gaps  To meet international obligations  To harmonize their laws in accomplishment with regional arrangements  New national policies in place  Governments need new powers which existing legislation does not provide for  Foreign investment is often triggered by updates to the legal framework

The process of drafting legislation in technical assistance projects 1. Compile and analyze existing legislation (not just veterinary legislation) 2. Determine the hierarchy of existing legislative instruments and the status of veterinary law 3. Find out what is actually happening on the ground with the current written law 4. Identify challenges, gaps, areas for improvement 5. Propose a number of solutions for the legal framework (taking into account national capacities and the country context)

Characteristics of a good legislative drafting process  Extensive participation of:  Government  Private stakeholder  Consumer groups

Key issues (1) 1. To understand what to address through main law and what through subsidiary instruments: sometimes, it’s not possible or not easy to amend principal legislation 2. To identify which problems need legislative solutions and which can be resolved through other means

Key issues (2) 3. Not to confuse policy and law 4. To resolve policy issues before drafting legislation 5. To build capacity in the country

Some Recent Examples of FAO Legal Assistance…

Examples (1)  Animal Health  Panama: Draft Animal Health Law and Regulations  West Africa Region: Draft Animal Health Regulation  Cambodia, Timor Leste: Draft Animal Health Laws  Meat Inspection  Somalia: Draft Law on Meat Inspection and Control

Examples (2)  Dairy Products  Uruguay: Law on Milk Production and Commercialization of Milk Products  Veterinary Drugs  Mozambique: Draft Veterinary Drugs Law  Livestock Identification  Ukraine: Draft Legislation on Establishment of Livestock Identification System

Examples (3)  Animal Feed  Central America: Draft Regional Regulation on Feed Safety  Specific Animal Diseases  Lithuania: Proposed Regulations for Measures to Control Transmission of Echinococcocis  Veterinary Profession  Rwanda: Draft Legislation on Veterinary Profession

Examples (4)  Paraveterinarians  Jordan: Recommended Amendments to Take Account of Village Animal Health Workers  Dairy Development  Barbados: Draft Dairy Development Board Act

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