1. © OECD SIGMA A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU © OECD SIGMA A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU Charles-Henri MONTIN Senior Regulatory expert Ministry of economy and finance France French representative to OECD/RPC montin @ smartregulation.net Publishing legislation Lessons from the French experience

2. © OECD SIGMA A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU Cairo, 8 June 20112 Contents Why publish? Who should publish? European answers Overview of Legifrance What should be published Functionalities Related issues Lessons learnt

3. © OECD SIGMA A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU Cairo, 8 June 20113 Why publish? A democratic requirement –A ‘constitutional principle’ (F) –An expectation in the public An economic necessity –Contributes to an even ground for business –Supports competitiveness –Doing Business indicator A condition for efficient in public service delivery A big issue in France: “diffusion du droit” with high resources, recognised success

4. © OECD SIGMA A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU Cairo, 8 June 20114 Who should publish? Private sector initiative or public service? Reasons for public service: –Builds on official gazette –Can be integrated with enactment into the production chain –Supports policy making and stock management

5. © OECD SIGMA A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU Cairo, 8 June 20115 European answers 16/27 countries publish OG electronically. 9 have stopped print-runs Equal value of paper and electronic versions must be regulated Best examples FR, BE, SP All very popular: Legifrance: 50 m pages a month viewed

6. © OECD SIGMA A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU Cairo, 8 June 20116

7. © OECD SIGMA A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU Cairo, 8 June 20117 What should you publish? The official gazette & Jurisprudence Codes, Social conventions International texts Non-binding texts (circulars)? Additional information (context) –Preparation of texts, incl. consultation –Procedures, methods, drafting rules, etc –Practical information on implementation –Information about the portal, user manual & tutorials

8. © OECD SIGMA A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU Cairo, 8 June 20118 Functionalities One or several databases, but a single window as far as possible User-friendly search engine Consolidation of legislation Language versions of main texts Integrated with normative workflow Downloading (license for commercial purposes)

9. © OECD SIGMA A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU Cairo, 8 June 20119 Related issues Drafting quality Normalisation of texts, including international classifications Linking the levels, and with caselaw Structuring the material for various categories of users Is codification still necessary? Limits of the single entry point for law

10. © OECD SIGMA A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU Cairo, 8 June 201110 Publishing & stock management The tool has become indispensable for regulators & legal professions Includes statistical monitoring Has not stopped proliferation of new texts Publishing is not stock management

11. © OECD SIGMA A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU Cairo, 8 June 201111 A few lessons learnt Legifrance shows how useful and powerful the IT support can be in a ‘civil law’ system Best suited for needs of the public; May give the false impression of mastering the body of law Does not truly support better regulation Cannot replace other channels of consolidation, dissemination and critical scrutiny of law.