Mandate:   -   Resolution of the Council concerning the Mandate of the Regulatory Policy Committee [C(2009)171 and its CORR1] approved at its 1209th session held on 11 December 2009.

 

 

   “THE COUNCIL,

   Having regard to Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development of 14 December 1960;

   Having regard to the Rules of Procedure of the Organisation;

   Having regard to the Resolution of the Council establishing a new committee on regulatory policy [C/M(2009)21/PROV, Item 240], following the recommendations of the In-Depth Evaluation Committee in its assessment of the Group on Regulatory Policy [C(2009)36 and CORR2/REV1], proposing the creation of a new Committee, replacing both the Group on Regulatory Policy and the Working Party on Regulatory Management and Reform;

   Having regard to the draft Resolution of the Council concerning the mandate of the Regulatory Policy Committee [C(2009)171];

   Recognising that regulatory policy is a key component of economic and social policy and of good governance and that regulatory instruments are one of the key levers by which governments act to promote economic prosperity, enhance welfare and pursue the public interest;

   Recognising the role of the OECD in developing work on regulatory policy, tools and institutions to assure regulatory quality;

   Recognising that regulatory reform is a long term, dynamic process and a whole-of-government responsibility supported at high political level to enhance the performance, efficiency and competitiveness of national economies and their ability to adapt to change;

   Recognising that public policy design and implementation will benefit from greater reliance on regulatory quality;

   Recognising that expectations of what should be regulated by the state and how, continue to evolve in response to economic conditions, technological innovation, and changing priorities, and that governments need to apply better regulation principles, policy and practice to new and more complex policy agendas such as climate change, ageing and green growth;

   Recognising that governments need to improve evidence-based decision-making, apply alternatives to regulation when appropriate, anticipate risks and emergencies, and guard against unnecessarily prescriptive and excessive regulation, both for the development of national policy and, increasingly, in global and multilevel contexts;

   Recognising that governments need to assess the effects of new and existing regulations in order to increase benefits and reduce burdens on business, public administrations and citizens, and assure that the stock of regulations is up to date;

   Recognising the mutual interest of engaging non-Members in OECD work on regulatory policy;

DECIDES:

A.   The Regulatory Policy Committee has the following mandate:

I.   Objectives

a)   The objective of the Regulatory Policy Committee is to assist Members and non-Members in building and strengthening capacity for regulatory quality and regulatory reform.

b)   The intermediary objectives of the Committee include:

i)   promoting an integrated, horizontal and multi-disciplinary approach to work on regulatory quality to increase public policy effectiveness and promote policy coherence;

ii)   assessing the potential for regulatory reform to contribute to welfare, sustainable growth, innovation and equity, and developing effective ways to assess and manage risks, collaborating with, or drawing from work of other relevant Directorates in the process;

iii)   examining the relationship between regulators and the regulated, and the institutional arrangements for the regulatory process in government to strengthen engagement with public and improve compliance with regulations;

iv)   promoting evidence-based decision-making and regulatory transparency to create accessible, predictable and responsive regulations;

v)   evaluating and improving regulatory management systems, tools and institutions designed to assure that regulations serve policy objectives efficiently and effectively and improve policy outcomes, including the use of ex ante impact analysis and ex post evaluation; and building and maintaining a body of qualitative and quantitative data and indicators;

vi)   assessing and providing policy guidance on the components of regulatory quality that affect how regulations are designed, adopted and implemented, and on the functioning of regulatory institutions in Members and non-Members, through peer reviews, comparative studies and evidence of good practices, and promoting the wide diffusion of lessons and examples from them, including in guidelines and principles;

vii)   identifying current and emerging regulatory policy challenges and developing strategies to address them by providing a forum for policy dialogue, co-operation and exchange among those responsible for regulatory policy in Members and non-Members, as well as with other relevant stakeholders including international organisations and institutions, the private sector, and civil society.

II.   Co-operation arrangements

a)   The Committee shall co-operate with other OECD committees (including, but not restricted to, the Public Governance Committee, the Competition Committee, the Trade Committee, and the Investment Committee) on matters related to regulatory quality and reform to promote a cross-sectoral perspective, and seek to ensure that the Organisation as a whole promotes sound regulatory policy and practices;

b)   The Committee will seek particularly close co-operation with the Public Governance Committee;

c)   The Committee shall keep itself informed of the activities related to regulatory policy and regulatory reform carried out in other international organisations including in the European Union, and it will develop, as practical, partnerships with these organisations to ensure effective complementarities;

d)   The Committee shall consider the views and input of BIAC, TUAC and other major stakeholders;

e)   The Committee shall encourage participation by non-Members in the Committee’s work (including undertaking country reviews and contributing to thematic work) and their implementation of the Committee’s recommendations and good practices.

B.   The mandate of the Regulatory Policy Committee shall remain in force until 31 December 2014 unless the Council decides otherwise, including in the light of the review of the functioning of the new Committee by the Evaluation Committee to be carried out two years after its creation.”