Mandate:    -   Resolution of the Council adopting the first mandate of the Regulatory Policy Committee [C(2009)171 & CORR1 and C/M(2009)23/PROV, Item 310], and extension of the mandate of the Regulatory Policy [C(2014)100 and C/M(2014)9, Item 130];

   -   Resolution of the Council revising the mandate of the Regulatory Policy Committee [C(2015)147, Annex and C/M(2015)22, Item 239];

   -   Resolution of the Council renewing and revising the mandate of the Regulatory Policy Committee [C(2020)143, Annexes and CE/M(2020)6, Item 89]

 

 

 

Resolution of the Council [C(2020)143, Annexes and CE/M(2020)6, Item 89]

DRAFT RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL RENEWING AND REVISING THE MANDATE OF THE REGULATORY POLICY COMMITTEE

   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 Revised Resolution of the Council on Partnerships in OECD Bodies [C(2012)100/REV1/FINAL];

   HAVING REGARD to the decision of the Council to establish a new Committee on Regulatory Policy, transforming the Working Party on Regulatory Management and Reform into a level I committee and encompassing the work previously conducted by the Group on Regulatory Policy [C(2009)36 & C(2009)36/CORR2/REV1 and C/M(2009)21/PROV, Item 240], whose mandate was last revised in 2015 [C(2015)147 and C/M(2015)22, Item 239];

   HAVING REGARD to the results of the In-depth Evaluation of the Regulatory Policy Committee [C(2014)143 and C/M(2014)13, Item 220];

   RECOGNISING that regulation is one of the key levers by which governments act to promote economic prosperity, enhance welfare and pursue the public interest;

   RECOGNISING that well-designed regulations can generate significant social, environmental and economic benefits and contribute to well-being, as well as inclusive and green growth;

   RECOGNISING that regulatory policy is a whole-of-government responsibility that needs to be supported at high political level to enhance the performance, efficiency and competitiveness of national economies and their ability to adapt to change;

   RECOGNISING that improving the way regulations are developed, implemented, evaluated and made consistent across sectors and levels of government is not the sole responsibility of the national executive government, but also involves other institutions at the national, supranational, and subnational, and self-administrative levels of government;

   HAVING REGARD to the proposed renewal and revision of the mandate of the Regulatory Policy Committee [C(2020)143];

DECIDES

A.   The Regulatory Policy Committee (the Committee) is renewed with the following revised mandate:

I.    Objectives

Overarching objectives

The overarching objectives of the Committee are to:

i)   promote strategic, evidence-based and innovative public policy outcomes by identifying, developing, and disseminating a global vision for regulatory policy and governance;

ii)   support efforts across the whole of government and within its branches, as well as in close co-operation with its international partners and organisations when relevant, to design and deliver in collaboration with those concerned effective, efficient, resilient and equitable regulatory frameworks;

iii)   strengthen public governance through regulatory policy leading to high quality, fit-for-purpose laws, regulations, standards and self-regulations that ensure transparency, legitimacy, accountability and respect for the rule of law;

iv)   in the post-pandemic world, advocate for and support the development of an agile regulatory policy that enables governments to respond to the changing environment with more flexible regulatory systems that will be more resilient to future shocks.

Mid-level objectives

The mid-level objectives of the Committee are to:

i)   improve and strengthen regulatory policy and governance at all levels of government, with a view to:

a.Anchor regulatory policy principles and practices, including oversight and quality management, in the political, policy making, and administrative context;

b.Extend the principles of regulatory policy and governance to an international context, bringing regulatory management tools and practices to international rule making;

c.Strengthen the use of principles of regulatory policy and governance at sub-national levels of government and self-administrative bodies;

d.Support the effective governance and performance of economic and sector regulators and other authorities, such as standards setting, consumer protection, customs and other authorities.

ii)   mainstream regulatory principles and policies, by incorporating evidence based approaches to rule making and its review by:

a.Supporting, within governments and in cooperation with international and sub-national collaborators, an appropriate focus on the economic, social and environmental effects of regulation, taking into account issues of legal certainty and enforcement;

b.Ensuring the potential and impact of regulatory policy and reform on welfare, sustainable and green growth, innovation, societal well-being and equity are assessed, and that effective ways to assess and manage risks are developed;

c.Ensuring the application of regulatory policy and governance to horizontal and vertical policy aims, such as promoting societal well-being, developing a skilled labour force, achieving green growth, promoting innovation and mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change;

d.Help to build greater consistency across different levels of rulemaking and sharing of evidence and practices – for example, results of ex ante impact assessments and evaluation of laws and regulations may be relevant to other levels of government and self-administration including standard-setting;

iii)   assure that regulations serve policy objectives efficiently, effectively and equitably through the evaluation and improvement of the design and use of regulatory management systems, tools, capacity building and institutions.

a.enhance the connection between strategic policy planning, strategic foresight and evidenced-based regulatory policy so that regulations can better support, at a macro-level, growth, well-being and innovation;

b.consider the real life situation and actual behaviour of people and organisations, through the use of applied behavioural insights when and where appropriate, to ensure that regulation provide the right incentives for better informed individual decision making;

c.strengthen the capacity to measure and understand the performance of regulation through the progressive use of quantitative and qualitative empirical social research, digitisation, big data and artificial Intelligence.

II.    Working Methods

To achieve these objectives, the Committee will:

i)   Develop guidance and, where appropriate, standards to support the achievement of best regulatory policy practices in countries, including in international, regional, local and self-administrative contexts;

ii)   Produce analytic reports and peer reviews at international, national, regional, and sectoral levels;

iii)   Create opportunities for exchange of best practices to help Members and Partners design and implement regulatory policies on a national and transnational basis;

iv)   Develop and maintain high-quality and relevant statistical indicators to support evidence-based policy making;

v)   Broaden its communication initiatives beyond delegates and develop a narrative that will resonate with high-level policy officials and “users” of regulatory policy in ministries at national and sub-national levels of government.

vi)   Disseminate, as appropriate, the Committee’s work via websites and social media, as well as through regular events involving actors from international bodies, national and sub-national levels of government, parliaments, the private sector and the civil society.

III.    Co-ordination arrangements

The Committee will:

i)   increase the level of its horizontal collaboration with other OECD committees and their subsidiary bodies, in particular, but not limited to, the Public Governance Committee, the Regional Development Policy Committee, the Competition Committee, the Trade Committee and the Investment Committee, in order to promote an integrated, horizontal and multidisciplinary approach to regulatory quality and ensure that the Organisation as a whole promotes sound regulatory policy and practices;

ii)   keep itself informed of the activities related to regulatory policy and regulatory reform carried out by Members, whether at the domestic level or at the supra-national level such as the European Union, and international organisations, and maintain close co-operation and develop, where practical, collaboration to ensure effective complementarities both bilaterally and collectively through the Partnership of International Organisations for Effective International Rulemaking;

iii)   create opportunities for exchange of best practices to support the design and implement of best practices by Partners, recognising the global importance of regulatory policy and governance;

iv)   continue to engage with all key actors responsible for designing and delivering domestic regulatory frameworks, including Centres of Government, parliaments, oversight and advisory bodies, regulators and regulatory delivery agencies, supreme audit institutions, non-governmental actors, international organisations and will expand its working relationships among Members and Partners, including other relevant stakeholders such as private standard-setting bodies, civil society, scientists and non-governmental actors;

v)   consider, as appropriate, the views and inputs of BIAC, TUAC and other major stakeholders in the field of regulatory policy and governance.

B.    The mandate of the Committee shall remain in force until 31 December 2025.