Consult the detailed scoring methodology.
| Question | Answer | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Do ministries or regulatory agencies develop forward regulatory plans – that is, a public list of anticipated regulatory changes or proposals intended to be adopted/implemented within a specified time frame? | No | |
| Are these plans available to general public? | No | |
| Do ministries or regulatory agencies publish the text or summary of proposed (not yet adopted) regulations before their enactment? | Yes, throughout government | |
| Where is the draft text or summary published? |
On a unified website where all proposed regulations are published; on the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; printed in a federal journal ...
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On a unified website where all proposed regulations are published; on the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; printed in a federal journal or similar publication; directly distributed to interested stakeholders. |
http://www.dekamer.be
http://www.absym-bvas.be/fr/inami https://www.nbb.be/en/articles/public-consultation-fit-and-proper?l=nl The proposed laws are published in the parliamentary documents before being discussed in the Parliament. When sensitive economic and social regulations are being discussed, the government and/or the Parliament invites the stakeholders to share their thoughts on the draft regulation. It is mandatory for some domains of regulation and case by case for the rest. |
| Do ministries or regulatory agencies have the legal obligation to publish the text of proposed regulations before their enactment? | No | |
| Is the entire text of the proposed draft published? | Yes, throughout government | |
| Is there a period of time set by law for the text of the proposed regulations to be publicly available? | No |
| Question | Answer | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Do ministries or regulatory agencies solicit comments on proposed (not yet adopted) regulations from the general public? | Yes, throughout government | |
| How are the comments received? |
On the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; through public meetings; through targeted outreach to stakeholders, such as business association...
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On the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; through public meetings; through targeted outreach to stakeholders, such as business associations or other groups. |
http://www.absym-bvas.be/fr/inami
https://www.nbb.be/en/articles/public-consultation-fit-and-proper?l=nl For the sensitive economic, social, health and environment regulations, the government and/or the Parliament invite the stakeholders to share their thoughts on the draft regulation. It is mandatory for some domains of regulation and case by case for the rest. |
| Are received comments publicly accessible? | Yes, throughout government |
When an advisory council/committee is consulted, the advice is published on their website
|
| Is the rulemaking body required by law to solicit these comments on proposed regulations? | Yes |
There are a few hundred consultation bodies in Belgium, depending on the domain of regulation. In some cases, the consultation is mandatory by law or royal order.
|
| Is there a specialized government body or department tasked with soliciting and receiving these comments? | No | |
| Do ministries or regulatory agencies report on the results of the consultation on proposed regulations? | Yes, throughout government | |
| How does the government report on the results of the consultation? |
Prepares one consolidated response. Provides customized responses. |
|
| Where does the government report on the results of the consultation? |
On a unified website for all proposed regulations; on the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; directly distributed through public meetings;...
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On a unified website for all proposed regulations; on the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; directly distributed through public meetings; directly distributed to interested stakeholders. |
|
| Is reporting on the results of the consultation required by law? | No |
| Question | Answer | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Do ministries or regulatory agencies conduct an impact assessment of proposed (not yet adopted) regulations? | Yes, throughout government | |
| Are there criteria used for determining which proposed regulations are subjected to an impact assessment? | Yes |
There is a general obligation to provide an impact assessment for all draft laws and decrees originating from the government (hence not from an individual member of the Parliament) requiring discussions within the council of ministers, with a limited number of exceptions (relating primarily to issues of national security and legislation of a purely formal nature).
|
| Are there any specific regulatory impact assessment guidelines? | Yes | |
| Are impact assessments required by law? | Yes |
Section 2 of the Law on Public Federal Service of December 15, 2013 contains various provisions of administrative simplification and discussion on Impact Analysis (http://www.simplification.be/sites/default/files/documents/Analyse%20d%27impact/LOI_SA.pdf).
|
| Are impact assessment made publicly available? | Yes | |
| How is this assessment distributed? | Through a unified website for all proposed regulations. |
http://www.simplification.be/content/publication-des-air
The impact assessments on laws are also joined to the draft law available on the website of the Parliament (http://www.dekamer.be). |
| When is this assessment distributed? | Together with the draft proposed legislation. |
For the laws, after the approval of the Council of Ministers but before the discussion in the Parliament. For the royal orders, when it is published in the Official Journal (Moniteur Belge - Staatsblad).
|
| Is there an obligation for regulators to consider alternatives to proposed regulation? | No | |
| Is there a specialized government body tasked with reviewing and monitoring regulatory impact assessments conducted by other individual agencies or government bodies? | Yes | |
| Please provide the name of this government body, and explain its functions. |
The specialized government body tasked with reviewing these assessments at the federal level is the "Impact Assessment Committee". The advice of the I...
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The specialized government body tasked with reviewing these assessments at the federal level is the "Impact Assessment Committee". The advice of the IAC is not mandatory and the IAC only proposes recommendations. The Council of States conducts the complia |
| Question | Answer | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Are the laws that are currently in effect available in a single place? | Yes | |
| How are the laws that are in force accessed? |
On a unified website managed by the government Printed in an official gazette / journal or other publication |
http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/
The laws currently in force are also available in "The Belgian Official Gazette." http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be |
| Are the secondary regulations that are currently in effect codified and available in a single place? | Yes | |
| Are these websites or registries updated regularly? | Yes | |
| Can these websites or registries be accessed by the public free of charge? | Yes |