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 |
Through ministries' websites.
|
| 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 ...
More
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.cyprus.gov.cy/portal/portal.nsf/citizen_en?OpenForm
https://www.moh.gov.cy/moh/moh.nsf/legislation_en/legislation_en?OpenDocument Draft laws (other than state budget related laws, conventions and regulations) submitted to the Parliament are published in the Cyprus Government Gazette (http://www.cygazette.com). Various means of consultation are followed e.g. written consultation, email, focus groups, expert’s groups etc. In the context of the new IA framework, a new unified website for law-making matters is being developed (annual programming, planned/executed IAs, consultation etc.). The website: www.reform.gov.cy |
| 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 |
On the government's portal or at each ministry's website.
|
| 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 |
At the initiation of the drafting process and/or after the preparation of the law's first draft.
|
| How are the comments received? |
On a unified website for all proposed regulations; on the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; through public meetings; through targeted out...
More
On a unified website for all proposed regulations; on the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; through public meetings; through targeted outreach to stakeholders, such as business associations or other groups; through email; through social media. |
http://www.cyprus.gov.cy/
https://www.moh.gov.cy/moh/moh.nsf/legislation_en/legislation_en?OpenDocument The Ministry regulating follows the revised Consolation Guide and depending on the regulation uses public or targeted consultation The Consultation Guidelines propose a specific methodology for identifying stakeholders for consultation. The criteria used are: stakeholders directly affected, stakeholders indirectly affected, stakeholders that may be affected, stakeholders relevant to the success of the policy, stakeholders that have knowledge on the issue, etc. |
| Are received comments publicly accessible? | Yes, in some ministries/regulatory agencies only |
No standard rule is followed, hence some comments received may become available/accessible to the general public.
|
| Is the rulemaking body required by law to solicit these comments on proposed regulations? | No |
While there is no official law, there are relevant guides that have been approved by the Council of Ministers (e.g., in the context of Better Regulation) and other bodies (e.g., by the Attorney General).
|
| 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, in some ministries/regulatory agencies only | |
| 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;...
More
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. |
http://www.cyprus.gov.cy/
http://www.mcw.gov.cy The results are published within the context of the Impact Assessment Questionnaire. |
| 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 |
The new IA framework that was adopted by the Council of Ministers in September 2016 and came into effect on 1st January 2017 is to be followed by all public authorities/officers.
|
| Are there criteria used for determining which proposed regulations are subjected to an impact assessment? | No | |
| Are there any specific regulatory impact assessment guidelines? | Yes | |
| Are impact assessments required by law? | Yes |
The Council of Ministers adopted the new Impact Assessment framework on September 2016, Decision Number 81.268.
|
| Are impact assessment made publicly available? | Yes | |
| How is this assessment distributed? |
Through a unified website for all proposed regulations; through the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; through public meetings; through ta...
More
Through a unified website for all proposed regulations; through the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; through public meetings; through targeted outreach to stakeholders, such as business associations or other groups. |
www.reform.gov.cy
http://www.mcw.gov.cy The assessment is also distributed to the completed Impact Assessment Questionnaire upon sending the draft law to the Council of Ministers and the Parliament. Following the new IA framework at the end of every year the IA questionnaires will be uploaded on the government's reform page www.reform.gov.cy |
| When is this assessment distributed? | Other |
When submitted for legal vetting.
|
| Is there an obligation for regulators to consider alternatives to proposed regulation? | Yes, throughout government |
It is stated in the Impact Assessment's questionnaire.
|
| 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. |
Unit for Administrative Reform. No quality check of the analysis is performed at the moment. The Unit for Administrative Reform examines the SME Test ...
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Unit for Administrative Reform. No quality check of the analysis is performed at the moment. The Unit for Administrative Reform examines the SME Test and sends it to the SME Envoy Cyprus for quality evaluation. |
| 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 private sector Printed in an official gazette / journal or other publication |
www.leginet.com; www.cylaw.org
When approved, all laws, regulations, decrees, directives etc. are publicized in the Cyprus Government Gazette (www.cygazette.com). Recently (September 2017) an MoU entered into force between the government and a unified website managed by the private sector (Bar Association) for the consolidation and disposal of all laws, regulations etc. The website is already available to the public. |
| 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 |
| Question | Answer | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Do ministries or regulatory agencies conduct ex-post reviews? | No | |
| Are there any criteria for which regulations are subject to ex-post reviews? | No | |
| What specific approaches are used by your government? | n/a | |
| Are ex-post reviews required by law? | No |
| Question | Answer | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Can affected parties request reconsideration or appeal adopted regulations to the relevant administrative agency? | Yes |
Article 29 of the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus (http://www.presidency.gov.cy/presidency/presidency.nsf/all/1003AEDD83EED9C7C225756F0023C6AD/$file/CY_Constitution.pdf) affirms that a person may appeal against administrative decisions and seek judicial review of their legality. The interest to ensure equal opportunities to the individual stems from Art.28 provisions. The review of the legality of administrative acts falls within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Constitutional Court, as described in Art.146 of the Constitution. It should be noted though that legislative acts are exempted from this judicial review.
|
| When appealing against adverse regulatory decisions, which options are typically available to affected parties? |
Administrative review by the regulatory body Administrative review by an independent body Judicial review The Ombudsman (Commissioner for Adm... More Administrative review by the regulatory body |
An example of administrative review by an independent body is the Commissioner for State Aid Control who has the power to annul an administrative decision that contradicts State Aid rules (following a complaint by the public).
|
| Is there any existing requirement that regulations be periodically reviewed to see whether they are still needed or should be revised? | No |
This issue is also under consideration under the new Impact Assessment framework.
|