Evaluating Laws and Regulations

This report focuses on international practices of ex post evaluation, and
particularly on the current efforts to conduct ex post evaluation of laws in
Chile. It is divided in two main parts.

The first part of the report provides information and guidance, examples of
practice and references on the subject of ex post evaluation in OECD
countries, particularly in the Legislative area. It looks at the different
definitions of, and motivations for, undertaking evaluation. There is no
single template for undertaking ex post legislative evaluation. The objectives
and methods to be used will depend on factors such as the nature of the law to
be evaluated and the parliamentary and governmental context in which the
evaluation takes place.

In the second part the report evaluates the current system and process of ex
post evaluation of laws in Chile. It discusses the efforts made by the
recently established Law Evaluation Department in the Chamber of
Representatives, in the framework of the law making process of the country. It
revises the current practices in both branches of government, executive and
legislative, to conduct ex post evaluation of laws and regulations, as well as
the formal and informal mechanisms to prepare laws and regulations and their
possible ex post review. The paper revises as well the current programme for
law evaluation launched by the Chamber of Representatives and it analyses its
main components, in particular methodological approaches and inclusion of
citizens‘ perceptions as a tool to increase transparency.

The report concludes with an assessment of the main challenges that the law
evaluation work is facing in Chile and makes some recommendations related to
institutional, methodological and governance issues.