Consultation on the Draft of the Code of Positive Practice on Consultation with Interested
In May 2008, the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs in cooperation with the Council for Civil Society Development carried out the final set of public discussions on the draft of the Code of Positive Practice on Consultation with Interested Public on Public Policy Making.Preparation of new standards for consultation with interested public on public policymaking has been foreseen in the Operational Implementation Plan of the National Strategy for the Creation of an Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development, adopted at the session of the Croatian Government on 1 February 2007, whilst it was already announced in the Cooperation Programme between the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Non-Governmental, Non-Profit Sector adopted in the year 2001. The drawing up of the Code was launched in the mid-2007 and it was followed by the continuous public discussions.
Four public discussions on the draft of the Code took place in Zagreb, 9 May, Rijeka, 12 May, Osijek, 20 May and Split, 26 May 2008. Overall, 76 persons took part in the discussions, who were mostly members of NGOs. At the same time, in the period from 23 April and 23 May 2008 the interested public was enabled to deliver suggestions and reflections on the draft of the Code published on the website of the Office for Cooperation with NGOs. Five organizations participated in that online consultation, i.e. GONG, Partnership for Social Development, ZaMirNET, Office for Citizens’ Consultation and the Center for Human Rights.
In the following attachments you can find the detailed report on the contents of the discussions, written reports delivered through internet consultations (GONG, Partnership for Social Development, ZaMirNET, Office for Citizens’ Consultation, and the Center for Human Rights), the list of participants in the public discussions, the initial version of the draft of the Code referred to during consultations, as well as the final draft of the Code which contains key suggestions presented during the public discussions.
During regional public discussions the intention, format and the contents of the Code were considered as uttermost necessary for improvement of political culture of two-way communication between the governmental institutions and the citizens in the entire public policy making process. The participants of the discussions who represented the civil society organizations were mostly aware of the reality of expected gradual implementation of the Code. Moreover, in the light of public administration being overburdened by the process of the EU accession and the shortcomings in terms of the openness of institutions for the processes of consultation, one underscored the concern regarding the future implementation of the Code, particularly due to the relative legal weakness of the document which does not foresee any sanctions for braking the principle of minimal standards for consultation.
On the other hand, one mentioned the fact that the imperative of meeting the legal obligations in itself is not a sufficient warranty, for it is obvious that the implementation of the Code depends primarily on consciousness and capacities of the public administration bodies, the impact of the public pressure and particularly on the strength of the civil society organizations’ public advocacy for the implementation of the Code. Therefore, along with the powerful support by the Croatian Government, the necessary prerequisites for the efficiency of the Code are the timely implementation of the set of stimulating measures for the implementation of the Code and the shift of political culture of public policy making, as well as implementation of public policy in accordance with the principles of participatory democracy.
During the public discussion the following key suggestions for revisions and amendments of the draft of the Code were articulated and, in turn, integrated into the final version of the draft of the Code which was delivered to report to the public administration bodies:
- Extension of the title and the implementation of the Code to the very stage of the implementation of the public policies
- Highlighting the need for systematic education of the public administration bodies, units oflocal and regional self-governance and the interested public about the Code as the major prerequisite of its implementation
- Providing mechanisms of supervision of the implementation of the Code on the part of the Croatian Government
- Highlighting theprinciple of accessibility of consultation to the marginalized groups
- Highlighting the principle of representation of interested actors in the framework of the criteria for the composition of relevant working groups.
During all public discussions one particularly underscored the challenge of systematic and effective implementation of the Code, especially during the pre-accession period which has been characterized by the accelerated adoption of the set of laws and regulations. Among key prerequisite for the implementation of the Code one recognized the systematic and continuous education of civil servants and interested public about specific benefits and mechanisms of consultation promoted by the Code.
Therefore, the participants of the public discussions suggest the Office for Cooperation with NGOs to prepare a package of measures for acceleration of the implementation of the Code, which would be in turn delivered to the adoption procedure of the Croatian Government. The measures would include the drawing up of the education materials and modules for national and local civil servants, interested public (NGOs, unions, business associations, media, etc.), systematic gathering of information on implementation of the Code at the national and the local level on the part of the Office for Cooperation with NGOs and stimulation of independent supervision and promotion of the implementation of the Code on the NGOs’ part.
After the end of the online consultation and regional public discussions on the draft of the Code, we have examined all delivered suggestions, whereas the revised and amended draft of the document was delivered to report to all public administration bodies. Here you may download the final version of the Code, whose process of adoption is being continued.