Improvement of Public Consultations (HR0054)

Which public issue does the measure address? The Government of the Republic of Croatia adopted the Code of Practice of Consultation with the Interested Public in Procedures of Adopting Laws, Other Regulations and Acts in 2009, thus joining the group of developed European democracies that established clear standards and measures of consulting state bodies with the interested public in the procedures of creating new laws, other regulations and acts. In the last 11 years, the Republic of Croatia has established a legislative framework for the implementation of consultations (Act on the Right to Access Information) and improved the standards of consultation (e-Consultations Portal), but additional efforts should be made to improve the quality of the implementation of various models of consultation of state administration bodies and local self- government with the interested public. In the report for 2016, the Information Commissioner highlighted several problems noted in the implementation of consultations and the solutions which would primarily be affected by implementing training for civil servants. Furthermore, it is also necessary to provide more information and encourage citizens to be involved in monitoring and commenting on documents published on e-Consultations. With the aim of increasing the transparency of the entire process of decision-making, it is necessary to update the database of advisory bodies regularly which was established as an activity in the previous Action Plan. The Code of Practice of Consultation with the Interested Public in Procedures of Adopting Laws, Other Regulations and Acts adopted in 2009 needs to be improved, and a wide-ranging consultation is planned in cooperation with the Council for the Civil Society Development with civil society organisations on its objectives and content in order to ensure more effective consultation of state bodies and the interested public in the process of adopting laws and other acts, as well as an insight into existing good consultation practices already carried out by individual public authorities.

What does the measure include? The measure includes implementing the necessary improvements to the e-Consultations system and the continuation of education on conducting consultations in general and specifically through the e-Consultations system. In addition, the measure includes promotional activities and activities to update the databases of advisory bodies. The overall aim of the measure is to improve the conduct of consultations at the level of state administration and increase the number of e-Consultations users, that is, to raise both quality and quantity in this area.

How does the measure contribute to resolving the public issue? Through the implementation of the necessary improvements to the e-Consultations system, and the continuation of education in conducting consultations, both in general and specifically through the e-Consultations system, the actual procedure for conducting consultations at the level of all state administration bodies will be improved. Through promotional activities, action will be taken to inform and encourage citizens to be involved in greater numbers in consultation, while the regular updating of databases of advisory bodies will contribute to overall transparency in the consultation process.

Why is this measure relevant to the values of the Open Government Partnership? The measure is primarily relevant to participation by citizens, since its implementation affects the quality and quantity of participation in consultation processes with the public. At the same time, the measure is relevant to transparency, since by implementing consultation through the e-Consultations system and updating the databases of advisory bodies, the transparency of the process is assured, along with access to information on who is involved in consultation, and how. Furthermore, the measure is relevant in terms of public accountability, since it ensures the transparency of accountability of state administration bodies regarding comments received during consultation.

Additional information: The measure is in accordance with the following documents: Anti-Corruption Strategy 2021-2030

Activities: Implementation start date: Implementation end date:

14.1. Improving the Code of Practice of Consultation with the Interested Public in Procedures of Adopting Laws, Other Regulations and Acts Underway December 2023

14.2. Improve the interactive Internet system for consultations with the public on procedures of adopting laws, other regulations and acts (e- Consultations) Underway September 2023

14.3. Conducting a programme of education on standards for consultations with the interested Underway December 2023 72 public on procedures for adopting laws, other regulations and acts, and workshops on using the e- Consultations system

14.4. Conducting a promotional campaign for citizens on e- Consultations Underway June 2023

14.5. Continuously updating the database on the composition of working groups for drafting laws, other regulations and acts and other commissions and working bodies (including those which participate in NGOs and other representatives of the interested public) as part of savjetovanja.gov.hr Underway December 2023

Number and title of activities: 14.1. Improving the Code of Practice of Consultation with the Interested Public in Procedures of Adopting Laws, Other Regulations and Acts Co-leaders: Information Commissioner, Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs Implementation indicators: - Broad consultation conducted in cooperation with the Council for Civil Society Development with civil society organisations on the objectives and content of the Code - The new Code of Practice of Consultation with the Interested Public in Procedures of Adopting Laws, Other Regulations and Acts adopted - Guidelines for the application of the Code of Practice of Consultation with the Interested Public in Procedures of Adopting Laws, Other Regulations and Acts revised The baseline value of result indicators: In 2009, the Government of the Republic of Croatia adopted a Code of Practice of Consultation with the Interested Public in Procedures of Adopting Laws, Other Regulations and Acts (OG 140/2009). In 2010, the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs issued a publication "Guidelines for the Application of the Code of Practice of Consultation with the Interested Public in Procedures of Adopting Laws, Other Regulations and Acts". Source of data and frequency of data collection: Report on the work of the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs Financial resources required (Source of funding and planned resources): Resources are assured from the State Budget, section 02010 Office for Cooperation with NGOs, activity A509000 Administration and management, and they relate to resources for the ordinary activities of the Office, and section 02030 Legislation Office, activity A514000 Administration and management, and they relate to resources for the ordinary activities of the Office. Implementation start date and implementation deadline: Underway – December 2023

Number and title of activities: 14.2. Improve the interactive Internet system for consultations with the public on procedures of adopting laws, other regulations and acts (e-Consultations) Co-leaders: Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs, Information Commissioner Implementation indicators: - Units of local and regional self-government publish public consultation on the central system of e- Consultations The baseline value of result indicators: Technological, process and functional improvement and expansion of the e-Consulting Portal. Strengthening the capacities of employees of state and public authorities and including more entities of units of local and regional self- government in the publication of e-Consultations and more active involvement of all stakeholders in the e- Consultations system. Source of data and frequency of data collection: Reports and claims for refund for an ESF-funded project Financial resources required (Source of funding and planned resources): Resources are assured from the State Budget, section 034 Central State Office for the Development of the Digital Society, activity A912014 - e-Consultations - expanding, building up and improving legislative processes of public consultations from the ESF fund, in the amount of HRK 50,000.00 in 2022 (source 12: HRK 7,500.00; source 561: HRK 42,500.00) and HRK 50,000.00 in 2023 (source 12: HRK 7,500.00; source 561: HRK 42,500.00). Implementation start date and implementation deadline: Underway – December 2023; duration of the project 24 months

Number and title of activities: 14.3. Conducting a programme of education on standards for consultations with the interested public on procedures for adopting laws, other regulations and acts, and workshops on using the e-Consultations system Co-leaders: State School for Public Administration, Information Commissioner, Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs Implementation indicators: - Trainings on the preparation and implementation of consultation with the public – three workshops annually - Trainings on the use of e-Consultations Portals – six trainings annually - Conducting training programmes through the ESF Project The baseline value of result indicators: Trainings through the State School for Public Administration in the field of public consultation are already being conducted and will continue to be conducted in the next implementation period. Additional training programmes are 75 also envisaged under the ESF Project with the aim of increasing awareness of all the functionalities, possibilities and benefits of the system among state administration bodies and units of local and regional self-government. Source of data and frequency of data collection: Annual reports on the implementation of public consultations in the procedures of adopting laws, other regulations and acts, annual reports on the work of the Legislation Office, reports and claims for refund for a ESF-funded project Financial resources required (Source of funding and planned resources): Resources are assured from the State Budget, section 10995 State School for Public Administration, activity A677028 Implementation of the professional training programme, in the amount of HRK 23,220.00 annually. Implementation start date and implementation deadline: Underway – December 2023

Number and title of activities: 14.4. Conducting a promotional campaign for citizens on e-Consultations Co-leaders: Central State Office for the Development of the Digital Society, Legislation Office Implementation indicators: - promotional and video content produced - promotional materials produced - launch and final conference held The baseline value of result indicators: Beginning of the project " e-Consultations – expanding, building up and improving legislative processes of public consultations": the plan of the project is to conduct a promotional campaign using promotional materials, video content and launch and final conference if the situation with COVID-19 allows it. Source of data and frequency of data collection: Websites of the project Financial resources required (Source of funding and planned resources): Resources are assured from the State Budget, section 034 Central State Office for the Development of the Digital Society, activity A912014 - e-Consultations - expanding, building up and improving legislative processes of public consultations from the ESF fund, in the amount of HRK 20,000.00 in 2022 (source 12: HRK 3,000.00; source 561: HRK 17,000.00) and HRK 20,000.00 in 2023 (source 12: HRK 3,000.00; source 561: HRK 17,000.00). Implementation start date and implementation deadline: Underway – June 2023

Number and title of activities: 14.5. Continuously updating the database on the composition of working groups for drafting laws, other regulations and acts and other commissions and working bodies (including those which participate in NGOs and other representatives of the interested public) as part of savjetovanja.gov.hr Implementation indicators: - Database with compositions of all working groups of current + archives of previous compositions - Publish the database in an open format on the central Open Data Portal The baseline value of result indicators: Strengthening the transparency of public authorities will be ensured through a regular update of the database of the composition of working groups for drafting laws, other regulations and acts, and other commissions and working bodies (including those which participate in NGOs and other representatives of the interested public) as part of savjetovanja.gov.hr Source of data and frequency of data collection: Annual reports on the implementation of public consultations in the processes of adopting laws, other regulations and acts Financial resources required (Source of funding and planned resources): Resources are assured from the State Budget, section 02030 Legislation Office of the Croatian Government, activity A514000 Administration and management, and they relate to resources for the ordinary activities of the Office. Implementation start date and implementation deadline: Underway – December 2023

Action Plan Review

Commitment 14. Improving Public Consultations

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential for results: Modest