DEMOCRATIZATION peaceful assembly and combating terrorism, respectively, as well as the law relating to the Higher Committee for Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. In its legislative assistance work, ODIHR continued to collaborate closely with other OSCE institutions and international organizations, including the European Commission for Democracy through Law of the Council of Europe (Venice Commission). Four of the above opinions on legislation — pertaining to freedom of association, freedom of expression, political parties and national human rights institutions — were prepared jointly with the Venice Commission. On several occasions, the legislative-review process was followed by consultations organized with state authorities and civil society in the respective OSCE participating States or Mediterranean Partner for Co-operation, to present and discuss the recommendations made in the legal reviews. Consultations were held from 28 to 30 October in Kyiv, on 19 November in Bishkek and on 16 December in Tunis. Moldova’s Justice Ministry revised draft laws on the normative acts and on the disciplinary responsibility of judges to reflect key recommendations made by ODIHR in earlier legal opinions. In June, Moldova’s Constitutional Court struck down a law prohibiting the use of “totalitarian symbols” by political parties, in keeping with an amicus curiae brief that had been prepared jointly by ODIHR and the Venice Commission at the court’s request. In Georgia, following an ODIHR opinion on the draft Law on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, the Justice Minister informed ODIHR that the vast majority of the opinion’s recommendations had been reflected in the final version of the draft law submitted to the Parliament. In similar fashion, throughout 2013, the authorities of Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Serbia and other OSCE countries welcomed ODIHR’s legislative assistance to ongoing legislative drafting processes. ODIHR’s 2012 assessment of Serbia’s Law Drafting and Legislative Process and four follow-up workshops in 2012 and 2013 resulted in the finalization of a regulatory reform roadmap in November in Belgrade, to be officially launched in February 2014. The 2013 workshops focused on monitoring and evaluation of legislation, and the consolidation and harmonization of legislation, and were held in Belgrade in April and June, respectively. A preliminary assessment of the legislative procedure of Armenia, focusing on the legislative framework, was launched on 18 November in Yerevan. As a consequence, the Armenian Justice Ministry has asked to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the lawmaking process, including thematic consultations, in 2014 and 2015. ODIHR organized a workshop with the Parliament of Georgia on public consultation and oversight over legislation as essential aspects of democratic lawmaking on 16 July in Tbilisi. Guidelines for Legislators To assist participating States’ legislators and other relevant stakeholders in their legal reform efforts, ODIHR has prepared legislative guidelines, which outline how to regulate specific and often complex human dimension issues. These guidelines offer advice and expertise based on universal and regional human rights instruments and OSCE commitments, as well as established state practice and general principles of law. Each set of guidelines is drafted by way of an extensive consultative process involving expert discussions and thematic roundtable discussions with key stakeholders from a wide array of OSCE participating States. In this connection, ODIHR continued its co-operation with its Panel of Experts on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly, Core Group of Experts on Political Parties, Improving Legislative Efficiency and Transparency Democratic lawmaking requires that laws are prepared and adopted as the result of an open and transparent process, as stated in relevant OSCE commitments. For nearly a decade, ODIHR has, upon request, assessed the lawmaking systems of participating States to help them make legislative processes more inclusive, participatory, transparent and, thus, efficient. Assessment reports with recommendations for improvement are often followed by workshops on specific topics related to democratic lawmaking. ODIHR Annual Report 2013  /   29