Democratization In the Russian Federation, ODIHR, in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration, continued providing expertise to migration authorities, in particular since new migration legislation came into force in January. A survey was carried out in 2006 to identify possible challenges related to the implementation of the new legislation, and recommendations for improvements were made. The results of the survey were presented at a workshop in Moscow at the end of 2007. V. Legislative support Most countries, including those in the OSCE region, face the task of drafting and adopting legislation on a regular basis. This entails translating policies into practice by ensuring that the laws passed measure up to the purposes for which they were conceived. One of the considerations to be taken into account when drafting and adopting legislation is compliance with relevant international standards. For this to be ensured, laws must be prepared, drafted, adopted, and published through clearly defined stages and within a pre-determined time frame. Only such a properly managed process allows for thorough discussions of the draft at each of its steps, as well as the performance of certain Assessment Methodology There are three main aspects to every assessment. First, an assessment should be comprehensive, covering the entirety of the process by which legislation is prepared, drafted, discussed, adopted, published, communicated, and evaluated. Second, it should describe the system both on paper and in practice. Finally, it should be objective and sufficiently detailed to support credible recommendations for reform. An assessment is a three-stage process. An initial on-site visit aims to ascertain the level of interest or support on the part of the relevant state authorities and to gather preliminary data on the legislative system, which is then followed by the preparation of a preliminary report giving a description of the key features of the legislative system. A second visit is conducted to interview senior members of government, parliament, civil servants, legal professionals, and non-governmental organizations on the basis of questionnaires sent in advance. The third and final stage involves the preparation of a report that provides an overview of the existing procedures and practices, an assessment of those procedures and practices, and recommendations for addressing any shortcomings identified. An assessment is expected to act as a catalyst for reform. Whether it achieves this depends, of course, on the response of national decision-makers. If there is support for reform, then ODIHR’s approach is to insist that the reform process be home-grown, comprehensive, and properly integrated. 36 Annual Report 2007 verifications indispensable to ensuring the effectiveness of the legislation. Ultimately, the real test of a law’s effectiveness is its implementation: how it is treated by law enforcement, how it is interpreted by the courts, how it is respected or implemented by the target population. In lending support to OSCE states in the development of sound legislation, ODIHR first focuses on helping lawmakers draft legislation that complies with the relevant international standards on a particular issue in all areas of the human dimension. During the law-drafting stage, ODIHR experts provide advice on how to ensure that international standards are properly reflected, while also sharing experiences and practices from other countries that have dealt with similar issues. Drafting a good law, however, is only half the work. Experience has shown that the most effective and efficient laws are the result of a legislative process that is composed of several stages such as policy analysis, a regulatory impact assessment, evaluation of draft legislation before it is adopted, gathering input from those who will be affected by the legislation, and monitoring how the legislation is implemented. ODIHR’s provision of assistance to OSCE participating States on individual laws has revealed common problems in the management of the law-making system. The same weaknesses tend to re-emerge time and again, suggesting that, rather than addressing them on an individual basis, law by law, the focus should be on addressing the underlying causes. Therefore, in addition to providing advice on the substantive drafting of legislation, the Office also assists states in the development of effective, open, and transparent legislative processes. Strengthening capacity for legislative reform Legislative reform is high on domestic agendas throughout the OSCE region. Whether as a result of a commitment to meet international standards or as a reaction to emerging domestic or international issues and challenges, existing laws are continually being assessed, reviewed, and revised, and new laws are being drafted and