Democratization Constitutional Reform ODIHR assistance in legal reform also extends to assistance in the field of constitutional reform. Following the events of April 2010 in Kyrgyzstan, ODIHR, together with the OSCE Centre in Bishkek and the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, and with the support of the European Commission and the United Nations Development Programme, organized a roundtable on constitutional reform in Bishkek on 13 May, ahead of the constitutional referendum that took place in the country on 27 June. During the roundtable, opened by interim President Roza Otunbayeva, more than 160 invited officials, international experts, academics and civil society representatives reviewed proposed changes to provisions on the powers of the parliament, the president and the judiciary, as well as to the electoral system. Participants also discussed provisions in the Constitution related to fundamental rights and freedoms, constitutional review by the competent court, the role of the prosecutor and the rights of minorities. administrative procedure. Some of the reviews were undertaken in co-operation with relevant groups of experts working with ODIHR, i.e., the Panel of Experts on Freedom of Assembly and the Core Group of Experts on Political Parties. Improving Legislative Efficiency and Transparency The development of standards, legislation and regulations continues to play an important role in society, by providing it with a framework and structure. In establishing this order, regulations directly affect core human rights and freedoms and the ability of members of society to exercise them. A well-established framework of rules and regulations conceived through a transparent, participatory and efficient process makes for predictable government and can help bring prosperity and strengthen democracy. OSCE commitments have long recognized the importance of an open and transparent legislative process. Such a process should include a number of key stages: policy analysis, regulatory-impact assessments, evaluations of draft legislation and expert and public consultations. In the provision of assistance to participating States on individual pieces of legislation, ODIHR works to help address shortcomings that occur in cases where some or all of these stages are missing or do not function adequately. For these reasons, an ODIHR focus over the past five years has been on providing states with assistance in the improvement of the legislative process. Technical assistance is provided following a comprehensive assessment of the legislative process in the participating State concerned in order to gain a detailed understanding of the specifics of the legislative system, and thus to design assistance tailored to the particular states. In 2010, ODIHR, together with the OSCE Mission to Serbia, officially presented to the Serbian authorities the ODIHR Preliminary Assessment Report on the Legislative System of the Republic of Serbia. The presentation brought together international experts and representatives of various governmental and parliamentary bodies and agencies. Discussions were primarily aimed at stimulating interest in the improvement of the lawmaking process in the country. In 2010, following a request by the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Moldova, ODIHR also prepared the “Assessment of the Legislative Process in the Republic of Moldova”, a comprehensive report that was presented and discussed at a roundtable held in Chisinau on 3 November. The roundtable brought together representatives of the Moldovan authorities and practitioners and academics familiar with Moldovan legislative practice and provided an illustration of the process of lawmaking in the country, as well as recommendations on improving its efficiency and transparency. Guidelines for Legislators ODIHR assists legislators from OSCE participating States by developing guidelines on specific and, often, complex legislative issues. ODIHR guidelines on legislation offer advice and expertise on the regulation of specific matters, and are based on universal and regional treaties relating to the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, evolving state practice (as reflected, inter alia, in the judgments of domestic courts and commitments of intergovernmental bodies), and the general principles of law, all of which are recognized by OSCE participating States in their human dimension commitments. ODIHR Annual Report 2010 25