Democratization: Legislative Support In 2006, the ODIHR concluded its assessment in Georgia, and contacts are now being made with the Justice Ministry to determine how to implement the recommendations contained in the report. In Ukraine, after a first visit in 2005, further steps were postponed pending the adoption of new legislation affecting parliamentary procedures, on the one hand, and the hierarchy of legal norms, on the other. (The ODIHR’s assistance has been requested with regard to the latter.) In Moldova, a first visit took place in May, and an assessment is to be initiated in 2007 after new amendments to parliamentary procedures have been adopted. In Kyrgyzstan, following a first visit in February that pointed to serious shortcomings in parliamentary procedures, the ODIHR has undertaken a comprehensive review of several pieces of legislation regulating the lawmaking process. In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, a first visit is planned for 2007. III. Improving www.legislationline.org Legislationline (www.legislationline.org) is a free-of-charge online legislative database that was created in 2002 to assist OSCE participating States in bringing their legislation into line with relevant international human rights standards. The database was designed as a drafting tool for lawmakers, not simply as an archive of domestic or international legislation. Its purpose is to provide assistance to those who prepare and draft laws at the working level. Through Legislationline, they can obtain examples and options from other countries’ legislation that can help them make their own choices. The activities involved in maintaining the database not only benefit lawmakers but also permit ODIHR experts to observe patterns in legislative activity and identify good practices. As a reference tool for a variety of users (primarily law-drafters, legal professionals, government officials, parliamentary staff, and legal specialists in international organizations), it is the most comprehensive database on legislation related to more than a dozen human dimension issues such as human trafficking, elections, and citizenship. 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, an assessment 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 the ODIHR’s approach is to insist that the reform process be home-grown, comprehensive, and properly integrated. The website went through an overhaul in 2006, including the introduction of a new design and the addition of new elements such as a search engine, all of the ODIHR’s legal assessments, and several new topics. In addition, the entire site was translated into Russian. Future Priorities The ODIHR will continue its work on promoting legislative efficiency in 2007. This is a long-term endeavour that can only bear fruit if it is supported by strong political commitments. 2007 will be decisive in Georgia, as the government has expressed strong interest in implementing the recommendations contained in the ODIHR’s assessment report. Depending on whether certain preconditions are met, it is anticipated that the first stage of the new methodology for conducting assessments of the legislative process will be carried out in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, with planning under way for the subsequent stages in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Ukraine. Legislationline will be maintained in both English and Russian. An important focus for 2007 will be on the collection and posting of domestic legislation and compiling international standards in Russian. The ODIHR has already begun updating many of the topics on the site, and this will be continued in 2007. Another priority will be to mobilize more expertise in connection with the topics addressed on the site and to develop a new section devoted to law-making issues. Throughout the last two years, the ODIHR conducted an evaluation of its own legislative reviews in an attempt to improve its methodology and design a strategy to improve the impact of its legislative-assistance work. This process will continue in 2007. Annual Report  51