Democracy and Integrity : The Lobbying Draft Legislation in Portugal
The Portuguese Parliament is currently preparing the adoption of legislation on the regulation of lobbying. It is the first time in the country’s democratic history (since 1974) that the legislative debate on this issue has progressed so far. The expectation is that said legislation will very soon be finally voted and come into force on the 1st of January 2020.In this paper I want to engage with the text of the legislative proposal as submitted for plenary discussion and voting by the competent parliamentary commission. I will draw on the main features of lobbying regulation across different jurisdictions and analyze the Portuguese proposal against such background. The comparative perspective will thus serve to put the future Portuguese regulation in a wider context, highlighting both its strengths and weaknesses. This could be useful in the near future in light of one of the proposal’s provisions calling for a continuous assessment of the legislation after it comes into force, with the goal of enhancing and tightening its requirements.Besides the proposal text, I will also take into consideration some more recent — and quite disappointing — news on modifications already introduced by the parliamentary plenary. Indeed, some of the most crucial provisions that had been included in the proposal have apparently been eliminated in the general discussion and voting. Besides leading to question the actions of the members of parliament in this matter, it also forces the evaluation of whether such changes frustrate the overall aims of a credible and useful lobbying regulation, turning the future Portuguese legislation into mere “symbolic” regulation. Ultimately, the question is one of knowing if the legislation that will actually be put in place has “teeth” to face the problems and issues surrounding lobbying. At least in a way that contributes to the overall healthiness of the political system and to increase the trust of the Portuguese citizens in the democratic process
Year of publication: |
2019
|
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Authors: | Heleno Terrinha, Luís |
Publisher: |
[S.l.] : SSRN |
Subject: | Portugal | Interessenpolitik | Lobbying | Demokratie | Democracy | Gesetzgebung | Legislation |
Saved in:
freely available
Extent: | 1 Online-Ressource (36 p) |
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Type of publication: | Book / Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Notes: | Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments May 13, 2019 erstellt |
Other identifiers: | 10.2139/ssrn.3419492 [DOI] |
Source: | ECONIS - Online Catalogue of the ZBW |
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10014105283
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