Costa Rica Emphasizes Stakeholder Engagement in Regulatory Process, Seeks to Reduce Administrative Burdens
Costa Rica is committed to improving its business environment by streamlining administrative formalities and enhancing stakeholder engagement in the regulatory process.
Simplifying Government Procedures and Increasing Transparency
To achieve this goal, Costa Rica has introduced various initiatives aimed at simplifying government procedures and increasing transparency. For instance:
- Forward planning
- Intensive use of SICOPRE, a centralized webpage that provides regulatory impact assessments (RIAs) and public consultations
However, there is still room for improvement. While RIA is employed in the development of technical regulations, it is only required when drafting a regulation includes the creation of government formalities.
Regulatory Oversight Functions
Costa Rica’s regulatory oversight functions are handled by two bodies within the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade:
- Better Regulation Unit: responsible for:
- Quality control of technical regulations and administrative formalities
- Coordinating and promoting regulatory policy through training and advice
- Quality Unit: responsible for:
- Development of technical regulation, including verification of compliance with RIA requirements
- Stakeholder consultation and analysis of the technical regulation stock to identify reform needs
Progress and Challenges
Indicators released by the OECD show that Costa Rica has made significant progress in terms of stakeholder engagement and RIA. However:
- There is still room for improvement, particularly in conducting RIA for all types of subordinate regulations and expanding stakeholder engagement in the development of primary laws.
The data reflects Costa Rica’s practices regarding subordinate regulations initiated by the executive, since primary laws are rarely initiated by the executive.
Conclusion
Costa Rica is taking steps to improve its regulatory process by increasing transparency and stakeholder engagement. However, more needs to be done to ensure that all regulations undergo rigorous impact assessments and that stakeholders have a greater say in the development of regulatory policies.
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