Operationalising Quality of Legislation through the Effectiveness Test

Quality of legislation has become particularly eminent in policy discussions and academic debate during the last decades. Several different approaches have been developed, covering different viewpoints, disciplines and perspectives, yet contributing little certainty as far as the content of quality is concerned. Quality remains an extremely elusive issue which attempts to crystallise a delicate balance between different objectives, priorities and needs, which might well vary among countries but also even among areas of law. Yet, a particularly powerful element of quality of a legislative text is effectiveness. This paper suggests that the broad concept of quality of legislation can be operationalised through the concept of effectiveness and the ‘effectiveness test’ which juxtaposes basic features of legislative texts across its life cycle. By linking the purpose and objectives, initial design, analysis and means of a piece of legislation with its real life outcomes, the ‘effectiveness test’ allows a holistic view of the quality of a legislative text. Further, the ‘effectiveness test’ links intrinsic features of legislation and is thus valid and applicable in any context.