Moldovan parliament to intensify cooperation with civil society

Chisinau, 14 August /MOLDPRES/ – The regulation of the parliament will be amended in order to introduce the mechanism of cooperation with civil society, according to a draft law approved positively by Government, on Wednesday, 14 August. The project was submitted as a legislative initiative by a group of MPs. The document refers in particular to the forms of cooperation, which include the organisation of permanent consultations, ad – hoc meetings, public hearings, annual conferences and civic initiatives.

One of the novelties of this instrument of cooperation is the civic initiative that would allow persons to mobilise and notify Parliament or submit to it requests or proposals on issues of major public interest to be submitted to public hearings, and subsequently included in the agenda of the meetings in plenary of legislature.

The civil society, however, will not have the right to submit to Parliament bills. “The norm proposed in article 128 (06) paragraph (1) of Regulation, which stipulates the right of a voluntary group of at least 30 citizens to ask Parliament to submit to debate a matter of major public interest, and it is mentioned that it cannot be interpreted as meaning that the civil society will have the right to advance draft laws,” states notice. In this context, in accordance with provisions of article 73 of Constitution of Moldova, the subjects which have the right to bring a legislative initiative are MPs, President of Moldova, Government and People's Assembly of Gagauzia.