Under the multi-year ADB Investment Climate Reforms Program, and as part of the component concerning the setting up of a new institutional mechanism to improve the quality of decision-making during appraisal of legal and regulatory changes, JC&A undertook a series of actives to raise awareness, develop a blueprint and action plan, draft a Government Decree and legal reforms for mainstreaming a customized RIA to the legal and administrative system of the country. After the Decree publication, JC&A assisted the Ministry of Justice and the National Centre of Legislation in undertaking a pilot RIA, enhancing dialogue from the business sector on RIA and developing the technical framework for a novel software system to implement and enforce the RIA disciplines. JC&A also advised on modifications to the Law on Legislation. As part of this project, JC&A proposed deploying a novel RIA system based on “trust but verify” principles instead of “control and command” approaches. See A Model For A Regulatory Impact Analysis System In Tajikistan with Ruben Barreto and Igor Gutan, ADB Briefs, ADB Manila December (2015) https://www.adb.org/publications/model-regulatory-impact-analysis-system-tajikistan.
JC&A experts assisted ADB, the Ministry of Justice, and the President in the following tasks:
- Set up an inter-ministerial Task Force
- Develop a diagnostic of existing regulations and practices – as well as their strengths and weaknesses – used in Tajikistan to prepare new laws and regulations.
- Design an institutional mechanism for regulatory impact assessment (RIA) that is quickly adaptable given the capacity constraints.
- Draft an official governmental Concept for mainstreaming RIA by January 2016
- Assist the Government and ADB in selecting the subject of two pilot RIAs
- Organize a series of forums on RIA with the private sector in Dushanbe and Khujand,
- Assist the National Center of Legislation in preparing a pilot RIA
- Develop the terms of reference of the IT system to deploy the RIA system and obligations.
The work was done through intense dialogue with stakeholders, consultation, and workshops with the Task Force members to ensure ownership of the proposed reform
Tajikistan, ADB, 2015-2017.
