Laws and legislation fundamentally determine the lives of citizens, as well as those of profit-oriented companies and civil organizations. Hence, the quality of this process has, beyond doubt, great importance. But how can we define and measure the goodness of legislation? Law-making has to fulfill two essential requirements. It has to react to changes and follow the social, economic, demographic, etc. trends. Apart from all these, legislation has to provide a predictable, calculable environment for people and companies alike, fostering a trusting atmosphere in which people are ready to make long-term plans and decisions.
During the research project, we examine the quality of laws adopted by the Hungarian Parliament between 1990-2012. We want to analyze the adoption of the rules, their professional backgrounds, and the frequency of law changes using annual data. The stability of the adopted laws and the professional background are essential features of legal certainty. The more stable the legal system is, the greater the legal certainty. Legal certainty is the central requirement for the rule of law. The more legal certainty there is, the easier it is for the government to create the conditions for economic growth.
Preliminary Results in Hungarian with English Summary (PDF).