Research event

Parliamentary systems and judicial independence as constraints on judicial review of regulation: A convergence analysis for EU and OECD countries

A presentation by Fabrizio de Francesco (University of Strathclyde).
This event is part of the Research Colloquium on Innovation in the Public Sphere.

This paper assesses the extent of convergence among European Union and Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development member states towards the United States model of rulemaking. It relies on an original dataset of administrative procedure acts and administrative laws concerning the making of delegated legislation. This paper has two aims. First, it clarifies the concept of rulemaking by disentangling the institutional choices for regulatory oversight through primary administrative legislation and judicial review. Then, the paper contrasts domestic institutional predictors and control for countries’ interdependence and legal origin. The empirical findings obtained from regression analysis confirm the institutional resistance to judicial review of regulation and citizens’ participation is associated with judicial independence and parliamentary systems. The overall finding suggests that several countries have adopted a similar model of a judicially supervised administrative procedure of notification, publication and comment on regulatory proposals. Yet countries with a parliamentary and highly independent judiciary system tend to lag behind in this convergence process.
 
Fabrizio De Francesco is a lecturer of public policy at the School of Government and Public Policy, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Applying quantitative and qualitative methods commonly used in comparative public policy, Fabrizio has a strong research interest in assessing how institutional design and settings impact on public administration and regulatory governance. He also focuses on how international organizations as knowledge institutions are able to frame and promote policy innovations and administrative reform. His research appears in various journals such as Comparative Public Policy, Journal of European Public Policy, Policy Sciences, Public Administration, and Socio-Economic Review. Fabrizio has been the principal investigator or co-investigator of three large research projects and visited the University of Lausanne, Heidelberg, and Leiden.

Before joining academia, Fabrizio gained extensive experience as a research consultant for private companies as well as Italian national and regional public authorities. During my PhD study at the University of Exeter, he worked as a full-time research on several projects on regulatory quality and policy appraisal funded by the European Commission, the World Bank and the UK Economic and Social Research Council. He has extensive experience in governmental projects on the implementation of regulatory impact assessment in Italy and the European Union.

The colloquium brings together Hertie School’s research community in the areas of Organization, Management and Leadership and offers a forum for debating research on key issues of public management and governance with an interdisciplinary audience.
 
Prior registration is not required. Lunch will be served.