From a scientific perspective, legislative monitoring serves as an effective mechanism for integrating theory and practice, providing an opportunity to systematically, comprehensively, and objectively assess the provisions of legislative acts within the framework of social reality.
Legislative activity is a type of legal activity carried out within the framework of the requirements of general rules of legal technique. According to M.Kh. Matrobov, “legislative monitoring, compared with other types of legal monitoring, is broader in scope and covers activities related to tracking, evaluating, and assessing the process of creating legal norms, informing society about the state of legislation, and the level of compliance with and implementation of laws…” [4, p. 51].
S. Mironov notes that “the purpose of monitoring is to improve the quality of adopted laws, to improve the adoption and implementation of state decisions based on the system of legislative activity and law enforcement, and ultimately to ensure compliance with and protection of human and civil rights and freedoms” [5, p. 5].
Scientific analysis demonstrates that the rules of legislative monitoring constitute one of the important elements of legal technique, and its essence is expressed in ensuring continuous control, analysis, and practical evaluation of legislative acts.
In legal sources, the term “legislative monitoring” does not have a single unified interpretation, and various scientific approaches are proposed regarding its essence and content. Each of these approaches is based on certain theoretical and methodological foundations and reflects specific aspects of this phenomenon.
From the standpoint of scientific analysis, the diversity of approaches to the concept of legal monitoring is associated with its complex and multidimensional nature. This is because monitoring is not only a process of observation and tracking, but also serves as a tool for evaluating, analyzing, and forecasting the effectiveness of normative legal acts in practice.
For example, V.L. Negrobov writes that “legislative monitoring should be understood as systematic activity aimed at continuously collecting information about current legislation according to previously established indicators and studying it using various methods of scientific knowledge, as well as evaluating both the information itself and the conclusions drawn on its basis regarding the state and development of legislation (or its individual areas) under the influence of various factors” [3, pp. 6–7].
According to Yu.A. Tikhomirov, “legislative monitoring is an information-analytical institution that serves to establish feedback between the legislator and citizens” [6, pp. 5–16].
In the opinion of Yu.G. Arzamasov, “legislative monitoring is understood as a system of observation, analysis, evaluation, and forecasting of the effectiveness of legislation, as well as the development of proposals for its improvement on this basis” [2, pp. 114–123].
The above-mentioned concepts have scientific content and significance and provide a legal foundation for the methods and means of implementing legislative monitoring. Furthermore, the scientific essence of these concepts lies in the fact that they define the principles, directions, and forms of implementing monitoring.
Legislative monitoring is primarily aimed at studying and analyzing the quality of legislative acts, the effectiveness of their implementation, as well as identifying existing shortcomings and contradictions. Therefore, scientific analysis of this issue is of great importance for improving the legislative system and increasing the effectiveness of legal regulation in society.
Legislative monitoring is one of the main elements of legislative technique and has its own specific methods and means of implementation, which are carried out through the general rules of legal technique. In addition, legislative monitoring has a legal foundation aimed at ensuring legality, transparency, protection of human rights, and the effectiveness of laws. These foundations ensure that laws remain consistent with legal standards and the interests of society.
The legal foundations of legislative monitoring may be implemented for the following purposes:
ensuring that all laws and normative legal acts comply with the Constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan and other applicable legislation;
preventing the adoption of laws that may restrict or violate the rights and freedoms of citizens;
determining how laws are applied in practice and the extent to which they produce positive results;
identifying, through analysis, whether different laws contradict each other or whether their provisions overlap;
using monitoring results for introducing amendments and additions and adapting legislation to the needs of society.
Analysis shows that in recent years, the science of law has increasingly applied a new mechanism — “legislative monitoring” — in order to improve the effectiveness of legislative activity.
Based on comparative legal analysis of the concept of legal monitoring, it is proposed that legislative monitoring should be understood as a scientific and practical process that includes systematic observation, collection, analysis, and evaluation of normative legal acts, as well as the practice of their legal implementation.
The main purpose of legislative monitoring is, first of all, to determine the level of effectiveness of legal norms, identify deficiencies, contradictions, and legal gaps, as well as to develop proposals aimed at improving legislation.
According to the legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan, “monitoring the implementation of normative legal acts is a component of legal monitoring and contributes to the implementation of general tasks related to the systematic and comprehensive analysis of the development of legislation of the Republic, the formation of new branches and institutions of law and legislation, changes in the subject matter and methods of legal regulation, and the influence of objective and subjective factors on legislation” [1, p. 40].
The essence of legal monitoring is primarily expressed in the fact that it enables legislation to be improved in accordance with the requirements of the time and the needs of society. The results of legal monitoring may serve as a basis for introducing amendments and additions to laws, developing new normative legal acts, increasing the level of protection of human rights and freedoms, and improving the activities of state bodies.
Legal monitoring is carried out to achieve the following objectives:
analysis of the current state of legislation;
assessment of the effectiveness of legal norms;
identification of deficiencies and legal gaps;
study of legal implementation practices;
assessment of the social and legal impact of laws;
prevention of legal violations;
development of proposals for improving legislation;
increasing the level of transparency and accountability;
promoting the protection of human rights and freedoms.
The results of monitoring are of significant importance for entities operating in all areas of social development, regardless of their organizational and legal form or type of ownership. It is precisely based on monitoring results that the state and society determine the need to improve, amend, supplement, or repeal certain legal provisions. In turn, this can only be achieved through initiating and implementing the entire legislative process, supported by human, scientific, material, administrative, and other resources.
The methods of legislative monitoring are the approaches and techniques used for collecting and analyzing legislative acts. Like other types of legal activity, legislative monitoring has its own methods and tools through which this activity is carried out and specific results are achieved.
Legislative monitoring is carried out through the following methods:
Analysis of normative legal acts — comparison and evaluation of laws in terms of their compliance with legal norms and international standards;
Synthesis — summarizing collected information and identifying deficiencies, as well as determining necessary improvements to legal provisions;
Comparison — comparing legislation with the practice of its implementation and with the experience of other countries.
Direct monitoring — conducting monitoring within state bodies and relevant structures through direct observation and practical inspections;
Interviews and discussions — conducting conversations and interviews with employees, specialists, and citizens in order to determine the impact of laws;
Questionnaires and surveys — collecting information from citizens and legal entities through survey forms.
The methods and means of implementing legislative monitoring are used for the purposes of:
tracking and collecting information;
ensuring compliance with legislation;
analyzing and assessing the impact of legal norms;
informing and raising awareness;
preventing and reducing legal risks.
The means of implementing legislative monitoring are understood as technologies, mechanisms, and methods used for tracking, analyzing, and informing in order to introduce amendments to laws and other normative legal acts.
The means of legislative monitoring are implemented through the following approaches:
Libraries and legislative databases — collection and storage of laws and regulations;
Official publications — newspapers, journals, and state bulletins used to obtain information about changes in legislation;
Internal documentation — registers and archives of internal documents used for monitoring within organizations (creation of manual tables or catalogs for tracking amendments to normative legal acts).
official legislative portals and websites;
legislative databases (search and analytical information systems);
notification systems (systems for informing and alerting users about new amendments, changes, and updated information).
legislative monitoring systems — specialized systems designed for monitoring and tracking laws, decrees, and normative legal acts. They enable companies, organizations, and legal departments to keep pace with legislative changes;
systems for tracking legislative changes and analysis — specialized tools for monitoring and reviewing changes in legislation.
Reports and graphs — used for assessing the impact of legislation and forecasting potential problems;
Data collection tools — used for analyzing and collecting information, including its presentation in graphical form.
Comparison and analysis of changes — programs or tables used to compare different versions of legislative acts;
Internal departments and divisions — responsible for monitoring and coordinating activities within an organization;
Internal standards and procedures — establishing monitoring procedures and schedules of responsibilities;
Training and education — educating employees about legislation and legislative changes.
Within the system of legal science, legislative monitoring is gradually developing as a tool for improving legislation and legal policy. It can play an important role in improving the quality of normative legal acts, bringing them into compliance with international standards, and protecting national interests.
Legislative monitoring is an important factor in the development of legal policy-making. This is because the foundations of the legal development of every country depend on the results of scientific research and legal monitoring. The Republic of Tajikistan, as a state governed by the rule of law, also widely uses the characteristics of monitoring and its structural elements in legislative activities.
According to A.G. Kholikzoda and M. Hojiev, “monitoring is a process of collecting and processing information that is used to improve decision-making procedures, eliminate shortcomings and deficiencies in rule-making, analyze programs, and develop policies in the field of legal regulation” [7, p. 275].
The validity of this opinion lies in the fact that the main purpose of legislative monitoring is reflected in its role as a legal analysis tool for assessing the quality and effectiveness of laws, examining the level of their practical implementation, and identifying areas for further improvement of legislation.
Since legal monitoring is one of the key elements of legal technique, it has specific methods and characteristics.
The main feature of legislative monitoring is that it contributes to:
improving the level and quality of law-making activities;
improving legislative processes;
enhancing law enforcement practices;
strengthening legal protection activities;
increasing the effectiveness of legal actors;
informing public institutions and citizens about existing legislation;
raising legal awareness and legal culture among the population and employees of state bodies.
Thus, legislative monitoring is one of the important mechanisms of the legal system aimed at the systematic analysis and evaluation of the implementation of laws and other normative legal acts. Its main essence is expressed in ensuring scientific and practical control over the quality of legislation, determining the level of effectiveness of legal norms in the process of their application, and identifying existing problems and shortcomings.
In this context, monitoring serves not only as a control mechanism but also as an important analytical tool for further improvement of legislation. It makes it possible to determine the compliance of legal norms with the needs of society and the requirements of socio-economic development, as well as to justify directions for reforming and improving legislative acts.
Therefore, legislative monitoring creates a scientific and practical foundation for improving the quality of legal regulation and ensuring the effectiveness of the legal system.
Overall, legislative monitoring is one of the most important elements of the modern legal system and plays a significant role in the development of a state governed by the rule of law and in ensuring justice. It not only studies legislation but also contributes to improving the quality of life of citizens through the effective implementation of law.
Therefore, legislative monitoring should primarily answer the following questions:
At what level is the implementation of laws carried out in practice?
To what extent do laws correspond to the needs of society?
What problems exist in the application of legal provisions?
How can identified deficiencies be eliminated?
Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On Normative Legal Acts” dated May 30, 2017, No. 1414 // Akhbori Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan, 2017, No. 5, Part 1, Article 271; 2019, No. 7, Article 465; 2021, No. 12, Part 2, Article 694.
Arzamasov, Yu.G. Review of the International Scientific Conference “Innovation. Science, Education,” held at the Russian University of Cooperation [Text] / Yu.G. Arzamasov // State and Law. – 2008. – No. 2. – pp. 114–123.
Negrobov, V.L. Monitoring of Russian Legislation as an Element of Legal Policy: Theoretical and General Legal Aspect [Text]: Abstract of dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Legal Sciences: 12.00.01 / Valery Leonidovich Negrobov. – Vladimir, 2008. – 26 p.
Matrobov, M.Kh. Legislative Monitoring in the Republic of Tajikistan: Theoretical and Legal Research [Text]: Dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Legal Sciences: 5.1 / M. Matrobov.
Mironov, S. Theory and Practice of Monitoring the Legal Space and Law Enforcement Practice: Results and Prospects [Text] / S. Mironov // Bulletin of the Federation Council. – No. 4–5. – Moscow, 2006. – pp. 4–13.
Tikhomirov, Yu.A. Effectiveness of Law and Economy [Text] / Yu.A. Tikhomirov // Issues of State and Municipal Administration. – 2009. – No. 4. – pp. 5–16.
Kholikzoda, A.G., Hojiev M. Commentary on the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On Normative Legal Acts” [Text] / A.G. Kholikzoda, M. Hojiev. – Dushanbe, 2017. – 527 p.
Jamshedzoda Komron Jamshed,
Candidate of Legal Sciences,
First Deputy Director of the National Center for Legislation under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan.
