For bureaucracy reduction, better lawmaking and digital administration
Topic: Find out more about the National Regulatory Control Council
The National Regulatory Council (NKR) was established in 2006 as an independent body of experts to advise the Federal Government, the German Bundestag and the Bundesrat on reducing bureaucracy and improving legislation. The NKR consists of ten honorary members and is organizationally located at the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Mandate of the NKR
Before laws are passed, it must be clear what costs they will entail for those to whom they are addressed. The NKR's mandate is to monitor draft legislation by the federal government to ensure that the costs for citizens, the economy and the administration have been presented in a methodical and comprehensible manner. The NKR's mandate also covers issues of alternative presentation and legal and administrative simplification. Since 2023 the NKR also carries out the Digitalcheck: It checks the extent to which the possibilities for digital execution of new regulations have been examined when drafting a bill.
However, the focus of all NKR checks is never on the political objective of a regulation, but always on the question of whether the least bureaucratic and least burdensome ways possible have been chosen to achieve the objective.
Involved in the legislative process like a ministry
Draft regulations must be forwarded to the NKR for review no later than the start of the inter-departmental consultation within the federal government. The NKR summarizes the results of its review in a written statement that is attached to the cabinet submission and is thus available to the federal government for consultation. The NKR statement becomes part of the printed papers of the Bundestag and Bundesrat and can be viewed by the public from this point on.
Costs should not only be made transparent in advance of new regulations, but also checked afterwards during implementation. Important laws and ordinances are therefore “remeasured” by the Federal Statistical Office two years after they come into force. Added to this is the systematic evaluation of laws and regulations after three to five years. The focus here is not only on the development of costs, but also on the effectiveness of legal requirements.
Reduction of bureaucracy costs for the economy by 25%
Together with the federal government, the NKR has ensured that the bureaucracy costs for the economy have been reduced by 25% compared to the starting value of 2006 and have not increased further since then. With the introduction of the 'one in one out' rule in 2015, the increase of the compliance costs for the economy was also successfully capped.
The NKR is constantly working towards limiting the costs more effectively for citizens and the administration. This also applies to legal acts that originate at European level. An important concern of the NKR is that laws are designed and formulated with the participation of those affected in such a way that they can be easily applied in practice and easily implemented digitally.