FAO’s capacity building activities to strengthen national veterinary legislation

1. FAO’s capacity building activities to strengthen national veterinary legislation 'Future needs for capacity building to support strengthening of veterinary legislation'

2. Summary • The FAO Development Law Service (LEGN) • FAO assistance to drafting veterinary legislation • Some examples • Conclusions

3. Laws can look effective on paper, • but if they are not • able to be understood, • in accordance with the legal tradition of the country, • consensus-based and • consistent with other national legislation • they cannot be approved, implemented or enforced

4. FAO Development Law Service:A group of 12 Lawyers, trained and specialized in the different legal systems providing assistance to Member Countries upon request to strengthen their legal frameworks on all areas under the mandate of the FAO • advice on legislative reforms • legal information (www.faolex.fao.org) • legal research (http://www.fao.org/Legal/pub-e.htm)

5. Methodology for FAO Legal Work Development Law Service (LEGN) Legal Office – FAO • Collaborative: Suggestions for law reform provided alongside advice from technical experts • Participatory:Genuine involvement of all stakeholders concerned, to accommodate multiple interests at stake and to foster a sense of ownership in the legislation prepared • Independent: Disinterested advice drawing on international and comparative experience and based on objective analysis • Tailor-made: Laws crafted to meet particular needs and concerns of individual countries or specific regions

6. FAO Legal Office Work on Veterinary Legislation • Animal Production • Animal Genetic Resources • Animal Movement • Animal Identification • Animal Health • Animal Welfare • Slaughterhouses • Products of Animal Origin • Meat Inspection • Dairy Sector • Animal Feed • Veterinary Drugs • Veterinary Services • Veterinary Profession • Control Measures for Specific Diseases • BSE • Brucellosis • Avian Influenza • Swine Fever • Food & Mouth Development Law Service (LEGN) Legal Office – FAO

9. LEG Map - FAO LEG-AH projects over the past 5 years The Development Law Service's legislative assistance projects relating to animals fall into three main categories: animal health, regulation of the veterinary profession, and control of veterinary drugs. FAO has also assisted with other legislation falling under the broad heading of “veterinary matters Past/closed projects (20 projects, 15 TCP) On-going projects (15 projects) New projects (Pipeline) (3 projects) http://www.fao.org/legal/advserv/DevLawService.pdf

10. Legislative Studies Development Law Service (LEGN) Legal Office – FAO

11. FAO assistance to develop veterinary legislation

12. The role of the FAO in the Global standard setting • Support for global standards implementation (harmonization) • FAO hosts the IPPC Secretariat and (with WHO) the Codex Alimentarius Commission Secretariat • FAO provides assistance to countries to implement international standards, through • Technical support • Legal assistance for • Standards implementation • Strengthening of national legislation • International standards (science-based, regulatory in nature and agreed upon by countries) are instrumental to achieve harmonized regulatory goals

13. Legal capacity building • Understanding the international legal framework and the role of legislation for global harmonization • Int. Treaties vs. soft law • Understanding the national legal framework and the role of legislation in veterinary policy/action • Diseases change, government change, legislation remains • Developing national drafting skills (proposals aligned with: national legal system, policy priorities, national capacities, and national and regional frameworks • Participatory methodology (discussion, legitimacy, ownership, enactment, implementation)

14. Before drafting legislation • Legal reform should be a consequence of a regulatory failure • Global harmonization increases the need for law flexibility and for clear regulatory goals • Laws should be flexible enough but provide sufficient legal certainty (Governments change, diseases evolve BUT laws remain) • Legislation serves to define roles and responsibilities, pursue a regulatory goal and establish the instruments that Governments have to achieve those objectives • Legislation should be based on close collaboration (professionals, entities) Development Law Service (LEGN) FAO Legal Office

15. Before drafting legislation • There is a tendency to confuse • policy with law: they are not the same. First, government develops policy, then it devises strategies to implement policy. Legislation is only one tool to implement policy • standards and procedures with legislation: Standards and procedures serve to set up procedures and define reference points Development Law Service (LEGN) FAO Legal Office

16. FAO assistance to develop veterinary legislation • Combined legal & technical • Development Law Service • Animal Production and Health • Food Safety and Quality • Natural Resources

18. Need for consistency IMPLEMENTATION REGULATORY OBJECTIVES SCOPE AUTHORITY National Veterinary Services Animal Health • INSPECTIONS • CONTROLS • LABORATORIES • DELEGATION • INFRINGEMENTS • SANCTIONS • PRESUMPTIONS • .... Animal Health & Production FOOD SAFETY (MPH/) Food Safety PUBLIC HEALTH Natural resources Development Law Service (LEGN) FAO Legal Office

19. Key regulatory decisions • Elements • The selection of the legal instrument (do you need a Law?) • The scope of the Law • The regulatory objectives (international standards and national policies) • Mechanisms for ensuring appropriate implementation • Competent authority - Coordination mechanisms • Operators’ Responsibility • Funding provisions

20. Participatory approach to legal drafting Consultations with a variety of governmental and non-governmental stakeholders (members of legislative assemblies) Involve government as well as private stakeholders Involve consumer groups for the same reason, and to draw on their expertise Development Law Service (LEGN) FAO Legal Office

21. FAO Development Law Service work in practice.... Development Law Service (LEGN) FAO Legal Office

22. Types of Legislative Technical Assistance Projects Development Law Service (LEGN) Legal Office – FAO • Technical Cooperation Projects (“TCP”) • Donor-funded projects (countries, banks, other UN agencies, etc.) • Responses to ad hoc requests for advice from a government or a group of governments, a regional or an international organization

23. Typical Objectives of Legal Assistance Projects Development Law Service (LEGN) Legal Office – FAO • Detailed analyses of countries’ or regions’ legislative and institutional frameworks • Recommendations for amended or new legislation • International + National lawyers • Legal working group (lawyers, veterinarians, other experts. Members of the Assembly) • Capacity building activities • Regional projects

24. Development Law Service (LEGN) FAO Legal Office

25. Development Law Service (LEGN) FAO Legal Office

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28. 8 Regulations on BSE • 8 lawyers trained on veterinary legislation • 8 veterinarians trained in the role of laws and lawyers in veterinary practice • Panamá – controlled risk Development Law Service (LEGN) FAO Legal Office

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30. SUMMING UP.......

31. Development Law Service (LEGN) FAO Legal Office • International standards (science-based, regulatory in nature and agreed upon by countries) are instrumental to achieve harmonized regulatory goals • The Guidelines on veterinary legislation are an excellent opportunity to: • Identify a number of key regulatory objectives that should be taken into consideration when drafting veterinary legislation • Recognize the role of legislation and put legislation on top of countries‘ agenda • Countries may then decide to regulate these elements under one or separate pieces of legislation delimitating the role and functions of the authorities in charge of veterinary matters and in view of the role of the authorities in charge of food safety, drugs, etc.

32. Drawing from our experience • Legal drafting is a process of engineering, aimed at setting up the best tool possible to make a regulatory goal enforceable. This requires: a good understanding of national legal systems and the legal context. • Legal assistance is as important as technical assistance. There are specific legal issues in drafting legislation that require legal expertise. Collaboration lawyers/veterinarians is a must. • Capacity building is the cornerstone of international assistance. Only when laws are clear, understood, agreed upon by all stakeholders and the is appropriate ownership, laws can be approved and implemented.

33. With more than 30 years of experience drafting veterinary legislation and a combination of technical and legal expertise, the FAO can share methodology and experience for legal drafting processes • This support could consist of legal and technical assistance to draft national legislation, based on the results of the PVS/legal assessment, and following OIE, Codex and other international standards relevant for the veterinary sector

34. Let us know if we can help... and thank you for your attention! Carmen Bullon Legal Officer FAO- Development Law Service (LEGN) Carmen.Bullon@fao.org