Around the world, WFD is helping to make countries’ political systems more accountable. In an accountable political system, citizens can hold people with power responsible for their decisions, usually via parliament and civil society. This means that
there are consequences when things go wrong, and lessons are learned when things could be improved. In turn, this helps ensure better delivery of public services.
Parliaments make and change laws. They also have a role in checking the implementation of laws and evaluating whether they achieve their intended outcomes. Implementation is complex and does not happen automatically. What is more, parliaments and elected
representatives often have little information on what happens after a law is adopted. So, parliaments need mechanisms to effectively monitor the implementation of legislation.
Post-legislative scrutiny (PLS) is the practice of monitoring the implementation and evaluating the impact of laws. The aim is to ensure that laws benefit citizens in the way originally intended by lawmakers. PLS is often carried out by parliamentary
committees and is a prominent feature of UK parliamentary democracy. As PLS is recognized as an integral part of the legislative cycle, it is emerging as a new dimension within the legislative and oversight role of parliament.
WFD has helped parliaments around the world pioneer post-legislative scrutiny.
