QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ASSESSING A COUNTRY’S LOBBYING LANDSCAPE

DEFINITIONS

1. To what extent does the law clearly and unambiguously define ‘lobbyists’ to capture all who lobby professionally including professional lobbyists, public affairs consultancies, and representatives from NGOs, corporations, industry/professional associations, trade unions, think tanks, law firms, faith-based organisations and academics?
2. To what extent does the law/regulation define ‘lobbying targets’ in a sufficiently broad manner to include members of national and subnational legislative and executive branches (including advisors) and high level officials in national and subnational public administration, regulatory bodies and private bodies performing public functions?
3. To what extent is the term ‘lobbying’/’lobbying activities’ clearly and unambiguously defined in law/regulation to include any contact (written or oral communication, including electronic communication) with lobbying targets (see above) for the purpose of influencing the formulation, modification, adoption, or administration of legislation, rules, spending decisions, or any other government program, policy, or position?

TRANSPARENCY

To what extent does the public have sufficient knowledge of (a) who is lobbying public representatives (b) on what issues they are being lobbied (c) when and how they are being lobbied (d) how much is being spent in the process (e) what is the result of these lobbying efforts etc? Is the onus for transparency placed on both lobbyists and public officials/representatives?

Access to Information

1. To what extent is there a comprehensive access to information law that guarantees the public’s right to information and access to government data?
2. In practice, to what extent do citizens have reasonable access to information on public sector activities and government data?
3. Do access to information laws apply to lobbying data?

Registration and Disclosure by Lobbyists

1. Is there a lobbyist register in the country?
2. Where a register exists, to what extent does it capture all who lobby professionally including professional lobbyists, public affairs consultancies, and representatives from NGOs, corporations, industry/professional associations, trade unions, think tanks, law firms, faith-based organisations and academics in the country?
3. To what extent are lobbyists required to register in a timely (within 10 days of beginning of lobbying activity) manner?
4. To what extent are lobbyists required to report regularly on their lobbying activities and expenditures in a timely manner (max real-time - min quarterly)?
5. To what extent are lobbyists and organizations that lobby required to publicly disclose relevant personal and employment information: name of the organization (if applicable); address and contact information; names of all active lobbyists working on behalf of the organization (if applicable)?
6. To what extent are lobbyists and organizations that lobby required to publicly disclose relevant information on lobbying objectives and clients: name of the persons or organizations paying for the lobbying activities; names of the lobbyists’ clients; specific subject matter lobbied?
7. To what extent are lobbyists and organizations that lobby required to publicly disclose relevant information on who they are lobbying and what they are advocating: name and title of the public representative or public body with whom the lobbyist engaged and the date and type of such engagement as well as any information and/or supporting documentation communicated to policymakers?
8. To what extent are lobbyists and organizations that lobby required to publicly disclose lobbying expenditures, including spending on efforts to support lobbying, loans, sponsorships, retainers, or the purchase of tickets for fundraising events?
9. To what extent are lobbyists and organizations that lobby required to publicly disclose political donations to parties and candidates?
10. To what extent are lobbyists required to publicly disclose ‘in kind’ contributions: In-kind contributions may include advertising, use of facilities, design and printing, donation of equipment, or the provision of board membership, employment or consultancy work for elected politicians or candidates for office?
11. Is information disclosed by lobbyists publicly available online in a searchable machine readable open-data format?
12. To what extent do the lobbyists register and provide sufficient/timely information in line with legislative obligations?

 Oversight, Verification and Sanctions

1.  To what extent is there an independent, mandated and well-resourced oversight entity charged with managing registration of lobbyists, offering guidance to individuals and organisations, monitoring returns, and investigating apparent breaches or anomalies (this includes powers to investigate complaints made but also to instigate investigations even where no complaint has been lodged)?
2. To what extent is there a pro-active verification mechanism to audit disclosures and reports and detect anomalies?
3. In practice, to what extent are anomalies detected and followed up on by the oversight body?
4. In practice, to what extent are anomalies detected and reported by others (e.g. investigative journalists) followed up on by the oversight body?
5. To what extent does the law provide for penalties for knowingly filing a false lobbying registration return or failure to file a return?
6. To what extent are penalties for knowingly filing a false return or failure to file a lobbying registration return implemented in practice?
7. To what extent are oversight bodies required to publicly disclose the names of all individuals or organizations found to have violated lobbying rules or regulations?
8. To what extent are the names of all individuals or organizations found to have violated lobbying rules or regulations published in practice?

 Legislative Footprint

1.  To what extent does the law require the publication of a ‘Legislative Footprint’ (document that details the time, event, person, and subject of legislators’ and senior public officials’ contact with a stakeholder) as an annex to all legislative records?
2.  In practice, do legislators/public officials publish a legislative footprint including details of the time, person, and subject of contacts with stakeholders?
3. To what extent are senior public officials required to pro-actively publish documentation related to meetings: calendars, agendas, documentation received from lobbyists etc?
4. To what extent are public representatives (national and sub-national legislators) required to pro-actively publish documentation related to meetings: calendars, agendas, documentation received from lobbyists etc?

 INTEGRITY

 Is there a robust ethical framework for lobbyists (and companies) and lobbying targets in the country and to what extent is it working? Is the onus for integrity placed on both lobbyists and public officials/representatives?

Post-employment and Pre-employment Restrictions

1. To what extent does the law provide proportionate moratoria or ‘cooling off periods’ before former members of parliament, senior public servants, ministers and advisers can work as lobbyists?
2. To what extent do ‘cooling off periods’ for those who wish to work as lobbyists apply to former members of parliament (national and sub-national levels), senior public servants (including in regulatory bodies), members of executive (national and sub-national levels) and advisers?
3. In practice to what extent do former members of parliament, senior public servants, members of the executive and advisers move easily and directly into the lobbying sector?
4. To what extent does the law require former members of parliament (national and sub-national levels), senior public servants (including in regulatory bodies), members of executive (national and sub-national levels) and advisers to receive permission from a designated ethics office/agency before taking up an appointment in the private sector where they could lobby their previous employer?
5. In practice, to what extent do former members of parliament (national and sub-national levels), senior public servants (including in regulatory bodies), members of executive (national and sub-national levels) and advisers seek permission from a designated ethics office/agency before taking up an appointment in the private sector where they could lobby their previous employer?
6. To what extent is there an independent, mandated and well-resourced oversight entity charged with managing post and pre-employment restrictions, offering guidance to individuals and organisations, and investigating apparent breaches or anomalies?

 Code of Ethics for public sector employees

1.  To what extent is ethical/responsible lobbying addressed in public sector codes of conduct (e.g. do they specify standards on how public officials should conduct their communication with interest groups, specify a duty of documentation of contacts, duty to report unregistered or unlawful lobbying to superiors?)
2. To what extent do public sector codes of conduct specify standards on how public officials should deal with conflicts of interest issues?
3. To what extent do public sector codes of conduct specify standards on how public officials should deal with gifts and hospitality issues?
4. To what extent do public sector codes of conduct deal comprehensively with interest and asset declaration issues?
5. To what extent is there a complaint mechanism allowing any public official or citizen to report violations of the public sector code of conduct?
6. To what extent are there training and awareness-raising programmes for public officials on integrity issues, including lobbying rules and guidelines?

 Code of ethics for Lobbyists

1.  To what extent is there a statutory code of conduct for lobbyists including clear sanctions for failure to adhere to lobbying regulations?
2.  In practice, to what extent are sanctions applied for failure to adhere to lobbying regulations?
3.  To what extent does the law and/or the lobbyists’ code of conduct require disclosure regarding and provide restrictions on lobbyists being hired to fill a regulatory, financial decision-making or advisory post in government?
4. To what extent does the law and/or codes of conduct prohibit simultaneous employment as a lobbyist and a public official?
5. To what extent is there a complaint mechanism allowing any policy-maker or citizen to report violations of the lobbying regulations?

 Self-regulatory Codes of Ethics for Lobbyists

1. To what extent are there self-regulatory code(s) of ethics managed by professional association(s) for lobbyists or by companies themselves?
2. To what extent do existing self-regulatory codes of ethics for lobbyists include specific behavioural principles that steer lobbyists away from unethical situations?
3. To what extent do existing self-regulatory codes require lobbyists to publicly disclose the identity of who they are representing and what they are lobbying for?
4. To what extent do existing self-regulatory codes prohibit simultaneous employment as a lobbyist and a public official?
5. To what extent is there a complaint mechanism allowing any member or non-member of the association to report violations of the lobbying code of ethics?
6. To what extent are there reasonably independent mechanisms for the monitoring and enforcement of compliance with the ethics code(s)?

 EQUALITY OF ACCESS – THE LEVEL PLAYING FIELD

Are there are sufficient spaces in the system to allow for diverse participation and contribution of ideas and evidence by a broad range of interests that lead to policies, laws, and decisions which best serve society and broad democratic interests?.

Consultation and Public Participation in Decision-making

1. To what extent is the Parliament required by law to allow citizens and the public (corporations and civic organizations) to provide equal input to members regarding items under consideration, with sufficient notice and time incorporated in the legislative process to receive this input?
2. To what extent does the legal framework lay out in a law or a group of laws the varied means for public participation in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policies, including timeframes and specific mechanisms to disseminate public meeting information, attendance and participation rules, instruments and tools to submit comments and opinion on specific policies?
3. To what extent does the legal framework explicitly require public authorities to ensure equal participation by all affected groups and stakeholders in decision-making processes?
4. In practice, which forms of public participation are routinely used?
5. In practice, to what extent are consultations open to participation from any member of the public?
6. In practice, to what extent are the views of participants in the consultation process made public?
7. To what extent does the legal framework explicitly require public authorities to provide a detailed justification on why and how various submissions have or have not been taken into account in policy and decision-making processes after consultation?

 Advisory/Expert Group Composition

1. To what extent is there a legal obligation to have a balanced composition (between private sector and civil society representatives) of advisory/expert groups?
2. In practice, to what extent is there a balanced composition (between private sector and civil society representatives) of advisory/expert groups?
3. To what extent are lobbyists prohibited from sitting on advisory/expert groups in a personal capacity?
4. To what extent are corporate executives prohibited from sitting on advisory groups in a personal capacity?
5. With regard to advisory/expert groups, to what extent is membership information, agendas, minutes and participants’ submissions required to be made public?