human rights and legislation who resource book on mental health

4.1.2 Debate of draft <strong>legislation</strong> <strong>and</strong> its adoption
Many legislatures have subcommittees that carefully examine the <strong>legislation</strong> before it is
introduced into the main legislative body. These committees often wish to receive inputs from
various perspectives to assist them in making their decisions. They may hold public hearings,
request specific inputs or require clarification on different aspects of the law.
The debate <strong>and</strong> adoption stage of the legislative process can be long <strong>and</strong> labour-intensive.
During this stage, legislators may propose amendments to the proposed draft <strong>legislation</strong>. Those
in charge of piloting the <strong>legislation</strong> through the sovereign law-making body will have to actively
pursue <strong>and</strong> respond to proposed amendments. Ultimately, the decision to include or reject
proposed amendments is the prerogative of the sovereign body, but those responsible for
submitting the <strong>legislation</strong> will have to provide substantial guidance to lawmakers about the
effects of the proposed amendments, with recommendations for accepting or rejecting them.
After having considered the <strong>legislation</strong> <strong>and</strong> made amendments, the legislative body (which may
consist of more than one level or house) will then pass or reject the <strong>legislation</strong>.
4.1.3 Sanction, promulgation <strong>and</strong> publication of new <strong>legislation</strong>
The purpose of this stage of the legislative process is to make the adopted law publicly known,
<strong>and</strong> to announce it officially. As a rule, <strong>legislation</strong> cannot come into force without its official
publication, <strong>and</strong> before citizens <strong>and</strong> others have had time to become familiar with it. The terms
used here, such as “sanction”, “publication” <strong>and</strong> “promulgation”, may be different in different
countries, but the functions are fairly general <strong>and</strong> countries will need to identify their country
equivalence if different terminology is used.
Sanction of the adopted law is the prerogative of the head of State. Usually the head of State
signs the official text of the law <strong>and</strong> this act signifies sanction of the law (e.g. Germany, Lithuania,
Pol<strong>and</strong>, Spain <strong>and</strong> the USA).
Promulgation means the official announcement of the adopted law by the issuing of a special
Act, for example, an order on official publication of the law. Usually, the government promulgates
acts of <strong>legislation</strong>.
Publication means printing of the text of the law in the official government publication. This is a
necessary stage before the adopted law can come into force. In many countries there are official
sources for full <strong>and</strong> authentic texts of the laws (e.g. Collection of Legislation of the Russian
Federation, Magazine of Laws of the Polish Republic, Gazette of the Estonian Republic,
Bundesgesetzblatt in Germany).
Usually, the constitution or other legal requirement stipulates a period of time after publication
before the new law can come into force (15 days in Italy, 20 days in Japan, <strong>and</strong> 10 days in the
Russian Federation). Sometimes, this date may be established in the text of the law itself. Such
preparation is vital for citizens <strong>and</strong> others to become familiar with the text as well as for making
organizational arrangements, if necessary, for the operationalization of the law. In some countries
the law only comes into operation on a date fixed by the head of State by proclamation in the
appropriate government publication. This has advantages, as it allows for a comprehensive
preparation process confident in the knowledge that no further changes or amendments will
take place.
Delays can occur at all stages, from sanction to promulgation <strong>and</strong> publication, <strong>and</strong> those
responsible for carrying the law forward will need to follow up with the relevant authorities to
ensure that <strong>legislation</strong> which is passed by the sovereign body actually enters the statute <strong>book</strong>s
<strong>and</strong> thus becomes legally enforceable.
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