What are the principles of better regulation?

When examining regulatory quality, experts often refer to the principles, which are supposed to guide regulators when setting up policies, institutions and tools. But where can one find these principles, and what good are they? The three most frequently quoted sets are given below, subject to comment and improvements from readers:

1. UK principles of good regulation (BR Task Force, 1998):

• Proportionality
• Accountability
• Consistency
• Transparency
• Targeting
• Proportionality
• Accountability
• Consistency
• Transparency
• Targeting

2. Mandelkern Report, for legislation at the EU level (2001)

• Necessity
• Proportionality
• Subsidiarity
• Transparency
• Accountability
• Accessibility
• Simplicity
• Necessity
• Proportionality
• Subsidiarity
• Transparency
• Accountability
• Accessibility
• Simplicity

A protocol of the Amsterdam treaty also called protocol concerning principles of good regulation (1995) added two: subsidiarity and proportionality.
The "think small first" principle has also been stated, independently, by an EU expert group.

3. OECD guiding principles for regulatory policy and performance (2005)
A more developped document, using the same concept of "principles", offering a more integrated approach. Please refer to the full brochure. For easier comparison, here is an unofficial summary:

• Explicit commitment to reform
• Evidence based regulatory management
• Transparency
• Competition focused
• Necessity
• Market driven
• Integrated with substantive policies

 

(corrected with information from "amabilis" and "evesalomon")