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Regulate Lobbying Blog 
Hi all,
Our book on global lobbying regulation is coming out now. You can find all of the details at the Manchester University Press site:
http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/catalogue/book.asp?id=1204449
The book will also be available from Amazon at this location:
Thanks for your website and blog which I’ve found very interesting.
I’m following developments in the UK on the matter – last week the government rejected a report by our Public Administration Committee which would have created a register of lobbyists (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmpubadm/1058/105802.htm). The argument was that the bureaucratic processes associated with this register would be too costly.
I’d be interested to hear what the perception is in highly regulated countries about the cost and time associated with regulation – do you have any views on this?
Thanks for your help.
Gentlemen, I greatly appreciate the thoughtful reply. Thank you so much!
With the continuing development of the oil sands, and American HMOs looking for a beachhead here, I suspect this Alberta legislation may wind up getting international attention.
regards,
Bill MacLoughlin
Hi Bill,
Thank you for your email, and apologies for the delay in responding. In relation to the loophole that the Edmonton Journal had identified in Alberta’s Lobbyist registry – “the lobbyists or agencies called in to consult with the government don’t have to register” – this is not that extraordinary in comparison to other jurisdictions around the world. While similar loopholes might not exist in Canadian federal, or
provincial, lobbying regulations, they do exist in countries such as Germany, Lithuania, and Australia.
At the Bundestag in Berlin, in principal, lobbyists cannot be heard by parliamentary committees or be issued with a pass admitting them to parliamentary buildings unless they are on the register. However, the Bundestag can invite organisations that are not on the register to present information on an ad hoc basis. Of course this has the effect of circumventing the purpose of the register. Government might argue that this situation gives them freedom of action. But, then again,
what is the point of the rules if they are only applied in such an off hand fashion. In our ranking of jurisdictions, using the CPI methodology, Germany ranks very low.
This situation also arises in Lithuania where a lobbying law was
introduced in 2000. Under this law, once a lobbyist has registered they have certain rights – including the right to participate in the drafting of legislation, and to submit proposals and explanations in the drafting of legal acts. There are also a range of conditions under which the activities of lobbyists may be considered illegal under this law, including lobbying while not being registered as a lobbyist.
However, also under the legislation, experts or specialists do not have to register when they are invited to participate in policy deliberation. Thus, circumventing the standards set out.
A similar situation exists in Australia at the federal level. This is to do with the fact that the code of conduct for lobbyists at the Australian federal level, introduced in 2008, deals exclusively with third-party lobbyists. The result of this is that the majority of in-house lobbyists do not have to register. This means that the legislation there misses out on them.
As you can see, there are a all kinds of loopholes when dealing with this type of legislation.
We hope that this answers your question. If you have any other
questions, comments or observations please do not hesitate to contact
us.
Additionally, may I direct you to our website, http://www.regulatelobbying.com where you will find additional information on our reseach and publications.
Kindest Regards,
Raj Chari,
Gary Murphy,
John Hogan
hi,
Just a quick question.
Alberta, in western Canada, is about to get its first lobbyist registry. But there’s a catch, says the Edmonton Journal.
“Opposition parties have criticized the registry for what they claim is a giant loophole that stipulates the lobbyists or agencies called in to consult with the government don’t have to register. Blakeman said the governing Tories can use the loophole to disguise moves to privatize health care by inviting private health-care firms to meet with government officials for discussions.”
Is this wee loophole at all common elsewhere?
Is it as unusual as I think it is?
I’m a longtime political reporter, taking a year off to write a book, and if anyone has the frame of reference on this, you do.
cheers,
Bill MacLoughlin
Edmonton, Canada
My name is David Cordova. I’m from Spain and I’m leaving in Madrid. I’m lobbyist and I’m writting my Thesis to be PhD in Constitutional Law about lobby legal framework in Spain. I think it will usefull if we keep in contact.
I’m researching too in lobby regulation in other countries.
I have a blog about lobby in Spain (http://lobbyferoz.blogspot.com/) and I have a group in linkedin “Para conocer mejor los lobbies”, in English will be “To know better lobbies” and there are 30 members.
Congratulations for your research and for your next book.
Hi David, thank you for your email. It would be good to keep in contact, as our research interests are very similar. If you’d like to read some of our earlier research it can be found in journals such as the Political Quarterly, in 2007, Vol. 78, No. 3, regards JH.
Thank you for your answer. I’ve visited Political Quarterly web, but I couldn’t find and acquire your article. May you send me your article? Thanks so much.
Hi all you can find a direct link to the Political Quarterly article on Raj’s webpage at:
Click to access chari_eta2007.pdf
Regards, JH.
Hi Guys, This a great idea for a book. When will I be able to buy it? I’m gonna attach a link to the latest from the Obama administration. Some interesting reading. Good Luck!
http://www.slate.com/id/2216433/
Hi Stephen, thanks for you email. Great to hear from you, and thank you for sending on that link. The book should be on the market by the Fall of 2009. When it becomes available for sale we will put up a link on this site to MUP for pre-ordering/ordering. We’re also running a panel on transparency and public policy at this years APSA, in Toronto, in early September. If you’re there sure to call in on us. Kindest Regards, JH
PRII Forum: Regulating Lobbying – A Global Comparison
Wednesday 16 September
Though long a topic of conversation and debate in its own right, this Forum from the PRII looks specifically at how lobby/interest groups are formally regulated in different countries throughout the world and proposes a model for Ireland.
Presented by Gary Murphy, Raj Chari and John Hogan, the authors of Regulating Lobbying – A Global Comparison, the Forum will address the following:
– Lobbying regulatory frameworks worldwide. This will entail examining legislation which has existed in jurisdictions for some period of time including the US, Canada, and Germany. Legislation recently established in parts of Australia, Eastern and Central Europe and Taiwan will also be touched on, in addition to the EU.
– Benefits and disadvantages of high, medium and low legislative frameworks – and the criticism each has come in for.
– What would work best in Ireland and why? A firm recommendation.
Taking place on Wednesday 16 September at Buswells Hotel, admission to this Forum costs €10 for PRII members and €20 for non-members (payable in advance by credit card). It begins at 6.30pm sharp, with tea and coffee available from 6pm onwards.
Dear Francois,
Thank you for posting on our blog, and for your supportive words, they are much appreciated. We hope that the book will prove to be of use to students of lobbying and its regulation, practitioners, as well as to politicians. We hope that this blog will provide a useful forum for the interchange of news on lobbying regulations from around the world.
JH
Dear Raj Chari et al.,
This book is a great idea and it will be very useful, especially for the countries in the world that are developing lobbying rules at the moment.
Francois
On behalf of myself, and my colleagues Raj Chari, Gary Murphy, and Lisa Cunningham, welcome to our website and blog. We are very excited to have this blog up and running, and hope that it will stimulate some interesting debates on the pros and cons of regulating lobbying. As this research is ongoing, and worldwide in its focus, we welcome comments, observations, criticisms, and even encouragement , from across the globe.
If you would like to add this website as a link please do, and if you would like for us to link with your website please let us know. We will add to this blog as time goes by, letting you know what countries we will be visiting to carry out research. If you are a politician, administrator, lobbyists, or academic who is involved in dealing with, or researching, lobbying regulations, and would like to meet up with us for an interview please let us know.
We will also be running a panel at the upcoming APSA conference in Toronto, Canada, in September 2009, under the heading of Interest Groups and Transparency in the Policy Process. Please come and join us and our presenters, all are invited.
Kindest Regards,
JH