The Ministry of Innovation and Technology, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and the German Development Agency GIZ, has launched an electronic consultation portal for draft laws.

The Speaker of the House of People’s Representatives, Honorable Ato Tagesse Chafo, who attended the forum, pointed out that judicial institutions should work to ensure the participation of the public and stakeholders in the law-making process, saying that this will demonstrate the transparency and accountability of government operations and will be a major way to promote the implementation of constitutional principles.

Ensuring public participation in the law-making process will not only ensure the quality of the laws being enacted, but also ensure that they will be properly implemented and accepted by the public during the implementation process, he said.

In this regard, he noted that the electronic system for collecting input from the public when drafting draft laws ensures the participation of the public and stakeholders and increases their credibility.

At the event, the Minister of Justice, Hon. Hana Arayaslassie, mentioned that the electronic consultation system is a new platform to receive opinions from citizens, the public, citizens with special interests, as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations.

The electronic consultation system (E-consultation Portal) is a low-cost system that encourages greater participation by creating wide access, creating transparency, and allowing for better use of time and obtaining better participation and opinions for laws being prepared.

The Minister, who mentioned that the system has been developed to be used at the regional level, also indicated that it is one of the manifestations of the government's efforts to support its national system with a digital system.

Dr. Alberto Gomez, a representative of the German Development Agency, attended the forum and said that this electronic consultation system (E-consultation Portal) will help the justice system in general by increasing public participation in lawmaking and is of great benefit.

This electronic consultation system application, where participants can share their thoughts on draft laws, is the first of its kind in Ethiopia.