How parliaments monitor sustainable development goals – a ground for application of post legislative scrutiny

Abstract

The United Nations 2030 Agenda is a global framework for sustainable development. This article sheds light on the engagement of parliaments to control the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs). For this purpose, institutional and non-institutional measures from a wide range of parliaments were evaluated and a general assessment framework has been developed, leading to the determination of a set of basic types of dedicated parliamentary bodies that handle SDG related issues and the nature of their cooperation with extra-parliamentary stakeholders. In this context, the Post-Legislative Scrutiny concept, which assesses both legal and impact dimensions of the implementation of law, has been studied, in order to prove whether it constitutes a viable long-term contribution in accelerating the achievement of the SDGs. Based on examples of good practice, the article presents tangible recommendations and urges parliaments to upscale action related to improving efficiency in the achievement of the SDGs.