Updated: 19.02.2025.
Public participation is the involvement of citizens, non-governmental organizations and other groups in the policy-making process. Its main goal is to ensure that decisions made by public administration meet the needs of society, are explained in a timely manner and are clearly understood by those to whom they apply. Participation provides several benefits aimed at improving the quality of regulation—problems are accurately identified, possible alternatives are evaluated, potential risks are revealed in a timely manner and the solutions developed are effective and sustainable.
Representatives of the public can express their opinion on development planning documents and draft laws already at the initial stages of their development, as well as at subsequent stages, when issues of public importance are addressed. Everyone affected or interested in a specific issue has the opportunity to express their vision, and every member of society has the right to receive feedback on the submitted proposals.
The procedure for public participation is regulated by:
To ensure the storage and accessibility of draft laws in one place, the Unified Portal for the Development and Coordination of Draft Laws (TAP Portal) has been created – https://tapportals.mk.gov.lv. It is a digital information system in which draft laws are developed, coordinated and approved, which are submitted for government approval. The TAP Portal provides an opportunity for everyone to actively participate in the development of laws – to express their opinion and follow the progress of documents. In turn, in the open part of the Cabinet of Ministers’ meetings, everyone can follow the government’s decision-making process by watching the live broadcast: https://www.mk.gov.lv/lv/tiesraide.
On the TAP Portal, members of the public can follow the document development process – from the idea stage (discussion document) to a specific draft law. This platform significantly expands the possibilities for public participation in government decision-making, ensuring the involvement of individuals and non-governmental organizations in the development of the most important policy documents and laws at the very early stages. This contributes to the development of higher-quality government decisions that are more in line with public interests, as well as promoting the openness and accessibility of public administration.
From now on, state and local government institutions are no longer required to publish information on their websites about documents that are in the development and coordination process – everything necessary is available on the TAP portal. We invite you to follow the development of draft legal acts in this unified system!
The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs is actively involved in the development of development planning documents and draft legal acts that affect its areas of activity. If you have proposals for improving the regulatory enactments within the competence of the institution, we invite you to send them to the e-mail address: juristi@pmlp.gov.lv