Regulatory oversight is a crucial ingredient of effective regulatory frameworks. Institutional setups and governance arrangements for regulatory oversight differ substantially across OECD countries. Beyond actors traditionally charged with oversight functions at the centre of government, the past 20 years have seen a surge in bodies located at arm’s length from the executive. This publication documents this trend by presenting case studies of the seven members of RegWatchEurope from the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, as well as of the European Union Regulatory Scrutiny Board. It aims to describe and compare their common features and differences, as well as draw some lessons from their establishment and their experience. This report feeds into work of the OECD Regulatory Policy Committee on regulatory oversight, including a dedicated chapter of the OECD Regulatory Policy Outlook 2018 on the institutional setup for regulatory policy as well as ongoing discussions on the mechanics and critical conditions for effective regulatory oversight.
