Photo: mongolian parliament debating

J. Sukhbaatar, a lawyer-MP, defends the recent move to grant MNT20 million to MPs to develop draft laws with the help of professionals.

In a recent interview, the MP said he supported the grant as it will help financing MPs drafting laws. According to him, before a law is proposed, it involves a lot of research and requires the services of many professionals, which are not not free. He added the MNT 20 million will only be spent on the preparation of a law.

Sukhbaatar thinks that if voters often complain the Parliament pass laws which do not meet their expectations, it is because the drafting of these laws is neglected. He believes the grant will improve their drafting by improving the services of the professionals involved in their making.

He also pointed out that MPs were just citizens representing the people, and did not necessarily have the qualifications required to draft sensible laws. As most of them do not have any legal training, they should not be expected to prepare a good draft.

According to Sukhbaatar, some 70 percent of draft laws are submitted by the Government, while the rest come from MPs and the President. A few wealthy MPs always hire lawyers while others ask for help from volunteers, which can result in laws being inadequate.

He added that a Parliament representative of a proper democracy cannot have only rich people drafting laws, setting the middle classes aside.

In his view, a good law prepared with assistance from the best professionals will be an asset to the nation, and the grant will benefit taxpayers in the end.

The lawyer-MP also stated that preparation work behind certain laws may even require more than MNT 20 million.