The impact of ex-post legislative evaluations: a scoping review

In various countries, laws are increasingly being evaluated by examining the effects in practice once a law enters into force. No systematic overview currently exists on the impact of these ex-post legislative evaluations. Therefore, this scoping review systematically examines the various types of impact of ex-post legislative evaluations. The studies we looked at demonstrate different types of impact that can be divided into the following seven categories: knowledge and understanding; confirmation of well-functioning legislation; legislative revision; influence on the legislative process; influence on the policy process; influence in the political sphere; and influence on society. The various types of impact are sometimes interrelated and can exist in various degrees. At the national and European levels, legislative revision and the tactical use of evaluation results in the political sphere, are the two most often mentioned categories. In contrast, the impact on society category is rarely mentioned.