Summary.
The bill amends Article 1 of Law 53 of 2005 and retains the Official Gazette (Gaceta Oficial) as the State’s publication organ for the promulgation and publication of rules and acts required by the Political Constitution and the law. It provides for publication on the website officially designated by the State. The acts subject to publication include amendments to the Political Constitution of the Republic, laws, the National Codes, decrees with the force of law, and decrees and resolutions issued by the Cabinet Council (Consejo de Gabinete) or the Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo). The list also covers resolutions, administrative determinations, agreements, treaties, conventions, and other regulatory acts or final acts of general interest, together with notices, contracts, and instruments whose publication is expressly required by law.
The amendment requires every publication to be in an open data format. For the purposes of Law 53 of 2005, it defines open data as data and publications produced by the Official Gazette and made available to citizens so that anyone may reuse and redistribute them for any purpose, including commercial reuse, at no cost and without restrictions. The provision connects that format to reading and tracking publications and combining them with other information sources to create new services.
The bill adds Article 9-A to Law 53 of 2005. This provision directs the Official Gazette to prepare and publish digitally consolidated texts of all laws, the National Codes, decree-laws, and decrees and resolutions issued by the Cabinet Council or the Executive Branch. It requires publication of those consolidated texts within the next thirty days after the rule amending, adding to, or repealing an earlier rule enters into force. It also directs the Official Gazette to include in the consolidated texts provisions that have been the subject of a Supreme Court of Justice declaration concerning their conformity with the Constitution.
The added article requires the National Codes to be available for digital download and placed in a window that users can readily locate. Repealed or superseded provisions must also carry a marginal note or notice stating their legal status. Article 3 expressly identifies the amendment of Article 1 and the addition of Article 9-A to Law 53 of 2005. Article 4 sets the proposed law’s entry into force at sixty days after its promulgation in the Official Gazette.
The content concerns the Cabinet Council, the Executive Branch, and the Supreme Court of Justice because of the instruments they issue or the decisions to be reflected in consolidated texts. It may be of interest to people who consult and reuse official publications, including citizens, legal professionals, and providers of data-based services.
What it proposes.
- Publication of rules and acts in the Official Gazette.
- Open data format for official publications.
- Preparation, updating, and digital access to consolidated texts.
- Identification of the status of repealed or superseded provisions.
Who it would affect.
- Official Gazette
- Cabinet Council and Executive Branch, with respect to the instruments they issue
- People who consult, reuse, or redistribute official publications
Key points.
- The Official Gazette would be published on the website officially designated by the State.Art. 1
- Publication would cover the categories of rules and acts listed in the article, including instruments whose publication is expressly required by law.Art. 1
- All publications would have to use an open data format and be reusable and redistributable by anyone, at no cost and without restrictions.Art. 1
- The Official Gazette would have to prepare and publish digitally consolidated texts of the instruments specified in the added article.Art. 2
- Consolidated texts would have to be published within the next thirty days after the rule amending, adding to, or repealing an earlier rule enters into force.Art. 2
- The consolidated texts would include provisions subject to a Supreme Court of Justice declaration concerning their conformity with the Constitution.Art. 2
- The National Codes would have to be available for digital download, and repealed or superseded provisions would carry a marginal note or notice of their legal status.Art. 2
- The proposed law would enter into force sixty days after its promulgation in the Official Gazette.Art. 4