On 21 November, the National Assembly Research Service (NARS) is expected to hold the 5^th International Seminar for Parliamentary Research Services at the National Assembly Members’ Office. Since 2010, NARS has held the International Seminar annually, giving invited delegates from around the world an opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences, to spread innovative models, and to update strategies to support legislative activities.

This year to further the goal of advancing research services for parliamentary members, NARS has chosen the theme ‘Supporting Better Law Making: the Role of the Parliamentary Research Services’. As it is important to have systematic analyses of legislation and policies for the betterment of lawmaking, experts from the United States and Switzerland, along with delegates from the parliamentary research services of Cambodia, Iran, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Mongolia have been invited to present their work, exchange ideas, and develop a new vision for making better laws.

During the morning session of the ‘Parliamentary Review on Legislation and Policies: Its System and Case Studies’, Mr. Dae B. Park of the Government Accountability Office of the United States will present a keynote speech, followed by presentations of Dr. KazemJalali of the Islamic Parliament of Iran Research Center, and Mr. FarrukhMukhamedov of the Institute for Monitoring of Current Legislation in Uzbekistan. During the afternoon session on ‘Legislative Impact Assessment: History and Characteristics’, Mr. Werner Bussman, a specialist on legislation evaluation and federalism issues of the Federal Office of Justice in Switzerland, will have a keynote speech, followed by presentations by NARS on case studies of its legislative impact assessment activities.