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 report (see also Chapter 1 in German) 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. The introductory chapter describes and compares the bodies’ common features and differences, and as draws some lessons from their establishment and their experience.