Regulatory Policy in Peru 2026

In recent years, Peru has strengthened its efforts to increase transparency and stakeholder engagement in the regulatory cycle. The introduction of policy documents, requirements, and guidelines has helped create the conditions for the development of more inclusive regulations. The improvement of Peru’s governance practices is reflected in the latest results of the Indicators of Regulatory Policy and Governance (iREG) for Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2022, the country had almost doubled its results of the composite indicator for stakeholder engagement in developing subordinate regulations.

Peru has taken steps to develop a normative framework and other documents that support stakeholder engagement actions. The Guidelines for the application of the Early Agenda and the Public Consultation in the Framework of the ex ante RIA underpin the broader use of stakeholder engagement practices in the Peruvian administration. Additionally, the Public Consultation Manual provides detailed information and resources to support agencies in their stakeholder engagement activities.

As of 2021, public consultation is mandatory for the development of regulations that generate or modify compliance costs for businesses, citizens, and civil society. The Guidelines identify two kinds of consultations: early engagement, before the development of a regulatory proposal, and consultation of the regulatory draft. The CMCR oversees the quality of the stakeholder engagement activities and ensure that the consultation of the regulatory proposal is carried out as part of the RIA process. Although both types of consultations are recommended, only the consultation of the regulatory draft is mandatory.

Agencies must respond to the comments received as part of their stakeholder engagement activities. This should be done through a matrix where the entity replies to all the comments collected and specifies whether the comment has been accepted, and if adequate, how it has changed the regulatory draft. The matrix must be added to the RIA document.

The consultation period is not explicitly defined in the documents that support the use of stakeholder engagement tools and practices. Clearly stating the minimum length of consultations in a policy document or guidance can help guarantee that stakeholders have enough time and resources to provide meaningful comments, foster transparency and increase acceptability for regulatory proposals.

The systematic implementation of public consultations to inform regulatory decisions is still at early stages. As in the case of RIA, Peru has followed a gradual approach to the mandatory use of stakeholder engagement in the national Executive Branch. Recently, the country concluded two pilot projects with the support of international experts and the United States. The activities focused on strengthening the use of public consultation as part of the RIA process in the Ministry of Environment (MINAM) and the Ministry of Production (PRODUCE). The preliminary results are encouraging and, ideally, can help embed the systematic use of stakeholder engagement actions as part of the rule-making cycle.

Although public consultation of regulations is a required step in the RIA process, exception can be granted by the CMCR. Proposing authorities can request an exception if carrying out the public consultation would impact expected timeline for the publication of the regulation. At the time of preparation of this report, most of the RIAs that had been submitted for revision from the CMCR had been granted an exception from performing a public consultation. The lack of a systematic use of stakeholder engagement activities in the rulemaking process can have a detrimental impact on the quality of the regulations and can inhibit the participation of critical stakeholders in future consultations. Moving forward, putting in place adequative normative conditions will be crucial to bridge the implementation gap.

Currently, public consultations take place on the website of each ministry and institution. This could make it harder for citizens and businesses to identify future or ongoing consultations. Creating a single portal for public consultations could help boost participation and increase transparency.

Peru has in place a central repository of regulations and other legal documents. The Peruvian System of Legal Information1 (Sistema Peruano de Información Jurídica, SPIJ) gathers all the national and sub-national regulations, the TUPAs, and the supranational legal documents. The platform is managed by the MINJUSDH, who ensures the quality of the information.

Additionally, each ministry and entity, both at the national and sub-national level, have a systematised list of all the administrative procedures or formalities that they provide (TUPA). In some cases, the content is available in different languages to ensure that information is accessible to citizens and representatives from different communities.

One of the recommendations on stakeholder engagement and transparency calls for Peru to “Advance in the implementation of stakeholder engagement during the development of regulations, including by demonstrating progress towards:

• Limiting and clearly defining exceptions for public consultation.

• Establishing proportional requirements on public consultation depending on the expected impact of the draft regulation”.

Peru has advanced the implementation of stakeholder engagement activities as part of its rule- making process. The Bylaw defines two stages at which stakeholder engagement takes place, one before the design of the regulatory proposal and another one once the draft regulation is available. Both consultations are mandatory for the development of regulations that are subject to RIA.

The Bylaw links the RIA process and stakeholder engagement activities, as the report on the public consultation is a requirement to submit the RIA to the CMCR. In practice, only regulations exempt from RIA are also exempt from public consultation. Regulations that are not required to submit a RIA include regulations related to administrative processes, emergency and fiscal regulations, as well as specific technical regulations based on international commitments, among others.

Furthermore, the Bylaw embeds proportionality principles across regulatory policy tools, including public consultation and stakeholder engagement activities. The scope and depth of the public consultation is determined by three criteria: i) the magnitude and complexity of the public policy problem, ii) the expected impacts of the regulatory proposal, iii) the risks associated with a regulatory intervention. The third criterion considers elements such as the potential risks linked to the implementation (or lack thereof) of the regulation, potential impacts on trust in government, the economy, and the environment.

An updated version of the Guidelines for Public Consultation is currently under development. This document provides details on the types of public consultations, along with their objectives, characteristics, and benefits. It also provides a list of preparatory steps, criteria, and examples that policy makers can follow when developing consultations. The Guidelines include practical examples and case studies related to Peruvian regulations. Furthermore, they also provide information on tools and strategies that institutions can leverage to encourage stakeholder engagement.

The Guidelines also mark progress in the management of comments and feedback received during the public consultation process. Comments are organised into a matrix, requiring the responsible entity to respond to stakeholders. In addition to publishing the matrix, entities must also release reports, documents, and materials prepared as part of the consultation process.

These developments show progress in Peru addressing the recommendation. Peru has embedded stakeholder engagement as a central part of the RIA process and as a mandatory condition to submit a regulatory proposal to the CMCR. This approach has helped limit the exceptions to only those cases where RIA is not mandatory. Moreover, the Bylaw introduces proportional requirements on public consultation based on three criteria, including the expected impacts of a regulatory proposal.

Moreover, the Guidelines for Public Consultation are being updated to define the objectives, characteristics, and criteria for public consultations in the context of the RIA and of the provisions of the Bylaw. They provide practical information in a user-friendly format and emphasise the rationale behind each step that entities should follow when engaging with stakeholders.

[1] OECD (2024), Government at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean 2024, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/4abdba16-en.