Samenvatting

Considering legislation as the juridical vehicle of policy measures (by Government and Parliament), empirical legislative research primarily implies policy research. Many subjects and items are possible in this field: the legislative process (agenda-building, struggling parties (power, interests)), the causes or necessity of legislative activities (societal support, economic motives), working and effectivity of legislative acts. The RDC started in the seventies with just a few prognostic studies, nowadays many evaluation studies are executed. Research specifically directed at legislation as such hardly exists. Some theoretical models for legislative research were developed of which criminological models are more elaborated and validated than the sociological ones. These aspects are described in this contribution. One may be skeptical about the impact of the results of scientific social research in relation to the Legislative Body (methodological restraints, the political nature), nevertheless these results contribute to ‘The Pond of Knowledge’ and are available for use by the many people involved with legislation.