Law firms draft legislation for ministries

Law firm Kammeradvokaten is not only used by the state for legal advice but is also paid by Danish ministries to draft legislation. This was confirmed by four ministries to Frihedsbrevet. Jura professor Frederik Waage from the University of Southern Denmark sees this as a democratic issue, as central administration lacks capacity to handle these tasks. Ministries involving Business, Climate, Energy, and Finance are among those using the firm’s services. For example, the Financial Supervisory Authority paid Kammeradvokaten 165,000 DKK for a draft law on European green bonds. Jens Bødtcher-Hansen from Kammeradvokaten argues that their role in actual drafting is rare and often of a highly technical nature. However, the current government plans to explore increased competition for state legal counseling to possibly decentralize this function.