Rapid procedures do not constitute legislation to control NPS per se but are a system to accelerate, in cases of urgency, the standard legislative process required to place new substances under permanent control. Thus, in order to accelerate the process, the omission of one or more of the standard legislative steps or the reduction of procedural time periods to consider the decision by the parliamentary chambers and/or by the president, is permitted.
Rapid procedures can be differentiated from temporary bans according to two main criteria. The first is that, compared to the standard legislative process, in the case of rapid procedures the required level of final approval of the legal text is maintained, but the duration of the consultations is shortened, whereas in the case of temporary bans, the level of final approval of the legal text is lowered e.g. from presidential/royal assent to ministerial approval. The second criterion is that bans of substances taken under rapid procedures are permanent and not limited in time, unlike in the case of temporary bans.
Use the drop down menu and select Rapid Procedure as a type of legislative approach. The map will display all countries which have implemented this type of approach. Click on the map to see a list of the countries in a table to the right.
** This map was created by commercial software. The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.
The searchable database of the UNODC Early Warning Advisory lists and describes national legislative approaches to NPS by country/territory and type of approach. Where available, web links lead to the respective national legislation.
