For long-term effectiveness and coherence, legislation needs to be located within a consistent
policy framework. It should translate national policy on the promotion or control of defined
activities, create an administrative framework, powers and procedures for managing such activities,
authorise the collection and evaluation of relevant information and provide for decisionmaking
based on specific criteria. Legislation forms a bridge between international and local
contexts by translating treaty commitments into measures appropriate to national systems and,
usually through secondary legislation, into detailed provisions applicable at local level4